How Do You Get a GS Job in NoVA/DC?

[NOVAChick]

Originally Posted by jaunespinoza

When they ask you to "voluntarily" state your race/gender; check the box for American Indian. I've always noticed on flight to DC, the business people are NOT wearing formal business attire (black pin stripe, white shirt), so maybe you should take that green polyester leisure suit to the cleaners.
The longest year of my life was spent as a statistician in the Office of Equal Opportunity, within a very large Federal Agency. Some of the worst cafeteria food I have ever witnesses, and that includes 12 years of public school service.

It always get sketchy when they ask you to "voluntarily" check the race/gender box that SHOULD have no bearings on whether you get the job or not. I just check black and female b/c if they don't want me there, I don't want to slide in from the side then hate my work environment b/c they wanted another race/gender. I just got finished working at this racist Contract company that was FULL of sexual harrassment and I don't look forward to being in that situation again. I gladly want them to pass me by if that kind of stuff matters to them that much.

[Alicia Bradley]

I'm probably a freak of nature in this regard, but I got the first gov't job (at a national, insanely corrupt, I've come to discover, cultural institution) I applied for coming out of grad school. Because of that, I used to run around extolling the virtues of the "objective" federal application process, with its endless KSAs, questionnaires, etc. At this point I'm as a jaded as one can be about the gov't as an employer and just think I happened to be extremely lucky back then.

[NOVAChick]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

I'm probably a freak of nature in this regard, but I got the first gov't job (at a national, insanely corrupt, I've come to discover, cultural institution) I applied for coming out of grad school. Because of that, I used to run around extolling the virtues of the "objective" federal application process, with its endless KSAs, questionnaires, etc. At this point I'm as a jaded as one can be about the gov't as an employer and just think I happened to be extremely lucky back then.

I would love to work for the government. It was wierd b/c after getting out the Army, the contract company was like, NO rules here! It was VERY corrupt. I went thru a lot to get over all the crap I had to deal with there and almost switched careers to avoid going thru that ever again. But after much soul searching, I decided to stay in my career, however, I am A LOT more selective of who I decide to work for. Like someone once told me, "You should be interviewing and checking out the company even as they are interviewing you."