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"The Perfect Storm"--Applying for Federal Employement (Part II)

No Feedback Regarding Outcome of VA

Legal Office
Leg. Branch
Fri Feb 9, 2007 9:19 AM

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Another pet peeve is electronic systems that do not provide you with feedback on the outcome on the vacancy announcement. I have applied with avuedigital, quickhire, and usajobs electronically. The only one tha that provided timely feedback was avuedigital. Quickhire and usajobs have a space where you can request an email informing you of the outcome of the vacancy. With both services, vacancies I applied for in March, April, and Aug. 2006 are still providing "your responses are being considered" style answers to my inquiries. Why bother having this function on the webpage if you will not take the time to post that the vacancy has been filled. Or on the other hand, the federal system is really broken and 11, 10, and six months after these vacancies closed, they still have not been filled.

Re: No Feedback Regarding Outcome of VA

Former HR Specialist
Federal Agency
Fri Feb 9, 2007 10:28 AM
If you think that's bad, I applied for a job in 10/2005 and the feedback still lists Posting Closed -- Resume Received. I happen to know that they hired someone else; that person has since moved to another position; and the vacancy has been reposted. All this and it still reads "Posting Closed -- Resume Received."

"What a way to run a railroad," as they used to say.

Take this journey

HR
Govt
Fri Feb 9, 2007 9:22 AM

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I had to laugh when I read the "Take this journey..." description. They probably were trying to pacify/satisfy MSPB due to one of their recent reports stating vacancy announcements were too sterile. Damned if you, damned if you don't! I agree that the announcements should be straight and to the point. Describe the job, basic qualifications necessary and less than 5 KSA's to answer. That's it. Then it's up the selecting official to pick the best qualifed from those certified. How much easier can it be? The applicant should be required to submit a less than 5 page resume (KSA's don't need to be a page long. A good staffing specialist can see right away if that person is really qualified or not.

Out with the KSA's

Data Analyst
USDA Forest Service
Fri Feb 9, 2007 9:42 AM

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Once again another article hits the Federal Government application process on the head. A painful, grueling, do I really want to put myself through this procedure again or just go play racket ball and forget about it. Now I know why the companies that will write KSA's for you are thriving. Then there is the electronic scanner that will either pass or fail you on your KSA response because of your selection of the correct buzz words. There has got to be a better way........ Please find it quickly......

Favoritism

Health Insurance Specialist
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Fri Feb 9, 2007 9:48 AM

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What can the agency do about favoritism? It is very discouraging when an employee constantly sees vacancies and can determine the person for whom it was posted. Then a few weeks later, it is announced that this person got the job and no one else was interviewed although several made the best qualified list.
It is also saddening to look around at management and all you see is white females. Is our country only comprised of white females? Even our technical advisors, (GS-14) are over 75% white females. Numerous white males have left the agency because they are not given the high visibility assignments or their contribution is not valued.
It goes from the top down. White female managers gravitate to what is comfortable to them, which are other white females. This also translates to who is receiving awards and recognition. If the white female gets the high visibility assignment, then the white female will also get the monetary award. What is a staffer who is not a white female to do?

Re: Favoritism

HR Specialist
Federal Agency
Fri Feb 9, 2007 11:39 AM
And there will be others who say that your statements apply in situations where all they see are Black males, Black females, Hispanic ... in an organization. We need to all get beyond this...discrimination is not just a "white" people trait. Discrimination comes in all races...toward other races...and even within the same race...

You ask what you can do...you can file a complaint if you believe that you are being discriminated against, you can apply for positions and make every effort to break the mold you indicate you are seeing, you can apply for jobs in other agencies...you do have choices...sometimes the hardest choice/decision to make is the one that takes us out of our comfort zone.

Do They Really Care?

Investigator
DOL
Fri Feb 9, 2007 10:41 AM

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Many of the additional questions asked for some of these positions are insulting, and it only tells me that little if any thought is given to the requirements of the position when they are being posted as if they really didn't care. Why should it be left to the staffing specialist to narrow the pool so much when it is really the hiring manager who understands the position and its requirements. The problem is that most hiring managers don't want to take the time to interview all of the qualified candidates, or the responsibility for the decision, and have relegated that essential managerial responsibility to the poor HR staffing specialist who has to know the general qualifications of all the positions under his/her jurisdiction. The only way that they can try to understand the position is by throwing in the kitchen sink in an effort to understand both the position better and in order to try to make an informed decision. I say, make the managers do their jobs.

Re: Do They Really Care?

HR
Govt
Fri Feb 9, 2007 11:32 AM
In reference to the interview issue, most agencies have staffing plans that describe their interviewing requirement/process, as well as any negotiated agreement provisions. Some may require all qualified applicants be interviewed, some may not. Why take the time to interview 30 candidates if only 5 of the qualified/certified rise to the top? OPM has qualification standards that the applicant must meet in order to be considered qualified. (No favoritism here.) It's HR's responsibility to ensure only those qualified candidates are referred to the manager. Staffing specialists are trained to properly rate and rank applicants. In a lot of cases subject matter experts are utilized to assist HR in determining the "qualified" candidates if the position is a complex one. Managers scream that they don't have enough time now to do the admin and personnel work expected of them. Let the personnelists do their job and all the manager has to do is make the selection.

Application Process

Job Hunter
NONE
Fri Feb 9, 2007 1:59 PM

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Unfortunately, the problem you describe is not caused by the process; it is caused by the morons running it who are too stupid and ignorant to be public servants. Since the early 1990s, the caliber of people in the Federal human resource management function has diminished to near zero competency. It is the low quality, uneducated clerical folks who have come to dominate the profession. That is the problem

Apply for federal job

hr specialist
usda
Fri Feb 9, 2007 3:13 PM

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I think gov't is different from the private sector in that most Americans pay our salaries and we are here to serve all Americans. With that in mind, I think that any qualified American should be able to apply and have an equal shot at getting it. Problem is when you have a couple of hundred Americans applying for one or two jobs, you must have a fair and equitable way of determining the best 5 to 10 candidates. KSA'a can help if executed properly. It gives a person a chance to "interview" for the job indidividualy when you have 100's of applicants. I would revise in a couple of your ksa's in this way: instead of ability I'd use "skill" at "effectively" managing a HR operations servicing "x" amount of people. If you have 12 people in HR, "skill" in effectively supervising staff of 10 or more. I would only have those 2 ksa's. I would bring in my top 5; give them a list of 5 questions, ie "what would you do your 1st 30 days on the job? they'd write the answers, then interview them.

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