Pros and cons of taking a federal job as a direct hire.

[Anonymous]

I’m considering taking a federal job. It was offered to me through the “direct hire” process. The pay and position are good. Is there anything I need to know about taking a position as a direct hire. I want to go in with my eyes wide open. I’ve been asking HR for benefits information, but they just keep sending me links to the government website. Is there anything I should ask about specifically? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Direct hire is just special authority OPM can give an agency to cut through some of the hiring process and hire faster. It doesn’t affect you as an applicant/new hire at all (except it might have taken much longer for you to get the job and you might never have gotten it if you aren’t a vet without direct hire).

They are sending you to OPM’s pages on govt benefits because there is no special about an employee hired thru direct hire.

[Anonymous]

I'm not aware of any cons. I wasn't a direct hire myself but have been working as a fed for several years.

[Anonymous]

I received a direct hire offer. The con was that they claimed they had to bring me in as a step 1, even though they acknowledged based on my experience that ~7 would be appropriate and would have been the offer if it had gone through the normal process.

I’m not sure why the agency interpreted the rules that way; it doesn’t appear to be standard. But it did lead me to decline the job.

[Anonymous]

Federal Hr specialist here. There are no downsides to being hired as Direct Hire if it’s your first appointment in the Federal Service.

Direct Hire is simply a hiring flexibility authorized by OPM for certain positions that are deemed hard to fill, essentially. It allows for the hiring manager to have a faster certificate of candidates because the candidates all only have to meet the specialized experience statement (there are no assessment questions, rating, or Veteran’s preference rules applied). The hiring official can then select from the list, and from there, the normal hiring rules apply about setting pay.

The PP above who was told that he couldn’t get step 7 because of direct hire - I don’t see how that’s how related at all. Federal pay is always set at step 1 of the grade under GS, though new appointments can try to argue that their superior qualifications are enough to bring them in at a higher grade. Some agencies allow this a lot, others never do, and a lot of it depends on HR strictness because it has to be approved by Hr, not just the hiring manager.

If you are coming from one federal position to a direct hire position, note that you may have to redo your probationary period, since this is a different kind of appointment.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the responses. HR told me that my benefits will be affected by the “direct hire”, but I don’t have anything in writing except the salary offered. Every time I ask about benefits they send general links to the governments website. It’s not very helpful. I want to know about a 401K match, how the pension works, and what health insurance is offered. Also if there is a relocation package. I don’t understand why they would be so vague about all this. I guess I need to ask these specific questions.

[Anonymous]

The 401k is called Thrift Savings Plan or TSP. If you contribute 5% you will get a 5% match.

The pension is called FERS. Basically if you work at least 5 years you will get a pension of 1% per year of your average salary for your highest Paid 3 years. So a 20 year career and you get 20%. Stay until 62 and you get a bit more (22% in the prior example).

The health benefits are called FEHBP— federal employee health benefits. There are a whole range of plans offered— probably 20 or 30 altho it depends on where you live. The feds pay around 75% of the cost (which varies according to type of coverage for each plan), so you can decide if you want fee for service, or HMO or PPO, depending on your needs and how much you can/want to pay in premiums. You can switch health plans every year, with open season in November. If you retire from the feds you can continue to participate in the program as a retiree.

With that info you should be able to google for more. There is a ton of info online about federal benefits, from google but also fedsmith and others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you for the responses. HR told me that my benefits will be affected by the “direct hire”, but I don’t have anything in writing except the salary offered. Every time I ask about benefits they send general links to the governments website. It’s not very helpful. I want to know about a 401K match, how the pension works, and what health insurance is offered. Also if there is a relocation package. I don’t understand why they would be so vague about all this. I guess I need to ask these specific questions.

Well, welcome to the Govt.

I can't believe HR told you that your benefits "will" be affected by it. I don't think that's correct even though I am not sure what they meant by that.

Relocation cost is a function of position specific, not function of direct/regular process.

Everything else - pension, leave hours, medical insurance...etc. same as regular hire folks.

[Anonymous]

PS I think you will pay about 4% for the pension from your paycheck

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of the govt paying relocation unless you count DOD or DOS

[Anonymous]

study some (opm websites) and come back with specific questions op. your post is too open ended

[Anonymous]

The major issue is if you want to move to another federal job, you don't count as a current, competitively-hired federal employee. That's partly why offices that rely heavily on direct hires have such low attrition rates - people stick around, or they leave the federal government entirely, because it's much harder for them to switch. Also, a lot of direct hire appointments are also term hires. You might find a way to be brought on permanently, but it's less likely than if you were brought on not in a term appointment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The major issue is if you want to move to another federal job, you don't count as a current, competitively-hired federal employee. That's partly why offices that rely heavily on direct hires have such low attrition rates - people stick around, or they leave the federal government entirely, because it's much harder for them to switch. Also, a lot of direct hire appointments are also term hires. You might find a way to be brought on permanently, but it's less likely than if you were brought on not in a term appointment.

This. It's hard to move to another fed job if you're a direct hire. I did have mine converted, but I was hired into a special program that offered that. And the second I was converted into competitive service, I started applying and left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS I think you will pay about 4% for the pension from your paycheck

It's 4.3% for the new hires since 2014.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The major issue is if you want to move to another federal job, you don't count as a current, competitively-hired federal employee. That's partly why offices that rely heavily on direct hires have such low attrition rates - people stick around, or they leave the federal government entirely, because it's much harder for them to switch. Also, a lot of direct hire appointments are also term hires. You might find a way to be brought on permanently, but it's less likely than if you were brought on not in a term appointment.

This. It's hard to move to another fed job if you're a direct hire. I did have mine converted, but I was hired into a special program that offered that. And the second I was converted into competitive service, I started applying and left.

I have never heard of this. My office did direct hires for many years and IT and Economist positions. People move around all the time. We do not have term limits either.