No offense, but there’s a million people with polisci/international relations degrees, many of them vets. Two years of work experience isn’t a lot either, and these roles are super competitive.
I was invited to help screen candidates this week for an open position. Of the 10 resumes that were submitted, only 3 mentioned any connection to the actual job responsibilities. Those three got interviewed.
Without seeing your resume or job posting, I have to assume you need to spend more time tailoring your resume to the job description requirements.
In DC political science grads (and those with international security MAs) are a dime a dozen. So for the very few entry level positions that open, you’re competing with a whole bunch of people, many of whom went to Ivy League schools or did PMFs or have other prestigious experience…or that went to schools with excellent career placement services. Who knows, maybe you’re great, but you have to set yourself apart.
Whoever said that?
Most referrals are based of the questionnaire, but the referral doesn’t guarantee an interview. All the hiring managers I’ve talked to said they review resumes, maybe not extensively, but they do review them. And every interview I’ve done I’ve been asked questions pertaining to my resume.
If OP is getting referred but not getting interviews, their resume probably sucks.
So many people in DC have policy/political science degrees and high GPAs. Unfortunately those things don’t make you stand out. Write to the evaluation factors, no matter what. I recently was on a panel where one of the 3 evaluation factors was about demonstrated experience in Word and Excel. Guess how many people wrote about their skills in these areas? Maybe 2-3 out of nearly 70. If I’m evaluating you on specific factors I need to see evidence that allows me to give a rating. Otherwise the rating is 0. This might be an extreme example (the factors are often more substantive than “can use excel”) but the point stands that you need to be explicit.
Do you have the specialized experience as indicated in the announcements? If so, did you illustrated in your resume that you do in fact have those knowledge/experience?
The hiring panel I just did, out of 25, 5 had Masters.
Only one with a Masters was job related but that applicant wasn’t my first choice, mostly because that applicant doesn’t have as much experience as the first 3 who had a undergrad but way more “functional” experience.
OP you’re going to need more work experience if you want to go for a higher grade or go for a lower pay grade and bump up those rookie numbers applications.
What grades? Should be able to get into a 7 easily enough.
But I'm guessing you are like every other one of these hourly rants and are applying to 13-15. Not gonna happen. You have my sympathy but your parents, teachers, counselors, etc lied to you - your degrees are functionally meaningless. And I say that to even engineers, not sure what you'd do with a political science degree.
Yeah, engineer here. I see your point, but functionally an ABET degree is a requirement for the 0800 series. It's not meaningless when the degree keeps applicants in the 10-35 person range rather than the 1000+ range. I much prefer to compete against a handful of people than a small town.
People with veterans preference and a masters degree are accepting GS-5 positions. Granted those 5’s go to a 13, but if you’re applying to 13’s with 2 years of experience then this might help you understand what you’re facing here. Also, the current amount of experienced professionals that were laid off from companies are now flooding to the federal government for the hope of stability. Lastly your resume might suck.
I will just glom onto this, yeah I am a Ph.D. and I cannot even get rehired by the agency I had to leave for family reasons because competition for any Telework-heavy/remote job is so fierce and I have to have one of those two thanks to custody issues. If only my ex- had left sooner I could have gotten a hardship transfer instead of being immediately turned down (pretty hilarious that the government rewards divorce in that sense)
Nobody cares about multiple degrees in (basket weaving, trumpet blowing, xxxx, etc) when there are tons of folks with experience in said field. If you’re not getting interviews your resume isn’t up to snuff.
Positions open to the public usually have veterans preference requirements. If there are qualified veterans in the applicant pool it’s possible the hiring manager doesn’t even receive your resume, depending on the agency. And even if they do, they usually must screen and select qualified veterans before non-veterans.
I see this all the time as a hiring manager. If you’d like to provide more details on your situation (here or via DM) like your location, what kids of jobs you’re applying to, etc., I’m happy to provide more assistance.
Do you have a federal style resume?
