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Getting a Government Job - It May Not Be as Easy as you Think
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March 18, 2010
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Automation may resolve some staffing problems
OPM
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:11 AM
Post Reply
Very well-written and insightful article today, I am only sorry it did not produce better results so far. Some of the automated systems such as QuickHire probably do have some of the features you suggested. It seems to me that you can check the status of your application at any time. At any rate, Ian presents an excellent set of standards that any automated staffing system should make.
Government does not know how to recruit college grads
University of Vermont
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:43 AM
Post Reply
I too, have had difficulty in getting a federal job! Recently I applied for two positions for which I was more than qualified for - in fact, my dissertation research was geared towards the agency's needs - AND - I had done an internship with them - and was told that although my application packet was one of the best the HR person had ever seen, I did not have enough 'experience' for the postion! I also sent my C.V. to another agency, never heard anything, was contacted 6 months later by the recruiter and asked to apply (they asked me to apply!!) for the position, and then never heard anything again for 6 months (although I had called them repeatedly), when I received a letter saying someone else had been selected for the position!! CAN I SAY FRUSTRATING!!! Not a professional response, but an honest one. And they wonder why it is so difficult to recruit college grads??!!
Re: Government does not know how to recruit college grads
va
Wed Aug 18, 2004 8:48 AM
applying twice is not going to cut it. regardless of your qualifications, the key thing to remember is to keep applying. its a numbers game, you'll get in, just keep trying.
Re: Government does not know how to recruit college grads
Unknown
Tue Sep 21, 2004 3:42 PM
Re: Government does not know how to recruit college grads
VA
Tue Feb 1, 2005 12:19 PM
For someone already in the VA system, the hiring process is confusing and non responding.
It is not a number game, but a sysem depend on who you know and not what you know.
At my VA, they promoted someone who does not have a clue in the work environment but skip over someone who had years of experience.
My advice to all college grad is not to waste their time, better opportunity on the outside.
Re: Government does not know how to recruit college grads
DOT
Tue Aug 2, 2005 10:24 AM
Laws need to be changed; not just the system. Govt. jobs better than private industry
Air Force
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:45 AM
Post Reply
A little late in responding to Ian Smith's article on "Getting a Govt Job."
I have been an ER Specialist for the past 5 years, and a Staffing Specialist for the previous 20 years. I started in the old manual system, where as one other commentor stated, you really recruited for jobs and actually talked to applicants.
I have worked through all the changes into our newest modernized automated sytem, now very impersonal and complicated. Even though most people think it is the "system" that needs changed, it is not that alone.
The laws on which the Federal employment system is founded need to be changed, and contracting out will not improve that. The bureaucracy is created by our politicians continuously adding restrictions and 'special' categories of hiring authorities and priorities. On occasions when management would like to hire a very desirable "off the street" "non-status" candidate, the agency must request special authority from the Office of Personnel Mgt to be able to establish special registers under a special hiring authority, which typically still requires ranking by Veteran's preferences and referrals are limited to the top 3 candidates.
It is these legally based dysfunctional requirements which create the basis for the nightmare system and make it frustrating and nearly impossible for the average candidate to acquire a govt job. Rather than change the laws and the system, and eliminate all the special authorities, the deciding powers try to resolve the recruitment problems by adding costly options like special pay rates, hiring bonuses, relocation expenses, etc. Another of your commentors was also correct in that it is not easy to move around within the govt system, unless you enroll in a special career development program and are mobile to relocate as required. Federal govt employment is not as secure and stable as it once was, but I have found it a lucrative place to work, with benefits typically outweighing those in comparable private industry organizations.
Thanks for the opportunity to be heard.
Need to speed up federal hiring process
Navy
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:51 AM
Post Reply
Mr. Smith's experience seems to be the norm, although I'm not sure why.
Even though I work in the HRO, I'm not in the staffing area. It seems difficult to understand why the responses cited by Mr. Smith couldn't be given. Perhaps it would even lend an accountability factor to the Human Resource Service Center's (HRSC) who process/evaluate the applications received. I'm sure that the federal government is losing many talented prospects as Mr. Smith stated.
Thats mainly because all the good prospects are snapped up right away, if you are good why wait for the federal government to get around to asking you if you'd like to work there? I think the federal government needs to be more sensitive to this aspect, which apparently exists for individuals who are looking for promotions within the government, not only those who are just trying to get their foot in the door. I'm aware that automation of the application process is just in its infancy, however, the federal government needs to keep up to speed on lots of issues like this.
Hiring system is a nightmare
FERC
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:53 AM
Post Reply
He (Ian Smith) gives way too much credit to the federal government.
The hiring system is an absolute nightmare and disaster and once the dam breaks on retirement the system will collapse on itself.
Many of the jobs are for career only and are open for less than a week of real time because of pre-selection and there is no rule or reason or cop on the beat to protect the Merit selection process.
I have friends in private sector HR who would rather have a root canal done without pain killers than ever apply for a federal government HR position.
And all this talk of how excellent an employer the federal government is. Do you want to work for a huge monster organization where performance can't be judged, where salaries are captive to the political process, and where supervisors and managers are selected solely for technical reasons and not for their ability to manage people or projects.
Let Mr. Smith work for ten years in the federal government - I'd like to see his rewritten article after having this experience.
Re: Hiring system is a nightmare
VA
Wed Feb 2, 2005 10:10 AM
I am working on an exit strategy so that I don't have to deal with the system such as this.
The system does not promote people on merit or performance, but promote people according to the good old boy club.
Promotion does not base on one's ability but one is bound to grade and step.
What they end up with manager in who is very homogenious, no wonder the system can never change.
If you look at a job posting with all kind of requirements, and you look at the people's ability that was hired, it was two different things.
Re: Hiring system is a nightmare
DOT
Tue Aug 2, 2005 10:30 AM
Recruitment one-stop project coming soon
OPM
Sun Dec 29, 2002 10:55 AM
Post Reply
The Recruitment One-stop project, which is a part of one of the President's e-gov initiatives, is going to do a lot to address the issue of a web-based application which will allow candidates for federal jobs to track their applications.
As for the general message of this article, I don't think many federal HR professionals, or federal employees in general for that matter will disagree with any of the points that are made. However, making changes in one of the largest bureacratic organizations in the world will take massive cultural and attitudinal changes (which often result in stagnated efforts, or perhaps even resistance to change) so often times even simple changes to obviously more effective systems or procedures get bogged down. Thanks for the interesting article.
Merit system is a "front"
Navy
Sun Dec 29, 2002 11:02 AM
Post Reply
Reading the article made me realize that the situation is as I thought--and I am saying this as a soon-to-be 20-yr Fed employee.
The system seems to be a front--it appears to be accepting of all, but in reality, it is the same old story. You need to "know" someone, you don't necessarily have to know anything about the job for which you are applying. And I have seen this work within the last few weeks! I am about to retire--thank God--but I do feel those recent graduates who are duped into thinking they can find a job with the govt are going to be greatly disillusioned. It is exactly as the author describes it--mass confusion. Computer-generated resumes remain there-in the computer. "Know" the right person and you've got it made.
And once you're in there, play it for all its worth. That is what works!!!!!!
Re: Merit system is a "front"
DOD
Mon Dec 5, 2005 8:06 AM