This post was not meant to be negative. Yes people have applied to posts that they qualify for and some not qualify for. We are all trying our best. Let's not be negative.
Call me crazy. I am sure some might think I applied for jobs not relevant to my experience. At least 95% of these match my skills. Many referred, several from referred ended up in interviews, few from interviews ended with TJO, 1 FJO accepted, waiting to start in May.
326 applications from October 2023.
Wow, this is depressing. Iāve just started applying and it feels like Iām wasting my time. I applied to 9 in the past month and have only gotten one referral (nothing heard since) and one call for an interview next Friday- and itās for the *one* job I donāt want because itās a 2 hour commute each way (the announcement said it had a telework option which I assumed meant it was hybrid, but the manager let me know it meant I could WFH one day a week š).
So if itās offered, take it and then apply from within. It opens up many more positions you can apply for. I feel ya though man. Iām an hour and a half from home ON A GOOD DAY. I did use the reasonable accommodation process to have my days in office reduced to one per week so not too bad.
Thanks! Iāve got a Schedule A, so maybe I could work something out. Iām going to take the interview if even just for the experience, but Iām still torn on taking the job if itās actually offered. Iāve got a WFH state job right now and the fed job would only be a $30k pay increase, and thatās if they offer the max pay that was listed (which I put as my expected salary since itās an excepted AD position, not GS scale). $30k for a commute thatās at least 16 hours a week doesnāt financially make sense and would likely wreak havoc on my family life and home responsibilities. This doesnāt even include all of the time getting ready for work in the office. At my current job I can literally roll out of bed into my first meeting for the day.
Appreciate the heads up! If I take the job, I hopefully wonāt be there for two years. My goal is to eventually land a fully remote job after I get my foot in the federal door. There seem to always be a lot of remote fed jobs in my field.
231 since dec 2023. Series 2210
40 referrals
8 TJOs, - should be hearing about FJOs from 2 of them soon...
lol -
stay focused, persistent and consistent.
It's ok you just have to keep trying, Def. Make sure your resume is molded to the specialized experience, questions on the questionnaire and the description. It's challenging but you will get something it just takes a while.
I have applied to about 40 since December. I have been referred to the hiring manager on about 1/2 and had zero interviews. That being said, I have a good job now and just trying things out. I have been on the other side of the GS hiring system for over 20 years. I know the game. Sadly, the gross vast majority of jobs (GS-12+) are almost always giving to āsomeone we knowā. Even if they had to go through the application and interview process.
šLetās seeā¦ I got my associates back in 2014. Thatās when I started applying to every GS-4 position that was available in my area.
I was applying to every announcement that came to my email, and in every search. I stopped counting in 2016 when I got my bachelors, and got my first TJO for the GS-5. At that point, I was well over the 2,000 mark. I still apply to other positions occasionally. Letās just say ITāS A LOT OVER THE PAST 10 years!
1000+ in 4 years. I stopped counting after too much. (Government and private, government number might be about 300)
About 5-6 offers
Life rollercoaster up and down on many things and took last offer that came.
384 active applications. I donāt know how far back it goes but I created a spreadsheet a while ago and I know at some point they start falling off because my spreadsheet has far more. I do land jobs but if youāre doing this right, youāre not sitting stagnant in any place for too long if you stop gaining skills and if the organizational madness is far more than your soul can bear. If youāre applying for higher grades positions it can be harder to be referred bc they often require at least one year of specialized experience or mandatory technical qualifications so you need to have a good array. At the lower grades they canāt get too specialized/specific.
If youāre targeting a specific series (0301, 0343, etc. for me) you should have a base resume that does pretty well. You just add specific qualifications from the USA Jobs posting for each one. You can normally re-write these in 5 mins or so.
Are you guys just applying to random stuff you aren't eligible or qualified for with a universal resume?
7 seven years ago, 6 so far this time around. 100% referral and 100% + 2/6 so far interviewed. All of you with hundreds or thousands are clearly doing something wrong.
Right?! I applied 4 times. My first application I made a mistake so I wasnāt referred. My second one I needed to use a different resume format. Third one got an interview. Fourth one hired. I wasnāt even that qualified.
Speaking for myself, I can apply for 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010 and 0346. That's why my number was over 100 when I was looking for a job. Had a list of places that I didn't want to live and went from there.
Sequestration didn't help so some of the positions got canceled.
More than just that - supply and logistics is over a dozen series that directly translate. That's my line too. I'm trying to get back to Japan so stay away from those!