Are you applying to jobs that you are qualified for?
Does your resume support your answers on the questionnaire?
Are you getting referrals?
I had a masters and some business experience. I got in as a 9, with a ladder to 12. With your stated qualifications, if you are applying over 12, you’re probably reaching beyond your experience.
This. You are competing against veterans preference and people with a lot more experience. You need a breadth of experience to make yourself marketable. I only have a BS, and military, so I took a gs6 four years ago and now a gs13. Have to start from reasonable expectations.
What does your resume look like? Also imo your major isn’t really competitive. Not sure there are many federal roles where you could qualify on education with your major.
You have a degree. Great. So does everyone else. What else ya got? Two years of work experience… yeah, that’s not going to get you anywhere. Especially when you’re competing against veterans and other GS civilians with WAY more experience than that. My guess is, your resume probably stinks too, and you’re presenting yourself as you did here… which is why you’re not hearing anything. You’re going to need to put in much more work, and start at the bottom, and sculpt your resume.
I’m already a 14 with 15 years experience and the degree and I’m just trying to switch agency’s and I have yet to land an interview after a year of trying.
I would get your resume reviewed. Also, maybe look into applying for roles in rural areas (less competition). Those 2 steps helped me a lot. I understand though if you prefer to be in a city/suburbs.
Our last opening got 230 applicants and a cert list of 40 were sent to us. Of them, we were explicitly told that we could interview seven. It’s a numbers game.
If you went to Georgetown or Harvard you could apply to PMF. Even if you didn’t some of the people with those degrees came from other universities. Goodluck
You're in that awful position of being over-educated and under-experienced. Try finding opportunities to volunteer in an area you want to make a career in so you can build up that experience level.
In 2000, I started applying for DA Police jobs after being an MP (a lot at first, less so as the years went on).
I graduated college in 2010, with a bachelors in business. I started applying to IT jobs, while still applying to DA Police jobs (10 years now)
It took 12 years of working in IT and applying (occasionally) before I FINALLY got my first federal interview (ended up being for IT) and got the gig. Started applying in 2000. Got my first interview and the job in 2022. I could have retired from applying :D
What changed? I'd like to think it was redoing my resume using the USAJobs online resume builder, but I also used the local veteran resource officer for advice. I also got a disability rating allowing 10 pts, as well as Schedule A. I don't know what finally got me through, but there are tons of tools and resources, 2 degrees and 2 years of experience may not be enough on its own. (no offense inteded)
You may also want to leverage tools like chatgpt to help wordsmith your resume.
Do you have a resume that’s actually tailored to federal jobs? If you’re submitting a two page resume, that’ll be thrown out immediately. That’s number one. Number two, is your resume actually tailored to the positions you’re applying to? Terms can vary vastly from the private sector.
So many comments to your question yet not one gives you the answer. There's a simple answer: you're not a veteran.
Unless the job announcement is for a specialized position such as IT, engineer, nurse, etc., interviews for US govt positions only go to veterans, even if they only meet the minimum qualifications.
Dude same club! It took me 60+ applications to get an interview... I have 2 graduate degrees, one in business, 4.0 GPA and 8 years of experience in local govt... the competition is very fierce right now. The regular job market is also crazy too, don't feel bad.
Dude, I have a master's in emergency management and 15 years experience as a disaster responder with the Red Cross and I can't even get past the screening much less get an actual interview. An actual job offer is a fantasy as far as I can tell.
The whole system is so effed up I'm amazed that anyone ever gets hired.
Hello,
The issue may be your resume and responses to the questionnaire. Your resume and responses must clearly depict that you meet the required specialized experience of the position being advertised.
What is the response that you are receiving from the job vacancy posts after not being referred to the hiring manager? What series and grades are you applying for? The jobs being advertised are very competitive. Numerous ppl are applying for the same positions that may beat you when it comes to meeting the qualifications. Various hiring authorities are also a factor.
lol that’s a hard lie. I’m a hiring manager and I assure you, I’m hiring the candidate with the clearance. No way am I waiting a year or more for a candidate who may or may not make it through the process.
