As someone who has been seeking federal employment for over 2 years, my experience with USAjobs.gov has never been good. It is a black hole. Everyone I know who has submitted a resume has never seen results either. One person inside the federal government explained it to me as "if there is a posting on the website, it is just a formality, and they already have their candidate from within." The listing is "required" but never taken seriously. This is very disheartening, especially for someone aspiring to civil service. The solution is perhaps more of a culture change rather than a technological change. I know everyone is on a budget or hiring freeze occasionally, but promotions should be based on merit and expertise instead of pay grade. Bringing in newcomers to the government should not be seen as a risk, especially when they may be more willing to innovate than entrenched officials.
Revamp USAjobs.gov
Tags: usajobs website
Comments (4)
To be sure, some percentage of the postings are formalities. However, there are many people who get jobs through that site. I'm one of them. I went on countless interviews through that site as well. Hunting for work is just tough. There are certainly improvements to be made in the Federal hiring process, however, and those could be effectuated through USA.jobs (e.g. lightening the load for applicants).
I'd have to agree with this. I started applying for positions once President Obama was elected - I could never work for the previous administration. And every application disappeared into a black hole with no updates nor comments until I was informed someone else was hired. I have one application that is still languishing even though the close date was in February.
This applies to the change.gov applications too. I'm beginning to think it's who you know and not what you know that helps one find employment in our government or the New Administration. My resume has not received one piece of feedback since I submitted to change.gov in November 2008.
Open Government means Open Employment and Open Processes. Not a closed hidden bureaucracy.
The two postings mirror my thoughts: USAJOBS needs revamping - no, reengineering, and the hiring process which favors those who have already worked for the government [via a) essay questions skewed in favor of previous governmental experience versus core competencies and b) extra points for Veterans (something I am NOT necessarily against...I'd just like to see some type of posting notification/status that identifies jobs which already have a large number of Veterans applying, so we don't waste hours filling out essays)] needs reengineering as well. How can the government ever hope to obtain new ideas and fresh approaches when its hiring practices weed out anyone who doesn't already work there?
As an former applicant and as a hiring manager for the federal government I have never had a job posted as a formality. In fact, there have been several surprise applicants whom I've hired over the inhouse applicant. I also personally call those I've interviewed with my decision - I don't leave it up to HR. With a large percentage of our federal workforce eligible for retirement we welcome the infusion of interns and equivalent expericene who come from outside federal or DOD service. I have been in and out of the federal government four times and the process that takes the longest is the security clearance.