User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
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Posted: 7/27/2005 2:58:55 PM EDT
Hey y'all,
I'm trying to move to NoVa. A staffing agency called me and hung up on me when I said I wouldn't interview with them. The U.S. Govt called me, and I'll do a phone interview with that dept. next week. Some other departments are considering me, too. I want to get out of Ohio before the winter, so I need this job. How should I prepare myself for this govt. interview? It's for an office position with the Dept. of the Interior. Any help much appreciated. 
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Posted: 7/27/2005 4:49:54 PM EDT
[#1]
Learn as much about the prospective job, Cabinet Department and particular agency as possible. I interviewed for a position with an obscure agency a few years ago, and was asked several questions about the agency, what they do, etc. Luckily I had done my research (I wanted to know also) but the panel told me most people had incomplete or incorrect ideas of what they were getting themselves into.
Read over the application/resume/CV that you sent in; they may ask questions about it for clarification, and to see if they get the same answers. Write down the name/title of everyone with whom you speak on the phone, so you can follow up with the right people. If there's a lot of turnover, at least the title should be the same. If it's for a position requiring a clearance, bring the questionaire with you, already filled out. Or at least have the information ready; there are downloadable copies of the form online. |
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Posted: 7/27/2005 5:39:26 PM EDT
[#2]
+1 from above. I cannot stress enough to have the info for your SF86 with you. Have EVERYTHING for the last 7-10 years collected jobs, supervisors, residences and people who knew you there). It took me three days to get all of my stuff together to fill out mine. If you cannot find a form online, IM me and I will send you a few copies. I adjudicate these for a living.
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Posted: 7/27/2005 7:09:58 PM EDT
[#3]
Thanks for the help, guys. I will do my research this weekend and be ready to roll.
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Posted: 7/28/2005 2:46:26 PM EDT
[#4]
hand them business cards stating "PROUD ARFCOM MEMBER!!! and your avatar. You'll be in like Flynn!!
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Posted: 7/28/2005 6:08:53 PM EDT
[#5]
Or I could go in there wearing my Rosie the Riveter "Chicks Kick Ass" tank top.  I'll just "get both." |
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Posted: 7/28/2005 6:20:15 PM EDT
[#6]
Have you started work on the SF86 yet?
Make sure to fill out all questions and if they do not apply, N/A or none. Each question has little directions for each. 8d, 9, 11, and military and merchant marine service are the most missed or overlooked questions. As well as out of country travel. Your form will be kicked back for corrections. |
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Posted: 7/28/2005 7:43:32 PM EDT
[#7]
I've faced that form before, but I won't need it this week. Not unless they want me to come to DC, but I'll be sure to have all those forms downloaded and filled out. I will go over everything with a fine tooth comb. |
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Posted: 8/1/2005 11:37:43 AM EDT
[#8]
Hey...why not post a pic of this and we can vote on weather you should do this 
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Posted: 8/2/2005 11:54:31 AM EDT
[#9]
Had my interview...it was for an career/intern appointment...not sure if it's for me, but the benefits are grrrrreat. Got a call today for an interview with the APA for a journals assistant position. I might like that better, actually; I don't want to manage a govt. department ever. I have time to prepare for tomorrow's interview. Ok, you asked for it, and I like this picture 
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Posted: 8/2/2005 12:14:34 PM EDT
[#10]
I like the shirt, yeah the shirt.How many times have you been told you look like Paige Davis off of Trading Spaces? |
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Posted: 8/2/2005 12:16:04 PM EDT
[#11]
More times than you could possibly guess. I sat upfront at a comedy club one time, and I got called Paige Davis throughout the entire show. The comedian kept telling me to get up and move some furniture. |
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Posted: 8/2/2005 12:20:53 PM EDT
[#12]
Did you re-decorate his face for him?
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Posted: 8/2/2005 12:24:40 PM EDT
[#13]
Nah, I was a good sport. It helped that my tickets were free, too. And being called Paige is a compliment if it means I have even a fraction of her hotness. She's annoying as hell to listen to, but I know you guys all like her for her decorations. hehe
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Posted: 8/2/2005 8:09:57 PM EDT
[#14]
So if you get the job w/ DOI, do you know where you'll be working? In DC itself, or in Reston, where
they have another of their big sites? (My Mom worked there for 33+ years before she retired a few years back....) Just curious... Also, if you get it, welcome to Northern VA - we can always use another local ARFCOM'r! 
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Posted: 8/3/2005 12:26:34 PM EDT
[#15]
I'd be in DC if I get it. It's a great opportunity that will afford me a mini-Cooper and guns--not necessarily in that order. I'll also get to hobknob with fruitloop and other great VA arfcommers.
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Posted: 8/3/2005 1:30:30 PM EDT
[#16]
Just so long as you live in VA or PRMD you can get the guns. But I imagine you know that all ready. No protection afford in DC.