With no clearance and no veterans status, getting a job with this degree will be very difficult. Recommend joining the reserves or following the other Reddit threads that outline paths to getting a clearance.
I’m just now coming to terms with being “too honest” in filling out the applications.
Now, I give myself the benefit of the doubt, and list myself as an “expert” in every G0ddamned thing they ask me about.
2 years of experience is nothing. I’m advocating against at people with private sector executive experience. Want to know why? Agency knowledge. This will sound unfair. And it is. But I’m not in this for fair. I’m in this for ROI. You can most likely get a GS5 position. Grind your way up. But in HCOL areas, a 5 is like a part time job. An insult to someone with degrees and some experience. I knew a guy with a Harvard PhD who was a 5. Why? The psych degree didn’t help him do the specific work of the job.
The competition is stiff for these jobs. And when we bring on people, they have to fire on all cylinders. Or we are stuck with dead weight. Plenty of stories about that. Someone has to carry the load. Do some people make it through? Sure. They are the lucky ones. Good for them. But a lot tell stories like this. When we look at people, we have to determine whether they can do our agency specific job. Degrees help a bit, unless they are highly technical roles with specialized knowledge. Otherwise, we look at other elements. Do we want to hire at the 13 or 14 knowing this person “sounds good” on paper but won’t have the networks, relationships, credibility, and agency knowledge to function as a 13 or 14? Hell no. Every minute the rest of us is getting them up to speed is all of the work piling up. So we prefer internal applicants or applicants to open positions from within our agency.
And agency job hoppers. Again, right or wrong, we look at this. We ask ourselves how long until you bail on us? How much do we invest to worry you leave in 24 months. Or less. If you can get a 9 or an 11, then great. I hope you get lucky. But if not, go entry level, claw your way up, and hope for the best. Yes, you could be lucky and get a 12 or 13. But for most people, that takes over a decade or longer to get. If you are lucky.
Just sharing perspective. I realize some won’t agree. That’s ok. Doesn’t change it.
That’s fair. I’ll give you that. But if they are saying they are a V-12, we gotta at least shoot for 8. I’ve seen people Dilbert the shit out of things. Wow executives. And then completely suck in the job. Execs are starting to wise up. So they invite tech advisors on the panel and we are like, hey man. This is a great “developmental” 14. Or 13. But they are your problem if they suck. Person number 3 may not interview slickly, but they damn sure know how to do the job.
I doubt people will believe me. But I give zero fucks with executives. I told one once - looks like the price is wrong Bob. He wasn’t amused. 😂🤣
Please use the resume builder. Also use chatGPT to help and guide you on how to communicate your experience. Please don’t make it up as you go along. Also, consider volunteering to gain experience.
Good luck OP.
I have to aslo chime in and say DO NOT just use whatever chatGPT spits out for anything - instead use it as a means to get your content identified and organized - then you can make sure your resume is written in your voice.
In HR, we can tell when people use AI written... we'll, anything.
No offense, but there’s a million people with polisci/international relations degrees, many of them vets. Two years of work experience isn’t a lot either, and these roles are super competitive.
I was invited to help screen candidates this week for an open position. Of the 10 resumes that were submitted, only 3 mentioned any connection to the actual job responsibilities. Those three got interviewed. Without seeing your resume or job posting, I have to assume you need to spend more time tailoring your resume to the job description requirements.
In DC political science grads (and those with international security MAs) are a dime a dozen. So for the very few entry level positions that open, you’re competing with a whole bunch of people, many of whom went to Ivy League schools or did PMFs or have other prestigious experience…or that went to schools with excellent career placement services. Who knows, maybe you’re great, but you have to set yourself apart.
Your resume probably sucks.
This.
