Archives
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
Categories
- Congress
- Defense
- General News
- Green IT
- Health
- Health IT
- Homeland Security
- IBM suspension
- Industry
- Info Security
- Intelligence
- International
- IT management
- Law
- OMB
- Oversight
- Policy
- Politics
- Privacy
- Procurement
- Program Management
- Project management
- Risk management
- Security
- Social networking
- Spending
- State and Local
- Technology
- Telecommunications
- Tip Thursday
- Virtual World
- Web
- White House
- Wireless
- Workplace
What's happening in the federal IT community
By Thursday, October 9, 2008 | 4:58 PM
ComputerWorld reported on Thursday that traffic to USAjobs, the federal government's jobs Web site, has increased 45 percent during the past six months, 500,000 visits per day. The reason is most likely the worsening economy and increased unemployment; federal jobs are seen as being much more stable. The Treasury Department will need some good financial people -- and presumably more IT folks to help keep track of all those "toxic loans" it plans to buy.
Now if the government could just take advantage of this by speeding up the hiring process, agencies could find some good IT talent. According to the article:
A search on the phrase "information technology" turned up 1,294 listings on USAjobs.gov this week. In addition, many federal IT jobs are filled by contractors from outside companies, which typically advertise the positions on commercial employment sites.
Comments
Does anyone working in Federal IT really believe the core competency of any government agency is IT?
Greg Zenitsky | Tuesday, October 14, 2008 | 9:28 AMI believe the application process works pretty well, however I do agree with the comment about speeding up the process. I would add additionally that feedback would be a welcome action after one has made application via the USA Jobs site. One receives notification that the application was received, but not much else after that until the position is filled, and then one only receives a "Thanks, but no Thanks email".
Well, part of is due to the FAA advertising all of its jobs there now, where it previously used an internal system for current employees. How many other agencies may have also switched over?
FAA employee | Friday, October 10, 2008 | 12:05 PMThe reason for the high hit count may be that job seekers have to repeatedly check on the jobs offered and apply for several at a time in hopes of landing a lucky shot. Just because you are qualified doesn't mean that you have a logical chance to get the job, or even interview. Job seekers are applying to positions that a "somewhat' like their own experience or education, and answering "vague" requests for "analyst" jobs. After applying for a position, you may not hear from HR for months (even up to a year). Even when you are qualified, you may not get selected for the interview. Only three get to interview. And even after you interview, you still may not hear from the agency for weeks, month, and I know of a case where it was over a year before hearing the result. Often, the jobs are closed without selecting a qualified candidate.
The other reason may be that soldiers are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and finding that they are not qualified for anything else in their own home towns anymore. This is a different army than it was when the GI Bill was written. Their qualifications are IT related or administrative in ways that are not corporate. They are military trained. The best place for a military person to go is back to government jobs. The clearance level also helps. Plus, the veteran status gives them a boost above the standard application, even if they are not as qualified.
The statistic of higher hits for government jobs seems impressive from the outside. But in reality, it is a symptom of a broken system that yearns for a cure. Qualified people are turned off by the process. Unqualified people fill positions in the one place that truly affects all of us (Federal government). Economic times aside, more and more people have to apply time and time again, to get in that “lucky” KSA, and hope that vets are not interested in the position, and then hope that the agency has the budget and true interest to fill the position you’ve worked your whole career to get.
In the end, most of us find that it is already filled by another government worker “trading” from one agency to another. This leaves another job opening in the other agency. Hey!!! Another job, another hit on the website.
It is time to look at fixing government from the inside. The next administration has a chance to attain and retain qualified workers, in every field, but mostly in IT. They also have a chance to put the vets in places they are more qualified, where battle tested, military trained and discipline have more context. Who better to fill Homeland Security positions? Just because you had a leadership position on the battle field doesn't mean you should be a 13 or 14 at the Department of Commerce. The same goes for a college graduate in computers shouldn't be in charge of border patrols. Nevertheless, why not apply for the "analyst" position?
The first thing to do is legitimize the employment entry process. Shorter time period in the qualification phase, more direct interpretations of the position required, and greater interest in long-term careers of the applicants is a more prudent way to find people. Not this way of filling out long questionnaires that don’t demonstrate any relevance to the job, and giving weight to under qualified people based upon unrelated government or military experience.
The tasks performed by our Federal government employees are paramount to way this country performs. If we leave the best qualified persons off the list, or lose their interests during extended periods, we are left with the second, third, or worst choices. Qualification should be based upon the requisites of the job, be it military based or civilian. This shouldn’t be the government of this great country. We should be the best of the best, now.