As a federal employee who does hiring occasionally, I can vouch for the "third" stumbling block below - lots of qualified people. With the advent of electronic hiring (in the past, you had to mail in a hard copy of your application), I would get 5-7 applicants for most of the positions that I advertised. The first time I advertised electronically, I received 55 applications for a similar position. It is so much easier for folks to apply electronically and easier for them to find out about vacancies now, that the number of applicants has increased markedly.
I had an experience applying for a high-level park service job a few years ago at the GS-12 level. The job description was not standard, and I felt I had a good chance of meeting the requirements and that there wouldn't be much competition - I learned after the vacancy closed that there had been over 100 applicants. Even if you have veteran's preference, that is no longer a guarantee that you will get hired. I had a temporary employee with veteran's preference from Desert Storm - excellent employee, highly qualified. He was highly ranked for a number of permanent jobs, and when I would ask the person calling for reference checks how likely it would be for him to get the job (I figured he was a shoe-in with veteran's points), they routinely told me that he had competition from at least 3-4 other highly qualified veterans. I also recommend calling the listed person on the vacancy announcement - not the HR person, but the position supervisor. You can even send them your resume directly or visit them. That was always a positive thing when I was hiring. If they took the time to do that, it helped me remember them better in the mass of applications. It also allows you to ask them questions about what skills they are looking for, and this can also help you prepare your application. Most applicants do not take that extra step. Another thing that is commonly done in the Forest Service is if I apply for a job and my current supervisor or line officer knows someone at the place where the job is, they often make a phone call for you before the vacancy announcement closes. Even if they don't know someone, they will often call their counterpart at the other office and put in a good word for you. I don't know if that helps or not, but it certainly doesn't hurt. That person is also usually able to find out if there is someone currently serving in the job temporarily (and if they have also applied for the job), or if the job is being restructured, why the last person in the job left, and other info that can be helpful in completing your application. Robyn Darbyshire, CF Forest Silviculturist and Native Plant Materials Program Lead Wallowa-Whitman National Forest 541-523-1255 please consider the environment before printing this email -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of malcolm McCallum Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 5:03 PM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] USA jobs: CV vs. Resume The federal hiring process has three major stumbling blocks. It used to have four. Not that long ago (3-4 yrs) most of the screenig was done by HR folks with no background in ecology/biology. Today, they only check for very basic things and then it is shipped off to the hiring official. The other three are problems for a lot of people. first, military folks get extra points. (if you are 4F or such, your out of luck even if rejected). Second, internal hires will always have an up because they know the system better (I'm talking government internal workings, not hiring system [although that is true too!]). Third, you are going up against a lot of very well qualified people. The bad thing about government jobs is that you may not have academic freedom to say or do what you want (this is not universal). However, the pay is very good, the co-workers are generally intelligent and well-qualified. There are trade-offs between university research and government research posts. YOu don't have to teach, even if at a university, this can be a plus for some, a negative for others. I have a LOT of friends working in the government (Feds/state) and frankly, I think a lot of the perception regarding positions that are filled before advertising is wrong, at least at the GS13 or below. If they were, I would never have interviewed for any, and I have interviewed for a fer GS13s, turned one down in Washington DC after having visited and realized just how urban it was! (ICK!). Seems like I interviewed for half a dozen positions in ecotox, wildlife conservation, and such over the years, but I cannot recall the exact numbers. I remember being offered one that I was ready to take and it got axed by budgets at the last minute too. That was very disappointing. You have to apply A LOT to get an interview, and don't think it goes to the most qualified applicant, if they don't like the field, they will re-open it and do regularly!!! M On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 5:18 PM, Dixon, Mark <mark.di...@usd.edu> wrote: > I've never really applied for any of these myself (except perhaps back in the > pre-internet days!), but my understanding is that many applicants end up > being disqualified for federal jobs because they fail to fill in all of the > required information (e.g., beginning and starting dates of positions, etc.). > So, being complete appears to be very important. > > Mark D. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of Sharif Branham > Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 3:16 PM > To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] USA jobs: CV vs. Resume > > I agree that a resume with key words is helpful. When appropriate quantify > the relevant experience. (e.g. Five years of lab management, six years of > supervisory experience). Also, it is critical that you follow the application > instructions. Many applicants eliminate themselves by not following > instructions or submitting incomplete applications. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On May 16, 2013, at 3:46 PM, "Christa Zweig" <czw...@ufl.edu> wrote: > >> It's necessary. There are whole books on the subject. I was directed to the >> one by Kathryn Troutmann, but there might be others. >> -c >> >> _____________________________________________________________________ >> _ >> _____ >> Christa Zweig >> Post-doctoral associate >> University of Florida, Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit Box >> 110485, Bldg 810 Gainesville, FL 32611-0485 >> 352-870-4132 >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news >> [mailto:ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU] On Behalf Of Brent Bellinger >> Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:24 PM >> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU >> Subject: [ECOLOG-L] USA jobs: CV vs. Resume >> >> I am looking for some advice to improve my odds of getting past the initial >> applicant screenings in USA Jobs. As a research scientist, I've put together >> a pretty standard CV, which I've uploaded onto USA jobs and is used when >> applying for research positions. I was told recently by a non-scientist (a >> helicopter mechanic), the key when applying to positions through USA jobs is >> to make sure your resume utilizes key words which helps it rise to the top >> of the applicant list. A CV obviously does not have the depth of detail in >> terms of outlining skills, abilities, knowledge, etc. that a resume usually >> does. I'm wondering if I need to augment my profile and compliment my CV >> with a descriptive resume to help my odds of getting an interview? Is a >> key-word heavy resume a real and necessary thing in USA jobs, or have I just >> had bad luck with the past few positions I've applied to (i.e., they were >> not good fits with my skill set)? >> >> Thanks much for the insight on this matter. >> >> >> Brent Bellinger, Ph.D. >> post doctoral scientist >> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency >> Duluth, MN -- Malcolm L. 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