Reply to Tentative Fed Gov't Job offer...need advice

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Former OPM lawyer here ---

The pay regs REQUIRE that the agency start you at step 1 unless it is a hard to fill position or you have held a GS level that was higher that that in a previous position.  For example.... if you were a GS 13 and you took a different job and had to start at a GS 9 (b/c that's what the position was graded for and/or you don't have experience in the area of the new position), you could in that case start at a GS-9 step 10 (b/c you had already been a GS-13).

If the position has been designated as a "hard to fill" position, (scientific and technical often fit in this category), then they could negotiate with you within any of the steps in the GS level that was offered to you.

OP, what how is your job classified for grade levels?  Is it an 11/12/13?  If they are bringing you in as a 12, the normal course is that you would bump to a 13 at the end of one year (or whatever the next grade level is).  If you are at the top of the grade scale for your position (i.e. they are bringing you in as a 13 using my example), then you can only move up one step each year for the first three years, then one step every two years for steps 4-6, and then one step every three years for steps 7-10.  The reason for this is that these are "career" positions... meaning that they stretch out the pay so that they can give you incentives for an entire 20 year career.

OP, unless you are in a hard to fill job, you aren't going to start higher than a step 1.[/quote]

Pretty much everybody in my office (attorneys) who has any prior experience is not started at a step 1.  They are started at a step 6 or 10.  I was started at a step 1 and found this out after I started.  I did ask for a higher step and was told that it couldn't be justified because I had been out of the workforce for more than 6 mos.  However, I did receive a recruitment bbonus of around 35k.  I don't think it will hurt to ask.[/quote]

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