Return to Article: Students eager for federal jobs, unsure how to get them
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84840
I was surprised with the red tape involved in getting the position at the printing office. I didn't have any military or government experience, so I assumed I was at a disadvantage. I did finish my degree last year at Randford University and also took some classes at Devry. So I thought my moderate experience and masters degree would be enough for consideration. The background check and process took almost 3 months, but now I can honestly say it was worth it. I do think I was bumped at least once to a less qualified person, but my final position was one step higher. The government environment is quite different, but I truly enjoy it.
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40763
This article fails to talk about the red-type encounter in the application process of federal jobs. It may seem that the author of this article just takes all the text context of the Partnership for Public Service's survey to write her article. It appears Ms. Rutzick did not invest much time researching to produce this article. Ms. Rutzick fails to mention about eligibilities, preferences and points given to certain applicants because her/his relation to armed forces members or veteran's status. If only Ms. Rutzick had researched more about federal jobs, she would have found out that eligibilities, preferences, and points have a tremendous effect for qualifying an applicant for a government job. A not so well qualified applicant, who claims any eligibility or preference, can easily bump a very well qualified applicant just because his/her eligibility or preference. How often this happens? Unfortunately it happens very often.
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25249
When I changed from the small business corporate world to the Accounting Office, it was tough to break in, but it has been great. The salary is fine and the benefits are in line. The pressure level is a lot less and people grow up the ladder at a consistent pace. I was in marketing before and it was were cut-throat. I did have to take some online classes to freshen up on accounting at Phoenix and Randford University. It was easy and I am growing in the job. Whether you're Democrat or Republican, a government job is a great choice.
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16664
Years ago I applied for my first job in the civil service. Because I didn't possess a degree at the time, I applied for a Temporary GS-4 clerical position. I took off from work to take a half day long test to ensure them that I had the basic skills (they sure wanted a lot, considering that they were paying a third below market at the time). I then faced a three person firing squad (I mean, panel). They were officious and downright rude, asking me questions like, "If you like your (present job) so much, why are you seeking employment here?"
I did get in, and that was probably the high point of my civil service career. The other high point was 17 years later (and two years ago) when I had just finished night school, became an engineer, and then was forced out of this agency because I wouldn't accept a two grade demotion to be reclassified as an engineer. So nothing had changed in all that time.
Advice to young students: Please go where your talents will be appreciated and where you will realize your investment in school. Dis-gruntled.
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16615
The federal government has posted incoming positions at colleges since before I attended decades ago. Back then, the information about what federal employment is really like was not as available as it is now. The Internet has changed that.
Despite the motivations of this non-profit group to slant the information in the government's favor, students do not intend to spend years in college and thousands of dollars to be treated with disrespect by their employer. For years, OPM allowed federal agencies to treat their new employees like they were so many cattle in a pen. The good ole boys wanted to make sure that these new people knew where they stood. Now, it's become public information and a federal career doesn't look so good.
Perhaps OPM should post the openings in homeless shelters and halfway houses.
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16585
I don't know where they are getting their data, but what I have gathered from talking to the many new engineer grads we hire each year is that there are not many private industry jobs available. They enter school with the promise of jobs only to find four years later that private industry is really only looking for the top 5 or 10 percent of the graduating class. The government on the other hand is hiring like crazy and offering huge incentives. New hires are being offered salaries that are up to 75 percent of that of someone who has spent 25 years in federal service, in the $60,000 plus range, which is a lot more than private industry offered them, which was in most cases a starting salary in the $40,000's. There is no valid reason for the government to offer these incentives and the HRO people running these programs are grossly misinformed on their comparison of federal service pay and benefits versus. that of private industry. People will apply to the government because we have jobs, period. No other incentive is needed.
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16554
The government will not attract the best people until they let go of KSA's, boilerplate job summaries that don't explain the actual duties of a particular job just a job "series," and have people on the contact number who actually know something about the job and can speak intelligently about it rather than a "boilerplate" response from a disenchanted and frequently rude personnel specialist. They turn more people off than not knowing the USAJOBS website would!
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16549
OPM, Mr. Bush, et al. are you listening? "The most effective recruiting efforts come from people with whom the students can relate: parents, friends, professors and advisers." Also remember that half of the people students listen to are parents and friends (that are also listening to their parents) ... hmmm, who would they be? Why us, of course! You know, the so-called human capital, worker bee's, slaves, minions of the beast or whatever other demented way you think of us.
Any normal, rational fed/parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle will be telling every young person they can to run like hell from a federal job. You are nothing more than a bunch of liar's out to screw the employee's with half truths. We may be in too deep to leave before retirement, but we can and will do all we can to prevent our children/grandchildren/nephews/nieces from our fate. When it comes to its employees, the government is not trustworthy and will break a promise at its convenience.
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16545
The quote of the day illustrates the problem. Literacy, first of all, is necessary even to comprehend the process.
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16539
While government service is not for everyone, it's been a good career path for me. I worked in private industry for 10 years before entering the federal government 15 years ago. I found it very difficult to advance to a position allowing a middle-class lifestyle, without sacrificing personal time and family needs. But I would never have known anything about government as an employer if not for one federal recruiter who attended an alumni job fair. The college I attended -- and I believe this is likely true in many colleges -- did not encourage anyone to consider government positions. In accounting, they steered everyone toward a handful of private accounting firms that schmoozed with the business school professors, advisors, etc. Those firms typically hired only the top 5-10 graduates, the cream of the crop. By the time these final hiring decisions were made, the rest of the graduates were left seeking entry-level accounting clerk positions. Colleges, while happy to accept and control federal monies, thumb their noses at the government as an employer.
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16531
Sadly, these are the comments I hear all too often from newly graduated college folks as well as mid-career job seekers. USAJobs has thousands and thousands of advertisements but when you apply there is little to no feedback -- the wait is too long, the hiring process is insane.
OPM can put out all the advertisements it wants but where the rubber hits the road turns off too many job applicants. OPM itself is not a leader when it comes to even applying for OPM jobs.
I'm not surprised the public interest groups beat us out for great candidates each and every time because they can hire on the spot and we can't.
HR Specialist
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16527
Then after they get hired and see the paybanding system where no one will ever see a raise again -- everyone will be bailing out!
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16525
Another delusion. Students appear to have checked an interest in every category. The only significant finding is that they do not want to go with non-profit organizations relative to the private sector or government. There absolutely is no indication that they are "very eager for federal jobs"! This is the type of delusion that results in the government not attracting the quality from the employment field! Stop kidding yourself and go after the students. They basically are lazy and will take the job that comes to them rather than search and work (of course there are exceptions). The federal government needs to learn how to recruit!
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16519
Golly gosh, even I knew how to apply for a job with the federal government and I only have a high school diploma and one year of college. What does that say about the intelligence, intellect, and common sense our college graduates have? And the feds think they are better to hire for a job I am? Good luck!
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