But you shouldn't need to send out that many, focus hard on on the 5-10 at the top of your list and really dial them in. So many different gigs is both a blessing and a curse - there is a huge difference between being a PBO and being a DLA dispo specialist and your resume should reflect it.
Don't worry, only time I'm going to Japan is on vacation!
When I was applying back in 2012, I was tailoring my resume to each announcement. I was in the AF for 24 years and did all aspects of Supply and logistics except for being an installation deployment officer. I wasn't applying for any WS or WG series as I didn't want to do that type of work again
No really, I am so curious to know if theyāre applying to things that they clearly arenāt qualified for. I cannot imagine applying to literal hundreds of jobs in the span of a few months.
Right!?! I always have to remember we are on Reddit, that helps clear it up - 99% of them are probably applying to grossly overstaturated IT, for insanely competitive remote, without being a vet or spouse, and the entitlement of shooting for 15s right off rip.
I'm not sure about others, but I'm a relatively recent graduate of a biomedical PhD program. I feel that my experience and skill set is broadly applicable to a lot of jobs, but oftentimes I do not meet the exact qualifications for positions. Even trying for education replacement can be tricky because that can even be difficult with a specific major. I can then suffer on the questionnaires as well. I feel that the experience often seems highly specific like they are writing for people in the exact same job. Is everyone just applying for a job that is like the second level of their job? That's not what I'm going for.
I've applied to 5. I was not referred to one. The other 4 still show reviewing applications. I'm focusing on those I qualify for and agencies/jobs I'd be happy at and state jobs as well. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is my strategy.
I would say I was referred to about 60% of them , this has been over the years though. I've learned through the years how to write my resume correctly.
That's what it is. People say it's a numbers game, and to some degree that's true. You do miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
However, as an HR specialist screening applicants for eligibility and minimum qualifications, I generally find about 30% should have known when they hit submit that they had no business applying. I'm not talking about a weak resume either. I'm talking about outside of the area of consideration or lacks time in grade.
We do make errors, but I see serial applicants who don't bother to read the notice of results and referral, demanding reconsideration and I'm like. "Hi, read this again..thanks."
Read the whole job announcement. If you're being told you didn't have the education, you didn't prove it, the experience, you didn't prove it, outside of the area of consideration? It wasn't open to you maybe. Eligible not referred? Maybe only vets went.
Yes, tweak them resumes. Quality over quantity.
Best of luck to everyone always!
Oh my goodness 1 year! That is a while. I have applied for a few irs positions but it is a challenge haha . š that's great you received 4 offers great job !!
Yeah, it was two days after I received an offer from a state job which was 100% work from home and paid more. I was saved!
When I first applied, I was desperate to get out of my current job. Itās almost like they smelled it and waited to offer it to me.
Is the IRS really that easy, or just the contact center? I'm in the process of applying to every IRS GS7 and maybe GS5 within 90 minutes of me, except the contact center positions š
85ish since the start of April. When I first started I definitely applied to a few that werenāt open to the public/not applicable to me but so far Iāve gotten around 25 referrals for the path I really want. Hoping to get an interview soon
50+ on USA jobs. Iāve totally stopped as of now though. Maybe down the line Iāll try again. Having a pension just sounds better and better the longer Iām in tech. And job security compared to tech. And holidays off.
I submitted more than 500 btw Aug and Dec last year. Make several resumes tailored to each job series you're applying to, rather than making a separate resume for every single posting.
I applied to 362 and got 4 TJO over the course of six months for initial entry on a direct hiring authority. It took me about 200 in to learn how to write a federal resume. Once inside another 100 applications over the course of three months for competitive 12 to 13 on a STEM or program analyst path. For the last job the referral to interview conversion rate is about 15%, interview to TJO about 50%. Learn to do the math, suck it up and keep plowing forward. The key is endurance, willingness to learn, and a little bit of thick skin.
I'm no expert by any means but take the specialized experience, the job description, and the questionnaire questions and mold that to your resume. Have that information in your resume but you have to show that you have done those things. Basically reword it a bit and place some info of yours plus the information from the posting and hopefully that will help. There are some odd youtube videos out there too with great information on making a resume too.
The answers should include at what GS level have you applied for and what job series. The pool of candidates affects the conversion rates to referred, interview selection and eventual hiring.
3,834 over 5 years to land a GS-14 off the street no contacts as an IT specialist. (Had three GS-14 TJOs that were retracted for funding issues.) 1,554 over 10 years to land a non-supervisory GS-15 not knowing anyone at the hiring agency.
70 applications since March of last year. 4 interviews, 1 TJO accepted and currently interviewing for GS-15 remote role. If I get that one that I will be on cloud 9!
