Jobhunting in the beltway

GePap · March 15, 2003, 13:01

Well, contrary to what some signatures say, I am not the ex-dictator of a small banana republic, meaning that I lack the guarantee of three square meals a day for the next 30 years..which means..job hunting!

Now, the job outlook in NYC is terrible, and since I like policy and government issues, that leave the good ol' beltway, just a skip and jump away from NYC. I know various people there, so free accomodations are no problem..

My problem is that i really have no diea as to how to go about it.

So, does anyone who works for the Feds.. or lives in the beltway and knows people who work for the Feds have any dideas about how to go about job-hunting in person in our fair capitol?

Kropotkin · March 15, 2003, 14:05

Being a former CIA agent you shouldn't have any problems...

Felch · March 15, 2003, 15:16

Connections help a lot. Nepotism is one way, or just dropping your pants and grabbing your ankles.

It's not fair, but it's frightfully close to the truth. How many people do you know who work in DC?

DinoDoc · March 15, 2003, 15:20

He should know Adam Smith and DanS.

Az · March 15, 2003, 15:32

*whistles*

Blame Kropotkin, I just couldn't miss it.

Timexwatch · March 15, 2003, 16:32

Gepap:

I intern on the Hill. I'd recommend that you start out and try to get an internship with your Congressman. Hill experience always carries over well to Non-profit or lobbying work. Almost nobody pays on the House side where I am, but you do get to know the how things get done. It'll suck for a bit, though. Most of the interns I work with are Grad students who hold down another job and intern only 1 or two days.

I'd also suggest that if you're looking for public policy stuff, check the job banks of Dem/Rep affiliated orgs. For Republicans, I know that Heritage runs a good job bank. I'd also suggest you get a subscription to Roll Call and The Hill to check the classifieds for positions.

Also: Unless you make good coin or have one or two roomates, don't live in DC unless you have to. Rent is ~$1000/month for something decent but less the further you get away from Northwest. I suggest Falls Church/Pentagon City for reasonable housing.

GePap · March 15, 2003, 17:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Felch X
Connections help a lot. Nepotism is one way, or just dropping your pants and grabbing your ankles.

It's not fair, but it's frightfully close to the truth. How many people do you know who work in DC?

I have an uncle who works at Agriculture, but working there...never! I have an aunt who works at the Panamanian embassy..not the type of job I want either.

We also have family friends, which is were I would be staying as a go around town. Currently I am in the interview process at the LoC, but I doubt I will get the job.

Adam Smith · March 16, 2003, 01:41

Gepap:

HERE is a link for current federal jobs. It is updated daily. I have been on both sides of the fed hiring process, so I have some experience. Time will be a little tight for me the next few days, but we still may be able to discuss in thread or via PM.

Adam Smith · March 17, 2003, 11:26

Gepap:

What type of job are you looking for?
What is your undergrad degree? (polysci IIRC?)
How many years and what type of work experience?

GePap · March 17, 2003, 12:51

[QUOTE] Originally posted by Adam Smith
Gepap:

What type of job are you looking for? [QUOTE]

Any, really.

Quote:

What is your undergrad degree? (polysci IIRC?)

PolSci BA

Quote:

How many years and what type of work experience?

'Real world' experience, 0. I worked for 3 year while in College at the University's Library (which is why currently I am tryign to find work with LoC).

Which means I am looking for something beginner: maybe some archivist, fact checker, somehting menial.

Adam Smith · March 17, 2003, 15:25

Gepap:

Because of a settlement of recent court case alleging racial discrimination (Somebody v. LaChance), Civil Service hiring announcements at the entry level (GS-5, 7) are very generic. The announcement for an economist, say, is supposed to be written so it will apply to absolutely anybody with a BA in economics. The application is something like 16 pages long and asks 156 questions (not kidding) about your background and experience. Many of these questions are just plain irrelevant. You fill out the questionaire, a computer grades them, and sends the top three or five applications for consideration. This generic treatment results in generic candidates, and often not a very good fit.

There are three ways to work around this, which, hopefully, will result in both a better fit and a better chance of distinguishing yourself from the herd.

First, if you ever worked for the federal governemnt before, see if you can claim Civil Service "status". IIRC, you have "status" if you worked for the federal governement before on a full time basis and were not terminated for cause. If you have "status" you can skip much of the application process for new hires, and go into a pool of existing government employees. Muuuuuch easier that way.

Second, if you are not going the "status" route, pay special attention to the "Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities" (KSA's) section of the announcement. If the hiring officer knows what they are doing, or needs any particular type of skill, they will provide as much detail as they can get away with in the KSA's. At lower levels applicants are not allowed to write anything in response to individual KSA's. What you can do, however, is address the KSA's in a specially tailored version of your resume. If the KSA's mention knowledge of Latin American politics, this is the place to mention an internship at an embassy, for example. You are asked to attach a resume as part of the application. It is intended to be used to check your answers to the 156 questions, but you can stick the KSA responses in there. (Best not to mention it is in response to the KSA's though; they will think you are trying to game the system, which you are.)

The resumes will be read by fairly low level personnel types who have been specially selected to do this because they do not know anything about the position, and therefore are considered completely unbiased. You want to keep the responses short, simple, and use catch phrases to describe your experience. They will have a set of phrases to look for which match the KSA's, and that is how you can set yourself apart.

[True story about my experience: I applied for a statistican position, and answered the KSA's as if I was an economist (which I am of course). I bombed. I reapplied for the position, and the only change I made was to change the economics terms in my application eg "price dispersion" to their statistical equivalent eg "sample variation". They told me I had the highest score ever on their applications.]

Third, try also to apply for a higher level position. Entry level just out of college is GS-5. But, if you have "superior academic standing" as an undergraduate you can also apply for the position at the GS-7 level. Not many applicants know this. "Superior academic standing" can be demonstrated by graduating in the upper third of your class, sufficiently high grade point average, membership in a national scholastic honorary society (eg Phi Beta Kappa, or whatever it is in political science), or a year of experience (part-time experience can be converted to full-time equivalent). Work toward a masters degree will often let you apply for a GS-9 position. Applying for a higher level position is not just about starting salary. The higher you go, the more prospective federal government employers are allowed to request and take into account specific experience. This helps you stand out from the generic process at the GS-5 level, and also helps ensure a better fit between requirements, abilities, and interests.

Hope this helps. Feel free to respond here or PM me with further questions.

PS: This descriptin applies to Civil Service positions. I do not know if the Library of Congress hires under the Civil Serivce System. Most federal agencies are under Civil Service.

GePap · March 17, 2003, 19:21

Thanks for all the help Adam Smith

Provost Harrison · March 17, 2003, 19:55

Damn, it looks easier just not to bother and opt for an easy life

PLATO · March 17, 2003, 20:09

GePap:

If you have ever worked on a congressional or senatorial campaign then you have a foot in the door. Don't be afraid to remind them of your help. They always like taking care of the folks back home when they can. Staff sizes vary, but there is a pretty good turn over for various reasons. Good Luck!

OzzyKP · March 17, 2003, 20:17

Try Idealist.com, they specialize in non-profit jobs and DC of course is a great place for non-profits. Also check out servenet.org

Don't try applying for the police, my friend has been waiting a year and a half for the Metro Police Department to finish his application process, his applications to suburbian departments havn't yielded any better fruit.

If you help me raise a hundred thousand dollars or so I'll hire you for my non-profit.