The Backdoor to Federal Employment -- Five Steps to Landing a Job With Uncle Sam!

After six years as a permanent employee of the Federal Government, I quit to start a business. I was 30 years young at the time and had just made, what I thought at the time, was some big money in Real Estate. On leaving the government, as a CSRS employee, I also had the option of withdrawing the balance of my CSRS retirement account and I promptly exercised that option!

I was, I thought, sufficiently financed for my new venture but in about a year I had blown all my savings and was broke and in need of paid employment. I managed to find a job and rented a small bedroom from my sister, Sandra, to save money. The job was in private industry and did not pay much, certainly not as much as I had earned in my former Federal employment and, for the next year, I was, basically, living paycheck to paycheck.

It was at about that time that I went to visit my brother, Jack, who was a military officer stationed at the Pentagon, outside of Washington, DC. While there, I visited the GAS office and learned they had a position open for which I qualified. I applied and learned a few weeks later that I had gotten the job.

Back in San Diego, I packed my few paltry belongings in my truck and a U-Haul trailer and headed out on my way across country and back to the future! When I arrived there, I moved into a small bedroom in my brother's basement. He was kind enough to let me live there rent-free until I got back on my feet.

So, there I was, almost three years from the day I had left Federal employment, getting ready on the following Monday to resume my Federal career. However, there was a big difference in my financial condition between the time when I left and that time three years later. The biggest difference was that I was over $50,000 in debt at the end of three years!

I was determined to right my financial ship but, to tell you the truth, I did not have clue as to how to go about that. The size of my debt was really hard for me to even comprehend! The thought of actually one day being able to retire that debt was simply inconceivable to me.

Less than 15 years later and with no seed money other than the income from my Federal employment, I not only had retired that debt but my net worth exceeded the million-dollar mark!

How did I do it? That is a very good question and it was no single action that made it happen but, rather, a concentrated effort across several life fronts at the same time. The transformation did, however, begin with a single step on my part, a decision, actually, and that decision was that I would, from that point forward save at least ten percent of every dollar I earned.

I had read of that financial strategy in a book I borrowed from the library; so long ago now that I don't remember the title of the book or its author. But the concept, as simple as it was (and is), literally changed my life forever!

And it was not just my financial life that was changed. That decision and the commitment it took to actually stick to it meant I had to change a lot of bad habits in my life; habits that before my commitment to save had been enabled by the way I spent money. Changing those habits forced me to examine other aspects of my life and led me to realize that in order to achieve my financial goals I needed to change more than just my spending habits.

The most important lesson I learned in the years between the time I was $50,000 in debt and living in my brother's basement to the day my net worth went above one-million dollars is this: success in one facet of life affects your entire life. What is important, and often the most difficult aspect of personal success, is to get the success ball rolling.

Success needs a push but once it gets rolling it takes on a life of its own - it moves almost as if it is self-propelled and expands. But sometimes, it can seem as if it is the very inertia of a person's life that keeps the ball from starting to move and success from filling your life. I know it certainly seemed that way for me - I would think about the size of my debt and simply be overwhelmed by it and seemingly frozen. It was almost as if I could do nothing to even begin to help myself because of the enormity of the task at hand.

But I have always been a reader and something else I had read talked about goal-setting and taking "baby-steps" in the direction of your goals. The trick, I read, was to break big goals into smaller pieces that would still, nevertheless, move you in the direction of your ultimate goal. The magic in that concept was genius in its simplicity; the "big" goal that seemed so big it was, in and of itself, a disincentive to do anything at all became a series of small goals which were actually easy to picture yourself accomplishing!

Sure, at the time I started my journey, I had no savings, but I could see myself saving ten percent, especially since when I re-entered Federal employment I doubled my private sector income. Also making my task easier was the fact that since the time I had left the government, the Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) had been started and the TSP made saving simple!

I simply started an allotment to have the money deducted from my check and deposited to my TSP account before I ever got a chance to even touch the money or, more importantly, before I had the chance to spend it! The TSP had empowered my transition from spender to saver.

The bottom-line on this little tales of woe , however, is this, a job with the Federal Government is the opportunity of a lifetime! In fact, latest job survey statistics show that Feds (Federal employees) earn more than their private-industry counterparts with similar skills and experience. But you probably know all the benefits of working for Uncle Sam, right? I mean, you're here in the hopes of discovering a way to get the odds of landing a Federal job in your favor, right? Right! So, please, keep reading...

I can't tell you how many job interviews I have conducted or sat-in on as part of the interview panel to select a new Federal employee -- I lost count a long time ago! I have also, personally, interviewed and tested for a number of Federal jobs, myself.

After more than three decades of being involved in the Federal hiring process, including being the Human Resources Director at one Federal Agency, I got to know the ropes pretty good and I came to realize there are two DISTINCT paths that lead to landing a job with your rich Uncle (Uncle Sam, that is!)

One path, the path through the front door, you probably already know, but let's go through it here just to refresh your memory:

First, you go online to the employment site owned and operated by the US Federal government: usajobs.opm.gov. There is a link to the site below that will will take you directly to the site.