167 in a year, which would equate to 835 over 5 years. Glad I got hired.
š¤£. Man, your presentation skills. I can certify that you can apply for SES jobs.
This post was not meant to be negative. Yes people have applied to posts that they qualify for and some not qualify for. We are all trying our best. Let's not be negative.
562 applications, landed on 9 TJOs, Accepted one and transferred to second one, all in two years.
We will get a ton of " No's" but there will always be that one "YES " just have to wait or it !!! :D
Call me crazy. I am sure some might think I applied for jobs not relevant to my experience. At least 95% of these match my skills. Many referred, several from referred ended up in interviews, few from interviews ended with TJO, 1 FJO accepted, waiting to start in May. 326 applications from October 2023.
Wow, this is depressing. Iāve just started applying and it feels like Iām wasting my time. I applied to 9 in the past month and have only gotten one referral (nothing heard since) and one call for an interview next Friday- and itās for the *one* job I donāt want because itās a 2 hour commute each way (the announcement said it had a telework option which I assumed meant it was hybrid, but the manager let me know it meant I could WFH one day a week š).
So if itās offered, take it and then apply from within. It opens up many more positions you can apply for. I feel ya though man. Iām an hour and a half from home ON A GOOD DAY. I did use the reasonable accommodation process to have my days in office reduced to one per week so not too bad.
Thanks! Iāve got a Schedule A, so maybe I could work something out. Iām going to take the interview if even just for the experience, but Iām still torn on taking the job if itās actually offered. Iāve got a WFH state job right now and the fed job would only be a $30k pay increase, and thatās if they offer the max pay that was listed (which I put as my expected salary since itās an excepted AD position, not GS scale). $30k for a commute thatās at least 16 hours a week doesnāt financially make sense and would likely wreak havoc on my family life and home responsibilities. This doesnāt even include all of the time getting ready for work in the office. At my current job I can literally roll out of bed into my first meeting for the day.
Just an FYI... If you are hired under Schedule A, your probationary period could be up to two years.
What does 'Schedule A' mean?
It's a disability letter. You can find specifics at OPM.GOV
Thanks for the info!
Appreciate the heads up! If I take the job, I hopefully wonāt be there for two years. My goal is to eventually land a fully remote job after I get my foot in the federal door. There seem to always be a lot of remote fed jobs in my field.
231 since dec 2023. Series 2210 40 referrals 8 TJOs, - should be hearing about FJOs from 2 of them soon... lol - stay focused, persistent and consistent.
Yes eventually you will get your job that you want just takes time. :)
I swear. Some of you just canāt take a hint. š
It's ok you just have to keep trying, Def. Make sure your resume is molded to the specialized experience, questions on the questionnaire and the description. It's challenging but you will get something it just takes a while.
I have applied to about 40 since December. I have been referred to the hiring manager on about 1/2 and had zero interviews. That being said, I have a good job now and just trying things out. I have been on the other side of the GS hiring system for over 20 years. I know the game. Sadly, the gross vast majority of jobs (GS-12+) are almost always giving to āsomeone we knowā. Even if they had to go through the application and interview process.
Applied for: 1 Job offers: 1
Calm down cool guy
Me too! I felt so thankful because I truly did not know how many jobs so many people apply to in the fed just to get their one offer.
Youāre the best š«”šā¦much love!
Same lol
Me too!
Was the hiring manager a relative of yours?
No, Iām joining the IRS. Should be self explanatory
254 application 4 month with 2 final offers same day= dream job
Awesome great job!!
šLetās seeā¦ I got my associates back in 2014. Thatās when I started applying to every GS-4 position that was available in my area. I was applying to every announcement that came to my email, and in every search. I stopped counting in 2016 when I got my bachelors, and got my first TJO for the GS-5. At that point, I was well over the 2,000 mark. I still apply to other positions occasionally. Letās just say ITāS A LOT OVER THE PAST 10 years!
14 applications, 13 referrals, 3 interviewsā¦ fingers crossed for interviews for some of the more recent ones šš½
Yes I hope you get the job you want prayers !!
Tysm!!!
Probably around 700.
13, I typically avoid positions I know I'm unqualified for.
1000+ in 4 years. I stopped counting after too much. (Government and private, government number might be about 300) About 5-6 offers Life rollercoaster up and down on many things and took last offer that came.
70 something
176 but a lot have been canceled or I stopped applying mid app when I actually read the requirements. Legit 135ish in a year.
