Return to Article: OPM launches ad campaign to boost recruitment
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16991
Go ahead and sign up! Sign up for 30 years of job security. Sign up for a great retirement plan. Sign up for medical and life insurance plan which will carry over into retirement. Sign up for peace of mind knowing your job will always be there for you. Because you are a hard worker and need not fear ever losing your income or retirement benefits. Sign up for your children's future including paying for their college education. Go ahead! Take a chance if you dare!
For the government will tell you all you want to hear and then 20 years into a 30-year career rip the rug right from under your feet. Beware of outsourcing and privatization -- it is here now and it is the future for government jobs. Why would you want to work for 20 years to lose your pension and medical benefits to outsourcing?
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16799
"...focusing on encouraging federal employees close to retirement to stay longer..." Huh? Does Linda Springer work for the same government that I do?
Up until about four years ago I had planned to work until I was 62, maybe longer. I was (and still am) healthy and I had enjoyed my work and done well at it. Then, about four years ago, things started to change. I began to notice that I wasn't getting many of the meatier assignments anymore. I also had applied for several promotions within my unit and was among the top three or top five candidates every time, but was never selected. The last time was for a job that I'd done for over a year and for which I'd even received an award. Finally, one supervisor who usually sits on the selection boards told me -- not for attribution, of course -- that I wasn't getting selected because "management wants to go in a different direction." Huh? Someone with my qualifications is what they had asked for in the JOA.
He then confirmed to me that this meant management wanted to hire/promote younger people. At first I wondered if this was just something going on in my unit but after checking with friends in other areas, it seems to be the trend throughout the agency. Non-management personnel in my age cohort were/are routinely losing out on important work assignments and promotion to younger workers, even if the younger worker is not as qualified.
Maybe Linda Springer and her ilk should come down out of their cloud and look into how older workers are really treated on the job before they make fatuous remarks like it's better just to stay. Next year, I'm outta here!
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16735
Folks, I feel sorry for all of you, but at least they didn't send you a letter telling you that "due to your disability, we do not find you suitable for employment."
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16669
Those of us who have children about to enter the workforce can attest to this fact. Private industry asks for a one or two-page max resume and then conducts extensive interviews, first with human resources, then with the immediate supervisor or a team of people who work in the department where the job opening is and then by at least one more level of management. As that process occurs, some candidates are eliminated and final consideration is given to only two, maybe three "finalists." The interview process is rigorous but the application/resume is simple. It just needs to provide the best information about the candidate. Conversely, the government drowns its applicants and itself in worthless paper before a decision on a "pool" of candidates is made and then a very limited interview, if any, is conducted.
In every other venue, the government believes that we could learn a lot from private industry. In this case, we truly could. There is no substitute for face-to-face interviews for determining who the best and brightest are. You know who can hold their own in a group setting, if they are articulate, if they have the right chemistry for the particular job, and if you want to see a college transcript, you can get it at that time. Our hiring rules are so antiquated it is pitiful. While the government attempts to be fair and impartial, the whole process is so unfair, is anything but impartial and is a total failure. Just as candidates are frustrated at every turn, so are the managers/employees waiting for a body to fill a vacancy. All the advertising in the world is going to fix the broken recruitment and hiring process.
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16601
Let me add my own comments to this absurd attempt to encourage federal employment. I have been with the government now for more than 20 years, and in my current GS grade since 1999. I have seen promotions come and go, have applied for higher positions on numerous occasions, and yet still remain at the same grade. I have received outstanding appraisals for the last 10 years, superior performance awards for the past six years, but each time I dive into the competitive advancement process, I find myself flustered and confused. Either I am referred, but not selected (no reasons for non selection given), or find that the job has been cancelled only to then find the same position re-advertised within a few short weeks, and then start the process all over again.
More often, I apply for a job, find my name has been forwarded for consideration and then months and months pass with no decision being made, until you forget and give up. Now, with NSPS, I am faced with the dismantling of the pay system I have come to rely on, to be replaced with a system that has not been adequately described, or understood, by me or those who will be deciding what my annual increase will be next year. There is no way I could recommend to my children to consider working for the federal government, and once I reach my minimum retirement age, will leave federal service, take my many years of government experience, and go to work for the very same contractor that I faced across the table in negotiations and use my skill to extract every available extra dime, at the taxpayers' peril and expense.
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16597
"DHS Today" just had an article about the proposed MAXHR system and paybanding, as it relates to retirement. According to the message, employees who are at the top of their payband will only be eligible for performance pay increases (PPIs) as a lump sum, which will not increase their salary or count towards their "high three" for retirement. As a current GS-13, Step 10, who just becomes eligible to retire under CSRS this year, I consider this to be age discrimination against senior employees.
Under the current GS Schedule, all eligible federal workers who perform at an acceptable level receive a yearly pay increase, which increases our base salary and thus our "high three" for retirement. DHS has just served notice on all employees that this will no longer happen if you are at the top of whatever pay band you will be placed in. I guess that DHS is telling me that my experience and seniority mean nothing to this agency. I may as well get out as soon as I am eligible to retire, because my "high three" will be frozen in place, and will not increase no matter how many more years I stay. Thanks, DHS, for telling us what you really think of your senior employees!
