Feds Hire Vets

Discussion in 'Military-related education topics' started by NorCal, Aug 19, 2012.

Loading...
  1. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    My uncle, a Vietnam era vet, applied for a government job and was told he has "highly qualified" and had an eligibility rating of 105 on a scale of 100. He thought it was a sure thing, but did not get the job. He called the HR person listed on the announcement and asked why he didn't get the job if he scored higher than 100. His response was "there were dozens of qualified service disabled vets that scored 110 or more." Sometimes its just a numbers game.

    For those of you looking to apply for the government, I HIGHLY recommend the book "The Federal Resume Guidebook" by Troutman. This is the only book I found that made some sense of the hiring process.

    As recruiting said, there are no KSAs anymore, but a six or seven page resume is the norm for a Federal position. Think of it as your interview and resume combined in one. If you are using simple bullet points or short descriptions, you might as well not apply, regardless of what disability rating or years of experience you have. You need to make it sound like your skills and leadership ability shown in that job as an intern making photocopies one summer ended up saving the company, the industry, perhaps humanity, from total disaster. People from around the world come to you for your superb photocopying skills.

    Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration, and sounds a bit ridiculous, but I'm not far off. The resume that fully explains everything you did, no matter how small, and how it relates to the job posting, is going to be selected over the a resume that has a one liner that says, "I've been doing this same exact job for 15 years and know everything about it. "

    If you fail to include anything that the description requires, no matter how small, your resume is rejected by the system. Also, you need to keep at it and check for job postings daily. I've seen job postings where the application period was less than 1 day. Sometimes the system screws up and bounces your resume out for no apparent reason, sometimes you can fight it with the HR person, sometimes you can't.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 10, 2014
  2. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    It took me about 5-6 years and over 400 applications to finally get hired on. The job required Marketing experience, IT experience, TS/SCI clearance, and a Masters degree was beneficial. I hit all of those and so did 93 other people that applied for the position I finally got. It took a while but I did get in. I was not hired on under any veterans appointment, I guess I interviewed well and of course was qualified.

    Persistence is the key. No matter where I was working in the private sector I was always sending out applications to federal jobs. Once I was willing to move, the job search became much easier and I was sent to hiring manager many more times. Out of all of those applications I did about 12-15 interviews. Panel interviews, one on one, VTC interviews and telephone interviews. It can take a while.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    The REAL key is having someone on the inside. They can follow-up with HR to see what's up with your application and fix things that are holding it up.

    I was the hiring manager for a GS-14 position (I'm a GS-15) and a particular candidate who was uniquely qualified for the job didn't even make the list. I asked HR about it, they took a look and re-scored him. Viola! He made the list and I was able to hire him.

    These days, the 100-point scale is gone. Candidates are now placed on one of three lists (or not at all): Qualified, Well Qualified, and Best Qualified. Veterans go to the top of their respective lists. (So if the veteran is on the Well Qualified list, he/she goes to the top of that list, not to the Best Qualified list). If a disabled veteran makes any of the lists, he/she goes to the top of the Best Qualified list. So, assuming he/she meets the qualifications for the job, the move past all other candidates, no matter if they're better qualified. When that happens, it's very difficult to avoid hiring that veteran. Essentially, you have to challenge their qualification--that they're not qualified at all. Very hard.
     
  4. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    Good feedback. I wish the FED was as helpful as the folks here on DegreeInfo :lame:
     
  5. instant000

    instant000 Member

    If you're serious about going for a position with MHS (Military Health System), you should now look for jobs under DHA (Defense Health Agency).

    Hope this helps.
     
  6. NorCal

    NorCal Active Member

    I also have a 40% rating and it hasn't made a difference.
     

Share This Page