Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Job security. Mobility. The possibility of regular promotions. Good health benefits.
Gotta know how to play the game. I love the work that I do and I love my job. I love that I got a chance to live in Hawaii for a year and other places. Life is good. I'm very thankful.
I noticed a few people touched on the KSA, but that is the bread and butter for my Federal Job when applying to other positions within the department. You need as much KSA keywords as possible from the job description or post, your resume doesnt even have to make sense.
A big one that I didn't see anyone touch on is VRA (Veterans Recruiting Appointment) this is how I picked up my first federal job without any issues. If you have deployed overseas to a combat zone, or a location in support of OEF or OIF you get the GWOTEM(Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal) which meets the requirement to be able to apply under VRA. Just some food for thought, also if your looking into a Law Enforcement position as a veteran PM me I can give you some insight into the BOP.
USA JOBS is just a place to knock on the door. You need to have you resume tailored to job, yet more importantly be qualified.
I know two people who applied for jobs, besides myself, that failed to get even an interview.
1 job one friend applied for was the actual job, desk and all that he worked at 4 years earlier. He was that guy. But when he applied as a Veteran, once retired, he wasnt qualified due to degree. He didnt have a Masters, a fricking Masters. He was a high school dropout.. Executive Secretary..Who got the job, and old friend of his that worked there.. He had his Masters...
My wife, she applied for a job, had a Masters in the field, 15 years experience in the area, physical area for marketing, and was denied. Letter stated she wasnt in area, whatever the heck that meant. The zip code for the job is the zip code for our home.
So, its a portal to a mysterious world of government jobs. Keep applying, get to know people, take any job they offer, just to get in.
Applied to 60+ positions on USAJobs, officially referred to about 12ish or so, interviewed for 3 or 4, finally landed 1 job offer after a year and some change of trying. That's with Vets Preference, a B.A. and tweaking my resume for every position I applied too. It's extremely obvious when an Agency already has a candidate in mind with the extremely specific required qualifications and usually only 1 vacancy, I tended to apply only to announcements that had multiple vacancies in multiple locations.
My wife, she applied for a job, had a Masters in the field, 15 years experience in the area, physical area for marketing, and was denied. Letter stated she wasnt in area, whatever the heck that meant. The zip code for the job is the zip code for our home.
FYI for folks. Area of consideration does not directly mean a geographic location. It means the people who meet whatever limiting factor they are applying to the hire. For example it could be limited to employees of that agency or a specific subset of the agency (often when there is a reduction going on and those folks are getting RIF'd). The announcement will state the area of consideration so if you're not in that, don't waste time applying, it will get screened out.
One other thing people should realize: sometimes when a job is announced, the selecting official already knows who he is going to hire. No one else on the list has a chance. In other words, the job has been pre-selected. That happens a lot, I'm afraid.
So if you don't get a job but you know you were well qualified, don't worry about it too much. There's nothing you can do.
True. I've seen/heard about this. And it makes sense that it would happen. If a hiring manager/official knows someone personally who is qualified for the job, but has to put out a notice regardless due to whatever reason, they will do that, both for formality and in the instance that an applicant is actually more qualified than the "shoe-in." And this happens with more than just fed jobs. When I was on the selection committee to choose a new assistant principal for guidance services (this was back in high school . . . as the student body president, I had a seat and vote on that committee), we interviewed a handful of people for the job. But everybody knew going in that there was a "favorite," who happened to be an individual who held another AP position in the school. I had to be the only one on the committee to advocate for what I deemed fairness; and I was actually shunned for going against the grain . . . not that it bothered me or changed my perspective. Things can be rough, but don't give up!
True. I've seen/heard about this. And it makes sense that it would happen. If a hiring manager/official knows someone personally who is qualified for the job, but has to put out a notice regardless due to whatever reason, they will do that, both for formality and in the instance that an applicant is actually more qualified than the "shoe-in." And this happens with more than just fed jobs. When I was on the selection committee to choose a new assistant principal for guidance services (this was back in high school . . .
As far as pre-selection goes, also keep in mind that most USAJobs advertisements aren't for new positions, but to fill positions that were vacated when someone retired, was promoted, or left the agency. When someone retires or leaves, the work doesn't just stop. Someone else is assigned the work until the position is filled.
Depending on agency priorities and HR's backlog, HR may require 6 months or longer to advertise a vacated position, during which time someone is performing the position's duties. If you were a Federal manager, given the choice, who would you hire...someone off the street, who is an unknown, or someone who has successfully performed the position's duties for 6 months or longer?
As far as pre-selection goes, also keep in mind that most USAJobs advertisements aren't for new positions, but to fill positions that were vacated when someone retired, was promoted, or left the agency. When someone retires or leaves, the work doesn't just stop. Someone else is assigned the work until the position is filled.
Depending on agency priorities and HR's backlog, HR may require 6 months or longer to advertise a vacated position, during which time someone is performing the position's duties. If you were a Federal manager, given the choice, who would you hire...someone off the street, who is an unknown, or someone who has successfully performed the position's duties for 6 months or longer?
the most informative post by far...VAGeek. This is absolutely true in most cases with most fed agencies.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Gotta know how to play the game. I love the work that I do and I love my job. I love that I got a chance to live in Hawaii for a year and other places. Life is good. I'm very thankful.
