Posted on Apr 26, 2016
Has Anyone Had Success Applying for and Landing a Job from USAJobs?
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As an internal candidate (aka, current federal employee), I have applied to a number of positions in USAJobs. Yet, I still find the process frustrating because I may get through the first stage of the process and on to the Hiring Official. However, I have not been able to get past this point. Has anyone been successful and if so, can you share some insight?
Posted in these groups: 
Military Industry
USAJOBS
Military Industry USAJOBS
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 16
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Yes. I have been working for the Navy for several years now. It is not easy. The biggest problem is the number of applicants. Because there are so many applicants, they use key word matching to assign a weight to each applicant and then pick the top ten to be reviewed by a human. So, if you want in, your resume needs to present the correct key words. Remember, you will still be reviewed by a live person and you will need to be able to do what you claim. We had someone get hired here that didn't have the knowledge and skills they claimed to have and it was less than a year before management got the individual removed from service.
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SrA (Join to see)
I understand that. I have applied with the keyword matching system. I have been able to get my package referred to the Hiring Official. I also was able to land an interview for one position I recently applied for. Unfortunately, I was unable to move past this point. I had received an email stating that the Hiring Official decided not to proceed with the list of highly qualified candidates. I know I have the experience and the background to back it up. You and I know very well that our military experience allows that ability to at least qualify at minimum. Unfortunately, it is so hard to digress the USAJob process and I just want insight from other people's experiences and see how I can improve my application processes.
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My wife secured a federal job (GS-13 equivilant) 60 days after she medically retired from the military. They hired her under a special hiring authority, which we outlined her eligibility for in a cover letter. Her resume was detailed, but we generalized it for the job categories she was applying for and not every individual job. This allowed for more applications to be sent out in a shorter time period increasing her chances for selection. She was also refereed for several GS-14 and GS-15 jobs, but they would have required us to move to a higher cost of living area so we declined final interviews for those once she was selected for her current position.
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SrA (Join to see)
I think that's great that that your wife has had positive results with USAJobs. I'm glad to hear that!
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SPC Paul Jennings, J.D.
LTC (Join to see) - she was a Captain, 70k medical logistics in the Army. Her current job is program manager/aquisitions. They use a different pay band, but her current grade is the exact same as GS-13, the alternative pay band really is only beneficial for anyone coming in below GS-11.
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Also, keep in mind that most jobs on that site have to offer the jobs first to applicants with preference (I.e. VEOA, VRA, etc). Once you get hits for a specific job field, you'll know that your resume is up to par and will likely continue to receive hits from other organizations.
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SrA (Join to see)
I do have VEOA preference. I also have my disability preference. Still not helpful. It is really puzzling me.
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PO2 Vernon Smith
I know that it might seem tedious, but be sure to include your DD-214, SF-15, and Civil Service Preference letter in every application. This bumps you to the top of the qualified candidates list every time. At this point, I just use the same SF-15 for every one of my applications and get referred 9 times out of 10.
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SrA (Join to see)
PO2 Vernon Smith - I do. I have all that saved in my documents and I submit them for each application. It is very tedious.
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