Trying to get a Government Job

[BDBohnzie]

Dirtbag, Schneed has given you your keywords on what to search for on the job and company sites you're hitting up. Take advantage of this. Those short descriptions should give you an idea of what types of jobs you'll be looking at and what you'll be getting into.

From the looks of it, the USAJobs.gov site is much easier to navigate than when I was applying for jobs over 6 years ago. I did a query on jobs in Virginia that had to do with Accounting Budget and Finance, sorting by salary from smallest to largest, and there are many entry level opportunities in the NOVA area. So between those and the contractors websites to search on, you should have a good starting point.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Interesting, I seem to keep running into a lot of folks who went 6 straight years with no work experience.

MBAs or MSs? MSs, I assume.

I worked for Booz part time while an undergrad and then full time during my MS. I took a semester off between undergrad and grad. Took me 7 years to do BS(CompSci)/MS (Software Engineering).

[cpayne5]

Also, don't forget about polygraphs with certain agencies within the government. At my orientation, we were told that only 1 in 22 pass the poly that we had to take. If you fail the poly, you get blacklisted and can never support (as a contractor) that agency in the future. Just something to be aware of. We had several contractors try to take government positions, fail the poly, and then lose their contractor jobs because of it.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

Wow.. Schneed must not have had anybody try to pass him today

LOL. I'm an asshole but I like to help a brother out when I can.

Unless he speeds.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Interesting, I seem to keep running into a lot of folks who went 6 straight years with no work experience.

It varies program to program. The elite ones won't let you in without some work experience (Wharton, Chicago, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, etc.)

I went to Temple, what I'd call a middle tier program - it's probably the 2nd best MBA program here in the Philly area (after Wharton of course, Villanova is also solid). Temple let me (and others) in the part time program right after college.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

Dirtbag, Schneed has given you your keywords on what to search for on the job and company sites you're hitting up. Take advantage of this. Those short descriptions should give you an idea of what types of jobs you'll be looking at and what you'll be getting into.

From the looks of it, the USAJobs.gov site is much easier to navigate than when I was applying for jobs over 6 years ago. I did a query on jobs in Virginia that had to do with Accounting Budget and Finance, sorting by salary from smallest to largest, and there are many entry level opportunities in the NOVA area. So between those and the contractors websites to search on, you should have a good starting point.

Actually in a strange turn of events I might actually qualify for an accounting job with the government.

A. DEGREE: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree in accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 semester hours may include up to 6 semester hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.")
OR

I've taken 18 hours of actual accounting courses and 6 hours of business law and hold a degree in business administration. If I am qualified this is crazy because I took the second law class on a whim early in my college career and until yesterday when I listed my grades I had forgotten that I passed Intermediate Accounting II. Unfortunately though a lot of the positions also want at least one year of experience.

I'm hoping that the demand for accountants is so high that I can at least get my foot in the door. Maybe even get money to go back to school and finish up my BS in Accounting. Though I might be getting ahead of myself. I think in any other school I would have a minor in accounting but at the story goes the accounting department was pissed off at IT students who were using their Accounting Information Systems minor and calling themselves accountants so they decided to eliminate the minor completely.

Also maybe you guys can help me with this (as if you haven't helped enough already) but here's a list of jobs I've applied for with status updates.

Budget Analyst
Job Announcement Number: PERM-OCR-560-9-BDGTANAL-DP
Pay Plan: GS-0560-09/09
Location: US-Throughout the Nation

Active Forest Service 6/17/2010 Minimum Qualification Requirements Met
more information...
USAJOBS - Search Jobs
By the way I don't think I qualify for this one as they're asking for experience or a masters yet somehow I meet the minimum qualifications.

Procurement Technician
Job Announcement Number: OCR-1106-567-PROC-ARRA-D
Pay Plan: GS-1106-07/05
Location: US-Throughout the Nation
USAJOBS - Search Jobs

Active Forest Service 6/15/2010 Multiple Grades/Status/Agencies – Minimum Qualifications Requirements Met

This one makes me want to run back to school and just take two more accounting courses as they're asking for 24 semester hours in accounting and 6 more hours in related courses like business law and and quant.
USAJOBS - Search Jobs

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

Alright, got my can opener ready.

I work with mostly minorities and I'm fine with it, I like my coworkers and their skin color has no bearing on how I feel about them.

But the govt does try to hire minority and female candidates if possible, there is policy for it. Working for the state of VA I witnessed it, go into any DMV, public transportation center, etc and it's easy to observe, the fed is no different. There is usually a higher precedence on contractor selection based on minority and female ownership and in some localities is the law that they must take their bids if presented.

I agree with Chris Rock in general on things like that when he made the joke about getting into college. If someone's more qualified for the job they should get it regardless of skin color. If it's a tie though, give it to the minority.

Originally Posted by firstdown

My friend and his father have a construction company and back like 20 yrs ago they stopped getting bids to work on goverment housing projects. While talking with his dad about business he was telling me about the drop off and I said its because your a white male and you need to put the business in your wifes name. He did that and in no time he was getting contract after contract and had to hire a few extra workers. Not sure if its still like that but I'm guessing it is.

Nice to know some fellow POS people (according to Seattle-ites) have also noticed this. Sometimes, reality and the truth aren't so flattering, especially in the D.C. area.

I'd rather take heat for stating things the way I see them than fall in line with political correctness just to appease people, while everything goes down the toilet because of said P.C. garbage.

For the record, I have absolutely no problem with anyone of any culture...until they use their minority status to take advantage of the law and my tax dollars. I've been the only white person in black churches, I work with many Hispanics and people of "diverse" religions and backgrounds...no issues. My wife and I support charities and missionary work in Africa (even "adopted" a boy from Ethiopia and write letters/send money to him regularly).