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16565
I had 16 years in the federal government, at the time that I quit. I quit because I had worked to get an engineering degree for seven years at night, and when I graduated, the personnel department and management were determined to apply OPM's insane "rules" to force me to take a two-grade demotion with no guarantees of moving back up. To top it off, they couldn't understand why I bolted when private industry made an offer. Fortunately, my retirement plan was already gutted, via the brilliant FERS plan -- so I had an added incentive to leave as soon as practical. Otherwise, I might have put up with it until I had 30 years in.
What a shame OPM's recruitment targets will never get to talk to people like me.
Dis-gruntled
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16550
So what's next, "As Seen on TV!" labels on federal job announcements?
OPM director Linda Springer has never held a civil service position. It would be a real eye opener for her and others if they would actually go through the process of looking for a federal position (in a serious way).
It took me more than three years to find a job at the next GS grade. I submitted more than 150 applications. Many of these took hours to complete because they required long essay responses. Rarely did I get any feedback. Many positions were canceled without any explanation. Quite a few of the jobs turned out to be completely different from their vacancy announcements. Job web sites crashed and lost information. All too often it became clear they had already pre-selected an internal candidate.
It's never been easy to land a federal position, but I think it's much more difficult today. Ironically, many of the so called "improvements" have actually made the whole process more difficult and discouraging. I really don't think talented young people are going to flock to such a system. OPM hype can only add to their disillusionment.
Disclaimer: I'm not a real DOD manager, but I play one on OPM TV.
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16547
I have a daughter who is trying to get a government job. She is working on her doctorate, but cannot find jobs to apply for other than in Washington, where she could never afford to live.
Most of the jobs are advertised internally so people who are not already working for the government cannot apply. They have cancelled programs that give them authority to hire the best and the brightest from outside the government. And if you cannot check the box that you are a minority you might as well forget putting in for any job.
It seems a crime that the government is making it impossible for the top performers of the county to even get a government job.
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16541
The question is if Springer was so good, why did she not stay with Holiday Inn? Could it be she could not recruit the "best" people for Holiday Inn? I would suggest she return to her prior employer and leave us alone. But then she has managed to avoid any and all questions asked her in "townhall" meetings so she must be good at something. It surely is not management of personnel.
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16517
West Coast,
Nowadays anything this administration or for that matter OPM does defies logic, this government is out of control in my opinion. I'm in a similar boat, age 55, 32 years of service and under the CSRS retirement system. I'm making plans on my retirement as we speak
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16515
Why is a recent college honor graduate with a long list of accomplishments and a squeaky clean personal record still not on the federal rolls? I'd be willing to bet that this person is one of literally hundreds that have been trying for months to get those jobs that will soon be advertised. All those miles of paperwork, test scores, college transcripts. All that effort, all that talent, all the high hopes. Shameful -- everyone loses.
Spending on advertising is not the answer. Perhaps more talent could be hired if the overall hiring process was improved. Talented graduates are ready to get into the work world but the government hiring processes are slow and unresponsive to say the least. Private industry definitely has the edge. They identify talent and go for it quickly. Spend the advertising dollars and set up a "clearing house" between agencies where talent is recognized and pursued.
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16513
It used to be that one gave up the high salaries in the private sector for the job security offered by government service. It used to be that if one contributed into the Social Security system, one received what they were entitled to without penalties imposed because they are also collecting a CSRS pension. It used to be that the civil servant was the most valuable asset in the government. But that's all gone now. I would encourage young folks to stay in the private sector because this house of cards is about to fall.
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16512
Sorry folks, but Linda Springer is right on this one. It is not about the numbers, but there is more to it. It's about making more reasoned and targeted back-hiring and training decisions by function, focusing on what skills are required and then finding the right people for those jobs that really need to be federalized. Why would you re-hire in a commercial function that is scheduled for an A-76 or until an A-76 establishes that the work should be retained in-house? Kennedy called for the best and the brightest to government, not just anybody who needed a job. If that requires a targeted recruiting plan, I say go for it.
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16509
I have 32 years in the CSRS and next year I will turn 55. I plan on taking the immediate annuity and then working full time elsewhere until I'm 65. There is no incentive to stay in. I've worked in four agencies and been passed over for advancement three times in favor of the boss's friend or lover. I've had two bosses who I actually respect. Merit under the current system is a joke. Paybanding is the final straw. I advise young people to stay out of civil service.
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16505
Now I've officially seen everything: The government is going to spend thousands to recruit people, then turn around and spend millions to get rid of them via A-76. My, oh my. And, to top it off, OPM often wonders why nobody trusts the agency for the time of day. Go figure.
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16499
OPM doesn't have a clue. They are onboard with the destruction of the GS system, an action GS employees are almost universally against, and they want people to stay longer? Besides the favored few, who would want to stay longer under NSPS? Thank you Sir, may I have another!?
