Hiring Managers using USAJobs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many applicants typically make the cert? Is 30 common? I’m wondering why I regularly make the cert but not an interview. I tailor my resume to each job, pull out KSAs and highlight on my resume, only apply to jobs that I’m well qualified for, etc. I’ve even hired a consultant to review my resume and provide feedback. I’ve been told my application is strong but still nothing. I’ve applied to 30 jobs in 18 months ranging from GS12-15 - excepted, temporary, permanent, direct hire, competitive …

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition.

Or an internal candidate was slated for the job, but HR needed to advertise the position publicly. I think this is very common. I wish HR wouldn't bother with the appearance of fairness when the outcome is predetermined. It just wastes everyone's time.

Yep. I do not like this at all.

I can sometimes ID this in the questionnaire when they write something like "Do you have experience working at DHS and leading meetings to discuss DHS policy?" Those types of questions are weeders and can only be answered "yes" (99% of the time) by someone who did that work at that particular agency.

So, I always read the questionnaire FIRST.

You answer yes to all answers either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many applicants typically make the cert? Is 30 common? I’m wondering why I regularly make the cert but not an interview. I tailor my resume to each job, pull out KSAs and highlight on my resume, only apply to jobs that I’m well qualified for, etc. I’ve even hired a consultant to review my resume and provide feedback. I’ve been told my application is strong but still nothing. I’ve applied to 30 jobs in 18 months ranging from GS12-15 - excepted, temporary, permanent, direct hire, competitive …

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition.

Or an internal candidate was slated for the job, but HR needed to advertise the position publicly. I think this is very common. I wish HR wouldn't bother with the appearance of fairness when the outcome is predetermined. It just wastes everyone's time.

Yep. I do not like this at all.

I can sometimes ID this in the questionnaire when they write something like "Do you have experience working at DHS and leading meetings to discuss DHS policy?" Those types of questions are weeders and can only be answered "yes" (99% of the time) by someone who did that work at that particular agency.

So, I always read the questionnaire FIRST.

You answer yes to all answers either way.

And here lies the inherent problem. If a listing wants something this specific why make it open to the public or for candidates that would not have this experience? The result is falsifying experience and an onslaught of non-viable candidates. So HR is dealing with 100s of applicants when there are really only a handful.

[Anonymous]

My agency is doing surge hiring, where multiple offices have access to all the certs. So they give us really long lists, especially for entry level positions. We might get 75 resumes for some of these. Because the job postings are really vague (because they're for multiple programs) we tend to get a bunch of people who are really not qualified, or at least didn't know how to tailor their resume to look qualified. It's so frustrating to wade through 50 resumes and not find anyone that seems like they could be a fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many applicants typically make the cert? Is 30 common? I’m wondering why I regularly make the cert but not an interview. I tailor my resume to each job, pull out KSAs and highlight on my resume, only apply to jobs that I’m well qualified for, etc. I’ve even hired a consultant to review my resume and provide feedback. I’ve been told my application is strong but still nothing. I’ve applied to 30 jobs in 18 months ranging from GS12-15 - excepted, temporary, permanent, direct hire, competitive …

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition.

Or an internal candidate was slated for the job, but HR needed to advertise the position publicly. I think this is very common. I wish HR wouldn't bother with the appearance of fairness when the outcome is predetermined. It just wastes everyone's time.

Yep. I do not like this at all.

I can sometimes ID this in the questionnaire when they write something like "Do you have experience working at DHS and leading meetings to discuss DHS policy?" Those types of questions are weeders and can only be answered "yes" (99% of the time) by someone who did that work at that particular agency.

So, I always read the questionnaire FIRST.

I wish I had followed this advice recently. I spent two hours tailoring my resume to a position that was a perfect fit and composing a nice cover letter. Then by the time I got to the assessment and realized the posting was bogus, I was already hours into the application process so submitted anyway, knowing the only was I’d get it is if the incumbent fell through. Lesson learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many applicants typically make the cert? Is 30 common? I’m wondering why I regularly make the cert but not an interview. I tailor my resume to each job, pull out KSAs and highlight on my resume, only apply to jobs that I’m well qualified for, etc. I’ve even hired a consultant to review my resume and provide feedback. I’ve been told my application is strong but still nothing. I’ve applied to 30 jobs in 18 months ranging from GS12-15 - excepted, temporary, permanent, direct hire, competitive …

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition.

Or an internal candidate was slated for the job, but HR needed to advertise the position publicly. I think this is very common. I wish HR wouldn't bother with the appearance of fairness when the outcome is predetermined. It just wastes everyone's time.

