Read on Twitter
In today's civ personnel misadventures, rejected as "not possessing the specialized experience needed for the position" for a GS-13 contingency planning and wargaming position
I've worked with that exact office as a SME for wargaming routinely the last 18 months across 3 games
I've worked with that exact office as a SME for wargaming routinely the last 18 months across 3 games
Contingency planning has been 75% of my life the last 5 years, I've personally done the analysis for and input thousands of TPFDD lines
Meanwhile they're out here wilding, referring me to the hiring authority for a Pentagon GS-15 position that I am marginally qualified, at best
Meanwhile they're out here wilding, referring me to the hiring authority for a Pentagon GS-15 position that I am marginally qualified, at best
Not to talk myself down, but I kinda doubt I'm that qualified for a position that's the principal adviser to a HAF O-6 Div Chief, considering in order for me to have that Div Chief slot on AD it'd require another 10-12 years and 2 promotions
Civ personnel disagrees apparently
Civ personnel disagrees apparently
Anyway, USAJobs isn't that bad if you have prior experience in/adjacent to the agency (I'm sitting at 85%+ referral on my applications over the last 2 months, and have first interview tomorrow which is basically light speed by its standards) and know the "rules"
Which, btw, in a nutshell (for DoD anyway) are include a GS equivalency (grade and series) and salary on every previous job, ensure you spell out key acronyms and also include the acronym to maximize keyword hits, answer you're an expert on all proficiency questions...
...unless there's no way you can possibly spin that into being, in which case you probably shouldn't be applying, and more words are more better, to include any/all certs/etc (do not do the private sector one pager thing here, my resume currently clocks in at over 15 pages)
But while USAJobs probably has a lot of "the worst form of application except for all the others" going for it, given the scope and weirdness of civil service hiring rules, damned if it+civ personnel doesn't produce some illogical results
Oh, and one last addendum...when you get a final offer and accept, always always always negotiate your step if you have relevant experience at/above the grade you're moving into
General rule is follow the standard step promotion timelines re: your relevant experience time
General rule is follow the standard step promotion timelines re: your relevant experience time
E.g., as a 12 year Maj I have about 5 years at/above GS-13, so looking at step 4 at a minimum, ideally 5. GS-14, more like 2 years, so maybe step 2/3. On a GS-12 off-chance....not coming in for less than step 6
(also before anyone jumps in my shit since GS/mil equivalency is apparently a hot topic should note this is based on a combo of duty title and scope of responsibility equivalency; i.e. I've worked with civs a ton the last two assignments, and my peers have been -13/14s. YMMV)
