r/usajobs

Information Technology Specialist

Cyber & Information Technology (C&IT)

Palace Acquire (PAQ)

I am graduating undergrad in May and my EOD is June. Anyone have any advice or experience with this? I’d love to hear!

AMA POSITION

Hello I was interviewed for a position two weeks ago and have heard nothing back from USA Staffing or the hiring manager. Is this common or should I just take the L and move on? Thanks!

I received my TJO for Japan last month, but I haven't received my TJO or orders yet. Is there any timeline for the TJO or when I can expect my orders?

I’ve checked myFSS, but there’s no status available for my order. If the order has started processing, should I be able to see an update there?

So it finally happened to me. Got the job without an interview or anything. Does anyone have experience in the realm of Protocol Specialist with the DOD?

I keep hearing the same thing from multiple former NIH and FDA employees who were RIFed recently, and it doesn’t sit right.

Jobs that are basically the same ones they held for years are showing up again on USAJobs. They apply—and don’t even get referred. Not rejected after interviews… just not referred at all. At the same time, there are people inside these agencies saying they’ve been told not to hire back RIFed employees.

If that’s actually happening, it’s hard to see it as anything but unfair. The entire RIF was unfair and illegal as well.

And if you’re in or part of the hiring process and you know this is going on, staying quiet about it isn’t neutral, you’re part of it as well. These are people who gave years of their careers to public service. They deserve a fair shot, not to be quietly shut out. If you’ve seen this, heard it, or been told something along these lines—please speak up. Even anonymously. People deserve to know what’s really going on.

Hello!

I applied for a student trainee position in the department of HHS on March 6th and was notified that I was "tentaively eligible for this series/grade combination based on your self-rating of your qualifications" on March 25th but I have been waiting to hear if I have been reffered to a hiring manager. T

his specific position is for recent graduates as part of Pathways program and the application closed at 75 applications and it can hire under Schedule A, which is a hiring authority that I have. I am just getting really antsy and anxious because I have not heard anything since March 25th and I even emailed the helpdesk and no one has responded.

Does anyone have any advice regarding timeline or next steps? Thank you!

Hi all I recently accepted TJO for a job that requires a secret clearance. This is a couple months ago and I filled out my SF 86. I recently had a meeting with the security officer and he notified me that they would be contacting my current job and calling my current manager to verify employment.

For context this job with the government is not supposed to start until two months from now. And I’m currently working in the private sector in tech. And I have a lease for those remaining months.

I’m just wondering what people normally do in this situation— they will be calling my manager within the next week or two and I’m assuming assuming as soon as my manager hears that I’m cooked at my current job and I’m gonna be unemployed so what am I supposed to do between now and then? Also, there’s the risk that something happens with the security clearance and then I don’t even get the job.

Anyone else seeing fewer referrals lately?

I understand how Usajobs works. I’ve been writing federal resumes for years, and they usually get referred and lead to interviews for not just myself but others.

Lately, even when I tailor resumes closely to the posting, I’m getting “ineligible” results, when I know I'm eligible.

Is anyone else seeing this shift?

Assuming if a applicant was to be on a finalized certificate, is there a general timeline for the hiring manager to review the resumes and schedule for the qualified applicants for an interview?

Again, just a general timeline as I am sure there isn’t a definitive one.

Not sure how to respond. Initial offer seems a little low. Do I mention a salary amount or do I ask for a step upgrade?

Just received a tentative job offer.

Hello folks!

I am writing today because I'm trying to get some insight into what a traditional timeline is for hearing back from some positions?

I applied to some positions (going from Contractor to Fed) and trying to gauage how long the overall process is. Some say its months, some say it's weeks.

Any insight is welcome!

hello everyone!

has anyone secured/ received a TJO through a phone interview with USAJOBS? I would travel to the interview, but it’s in the middle of the week and geographically not close at all for a days trip. I’m just curious has anyone interviewed via telephone and still got a TJO? I guess I’m old school where I feel an in person would make my chances higher. I was just curious of anyone else’s experience.

thank you!

Hoping someone in HR can help me understand a situation. I received a verbal offer for a position from an HR Specialist on Thursday, 4/16. I gladly accepted and was waiting for my tentative job offer. The HR Specialist responded to an email stating that it would go out as soon as approved by their supervisor. Today, Tuesday, 4/21, the HR Specialist called me back and said that the Hiring Manager decided to go in a different direction but was unable to provide me with any details. I emailed the Hiring Manager asking to discuss as I feel confident I was the most qualified candidate. No response from the Hiring Manager or any additional explanation has been received. I know I can FOIA request my hiring materials but not sure if it is even worth it. I feel beyond dissappointed and let down. My references were checked prior to the verbal offer so I know that wasn't a factor. Any thoughts????

It’s been two months and the “Your application status is unavailable” hasn’t changed. Im new to this so how does it work? Should I try to find a way ti reach out or what exactly should I do?

