Do you think USAJOBS website is a joke?

[Anonymous]

Applying through USAjobs without internal networking is equivalent to applying to a F500 company online without networking; the application goes in a blackhole.

Everyone complains about USAjobs without recognizing the process is no different than applying to Apple online. You are competing with hundreds of other qualified candidates and maybe 2-5 applicants will get through without networking.

Just like the real world, a majority of jobs are filled via networks not through random online databases.

People like to blame the preferences when they don't make it, but it is really just luck if you don't network. I view it similar to applying to Harvard grad school; so many people applying it is just luck that you make it in because an admissions officer liked your app over a similarly qualified person.

I'm PP with connections who couldn't get my resume into to initial cut. How do you go about networking if the first screen is by people with no connection to the team doing the hiring? Maybe my problem was that I started networking after the job was already posted, but I really don't see what I could have done differently. It sounded like the hiring manager was interested in me, but it was a bit out of his hands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recently applied for a job I was very highly qualified for, and had inside connections.

There were 300+ applicants, 100 of whom apparently rated themselves as a 5/5 on every single qualification in the multiple choice questionnaire, basically saying they regularly supervised others doing tasks that were ridiculously diverse and very obscure. Even the hiring manager thought it was pretty unlikely such people existed in such quantities, especially considering it was a mid-level position. Of those, HR reviewers (who had little understanding of what would actually make a good candidate for the particular position) sent a handful of the 100 perfect scoring resumes to the agency. My resume didnt even make the 100 cut, since, while I was generous with the questionnaire, I didn't blatantly lie. So yeah, I think the process is a bit of a joke.

I haven't applied for a fed job in awhile, but isn't there some disclaimer about consequences for being caught lying on those questionnaires? Is that all BS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently applied for a job I was very highly qualified for, and had inside connections.

There were 300+ applicants, 100 of whom apparently rated themselves as a 5/5 on every single qualification in the multiple choice questionnaire, basically saying they regularly supervised others doing tasks that were ridiculously diverse and very obscure. Even the hiring manager thought it was pretty unlikely such people existed in such quantities, especially considering it was a mid-level position. Of those, HR reviewers (who had little understanding of what would actually make a good candidate for the particular position) sent a handful of the 100 perfect scoring resumes to the agency. My resume didnt even make the 100 cut, since, while I was generous with the questionnaire, I didn't blatantly lie. So yeah, I think the process is a bit of a joke.

I haven't applied for a fed job in awhile, but isn't there some disclaimer about consequences for being caught lying on those questionnaires? Is that all BS?

I helped my sister apply to jobs for new grads. 75% of the questions were specific to the government. Things such as "supervised others on the government tracking system" or years of experience with government equipment. Insane. How do they expect 22 year olds to have supervised people before? Obviously HR idiots make the questions. My sister was wanted by the agency hiring also so she was exactly what they were looking for.

[Anonymous]

I have applied for hundreds of jobs over the past 6 years through USA Jobs.
It took me 9 months to get my foot in the door (accepted a temporary position as a 9- position NTE two years).
Applied for and received a permanent position 1.5 years later (same group).
Applied for and received a promotion (to a 14) 2.5 years later- different group and I knew no one there.

ALL of these positions were through USA Jobs (although I did have a heads up on the perm position since I was a temp employee already). There was at least one vet on the cert.

In all of the HUNDREDS of applications I put in - I only received one call. ONE. It only takes one. You never know what that one might be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently applied for a job I was very highly qualified for, and had inside connections.

There were 300+ applicants, 100 of whom apparently rated themselves as a 5/5 on every single qualification in the multiple choice questionnaire, basically saying they regularly supervised others doing tasks that were ridiculously diverse and very obscure. Even the hiring manager thought it was pretty unlikely such people existed in such quantities, especially considering it was a mid-level position. Of those, HR reviewers (who had little understanding of what would actually make a good candidate for the particular position) sent a handful of the 100 perfect scoring resumes to the agency. My resume didn't even make the 100 cut, since, while I was generous with the questionnaire, I didn't blatantly lie. So yeah, I think the process is a bit of a joke.

I haven't applied for a fed job in awhile, but isn't there some disclaimer about consequences for being caught lying on those questionnaires? Is that all BS?