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Posted: 8/3/2005 3:23:40 PM EDT
[#17]
Very big consideration. I plan on buying myself a gun for Xmas. I want to be a resident of VA |
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Posted: 8/3/2005 3:24:13 PM EDT
[#18]
DOI Law Enforcement:
1. Bureau of Reclamation - Hoover Dam Police. Very small, but interesting. 2. Bureau of Indian Affairs - Office of Law Enforcement. Mostly on the West Coast, Southwestern U.S. 3. Bureau of Land Management - Law enforcement Rangers and 1811s (special agents). Mostly out West. 4. Fish & Wildlife Service - LE Rangers and 1811s. Interesting jurisdiction and some intresting duties. 5. National Park Service - LE Rangers and 1811s. 6. U.S. Park Police - Part of NPS, though it's not always clear. One of the oldest Federal LE agencies. 7. Office of Inspector General - IGs are, well, IGs. 8. DOI, Office of Law Enforcement and Security - Not really LE, but the office oversees the Department's LE functions. If you are going to DOI, you need to read up on the IG's recommendations to restructure law enforcement at the department. There were a number of recommendations that the Secretary considered. A lot of this stuff should be online. |
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Posted: 8/4/2005 8:28:34 PM EDT
[#19]
Go to the USPS-OIG website. Apply for just about any job, even if you have NO qualifications for it. When you go for an interview, tell them you think teamwork is the most important thing in the world, spread this around thick and fast, *especially* to the women on the interviewing panel. If you are gay or a Wiccan, so much the better, let them know it, for they're all about the diversity lol.
The more ill suited for the job you are, and potential for incompetence you show, the more they'll pay you! Seriously, it's a machiavellian place to work, but they pay *ridiculous* sums of money to completely useless people. I'm only half joking about it...I was a contractor there for a couple of years. They promised me a full time .gov job, strung me along for 3 or 4 months, then gave it to the wife of an existing employee. She had NO EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER for the job, whereas I had many years. Her qualifications? Asian Female. Anyway, they felt so bad about what they did to me they canned me hehe. The grumblings of a bitter old white man aside, it would be a *cherry* gig if you could get in there. Among other things, they have an LEO program, and would train you if you're interested. Get yourself a .gov issue Sig 226 .40, and away you go. There's other stuff in there besides LEO...I don't know what your background is, but you should check it out, and apply for something. As bad as they screwed me, I'd go back full time tomorrow. |
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Posted: 8/5/2005 1:24:50 PM EDT
[#20]
The manager I had a phone interview with this week called me today to tell me I am a finalist.
The government will be calling me to arrange my flight out to D.C. for a day for an hour-long interview and department review. This position is an internship, part of the Office of the Secretary of the DOI management program or something like that (I will surely know everything like the back of my hand when I go for the interview). So, if all goes well, to NoVA I will move this fall. It'll be good to get out of Ohio and try something different. Won't be easy, but life goes on. |
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Posted: 8/5/2005 2:23:21 PM EDT
[#21]
The one nice thing about working for .gov is if you don't like one agency you can get a job at another agency and keep your benifits, leave, retirement plan, etc.
A woman who can think outside the box (owning guns would seem to be evidence) can go far in government. |
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Posted: 8/5/2005 2:59:21 PM EDT
[#22]
Those are some very nice benefits of a government job, indeed--and they definitely entice me. Even if I change my mind later, it'll be a great experience now. Can't move forward without getting out of the comfort zone.
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Posted: 8/5/2005 4:02:51 PM EDT
[#23]
Let me just wish you good luck in the interview and your endeavors. As a new-hire of the federal government (also internship, at NIH), I can say its challenging to work with all these .gov people. I'm still not used to it. However, the benefits are nice and I get weekends off
BTW, don't live in the PRMD (People's Republik of Maryland). Their gun laws suck and you can't have postban mags over 20 rounds. I asked around, and the Marylanders basically said: if you don't have to live here, don't live here. VA's been more than kind to me, and the VA hometown guys are great! Oh, and expect to pay up the a$$ for rent here...$1k+/mo for most 1 bedroom apartments that are halfway decent.
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Posted: 8/6/2005 5:06:58 AM EDT
[#24]
Thanks for the advice. I plan on avoiding MD, big time. The rent prices are phenomenal! I think I have a roommate set to help me with that, so that will make it easier to get a halfway decent place. My friend was looking at places near Old Town Alexandria. I am enticed by the easy access to the riverfront bike path. I work with quite a few tools here, so I hope I can endure the .gov people. They'd have to endure me, as well.
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Posted: 8/6/2005 5:57:58 AM EDT
[#25]
Do you know which office you'd be working in? It would be a bitch to drive from Old Town to Reston every day (so says the guy that works from home )
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Posted: 8/6/2005 2:10:52 PM EDT
[#26]
As far as I can tell, I wouldn't be working in Reston if I get the job.
I'd be in DC. At least that's what I know so far. I'm reading about the commute--and I know they're gonna suck. 
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Posted: 8/6/2005 9:56:04 PM EDT
[#27]
Well, if you live in Arlington or Fairfax county, the commute to DC by public transit (Metro) should be under an hour.
