IRS jobs in Andover (Lowell, Methuen: fingerprinting, how much, home)

[erasmus310]

Does anyone work at the IRS location in Andover? I am trying to get a job as a Contact Representative and I just have some questions.

1. I'm going for a fingerprinting session on Thursday. How long does it take? What do we do there other than fingerprinting? Should I dress in a shirt and tie, or is it casual?

2. What is the work environment like? I read from someone working for the IRS in Austin, TX that it is very laid-back, with no dress code. That people wear shorts and flip-flops everyday. Is this true?

That's all. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[nashar42]

Hi there. I applied for the same job at the same location. I took the online assessment test a week ago. I haven't heard anything back yet. How long did it take for you to hear back after the test? When did you first apply? Just wondering how long the process takes. I have a relative that works at that location and as far as I know the dress code is casual. Not sure about shorts and flip-flops though! As for what you should wear to your fingerprinting appointment, I would think business casual would be okay. Better to be safe than sorry!

[CityGirl52]

If you get fingerprinted that's an extremely good sign you will be on your way to working for them. I have friends that are working in Lowell & Methuen for them right now & they really like it a lot there. The benefits are great, the atmosphere is business casual. You will see shorts & flip flops in the summer, in areas where there's large groups of employees. A lot of the permanent employees seemed to dress a little better than that though, trust me!

I was fingerprinted last November and just got hired permanent full time this past week for a job in Methuen. It took me a long time because I was working for them seasonally for the past 7 years as a "term" employee. I didn't think I'd ever get this permanent job phone call either! BUT it finally came thru from the IRS's Human Resource office just this past week, what a process, I'm telling you. BUT hang in there you're getting fingerprinted, that's a very very good sign that you're on their "A-list" as we say on the outside! It's not really an "A" list, it means you're on their roster and you're all set with your clearance with them and you're possibly going to be hired.

Andover has the contact reps. The other type of jobs, like the Tax Examiner Technicians & the Revenue Agents and all that are scattered here and there. The Andover building is being all renovated, so far it's going to be where every one that's now working in Lowell & Methuen will be located. Supposedly it's in two years. It'll be a beautiful building when they get thru with all their renovation work. Right now there's construction all over the place there & the contact reps are in one area while all the work is being done all over the other area. Like I said, it'll be another good year (or so) before that building will be completed.

It also won't take you as long as me to get hired because you're from the outside where I was a former employee there. I ended up getting 5 years of service with the government from my previous service I had there. So this whole hiring process took me a little longer than it will for you. They are supposedly on a mission to hire a good 350 contact rep people, so that's why it'll probably be that you get in there a lot quicker where they really need them soon. They usually hire this time of year for this area of the IRS as they have a fast turn around. By that I mean, the people get hired and they stay for about 6 months to a year and then they transfer to other areas completely away from the customer service area. You either like it or you don't. The ones that stay end up a lot of times getting promoted because they're good at what they're doing. So at least you know this now to decide what you'd like to do as you're going along with this particular type of job. It's one of the hardest hardest jobs in the IRS. If you can retain all that you are going to learn in their classroom, and if you can come out on the floor and do exactly what they want you to do, then you'll be on your way to an extremely rewarding career (with benefits to boot!). This will be just the beginning, trust me, it's quite a place to work. I know people that are contact reps and they were telling us that it's a job that you learn in 10 years, not over night and not within a year, it's longer than that due to all the information that you will be retaining, it's a very intense job and can be very difficult at times.

Remember, you aren't hired there until you get the actual HR phone call. You will THINK you are all set, but remember it's not til you get thru the fingerprinting process, AFTER that process is when you get the phone call from HR, that is IF you get it, so remember that. Then & only then are you in like flint from then on with their hiring process. OH I should say you're on a year probation period once you are in there! I forgot about that part, I'll be doing my year when I get in there myself.

I know right now, that they are "trying" to hire a good 350 contact reps as I write this up, it's not as easy as you think with their stipulations and all that. So try to just hang in there and be very patient with their whole hiring process. I thought it was a "trip" and a half in the last 2 years going thru this! I never in my life had to go thru this type of stuff EVER, I'm very spoiled not having to deal with any of this stuff. It was a real real learning experience for me, believe me! It certainly sounds to me like you're all set since you've been asked to go for the fingerprinting. YET like I said, when you get that call from HR asking you if you are interested in the job and then when they explain it to you & you say YES, that's when you're actually "hired". ALSO, I'm STILL waiting for an email from them inducting me in! Even though I got the hiring phone call last week. So just remember that there's steps that have to be taken that they keep saying is part of their protocol procedure. It's like the military in there, but it's a GOOD thing, at least they're extremely fair and I would say they're pretty thorough with it all. I actually have to call HR back and find out where this particular email is that this HR person told me about when I was jumping up and down in excitement that I was hired last week! I'm still in a state of shock over it all, I can't wait to have "structure" back in my life, it'll be awesome!