Okay - I interviewed for 2 jobs on 3/17. I was not selected for either. I was super disappointed because I had worked for the agency previously. I had a great work reputation and am still in contact with my old boss who wants me to come back to their ”area” of my work. Neither of these jobs I applied for were in my department of the agency. Long story short, I got a call from HR saying I was the alternative selection for one of the jobs and they would like to move forward with me as the selected candidate. Im so grateful and excited but now feel icky that I was the “alternative“ selection. I don’t want to go into the position feeling that way… anyone have advice on moving forward from “alternative“ selection !

Ok this is a long post, but wanted to use exact quotes when I could and present everything for consideration.

TLDR: Deemed ineligible for a job, I’m fighting it, and I’m wondering if I’m right or they’re right.

I applied for a GS-1301-11 (Physical Scientist) position with US Army-IMCOM, and have been fighting a determination of ineligibility for this position due to my education. I’m wondering if anyone can give me any sort of insight into what goes on behind the scenes, because all I’m getting on my end is higher blood pressure.

Background and context, I’m currently a GS-0028-09 (Environmental Protection Specialist), and the position I applied for is within my same division. I do some of the work already, and the hiring official encouraged me to apply. After submitting the application I received a notification that I was deemed ineligible due to “You were not considered for this position because your application does not show that you possess either a degree in the required field of study; or a degree that includes the required curriculum as specified in the announcement.”

However, in the eligibility portion of the job posting the following is directly stated:
“A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
OR
B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to one of the majors, as shown in A above, that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.”

My degree is in Geography, and per my tally I have 28hrs of directly applicable coursework on my transcript. I highlighted the applicable courses in the transcript submitted with my application, and since the only contact info on the posting was submitting an Applicant Inquiry through the CHRA Portal I noted this and submitted my first appeal.

Early next morning, I received the following response:
“Good morning,
After reviewing your application, you are ineligible for the Physical Scientist due to not having a degree in one of the following 3: physical science, engineering, or mathematics.  This is in combination with the semester hour requirement.  Because you do not possess the required degree, you are unable to use the combination of experience and education.  That is a basic requirement and cannot be waived.

We appreciate your interest in our agency's positions and hope that you will continue to seek employment opportunities with our agency.

Sincerely,
Applicant Helpdesk”

Ok, I understand and agree I don’t have the degrees mentioned in eligibility criteria “A”, however I believe I qualify under “B”. Thus, I submitted an additional ticket informing that in my reading of the announcement the “OR” between A and B would indicate an alternative eligibility based on having 24hrs of applicable course work, which I have.

Next day, I received the following response from the Helpdesk:

“Good afternoon,
The requirement for the combination states that you must have courses equivalent to one of the majors as shown in A.  This means that you must have a degree in a physical science, engineering or mathematics with the 24 semester hours.  Because your degree is in geography, this does not meet the initial requirement of A.  This requirement is set by Office of Personnel Management and we are not permitted to deviate from the requirement.  Unfortunately, because of the degree requirement, you do not meet the basic education requirement for this series.

We appreciate your interest in our agency's positions and hope that you will continue to seek employment opportunities with our agency.

Sincerely,
Applicant Helpdesk”

Am I crazy in thinking whomever this Helpdesk person is has completely and utterly misunderstood the eligibility criteria? Are we completely ignoring the presences of the giant “OR” between options A and B for eligibility? I submitted an additional appeal listing out every applicable course on my transcript, copy/pasted here with the courses removed as potential PII:

“In response to the additional comment of ineligibility for the Physical Scientist position based on the grounds that I do not possess a degree in physical scientist, engineering, or mathematics, I respectfully disagree and bring forth the following arguments that show my eligibility.

 

First, under part “B” of the basic requirements for Physical Scientist, the posting directly states, “Courses equivalent to one of the majors, as shown in A above, that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science.” I meet this requirement through the coursework highlighted on my transcript provided with my initial application. All highlighted courses fall under either:

[Courses broken up by applicable subject matter, i.e. physical science, math, etc.]

From this list, I have 28hrs of directly qualifying coursework. Per the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards for Profession and Scientific Positions, “24 semester hours will be considered as equivalent to a major field of study”, therefore I satisfy the statement in CHRA’s previous reply of “The requirement for the combination states that you must have courses equivalent to one of the majors as shown in A.”

Secondly, to the statement from the previous comment of  “Because your degree is in geography, this does not meet the initial requirement of A”, I appeal on the grounds that Geography is a branch of Physical Science, and I have highlighted the physical science related coursework specifically in my transcript in order to showcase my eligibility for this position.

 

V/r,

Worldwar235”

 

To this, I got an email this morning my ticket was closed with no comments. I’ve already submitted ANOTHER almost identical appeal because at least address me comments, but….idk am I out of line? Would really appreciate any insights or feedback!

My timeline is

January 24-Feb 2 opening

Feb 5- Refereed

Feb 12-Interview

Feb 18- Contacted my Reference and forwarded my selection packet to the higher up

March 4: TJO

April 22: Final Job offer

Original start date is May 4,26 but i told them I want to give my current job a 2 weeks notice.

I am excited and yet scared of the new beginning!

What is it like for the onboarding process on your first day/ first week?

Also benefits is pretty overwhelming!!!