Once there, you type in the zip code or name of your town to see what jobs are available in your area.

Then, if you find something for which you judge you are qualified AND eligible, you follow the instructions there on the site to apply -- you and who knows how many others!

But the truth is, thousands of new employees are hired through this process every year -- it does work! So, it is definitely worth the time and effort to try and land a Federal job this way -- what I call the Front Door to Federal employment.

In fact, this very process is integral to the Backdoor to Federal employment that I will be sharing with you -- although by going in through the backdoor, as I suggest, you will circumvent much, if not all, of the competition you are likely to face when you try to get in through the front door!

When you apply for a job through the front door you submit your application, usually as an unknown quantity, and then you wait...and you wait, and you wait. Then you wait some more! From the time a vacancy opens up, to the time it is posted to draw applications, to the time individual applications are rated and the hiring list presented to the hiring official, to the time interviews are scheduled and then conducted, to the time the job offer is made and the vacancy actually filled might take a year or more!

Arghhh! The Feds understand that the process takes to long. Believe me, it was just as frustrating for me back when I was the one looking to fill a vacancy as it is for those on the other side of the hiring process.

That being the case, I started to look for ways to shortcut the process. It took some creativity on my part but I did just that. That is the information I will be sharing with you...just keep reading!

First you need to decide on where you want to work in terms of the physical location; what city or cities and, the truth is, the wider you cast your net the greater your chances of finding a job. If you are able to relocate to land a job, you simply have more opportunity.

For example, if the city in which you live has no Federal agencies, your chances of landing a Fed job there are just about zero. (There are a few remote location opportunities but those are very rare.) And, if you are not willing to relocate to a place where there are Federal agencies and, so, Federal jobs, end of story!

If, on the other hand, you live in any larger metropolitan area, there are sure to be several agencies there.

Here the front door and back door methods converge: The best place to see what agencies have offices (AND JOBS!) where you live or want to live, search the jobs data base at:
USA JOBS

It is actually a pretty good site except for one thing-and this is key to the Back Door Method-it DOES NOT list all the jobs that are available.

In the Federal government, like all other employment sectors, there is such a thing as a "Hidden Job Market" and the key aspect of the Hidden Job Market (HJM) of which you need to be aware is, what I call, a "pocket job." What is a pocket job? It is a job vacancy that exists but that the Human Resources Director is not advertising via the USAjobs website. In other words, the HRD is keeping the job vacancy in his pocket, so to speak!

It is these Pocket Jobs that are the key to the Backdoor Method. And what you will learn as we continue is how to land one of those jobs that most of your competition for a Fed job do not even know exists!

According to some employment experts, the hidden job market might be as much as 80% of the entire job market. In other words, if there are 1000 jobs advertised in your community through various means such as classified ads in the local newspaper, online job boards (Monster.com, for example), and postings at the place where the vacancy exists. the Hidden Job Market could well have another 4,000 jobs waiting to be filled.

The ramifications of the Hidden Job Market on your job search is enormous! For one thing, there is alot less competition for a job that is not advertised and that means your chances in the HJM are much, much (MUCH!) better. And those same implications apply to the Federal HJM.

The BACKDOOR METHOD depends on you living in the general vicinity of one or more Federal agencies because in order to tap into those pocket jobs, it will be necessary for you to physically visit them.

The official job search site of the United States government on the web is usajobs.opm.gov.

A job opening in the Federal government is known as a "vacancy" and a listing on usajobs is known as a "vacancy announcement."

Click the link below to go to the usajobs website...

Now it's time to research each of the Federal agencies in your defined search area. The knowledge you acquire will serve you later when you land an interview. When that does happen your research will be more in-depth but for now just go to the web page of each agency and read up on it. While doing this consider your own skills and abilities and how they might apply in each of the agencies you review.

Look on the website to determine if the name of the Human Resources Director and other executives of the agency are listed on a page at the website. This is just for your information and to get familiar with these names in case you hear them later in your job search.

Then you need to find the address of the agency, itself, and the phone number. At this point you call the agency and ask if they have a Human Resources department. If they answer in the affirmative, ask if they post vacancy announcements (job listings). Again, if the answer is yes, ask if they have visiting hours.

The truth is, they probably won't. Security has become tighter and tighter at Federal buildings but it is worth asking the question, just in case. At this point, the actions you are taking are intended to familiarize yourself with your local Federal agencies which is WHERE THE JOBS ARE! HELLO!

Application Manager is one door we will all walk through on our way to Federal employment.

While you're researching the local agencies, you need to familiarize yourself with Application Manager which is the online site where you will physically apply for the jobs listed at USAjobs.com.

To find application manager, search for a job in your field (or your desired field) using the "What" search function at the USAjobs site.

Select one of the jobs that is listed in your search results and click on the tab that reads, "How To Apply." Now read the information on that page. If you have never applied for a Federal job before this will all be new to you but now is the time to familiarize yourself with the process. On the "How to Apply" page there will be a link to Application Manager somewhere, usually under the heading of "How to Submit Your Application."

Go ahead and follow that link to create your account at Application Manager. To create your account, you just follow the instructions at the Application Manager website.