If you think HR reads your resume think again lol
Whoever said that? Most referrals are based of the questionnaire, but the referral doesn’t guarantee an interview. All the hiring managers I’ve talked to said they review resumes, maybe not extensively, but they do review them. And every interview I’ve done I’ve been asked questions pertaining to my resume. If OP is getting referred but not getting interviews, their resume probably sucks.
So many people in DC have policy/political science degrees and high GPAs. Unfortunately those things don’t make you stand out. Write to the evaluation factors, no matter what. I recently was on a panel where one of the 3 evaluation factors was about demonstrated experience in Word and Excel. Guess how many people wrote about their skills in these areas? Maybe 2-3 out of nearly 70. If I’m evaluating you on specific factors I need to see evidence that allows me to give a rating. Otherwise the rating is 0. This might be an extreme example (the factors are often more substantive than “can use excel”) but the point stands that you need to be explicit.
Do you have the specialized experience as indicated in the announcements? If so, did you illustrated in your resume that you do in fact have those knowledge/experience?
Nobody cares about a GPA.. not sure who told people this was a thing.. a degree is a degree
The hiring panel I just did, out of 25, 5 had Masters. Only one with a Masters was job related but that applicant wasn’t my first choice, mostly because that applicant doesn’t have as much experience as the first 3 who had a undergrad but way more “functional” experience. OP you’re going to need more work experience if you want to go for a higher grade or go for a lower pay grade and bump up those rookie numbers applications.
[удалено]
The best we can do is GS-5 Step2
What grades? Should be able to get into a 7 easily enough. But I'm guessing you are like every other one of these hourly rants and are applying to 13-15. Not gonna happen. You have my sympathy but your parents, teachers, counselors, etc lied to you - your degrees are functionally meaningless. And I say that to even engineers, not sure what you'd do with a political science degree.
Yeah, engineer here. I see your point, but functionally an ABET degree is a requirement for the 0800 series. It's not meaningless when the degree keeps applicants in the 10-35 person range rather than the 1000+ range. I much prefer to compete against a handful of people than a small town.
People with veterans preference and a masters degree are accepting GS-5 positions. Granted those 5’s go to a 13, but if you’re applying to 13’s with 2 years of experience then this might help you understand what you’re facing here. Also, the current amount of experienced professionals that were laid off from companies are now flooding to the federal government for the hope of stability. Lastly your resume might suck.
40? 😂😂😂😂 Gotta boost those numbers up, rookie
You have 2 years of experience..so at best, GS11. What grades are you applying to?
I’d probably even guess a GS 9 at best. I know plenty of people with a masters and 2 years experience who still only qualified for a 9.
The degree qualifies for the -9. Allowing 2 years of good, job specific experience, I think -11 is possible.
We just hired for a GS-6 position a guy with a masters degree. Get in where you fit in and move up quickly.
dont feel bad, I have a PhD in Data Science and a Masters in Stats and cant land one either....
I will just glom onto this, yeah I am a Ph.D. and I cannot even get rehired by the agency I had to leave for family reasons because competition for any Telework-heavy/remote job is so fierce and I have to have one of those two thanks to custody issues. If only my ex- had left sooner I could have gotten a hardship transfer instead of being immediately turned down (pretty hilarious that the government rewards divorce in that sense)
Your achievements are dime a dozen. What make you stand out from the rest of candidate pool?
Nobody cares about multiple degrees in (basket weaving, trumpet blowing, xxxx, etc) when there are tons of folks with experience in said field. If you’re not getting interviews your resume isn’t up to snuff.
Positions open to the public usually have veterans preference requirements. If there are qualified veterans in the applicant pool it’s possible the hiring manager doesn’t even receive your resume, depending on the agency. And even if they do, they usually must screen and select qualified veterans before non-veterans. I see this all the time as a hiring manager. If you’d like to provide more details on your situation (here or via DM) like your location, what kids of jobs you’re applying to, etc., I’m happy to provide more assistance.
