Gov job

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know after applying for a government job ... How long could it take to hear back from hr for a possible interview?

[Anonymous]

6 months?

[Anonymous]

It varies from 2 weeks to never. I would say that if you haven't been contacted after 6 weeks, don't expect to be (they could surprise you, but unlikely after that period).

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Is it a Fed govt job, and if so did you apply through USAjobs? If yes you should get updates at certain points of the process, first automated then I imagine more from a human. I recently applied to a fed job through the site and got two emails so far: acknowlewdgment that my KSA type questionnaire responses were received (by system), and confirmation that based on those responses I am qualified for the grade of the position. The next step I would receive something relatively automated (via email) saying that my documents were or were not passed onto the hiring staff. In their words, that although I was "qualified" I as not among the "most highly qualified."

In my experience it'll take a month on average to get to the point where they do or don't refer you to the hiring officials. Probably 2-3 weeks to get an interview, and 2-3+ weeks to hear about an offer. The process is slow!

Municipal government can be completely different on the other hand.

[Anonymous]

I remember I applied to a job on USAJobs in late July/early Aug, and they called me asking for an interview in late Sept/early Oct (their first contact with me, btw). By that point, I had already been offered another fed job.

[Anonymous]

I got a call for my clerkship interview the day after I put the application in the mail. I got a call for my current job two weeks after I submitted the application. I have applied to many jobs where I never received a response. I got a rejection letter from one job four years after I had applied.

[Anonymous]

Applied for a position in late March, got a call for an interview in mid July. I had already interviewd for and started another position by then.

[Anonymous]

It was actually with DC gov. I got one email acknowledging that my application was received. The reason why I'm asking is because I'm looking to relocate down there .

[Anonymous]

You likely will never hear anything -- USA jobs is a black hole unless you are a veteran or a minority. Add the sequestration on top of all of that and you're totally SOL

[Anonymous]

I'm a hiring manager at a federal agency. I would say that it all depends.

Yes, USAJOBs can be difficult, but I always found that it often because you have so many applicants who aren't even remotely qualified. They can be screened out, but it takes time.

I recently had a GS13 position with extremely specific KSAs and criteria, open for a week. I had over 450 applicants. Only 6 met the criteria and were referred to me. (I actually didn't believe Personnel at first and asked to see all the applicants' materials. They were right.) USAJOBS makes it super-easy for people to apply blindly and you have to wade through all of it. I had a GS5 position that had over 1000 applicants and since the KSAs could be met by a variety of experience, it took a while. In those cases, it took at least 6-8 weeks to schedule initial interviews.

But for a GS15 with a reasonable number of applicants who all came really close to the criteria, I was able to get to them in two weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You likely will never hear anything -- USA jobs is a black hole unless you are a veteran or a minority. Add the sequestration on top of all of that and you're totally SOL

Lies, only 27% of federal employees are a minority. Further veterans have fought for this country and have a right to certain benefits. Stop being bitter.

Op, sometimes it takes a while to hear from Federal jobs. There was a six month gap between when I applied for my federal job and interviewed. Then it took another 3 months to start.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info, I am a vet and a licensed social worker , so hopefully my experience and degree will help.

[Anonymous]

Referring to the updates you get, what a joke!

The first update I got (4 months after applying) said I wasn't qualified.

The next update I got, one month later, said "_X__ You were among the qualified candidates referred to the Selecting Official; however, you were not selected."

So, which was it - I wasn't qualified OR I was qualified, referred, but not selected?

Gives me great faith in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It varies from 2 weeks to never. I would say that if you haven't been contacted after 6 weeks, don't expect to be (they could surprise you, but unlikely after that period).

Good luck!

No, that is way too short, at least for my agency. I applied in early May and got a call for an interview in late September. Started with the agency in November.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember I applied to a job on USAJobs in late July/early Aug, and they called me asking for an interview in late Sept/early Oct (their first contact with me, btw). By that point, I had already been offered another fed job.

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