I helped my sister apply to jobs for new grads. 75% of the questions were specific to the government. Things such as "supervised others on the government tracking system" or years of experience with government equipment. Insane. How do they expect 22 year olds to have supervised people before? Obviously HR idiots make the questions. My sister was wanted by the agency hiring also so she was exactly what they were looking for.

Take the age out of it, some people have not been in a supervisory role for a variety of reasons. Some organizations don't believe in creating a career ladder.

The times I have applied, I have been honest on the multiple choice portion as well. I think that USA Jobs uses some program to find keywords that rarely exist for most people. That is pure laziness. Not everything can be explained on a resume, especially when a resume is supposed to be 2 pages at most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently applied for a job I was very highly qualified for, and had inside connections.

There were 300+ applicants, 100 of whom apparently rated themselves as a 5/5 on every single qualification in the multiple choice questionnaire, basically saying they regularly supervised others doing tasks that were ridiculously diverse and very obscure. Even the hiring manager thought it was pretty unlikely such people existed in such quantities, especially considering it was a mid-level position. Of those, HR reviewers (who had little understanding of what would actually make a good candidate for the particular position) sent a handful of the 100 perfect scoring resumes to the agency. My resume didn't even make the 100 cut, since, while I was generous with the questionnaire, I didn't blatantly lie. So yeah, I think the process is a bit of a joke.

I haven't applied for a fed job in awhile, but isn't there some disclaimer about consequences for being caught lying on those questionnaires? Is that all BS?

I helped my sister apply to jobs for new grads. 75% of the questions were specific to the government. Things such as "supervised others on the government tracking system" or years of experience with government equipment. Insane. How do they expect 22 year olds to have supervised people before? Obviously HR idiots make the questions. My sister was wanted by the agency hiring also so she was exactly what they were looking for.

Take the age out of it, some people have not been in a supervisory role for a variety of reasons. Some organizations don't believe in creating a career ladder.

The times I have applied, I have been honest on the multiple choice portion as well. I think that USA Jobs uses some program to find keywords that rarely exist for most people. That is pure laziness. Not everything can be explained on a resume, especially when a resume is supposed to be 2 pages at most.

For federal jobs, the longer the resume the better.

[Anonymous]

Currently a fed trying to hire. It's a bureaucratic nightmare from inside. There are all sorts of processes including defined question banks, in ability to truly ask for the certifications/requirements needed and all sorts of arcane scoring/points systems to which we must adhere. I know several candidates (fed and contractors) who would be great fits, but can't get them. At this point most won't even apply because of the crazy system.

Oh, and I'm looking to switch agencies and am dealing with the same crazy system as I try to get out. lol

[Anonymous]

A piece of advice someone gave me was to take the job announcement and your resume and do a wordle to compare the two. Make sure they look similar.

[Anonymous]

It stinks. It's not like applying for jobs anywhere else; you have to "game" it to get through the initial screens.

But for the vast majority of federal jobs, it's the only game in town. You can hate it. You can think of how it could be better. If you want a federal job, though, you're going to have to deal with it. It is how people get their federal careers started.

Learn the game. There are a lot of websites devoted to "winning" at USAJOBs. One tip I picked up is that if you are applying for hundreds of jobs you are probably not devoting sufficient effort to customizing an application that will actually get you through (and it is really HARD to get through that first screen).

[Anonymous]

A Fed here...

True story: I once reviewed a resume for a GS-13 position. This person did not even graduate from college yet. His only "job" was Burger King. How did he get through HR screening? He basically copied and pasted the whole job announcement into his "resume" and stated that he is applied in reference to the announcement below... Kinda like eBay listings with a bunch of bogus keywords. In this case he hits every one of them.

USAJOBS HR is utterly useless.

[Anonymous]

Took me some time (4 years) but I got in. Also if you have a disability or if you are a vet you get preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have applied for hundreds of jobs over the past 6 years through USA Jobs.
It took me 9 months to get my foot in the door (accepted a temporary position as a 9- position NTE two years).
Applied for and received a permanent position 1.5 years later (same group).
Applied for and received a promotion (to a 14) 2.5 years later- different group and I knew no one there.