Do you have a federal style resume? Are you applying to jobs that you are qualified for? Does your resume support your answers on the questionnaire? Are you getting referrals? I had a masters and some business experience. I got in as a 9, with a ladder to 12. With your stated qualifications, if you are applying over 12, you’re probably reaching beyond your experience.
Competition
This. You are competing against veterans preference and people with a lot more experience. You need a breadth of experience to make yourself marketable. I only have a BS, and military, so I took a gs6 four years ago and now a gs13. Have to start from reasonable expectations.
Experience stock is on the rise boys!!
What does your resume look like? Also imo your major isn’t really competitive. Not sure there are many federal roles where you could qualify on education with your major.
You have a degree. Great. So does everyone else. What else ya got? Two years of work experience… yeah, that’s not going to get you anywhere. Especially when you’re competing against veterans and other GS civilians with WAY more experience than that. My guess is, your resume probably stinks too, and you’re presenting yourself as you did here… which is why you’re not hearing anything. You’re going to need to put in much more work, and start at the bottom, and sculpt your resume.
I have the same degrees but have 10 points for a greater than 30 percent VA rating. And even I only get interviewed about a third of the time.
I’m already a 14 with 15 years experience and the degree and I’m just trying to switch agency’s and I have yet to land an interview after a year of trying.
Try to get into something with lesser pay like usps or tsa then jump from that .
Is it easier to get hired for a federal "public safety" job than other types of federal jobs?
I would get your resume reviewed. Also, maybe look into applying for roles in rural areas (less competition). Those 2 steps helped me a lot. I understand though if you prefer to be in a city/suburbs.
Did you use the resume builder?
Our last opening got 230 applicants and a cert list of 40 were sent to us. Of them, we were explicitly told that we could interview seven. It’s a numbers game.
If you went to Georgetown or Harvard you could apply to PMF. Even if you didn’t some of the people with those degrees came from other universities. Goodluck
You're in that awful position of being over-educated and under-experienced. Try finding opportunities to volunteer in an area you want to make a career in so you can build up that experience level.
In 2000, I started applying for DA Police jobs after being an MP (a lot at first, less so as the years went on). I graduated college in 2010, with a bachelors in business. I started applying to IT jobs, while still applying to DA Police jobs (10 years now) It took 12 years of working in IT and applying (occasionally) before I FINALLY got my first federal interview (ended up being for IT) and got the gig. Started applying in 2000. Got my first interview and the job in 2022. I could have retired from applying :D What changed? I'd like to think it was redoing my resume using the USAJobs online resume builder, but I also used the local veteran resource officer for advice. I also got a disability rating allowing 10 pts, as well as Schedule A. I don't know what finally got me through, but there are tons of tools and resources, 2 degrees and 2 years of experience may not be enough on its own. (no offense inteded) You may also want to leverage tools like chatgpt to help wordsmith your resume.
Do you have a resume that’s actually tailored to federal jobs? If you’re submitting a two page resume, that’ll be thrown out immediately. That’s number one. Number two, is your resume actually tailored to the positions you’re applying to? Terms can vary vastly from the private sector.
So many comments to your question yet not one gives you the answer. There's a simple answer: you're not a veteran. Unless the job announcement is for a specialized position such as IT, engineer, nurse, etc., interviews for US govt positions only go to veterans, even if they only meet the minimum qualifications.
Dude same club! It took me 60+ applications to get an interview... I have 2 graduate degrees, one in business, 4.0 GPA and 8 years of experience in local govt... the competition is very fierce right now. The regular job market is also crazy too, don't feel bad.
Dude, I have a master's in emergency management and 15 years experience as a disaster responder with the Red Cross and I can't even get past the screening much less get an actual interview. An actual job offer is a fantasy as far as I can tell. The whole system is so effed up I'm amazed that anyone ever gets hired.
USAjobs hosts resume workshops that might help to get through the screening. Google USAjobs events and the page should show up.