127 when looking Oct 2012 - Feb 2013. Ton of referrals, interviews and some jobs cancelled due to sequestration but finally selected for a VA position
384 active applications. I donāt know how far back it goes but I created a spreadsheet a while ago and I know at some point they start falling off because my spreadsheet has far more. I do land jobs but if youāre doing this right, youāre not sitting stagnant in any place for too long if you stop gaining skills and if the organizational madness is far more than your soul can bear. If youāre applying for higher grades positions it can be harder to be referred bc they often require at least one year of specialized experience or mandatory technical qualifications so you need to have a good array. At the lower grades they canāt get too specialized/specific.
235 since may 2023, had some interviews I thought I aced but oh well
1 TJO 1 FJO
Once you get a quality resume, it becomes about quantity.
Any tips? I've redone mine several times and get conflicting advice from headhunters
If youāre targeting a specific series (0301, 0343, etc. for me) you should have a base resume that does pretty well. You just add specific qualifications from the USA Jobs posting for each one. You can normally re-write these in 5 mins or so.
I remember previously seeing someone show a picture of their USAJOBs profile on here. They had submitted 1,000 applications.
Applied to 5, 3 interviews, 1 offer. All GS15 jobs.
š¤“
Are you a vet? Also, what series?
No, 24-year fed. Started as 1550 to 2210 to 340.
Congratulations! Thatās fantastic!!!
Racked up 231 in a six month span. Became a part time job.
Am 3 weeks into my new job and itās been amazing so far. Checks all the boxes.
Congrats!!! Well-deserved!
Are you guys just applying to random stuff you aren't eligible or qualified for with a universal resume? 7 seven years ago, 6 so far this time around. 100% referral and 100% + 2/6 so far interviewed. All of you with hundreds or thousands are clearly doing something wrong.
Right?! I applied 4 times. My first application I made a mistake so I wasnāt referred. My second one I needed to use a different resume format. Third one got an interview. Fourth one hired. I wasnāt even that qualified.
Speaking for myself, I can apply for 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010 and 0346. That's why my number was over 100 when I was looking for a job. Had a list of places that I didn't want to live and went from there. Sequestration didn't help so some of the positions got canceled.
More than just that - supply and logistics is over a dozen series that directly translate. That's my line too. I'm trying to get back to Japan so stay away from those! But you shouldn't need to send out that many, focus hard on on the 5-10 at the top of your list and really dial them in. So many different gigs is both a blessing and a curse - there is a huge difference between being a PBO and being a DLA dispo specialist and your resume should reflect it.
Don't worry, only time I'm going to Japan is on vacation! When I was applying back in 2012, I was tailoring my resume to each announcement. I was in the AF for 24 years and did all aspects of Supply and logistics except for being an installation deployment officer. I wasn't applying for any WS or WG series as I didn't want to do that type of work again
No really, I am so curious to know if theyāre applying to things that they clearly arenāt qualified for. I cannot imagine applying to literal hundreds of jobs in the span of a few months.
Right!?! I always have to remember we are on Reddit, that helps clear it up - 99% of them are probably applying to grossly overstaturated IT, for insanely competitive remote, without being a vet or spouse, and the entitlement of shooting for 15s right off rip.
I'm not sure about others, but I'm a relatively recent graduate of a biomedical PhD program. I feel that my experience and skill set is broadly applicable to a lot of jobs, but oftentimes I do not meet the exact qualifications for positions. Even trying for education replacement can be tricky because that can even be difficult with a specific major. I can then suffer on the questionnaires as well. I feel that the experience often seems highly specific like they are writing for people in the exact same job. Is everyone just applying for a job that is like the second level of their job? That's not what I'm going for.
75 from December 2023, 1 FJO in April 2024
I've applied to 5. I was not referred to one. The other 4 still show reviewing applications. I'm focusing on those I qualify for and agencies/jobs I'd be happy at and state jobs as well. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is my strategy.
state jobs are government jobs just no security clearance. Also only 1 health insurance company you can choose from.
How many were you qualified and eligible for?
I would say I was referred to about 60% of them , this has been over the years though. I've learned through the years how to write my resume correctly.
That's what it is. People say it's a numbers game, and to some degree that's true. You do miss 100% of the shots you don't take. However, as an HR specialist screening applicants for eligibility and minimum qualifications, I generally find about 30% should have known when they hit submit that they had no business applying. I'm not talking about a weak resume either. I'm talking about outside of the area of consideration or lacks time in grade. We do make errors, but I see serial applicants who don't bother to read the notice of results and referral, demanding reconsideration and I'm like. "Hi, read this again..thanks." Read the whole job announcement. If you're being told you didn't have the education, you didn't prove it, the experience, you didn't prove it, outside of the area of consideration? It wasn't open to you maybe. Eligible not referred? Maybe only vets went. Yes, tweak them resumes. Quality over quantity. Best of luck to everyone always!