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Posted: 8/8/2005 4:13:05 AM EDT
[#28]
Nice...shirt. If I was doing the interview and you came in with that shirt....Interview over, job yours
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Posted: 8/8/2005 6:03:42 AM EDT
[#29]
1849 C Street. Not close to a Metro stop. . . . |
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Posted: 8/8/2005 5:14:12 PM EDT
[#30]
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Posted: 8/9/2005 4:07:33 AM EDT
[#31]
.
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Posted: 8/9/2005 5:41:17 AM EDT
[#32]
Main Interior Building. Where the Secretary and most of senior leadership is located. You don't work for DOI, do you? |
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Posted: 8/9/2005 9:17:48 AM EDT
[#33]
Good Luck! C4 |
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Posted: 8/9/2005 3:30:19 PM EDT
[#34]
Thanks for all the luck. I'm waiting on them to call me and give me more details about traveling to DC next Wednesday.
I'm very excited about all this, but I know I have some interview preparation ahead of me. I winged the phone interview, and now that I am considered a final candidate, I really need to drive home my strengths. |
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Posted: 8/10/2005 11:51:24 AM EDT
[#35]
Make sure you schedule some trigger time with us locals while you're down here next week. The NRA HQ range is just down the street. Good Luck with the Interview! |
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Posted: 8/10/2005 12:46:40 PM EDT
[#36]
My God, I would love to do that--but I'll probably be in and out of DC in a flash. I wish they were putting me up for a night. But I look forward to hitting ranges this fall and will buy myself a new handgun to celebrate WHEN I get this job. It will be mine...oh, yes...it will be mine. |
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Posted: 8/18/2005 6:32:05 AM EDT
[#37]
how'd the interview go?
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Posted: 8/18/2005 6:51:19 AM EDT
[#38]
I think it went very very well. Only one question was a doozy, but I'm glad it was asked because I was able to clarify things. One guy was concerned about my commitment to jobs, because I had switched during the past year. But they're shitty jobs I've been working while trying to get into programs like this--and I explained that. He was concerned I wouldn't be able to commit to long-term since I switched during a year. Um, if those jobs were CAREER positions and not just killin' time ones, I wouldn't have been in DC yesterday. I explained that I have been interviewing for govt positions for nearly a year now and those agencies took months to shoot me down. Geez, I have to pay the bills in the meantime. Mom and dad can't support me now. They seemed to understand my explanation and were very surprised I hadn't been hired by those agencies. I said it's not that those positions aren't worthwhile (they really aren't), but I can employ my skills so much better elsewhere and I'd like the opportunity to do that in a govt position. Those positions aren't growth positions. My year spent interviewing with the gov should exemplify that I want to work for the government. The hiring manager acknowledged that, too. She said that the things I've been involved in are evidence of that. They said I'll know by Sept. 2nd. Then I'd start on the 19th. There are 6 intern slots. I don't know how many of us made it to the final round, though. IF I GET THIS JOB, I'M THROWING A PARTY AND BUYING A NEW GLOCK.  Thanks so much for asking. I was gonna wait it out and see if I got any feedback from the interviewers today. I sent my thank you letters to all of them early this morning. Sorry this rant is long. I'm off the rest of the week and I'm bored.
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Posted: 8/18/2005 7:26:00 AM EDT
[#39]
Good luck and let us know when and where the party is.
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Posted: 8/18/2005 11:24:46 AM EDT
[#40]
 Best of Luck! |
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Posted: 8/19/2005 9:46:45 AM EDT
[#41]
Good luck
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Posted: 8/23/2005 8:39:21 AM EDT
[#42]
When you get the job and look for a good gunstore to buy that glock, look up Bernie, Patrick, Davie, Jay, Jim and Pete at Virgina Arms in Manassas.
Tell them Mike in Florida sent you. After they throw you out, go back in and DEMAND they give you a good price on that glock. Which model you looking for? |
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Posted: 8/23/2005 12:54:51 PM EDT
[#43]
I'm thinking about a Glock 19. I'm curious....why are they gonna throw me out if I use you as a reference? Do they have a restraining order against ya?  I'll be sure to check them out. |
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Posted: 8/23/2005 2:16:31 PM EDT
[#44]
Just my twisted sense of humor.  They are good guys. Ask the board. |
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Posted: 8/23/2005 2:58:29 PM EDT
[#45]
haha I trust your word. I'm keeping a pretty low profile in here because I don't want to get my hopes up and have them crushed next week if I don't get the job. I definitely want to get out of Ohio right now. And--I can't buy any guns until I get settled in a new place.
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Posted: 8/24/2005 5:24:00 AM EDT
[#46]
I have a condo in Ashburn that will be on the market soon!
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Posted: 8/24/2005 9:39:34 AM EDT
[#47]
If it's at the Department level, it will be in DC at 1849 C Street, more than likely.
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Posted: 8/24/2005 11:47:24 AM EDT
[#48]
That it is. I had my interview at that location, too. |
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Posted: 8/24/2005 1:02:36 PM EDT
[#49]
Icky. Commute will SUCK! |
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Posted: 8/24/2005 5:01:44 PM EDT
[#50]
Well, if she moves out near me at the NRA range, she can carpool in with me, and the wifee.  |
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