Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

That is super weird. Never heard of anything like this. We have to get our hiring options from whomever makes the cert through HR -- they do all the vetting and selecting and we have no input in pushing for the "inside man".

Must very by agency, wonder which agency is so sketch?

they know the CIO. it was probably a direct hire position, like many tech/cyber security positions.

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

That is super weird. Never heard of anything like this. We have to get our hiring options from whomever makes the cert through HR -- they do all the vetting and selecting and we have no input in pushing for the "inside man".

Must very by agency, wonder which agency is so sketch?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

The civil service system was set up exactly to prevent this from happening. Your friend should be ashamed.

No, they’ve made the hiring process so complicated to comply with the civil service rules that it’s impossible to get in without knowing someone.

False. I was hired along with 8 other people in my office from a global announcement last fall. None of us “knew” anyone on the inside.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

The civil service system was set up exactly to prevent this from happening. Your friend should be ashamed.

No, they’ve made the hiring process so complicated to comply with the civil service rules that it’s impossible to get in without knowing someone.

NP. This is untrue. I was hired without knowing anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

The civil service system was set up exactly to prevent this from happening. Your friend should be ashamed.

No, they’ve made the hiring process so complicated to comply with the civil service rules that it’s impossible to get in without knowing someone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

The civil service system was set up exactly to prevent this from happening. Your friend should be ashamed.

I’d be surprised if this didn’t happen more often than people realize. Why else would people say it’s easier to get in if you know someone?

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

The civil service system was set up exactly to prevent this from happening. Your friend should be ashamed.

Anonymous wrote:Op here and I can’t really afford to take much of a pay cut. GS 12 is the lowest I could go. I’m 54 so a bit reluctant to rely on working my way up the ladder but maybe I need to shift my thinking on that.

I wouldn’t recommend taking a 12 unless it is a 12/13 career ladder position. If your position maxes out at 12 you’re going to have to apply and compete for higher grades. A little easier to do once you’re in, but it isn’t a slam dunk.

Op here and I can’t really afford to take much of a pay cut. GS 12 is the lowest I could go. I’m 54 so a bit reluctant to rely on working my way up the ladder but maybe I need to shift my thinking on that.

Anonymous wrote:I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

This is the truth the majority of the time. That's how I got mine. Not at the GS 14 level though. I will say this, if you can swing a paycut, you can take whatever to get your foot in the door. If you are good, you can ping pong your way up in grades fairly quickly, especially with ladder positions. One year in grade and you are able to apply to jobs at the next grade level.

I am 52 years old and recently became a Fed GS-14 step 5 without any Fed experience.  I applied for over 100 Fed jobs without a single interview and it was depressing.  I ran into a former college classmate who is a CIO of a federal agency and I got hired three months after the background check.  It would be almost impossible for me to get hired without the help of my CIO friend.  That being said, I took an early buyout from my previous job with 12 months paid in salary and vetted stock options to join the fed.  The key is to know someone on the inside.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are getting referred very often. How dis you feel about the interview you had?

If you're not getting referred to every job you're applying to you're doing it wrong.

It's sad but true that if you don't choose the best answer on every KSA regardless of your actual qualifications your application will be drowned out by all the others that did, regardless of their actual qualifications.

Sure, your resume may get thrown out by the hiring manager but otherwise it will never even be seen.

Not true unless a GS9 or less. At OP’s level the hiring official can designate a SME to review resumes. I’ve done that about 15 times, and I see all resumes (unless a vet pref candidate blocks the public roster). I look at the KSA questions but the focus is the resume. If your KSAs answers are not vaguely reflected in your resume, we will kick you. If you somehow get through and we can tell you lied on the KSAs, you shot yourself in the foot. Nothing pisses me off more than candidates that lie on their KSAs, especially in 12/13/14/15 postings.

OP is getting referred because she is targeting jobs she is qualified for, but she is not one of the top candidates. As one other poster said, she is quality on paper but not one of the candidates the hiring manager views as the best fit for the position.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are getting referred very often. How dis you feel about the interview you had?

I felt great and was excited about it but the panel clearly didn’t feel I was a good fit. In fact, they reposted the vacancy a month later, which really shook my confidence. But it looks like the team has been trying to fill this position for a year and it’s a huge monster of a job. I was disappointed at first but now I’m relieved. It was a GS14 supervisory advancement position involving recruitment, team management, contract oversight, executive budgeting, and raising $10-15M/year.

OP, in the future, please reapply if this happens. Our HR f’ed up two vacancies in the past year and had to close them after we SME’ed. the roster. It possible they decided not to hire any candidate, but it’s also possible HR screwed up.

Anonymous wrote:You are getting referred very often. How dis you feel about the interview you had?

If you're not getting referred to every job you're applying to you're doing it wrong.

It's sad but true that if you don't choose the best answer on every KSA regardless of your actual qualifications your application will be drowned out by all the others that did, regardless of their actual qualifications.

Sure, your resume may get thrown out by the hiring manager but otherwise it will never even be seen.

PP, I’m OP and thank you for sharing. I hadn’t considered the timing of the fiscal year.