When you go for the fingerprinting that's all you're going to be there for, I remember I was in that little room for about an hour and then as your name got called you brought your paperwork up to the woman and then you went in the line for the fingerprinting session, which was only about 3 to 5 minutes long and then you walk out of there to your car and leave to go home. You probably have to bring all your forms filled out and signed, you can print them up on the IRS site, it's pretty easy. If you got the communication via email, all the forms needed will be in that particular message that you'll need. It's a good sign when you get that email/message from them to go get fingerprinted I'll have you know! It means you are "possibly" on your way, so GOOD LUCK. It's a very intense job working in their customer service area, you'll be learning a LOT in their class, but I'll tell you, they're extremely thorough & the instructors are wonderful in customer service. I put in for it and passed everything but didn't get hired by that area & believe me this went on for a good 2 years with me, I put in for it twice! I must have put in 35 applications just for the IRS alone & finally FINALLY I got the call this past week that I was hired permanent, so I'm pretty psyched right now about it all.

I know that with the contact rep hiring process, it's usually quicker than what I have been going through. Like when you go for the fingerprinting session, you will most likely hear within a few days from HR because they're extremely adament that they get this many contact reps very shortly. With me, I applied back in October 2009, got my score in November, got fingerprinted back in early December I think it was, THEN what happened was, this particular job posting was postponed till February 2010, THEN it was postponed again till August and here I am just getting the HR call this past week with that one. It's not all like this particular one, but just so you know, it's quite a long hiring process OR I should say it CAN be. Like I said, with the contact rep positions there's no fooling around, you fill out the paperwork, you do the online test, you get the results with your score, then you get the email to go in and do the test on the phone, then you get the email to get fingerprinted, which is where you are right now, THEN HR 9 times out of 10 calls, IF you get that call you're hired and you are told when your class is. I applied, passed took both online and phone test, passed and still didn't get hired by them til this application came along and look at how long it took. It's quite a hiring process, believe me....

Good luck, I would say you'll really enjoy working for them, once you jump thru their hoops like me!

[sergiofranco]

I took the online assessment test 2 weeks ago and seemed to do ok - I was contacted a week later and informed that I was being considered with a 'highly qualified' rating. A week later I was
invited to take the TAP (10/22/11) and fingerprint (10/25/11).
I was feeling pretty good until I messed up on the TAP yesterday.
I hope that I get called. Any feedback will be appreciated.

[nashar42]

As you can see, I posted a question here in August 2010 when I was applying for a job at the IRS. I will tell you my experience. The reason I applied for this job is because the company I was working for at the time was moving their operations out of state in November 2010 and everyone there would be losing their job. So I went through the whole process of an online assessment, telephone test and fingerprinting. I guess I passed because I was offered the job of Contact Rep to start in November 2010. Only problem was it was the night shift. I am a single mother and couldn't leave my son home alone until after midnight. I turned the job down. A month or so went by and they called me back and offered me a day shift position to start in January 2011. I accepted and started January 25, 2011. Training lasted about 4-5 weeks (can't remember) and then we were thrown to the wolves so to speak.

My group was made up of about 75 people. Our "application" was answering questions regarding PIN numbers, addresses to send things, requests for transcripts...basic general questions. Pretty simple. We were also assigned "paper cases" which were not actually on paper but on the computer. I have no idea how they decided who would be on the phone and for how long but when you weren't on the phone you did your paper cases. They are very strict regarding your phone time. One call after another. No time to take a breath in between. They are also very strict about you keeping track of everything you do EVERY SECOND of the day.

Being a seasonal employee, I never felt a part of the organization. I never felt a connection. Just did my job everyday and went home. My fellow co-workers were pleasant and we all got along so no problem there. My feelings on management and longtime employees were a little different. We are talking about people that have worked there for 20-30 years. I noticed alot of bitterness, anger and an us against them attitude. I have also never seen so many extremely overweight people in one place in my life! There is food around constantly. Any reason for a "party"! Everyone brings something in and people eat all day long! I'm not talking about chips and cookies. I mean whole meals! It was crazy! And then you are sitting on your butt all day...no wonder there are so many that are overweight!

Well, my season didn't last very long. I was laid off on June 4, 2011. Slightly more than 4 months. We all thought we would be there for at least 6 months. I am now waiting to get called back. Who knows when that will be. They don't tell you.

So since June 4th, things have been pretty tough for me. Sure I collect unemployment but it's only $245 a week. Very hard to pay the bills on that. I had to swallow my pride and apply for foodstamps so I could feed my son. Never in my life have I ever asked anyone for help. Very humbling. I have sold jewelry and other items. Very sad. I'm worried about heating my home (oil heat and tank is almost empty now). I worry about giving my son something for his birthday in December and forget about Christmas. No job, not much of a Christmas.

So would I do it again? Absolutely NOT! I should have stayed at my previous job because they didn't end up moving until August 2011. Everyone that stuck around got a nice severance package and there was plenty of overtime available which could have increased my unemployment benefit. Getting laid off from the IRS, I got nothing! We were also told there would be a performance bonus paid out in September/October. I don't know about my co-workers but I got nothing. Apparently, it's a very complicated formula as to who gets it and how much.

Since getting laid off I have been looking for another job. I just can't do this every year. It's too stressful. I have been told it could take years to become a year round employee. If and when I get called back, if I haven't found anything else, I will have no other choice than to go back.

I just want you to know that if they hire you, be prepared financially for the time you are laid off. I wish I had prepared better or better yet, I wish I had never accepted the job and just stayed where I was.

Good Luck!