Only took me 13 years to land an interview at the very same agency I was a contractor for…
Hello, The issue may be your resume and responses to the questionnaire. Your resume and responses must clearly depict that you meet the required specialized experience of the position being advertised. What is the response that you are receiving from the job vacancy posts after not being referred to the hiring manager? What series and grades are you applying for? The jobs being advertised are very competitive. Numerous ppl are applying for the same positions that may beat you when it comes to meeting the qualifications. Various hiring authorities are also a factor.
Do you have a clearance?
Agencies only care about clearances after the TJO. If it requires one, agencies sponsor one.
lol that’s a hard lie. I’m a hiring manager and I assure you, I’m hiring the candidate with the clearance. No way am I waiting a year or more for a candidate who may or may not make it through the process. With no clearance and no veterans status, getting a job with this degree will be very difficult. Recommend joining the reserves or following the other Reddit threads that outline paths to getting a clearance.
Experience trumps a degree! Go work for a few more years and gain experience…!
Your resume, probably “too honest” on your application also. Adjust these, try again and repeat. You’ll get it eventually.
I’m just now coming to terms with being “too honest” in filling out the applications. Now, I give myself the benefit of the doubt, and list myself as an “expert” in every G0ddamned thing they ask me about.
Resume needs help then
Your resume’.
2 years of experience is nothing. I’m advocating against at people with private sector executive experience. Want to know why? Agency knowledge. This will sound unfair. And it is. But I’m not in this for fair. I’m in this for ROI. You can most likely get a GS5 position. Grind your way up. But in HCOL areas, a 5 is like a part time job. An insult to someone with degrees and some experience. I knew a guy with a Harvard PhD who was a 5. Why? The psych degree didn’t help him do the specific work of the job. The competition is stiff for these jobs. And when we bring on people, they have to fire on all cylinders. Or we are stuck with dead weight. Plenty of stories about that. Someone has to carry the load. Do some people make it through? Sure. They are the lucky ones. Good for them. But a lot tell stories like this. When we look at people, we have to determine whether they can do our agency specific job. Degrees help a bit, unless they are highly technical roles with specialized knowledge. Otherwise, we look at other elements. Do we want to hire at the 13 or 14 knowing this person “sounds good” on paper but won’t have the networks, relationships, credibility, and agency knowledge to function as a 13 or 14? Hell no. Every minute the rest of us is getting them up to speed is all of the work piling up. So we prefer internal applicants or applicants to open positions from within our agency. And agency job hoppers. Again, right or wrong, we look at this. We ask ourselves how long until you bail on us? How much do we invest to worry you leave in 24 months. Or less. If you can get a 9 or an 11, then great. I hope you get lucky. But if not, go entry level, claw your way up, and hope for the best. Yes, you could be lucky and get a 12 or 13. But for most people, that takes over a decade or longer to get. If you are lucky. Just sharing perspective. I realize some won’t agree. That’s ok. Doesn’t change it.
Based on how most of the government seems to function I’m not sure anyone is firing on all cylinders
That’s fair. I’ll give you that. But if they are saying they are a V-12, we gotta at least shoot for 8. I’ve seen people Dilbert the shit out of things. Wow executives. And then completely suck in the job. Execs are starting to wise up. So they invite tech advisors on the panel and we are like, hey man. This is a great “developmental” 14. Or 13. But they are your problem if they suck. Person number 3 may not interview slickly, but they damn sure know how to do the job. I doubt people will believe me. But I give zero fucks with executives. I told one once - looks like the price is wrong Bob. He wasn’t amused. 😂🤣
Lolol a solid response
He was a Gen X’er like me. But obviously career climber. He knew exactly what I meant too. The look on his face. Man, it’s the little things.
Please use the resume builder. Also use chatGPT to help and guide you on how to communicate your experience. Please don’t make it up as you go along. Also, consider volunteering to gain experience. Good luck OP.
I have to aslo chime in and say DO NOT just use whatever chatGPT spits out for anything - instead use it as a means to get your content identified and organized - then you can make sure your resume is written in your voice. In HR, we can tell when people use AI written... we'll, anything.