Agree with both. Veterans Preference is often a factor which will rule out a better qualified candidate versus a minimally qualified who has Veterans Preference. Also, in a lot of cases the position(s) must be advertised to comply with OPM rules, but the “opening” really is to promote an existing employee to a higher grade.

If a job is only posted for 1-2 weeks, rather than being advertised for say 4 weeks, that often is an informal flag that there is a qualified internal candidate. Also, if the job description is highly detailed (e.g., requiring a specific degree, a long list of specific skills and list of specific tools) rather than being somewhat generic for the job, then often the PD was written precisely to match the preferred candidate’s resume.

From a hiring manager perspective, advertising a civil service job is very dangerous. In many cases, if a job is advertised, then one must hire the least bad candidate who applies. One often can’t just pull the position and not fill it, even if no applicant really fits the need. For this reason, many managers first try to find candidates informally, and then will only post the job officially AFTER a well-qualified candidate says they are interested.

A Fortune 500 company I worked for had a rule about advertising everything, even when there was a preferred internal candidate. Eventually, I learned to talk with HR and quietly ask them if I should apply. They would never say “no”, but sometimes they would shake their heads no. That approach does not work for most Federal positions, however, because of the OPM rules.

[Anonymous]

So cover letters make a difference?

[Anonymous]

A bit off topic, but are temporary or excepted positions subject to the same hiring practices? I recently applied for an excepted GS12 Temporary NTE 13 position that stated it could be made permanent without competition. Is this just a sneaky way to get around all the red tape? If so, would you assume it’s a real opening or an “opening?” I hope the former because I was referred. Still no word on an interview though. Sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So cover letters make a difference?

Is this a joke or a real question? If a joke, I agree it seems like nothing makes a difference. If real, I’d like to know about cover letters too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So cover letters make a difference?

Is this a joke or a real question? If a joke, I agree it seems like nothing makes a difference. If real, I’d like to know about cover letters too.

Bump, do cover letters make a difference?

[Anonymous]

I was told that cover letters are not scored unless the job posting requires one. In lieu of a cover letter I put a one paragraph blurb condensing my experience at the top of my resume.

[Anonymous]

I also understand they aren’t scored, but I include a letter hoping to move the needle in case I make the cert. Anyone with direct knowledge about this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many applicants typically make the cert? Is 30 common? I’m wondering why I regularly make the cert but not an interview. I tailor my resume to each job, pull out KSAs and highlight on my resume, only apply to jobs that I’m well qualified for, etc. I’ve even hired a consultant to review my resume and provide feedback. I’ve been told my application is strong but still nothing. I’ve applied to 30 jobs in 18 months ranging from GS12-15 - excepted, temporary, permanent, direct hire, competitive …

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition.

Or an internal candidate was slated for the job, but HR needed to advertise the position publicly. I think this is very common. I wish HR wouldn't bother with the appearance of fairness when the outcome is predetermined. It just wastes everyone's time.

Yep. I do not like this at all.

I can sometimes ID this in the questionnaire when they write something like "Do you have experience working at DHS and leading meetings to discuss DHS policy?" Those types of questions are weeders and can only be answered "yes" (99% of the time) by someone who did that work at that particular agency.

So, I always read the questionnaire FIRST.

You answer yes to all answers either way.

And here lies the inherent problem. If a listing wants something this specific why make it open to the public or for candidates that would not have this experience? The result is falsifying experience and an onslaught of non-viable candidates. So HR is dealing with 100s of applicants when there are really only a handful.

Because they have to. There's no way to give a promotion to someone internally until you go through usajobs. As a hiring manager, I'd love to be able to promote people, but often they have to leave. Even when I float the job, I don't have enough money to hire the new person + my old person. I didn't get an extra FTE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also understand they aren’t scored, but I include a letter hoping to move the needle in case I make the cert. Anyone with direct knowledge about this?

unless you have a truly excellent cover letter, the cover letter is more likely to hurt your chances than help them.

[Anonymous]

I'm a hiring manager. I'd rather read a paragraph at the top of the resume than a cover letter. I do like it when people are passionate about my career field. It's niche and so many people don't like it. I'm always looking to hire the ones that love it as much as I do.

[Anonymous]

I've had hundreds of candidates and none qualified. It was for a technical position and we didn't do a good job with the announcement. I know of a recent announcement that got more than 400 applicants for a description written so narrowly that there are maybe 50 people anywhere who qualify. (And most would not apply.)