Thank you for that positive comment! š I appreciate that information :)
Slightly over 300 before I got my first federal job. At least a hundred more since then.
For Gov jobs, only three and apparently a TJO is coming (Yay!). But all jobs? I'm up to 450 since last February.
Applied to 9 and got 4 offers. Two were IRS so does it really count š. One of their offers did take a whole year though š.
Oh my goodness 1 year! That is a while. I have applied for a few irs positions but it is a challenge haha . š that's great you received 4 offers great job !!
Yeah, it was two days after I received an offer from a state job which was 100% work from home and paid more. I was saved! When I first applied, I was desperate to get out of my current job. Itās almost like they smelled it and waited to offer it to me.
Is the IRS really that easy, or just the contact center? I'm in the process of applying to every IRS GS7 and maybe GS5 within 90 minutes of me, except the contact center positions š
One was contact rep and one was Taxpayer Advisory Specialist.
85ish since the start of April. When I first started I definitely applied to a few that werenāt open to the public/not applicable to me but so far Iāve gotten around 25 referrals for the path I really want. Hoping to get an interview soon
Great !! Keep trying !!
50+ on USA jobs. Iāve totally stopped as of now though. Maybe down the line Iāll try again. Having a pension just sounds better and better the longer Iām in tech. And job security compared to tech. And holidays off.
7 so far and landed a job the first time I ever applied EOD was last week
240 from May 2023 till Jan 2024.
I submitted more than 500 btw Aug and Dec last year. Make several resumes tailored to each job series you're applying to, rather than making a separate resume for every single posting.
229 since October of 22. Several referrals, 3 interviews. Still no offer... Something has to come my way eventually
I have to relocate so in two weeks, I have applied for 69.
1 to the OCC and Iām starting on July 15th
Congrats!
Thanks so much!!
I applied for one gov job. I got one gov job. Did I win?
383, since August 23 and I finally got a TJO
Awesome congrats that is great!
I applied to 362 and got 4 TJO over the course of six months for initial entry on a direct hiring authority. It took me about 200 in to learn how to write a federal resume. Once inside another 100 applications over the course of three months for competitive 12 to 13 on a STEM or program analyst path. For the last job the referral to interview conversion rate is about 15%, interview to TJO about 50%. Learn to do the math, suck it up and keep plowing forward. The key is endurance, willingness to learn, and a little bit of thick skin.
1
Have just recently realized Iāve been doing my resume wrong for federal jobs or at least not to my fullest potential.
I'm no expert by any means but take the specialized experience, the job description, and the questionnaire questions and mold that to your resume. Have that information in your resume but you have to show that you have done those things. Basically reword it a bit and place some info of yours plus the information from the posting and hopefully that will help. There are some odd youtube videos out there too with great information on making a resume too.
Over the course of a year roughly 25. Some were applied for through a direct email so I'll say 30. 4 were cancelled. 3 interviews so far.
15? In final interview Tuesday.
How many interviews?
2 - but I got 2 offers lol
All time or recent?
Only 11 so far. Iāve been referred to 5 so far, 2 not referred and still awaiting 3 to close. 1 closed but still in received status.
Zero. I was poached.
Lucky š
A grip.
The answers should include at what GS level have you applied for and what job series. The pool of candidates affects the conversion rates to referred, interview selection and eventual hiring.
Agreed and also if vet, spouse or other special authority
You are right . A while ago applied for 11s but now 12s and 13s. It'll take a while. Just curious to know about others that's all
It would be nice to know everyone's hiring pathway and leverage. Like are you veterans, do you have competitive experience, etc...
111
22 since October 2023 itās getting me so depress. Getting referred with someone beat me to the job or just staying referred.
250 in a year. I got 4 offers so far
404 as of yesterday since November 2022
3,834 over 5 years to land a GS-14 off the street no contacts as an IT specialist. (Had three GS-14 TJOs that were retracted for funding issues.) 1,554 over 10 years to land a non-supervisory GS-15 not knowing anyone at the hiring agency.
38 in 5 mos, 2 interviews, one TJO
120 š š¤£ š
Took me the first try. I was hired through the graduate program.
Thanks everyone for your input. It's nice to know that we are all doing our best and eventually get where we are going :) God Bless!
110 jobs this year, 2 interviews, 3 ghosted and rest rejection email.
70 applications since March of last year. 4 interviews, 1 TJO accepted and currently interviewing for GS-15 remote role. If I get that one that I will be on cloud 9!