US Department of State hiring again

tprice5

da_vato wrote: »

7lowe and rwmidl could answer those questions for you or give you enough information to answer them.

I am not sure if I had the hard data for this position in front of me I could make that determination. I am really curious about the private sector and my earning potential within it.

FrankMat74

da_vato- I would agree with you on all accounts; I follow the blogs to gauge reasonable expectations. When this last message went out, it did have a feeling that just maybe the last announcement was decided. Patience is key.

rwmidl

Not sure what the question is. If you are current civil service all of your benefits, etc will transfer over. I was prior civil service with DoD and everything transferred over (retirement, time in service, vacation/sick leave, etc).

7lowe

Well, just to update you guys with the mid-level bidding process which I'm currently doing for the first time, it sucks. LOL

In fairness, it's probably not really that bad, but my expectations were set wildly incorrectly by some people and I expected everything to be settled much faster. As long as you know the reality of the timeline, I don't think it's that bad. I'm hoping that in 3 years when I'm going through this again it will be much easier since I'll have been through it this time. If not, I can't see myself going through all of this anxiety every few years. But, I think most of the anxiety was just from the unknown of not having done it before combined with getting bad information from a few people.

I should (hopefully) know for sure my next assignment the week after next.

7lowe

tprice5 wrote: »

I am not sure if I had the hard data for this position in front of me I could make that determination. I am really curious about the private sector and my earning potential within it.

I can understand this. One of the things I like is that after you get tenure if you want to leave and try something in the private sector you can quit and if you change your mind within like 5 years you basically jump to the front of the hiring line (ie... they have to be hiring, so it's not guaranteed, but if they are then you can come right back in.)

However, so far everyone I've met that quit thinking that the grass is greener on some higher paying gig as a contractor or something has come back pretty quickly. People tend to take for granted some of the benefits and don't include them in the comparison and then after they leave find out they are working a lot harder and actually aren't really bringing home more money.

tprice5

c'est la vie

State Department wrote:

Thank you for your application to become a Foreign Service Information Management Specialist.

Unfortunately, we must inform you that your application will not move to the next stage of the process. We gave your application the careful consideration it deserves while adhering to strict guidelines. Although this decision may be disappointing to you, we appreciate your interest in the Foreign Service of the United States. Even though we are unable to continue with your application under this announcement, you may apply again one year from the original date of your application or as soon after that as the vacancy announcement reopens.

If you have any questions, please email IMSVacancyInfo@state.gov

Again, thank you very much for your interest in a career with the United States Department of State.

Respectfully,


U.S. Department of State
IMSVacancyInfo@state.gov

da_vato

I guess that helps you make up your mind... Do you think you will try again next year (or later)?

FrankMat74

I would try again. I just got the nod I passed the QEP. Failed the FSOT two months ago.

tprice5

da_vato wrote: »

I guess that helps you make up your mind... Do you think you will try again next year (or later)?

Probably not. I'm leaning towards consulting. I should be announcing a new job in the near future if all goes well. I am in late talks with a Microsoft vendor partner for a System Center PFE role. I think consulting and working closely with Microsoft will be more beneficial to my career than anything I would be doing with the government, state department or otherwise.

That, and voluntarily being away from friends and family has really not been ideal. A lot of my friends have lost parents in the last few months and I've grown apart from a lot of my friends, save the closest of them. Just looking forward to living back stateside. This entire experience was not the exotic, culturally immersed, adventure I had hoped it would be. I am sure Europe, SE Asia or South America would have been more my style, but it just wasn't in the cards.

I'll just head back to Nashville, maybe coach a high school hockey team, hone my System Center skills and hopefully you guys will see me writing the release docs for SCCM 2020 .

da_vato

I know you were on the fence about this job, good to hear you have a plan and looking forward to it. I wish you the very best of luck and hopefully you can enjoy some Calypso Cafe and Savarino's Cucina for me (my two favorite restaurants in Nashville)
I fully understand your feelings towards your overseas experience. My first year overseas was very similar, lots of stuff happening back home that I was missing, growing distant from or losing friends, and isolated… All of that eventually passed and I became obsessed with new places specifically food (not trying to change your mind).

FrankMat74

Best luck to you. I know alot of candid comments here help me. Now to see how the OA process will fare.

Nyblizzard

Hmmmm....

Given he wasn't accepted despite his list of certifications (and I'll assume the job experience and education to match), I'm quite nervous at what my chances would look like a year or two from now.

FrankMat74

NYblizzard- I would follow the advice those that have provided throughout the threads. I know I did.

FrankMat74

NYblizzard- hope you have joined the Yahoo FSS group. I am now preparing all my screening material so I can get put onto the register.

Nyblizzard

Frank - Congrats! I've been following the Yahoo FSS Group for a long time now and really love how much people communicate on there. Let us know how the rest of your process goes

John-John

This job has tenure? That's cool. Sounds like it is loaded with benefits. I bet the best way to get this job would be to learn Arabic. I see my rating in the military is listed. I might give this a shot next time.

SaSkiller

I received a move to the interview stage but haven't been contacted about when it might actually occur. IDK if I'm going to actually try for it, it seems ridiculous to do such an interview for a IT position. "Can you do the job?" "Can you work with people?" If they come back I might go, but I'm not going to train for the assessment. If I were offered a position, i'd have to seriously think about it, its outside of security and at a pay loss.

da_vato

FrankMat74 wrote: »

I am now preparing all my screening material so I can get put onto the register.

Congratulations. I hope your process goes quicker than mine has. I’ve been in limbo because of the security clearance and the bad thing is the holdup has nothing at all to do with me.

SaSkiller wrote: »

If they come back I might go, but I'm not going to train for the assessment. If I were offered a position, i'd have to seriously think about it, its outside of security and at a pay loss

I did the same thing as you, I did not do any kind of training or prep work. I figured they either want me or not. I am taking a pretty big pay loss pursuing this job as well but understand this… your biggest bill in your life is most likely housing (or it is for most people), that is a bill that you will no longer have to pay. So in essence your check is entirely yours. Plus there are a lot of supplemental pays that you will receive that you do not take into consideration upfront.

MrAgent

@da_vato: If you don't own a house, then yeah its not an issue.
What do you do when you finish your service? Continue to rent?
A lot of people end up having to pay for their mortgage while overseas. You do need something to come back to.

7lowe

I think most people either don't have a house or they rent it out so the renters are essentially paying their mortgage. That's a good thing since you have no house payment you can afford to make one until you find a renter and they start paying it. Then by the time your are finished and ready to move back to the states you'll probably have your house paid for.

Most, but not all that do have them, have them in the DC area. Personally, I have almost no interest in owning a house since I don't yet know of a place that I'd want to spend the rest of my life. For now, I just max out my TSP, Roth, HSA, and then make "pretend" mortgage payments into a separate account so I'll have plenty to pay down if/when I do find a place.

rwmidl

Bumping this. DoS has just opened up the IMS vacancy again.

https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/specialist/information-management-specialist-selection-process/