Anonymous wrote:7 people in my office accepted DRP the second time it was offered at my agency. I was the only person who had a job lined up when we accepted the offer. I took a big paycut but did get a good title and more responsibility. The job looks good from a career trajectory perspective. Of the remaining 6 people on my team, 3 have gotten new jobs that pay comparably to what they were making before (90-150k). Of the remaining 3, one has part time work, which they wanted (they were part time as they were coming back from parental leave just as sh!t hit the fan), one has only applied to 3 jobs (had two interviews, withdrew from one after learning more about the job expectations after the interview) and the last one hasn’t started applying for jobs yet (they have some family wealth to fall back on and they’re taking classes to help them shift their career some). Basically, the people who were motivated to find a job quickly have done so/settled for good enough jobs. The people who don’t need them so much have been dawdling.

Anonymous wrote:Anecdotally it seems there is a bias against people who were let go. Doesn’t matter if a fed or not. Even people let go from top companies or teams are having trouble if they were laid off. Some companies especially tech companies have taken the GE approach laying off the bottom 10% of every team. You may perform better than 90% of the company but be unfortunate being the weakest member of the best team. It sucks.

Hiring managers seem to be better than HR or the machines at understanding this. Unfortunately, HR and their machines are the gatekeepers unless you have a contact.

OP, work your network no matter how long it’s been since you’ve contacted them. Do not lose hope. Spend like you’re already between jobs. Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:Not yet a former fed. I’ve gotten interviews and even second and third interviews. No offers.