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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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 …[/quote]

One possibility is veterans outranking you on points.

Another possibility is these are remote positions with crazy competition. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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