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16496
Break out the Tucks! Here comes another round of sunshine getting blown up our butts. Granted, there's going to be a lot of retirements coming down the pike but anyone with a keen insight into how the new and improved pay system and health/dental benefits work will run from this like a bad date. It's ironic how Ms. Springer states, "...it's not looking into a crystal ball or an Ouija board." One could easily surmise that's all the government has been doing, especially since the creation of DHS and its damaged offspring.
As for the "stars" of these infamous infomercials, those people are about as real as Grandpa sitting on the porch enjoying Country Time lemonade with his granddaughter. Gee, while were at it, let's invite Ward and June Cleaver, Ozzie and Harriet, and the rest of the make-believe cast. If you want to be real, where are the Special Agents, Inspectors, Border Patrol Agents, and others who are the true backbone of civil service? Yeah, we need more engineers, managers, and supervisory tree-huggers like a lobotomy.
Concerning the encouragement of federal employees closing in on retirement to stay longer, where's the incentive? I'm just about at jam-time right now and the agency I'm in is in such disarray that I'm just waiting for the right time to hang the mistletoe on the seat of my pants and ride on. Oh, by the way, I'm one of the fortunate and smart ones under CSRS. I didn't bite on the rotten FERS apple when it was thrown out. Do these spin doctors actually think with this new MAX/HR paybanding fiasco they are going to entice anyone to come to work for the government?
The Gunny
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16493
What a joke! CSRS eliminated in 1984 in favor of FERS; I hope you believe in the solvency of Social Security, because SSA and your TSP are it! Second, MAX HR and Pay Banding. Part II of the upcoming screw job for federal employees, plus an administration that has displayed an overt disdain for the federal employee in areas like reducing COLA's for civilian workers, only to be overridden by congressional committees in the 11th hour. Downsizing and outsourcing by the DOD and other federal agencies to force federal employees to compete for their own jobs with civilian contractors/bidders. Where in this scenario can the director of OPM say with a straight face that this is a positive climate to work for the federal government?
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16490
If only the government would tell the truth to prospective employees. Tell them that they are deployable assets. Tell them that the government plans to "sunset" the 30 retirement era. Tell them that as they age and lose a little of their forward momentum they can and will be replaced by someone younger and more motivated. If a military billet (at war) can be replaced by a government worker it will be. There will no longer be a raise to compensate for inflation. Make sure you're hired into an "important" job in a "particular" location or you won't be eligible for the pay raises they propose. Oh yeah, if you happen to get an "important" job, it may not be "important" the next year ... sorry! What I'm really concerned about is all the senators' and congressmen's sons and daughters. I tried and tried and can't think of a way to save them! How will elected officials keep their offspring out of harm's way if they work in a government civilian position that has been forced to deploy??? Oh my God, we can't have that!!
Un-Civil Servant
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16485
What a joke! The administration tries to screw with our retirement, our COLA, and contract our jobs out to the politicians' friends. And then they are trying to recruit people to become government workers?! Does this make sense to anyone?!
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16483
It is simply amazing that the focus continues to be on advertisement and making USAJobs pretty instead of making it easier for young folks to apply and be selected. I have personally experienced the lunacy of federal hiring practices first-hand. I'm patient only because the federal government has lowered my expectations and I expect the lunacy. Young folks starting out will not be numbed to the federal process and will expect some sanity. Once they experience the lunacy we will lose them forever -- and they will tell their friends.
OPM should be working hard to streamline the process and take a leadership role in making federal hiring easy. If anyone has ever tried to apply for a job at OPM folks will realize they are one of the biggest hiring lunatics of all. Instead of spending time advertising, they should lead by example!
HR Specialist
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16478
Job seekers do your civic duty and look for a job in the private sector that pays a decent wage and has a challenge other than trying to over come the power struggle in the government.
If you do go to work for the government you can expect to be contracted out in an A-76 move and receive lower benefits and worse working hours than you initially were given for the government job. Likewise, you can expect to face years at a single grade because they are trying to cap the salaries paid and benefits offered.
In DoD and any service you can expect to be treated as if you were in the military but you will not receive the benefits available to the military and you will be denied the benefits of most other government employees because your supervisors will be military! Reorganization of the Air Force to be in effect after April 2007 will reduce manpower so there is more money available to buy airplanes. In the services you are expendable for machines to use in a war that is highly unlikely to happen given a competent president.
I think it will be interesting to see how OPM ignores these issues in its advertising.
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16477
Why would anyone want to work for the government now that Dumbya has made all new government employees second-class citizens? Take my advice and get a job in the private sector.
20-Year DoD Employee
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16475
Advertising for new employees for fear of future retirees: I've heard the retirement bubble is coming since I joined civil service in 1999. I haven't seen it -- most people talk of retirement but never put the papers in. Where is the wisdom to advertise for jobs when the next A-76 study comes up every two or three years? Doesn't seem like a secure working environment for me or a good use of taxpayer dollars.
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