I'm flattered so many people here spend their free time thinking about me and searching through my posts.

But, since Smooty "didn't want to make this thread about Buster", I'll bow out now.

Happy Father's Day to those who didn't choose abortion.



Good luck in your job search, Dirtbag. I apologize that my mere presence causes certain characters to derail your thread and honest quest for help.

[Dirtbag59]

Just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I've applied for three pages worth of jobs on USAJobs. A lot of them are clerical jobs like filing clerk or assistant (aka secretary but I'm a little nervous saying it outright, but don't laugh, in Russia it's an honor to have a male secretary), statistician for the census, accounting technician, and many others.

Right now the plan is to stay in Atlanta working temp jobs while I wait for extremely long hiring process is executed. Hopefully if there are people more qualified then me (and I believe there most likely is) then by the time they're ready to hire my competition will have found work elsewhere. Still I am overqualified for a few of the jobs I applied for so I figure that somethings got to stick.

[Dirtbag59]

Thought I'd share my first taste of success with you guys. Again thanks to everyone thats helped, especially BD who's put up with my annoying private messages. Next step...well hopefully impressing the bureaucrats in the District.

NOTICE OF RESULTS
From:
"hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov" <hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov>
Add to Contacts
To: Dirtbag359
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Human Capital Office
Employment, Talent & Security
Ogden Employment Office
Delegated Examining Unit
hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov

DIRTBAG359
EXAMINATION TECH 0503-5
10OG2-SBX0075-503-05-LC
Rating: 87.94
Veterans Preference: NOT A VET

Thank you for your interest in employment with the Internal Revenue Service.

Your application for the above position was received and processed in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidelines. Based upon your application, we are pleased to inform you that you tentatively meet eligibility requirements for the occupation and grade level indicated.

You will be receiving correspondence via e-mail, postal mail, or by telephone, informing you of the next step in the application process. The process can take several weeks.

What to Expect Next:
Your qualifications will be verified and resumes will be sent to the selecting officials for review. You will be notified if additional information is needed.

Sincerely,
IRS Employment Team

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

Thought I'd share my first taste of success with you guys. Again thanks to everyone thats helped, especially BD who's put up with my annoying private messages. Next step...well hopefully impressing the bureaucrats in the District.

NOTICE OF RESULTS
From:
"hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov" <hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov>
Add to Contacts
To: Dirtbag359
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Human Capital Office
Employment, Talent & Security
Ogden Employment Office
Delegated Examining Unit
hco.ogden.ext2@irs.gov

DIRTBAG359
EXAMINATION TECH 0503-5
10OG2-SBX0075-503-05-LC
Rating: 87.94
Veterans Preference: NOT A VET

Thank you for your interest in employment with the Internal Revenue Service.

Your application for the above position was received and processed in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidelines. Based upon your application, we are pleased to inform you that you tentatively meet eligibility requirements for the occupation and grade level indicated.

You will be receiving correspondence via e-mail, postal mail, or by telephone, informing you of the next step in the application process. The process can take several weeks.

What to Expect Next:
Your qualifications will be verified and resumes will be sent to the selecting officials for review. You will be notified if additional information is needed.

Sincerely,
IRS Employment Team

Congrats on moving to the next stage...how is your interviewing skills?

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by saden1

Congrats on moving to the next stage...how is your interviewing skills?

I should be fine. I've done a few mock interviews before during school (around 3 or 4). On the job interviews I have been on I've killed it, but those were unfortunately commission only sales positions where I had to cold call. Plus it's easy to succeed in those interviews as all you have to do is smile, then tell them you're competitive but caring at the same time. So how I do in an actual interview for a regular finance type position remains to be seen. In the meantime I've been in contact with AccountTemps in an attempt to get some work experience.

[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

I should be fine. I've done a few mock interviews before during school (around 3 or 4). On the job interviews I have been on I've killed it, but those were unfortunately commission only sales positions where I had to cold call. Plus it's easy to succeed in those interviews as all you have to do is smile, then tell them you're competitive but caring at the same time. So how I do in an actual interview for a regular finance type position remains to be seen. In the meantime I've been in contact with AccountTemps in an attempt to get some work experience.

Even though Im not a huge fan of the IRS, Good luck.

My first dress in a suite interview was with the federal reserve of richmond. I had to take a hand written 3 or 4 question timed essay test for the first hour. Then i sat in a room for about 2 hours while 4 people asked me questions in a rotating fashion. Then they graded my test in front of me and had me explain the logic in each of my answers.

I didn’t get offered the job, but I think it had more to do with the fact I hadn’t graduated yet and would be able to work for like 3 or 4 months, at least that’s what I like to tell myself. I still want to call and ask why. The experience though was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I crushed each interview thereafter.

[MTK]

I had an interview with GE a few years ago. Absolutely brutal. It was an all day affair, had to go room to room, first was a one on one interview, then with a group of 2, group of 3, and finally with a whole room full of people with everyone firing off questions.

Each interview was completely different too. Some people were really nice, some were complete a-holes. Some asked work related questions, and some were just totally off the wall. I was mentally exhausted afterwards. I didn't end up getting the job but honestly I'm glad. I figure if their interview process was that intense the job was probably no picnic either. It sure was an interesting process to go through though.

[Monkeydad]

Congrats. I'm shocked they moved you to the next stage after using Dirtbag359 as your name.




The IRS is about the only place ADDING staff these days. Good for you...bad for the rest of us!

[mlmpetert]

Federal workers earning double their private counterparts - USATODAY.com