ALL of these positions were through USA Jobs (although I did have a heads up on the perm position since I was a temp employee already). There was at least one vet on the cert.

In all of the HUNDREDS of applications I put in - I only received one call. ONE. It only takes one. You never know what that one might be.

Seems like rather a poor return on time invested.

My verdict is, and remains, if you're a vet or a recent college grad, it's ok. I might adopt 11:18's position but put my real (much stronger) resume along with a cut and paste of the posting. Heh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I recently applied for a job I was very highly qualified for, and had inside connections.

There were 300+ applicants, 100 of whom apparently rated themselves as a 5/5 on every single qualification in the multiple choice questionnaire, basically saying they regularly supervised others doing tasks that were ridiculously diverse and very obscure. Even the hiring manager thought it was pretty unlikely such people existed in such quantities, especially considering it was a mid-level position. Of those, HR reviewers (who had little understanding of what would actually make a good candidate for the particular position) sent a handful of the 100 perfect scoring resumes to the agency. My resume didn't even make the 100 cut, since, while I was generous with the questionnaire, I didn't blatantly lie. So yeah, I think the process is a bit of a joke.

I haven't applied for a fed job in awhile, but isn't there some disclaimer about consequences for being caught lying on those questionnaires? Is that all BS?

I helped my sister apply to jobs for new grads. 75% of the questions were specific to the government. Things such as "supervised others on the government tracking system" or years of experience with government equipment. Insane. How do they expect 22 year olds to have supervised people before? Obviously HR idiots make the questions. My sister was wanted by the agency hiring also so she was exactly what they were looking for.

Take the age out of it, some people have not been in a supervisory role for a variety of reasons. Some organizations don't believe in creating a career ladder.

The times I have applied, I have been honest on the multiple choice portion as well. I think that USA Jobs uses some program to find keywords that rarely exist for most people. That is pure laziness. Not everything can be explained on a resume, especially when a resume is supposed to be 2 pages at most.

Well for my sister's positions, they were looking for recent graduates under the Pathways program. So most people would be 22. Actually all of the Pathways job descriptions are a joke. I think many recent grads have supervisory experience in honor societies, clubs and internships, but supervisory experience on government equipment??

On the flip side, we hire often. The resumes we receive are absolutely insane. They aren't qualified, their degrees are from University of Phoenix, their degrees are fluffy when we're looking for scientists and engineers. The whole process is extremely disappointing. I've also noticed that the new hires don't "work well with others." Maybe because they all are pathological liars to get through the USA Jobs multiple choice questions and it carries through to everything else.

[Anonymous]

Oh and USA Jobs needs to be more specific on telework and family friendly. My coworker got hired into a "telework friendly" job posting on USA Jobs. Once hired she was told:
-work is from 9:30-6 daily. Absolutely no exceptions or you'll be taking annual leave. (didn't work with people's daycare schedules or carpools, so this was the #1 reason for leaving)
-no telework, even on snow days
-you must walk into the boss's office and sign in on paper daily and during lunch break

She left ASAP as did everyone else. That job posting is currently posted on USA Jobs right now Good luck applying for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have applied for hundreds of jobs over the past 6 years through USA Jobs.
It took me 9 months to get my foot in the door (accepted a temporary position as a 9- position NTE two years).
Applied for and received a permanent position 1.5 years later (same group).
Applied for and received a promotion (to a 14) 2.5 years later- different group and I knew no one there.

ALL of these positions were through USA Jobs (although I did have a heads up on the perm position since I was a temp employee already). There was at least one vet on the cert.

In all of the HUNDREDS of applications I put in - I only received one call. ONE. It only takes one. You never know what that one might be.

Seems like rather a poor return on time invested.

My verdict is, and remains, if you're a vet or a recent college grad, it's ok. I might adopt 11:18's position but put my real (much stronger) resume along with a cut and paste of the posting. Heh.

Really? I have a GS-14 position in less than 6 years. I applied for between 5-15 jobs a week for close to 9 months (some fed some not fed) at the height of the recession. I was out of work anyway and needed a job. I guess it all depends on how you look at things. You see a poor investment. I see a career and a job I love. To each his own.