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all thwy do is blowhot air there is thousands of angry veterans being denied government jobs and we civilians who never served with less education hired, thats the respect we get because the anti veterans sentiment, veteran prefernce is a lie and full of loop holes. enlisted veterans will have a real hard time and if your a women veteran forget it., your going to get the big runaround from every agency
Many hiring managers snubbing vets

Complaints about the veterans’ hiring preferences for federal jobs have prompted a House panel to question if the Office of Personnel Management is up to the job of setting and enforcing the policy.
The House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on economic opportunity, with jurisdiction over veterans’ employment programs but not over federal personnel practices, was told that despite renewed emphasis on hiring veterans, many obstacles remain.
“On nearly a daily basis, my office receives inquiries from disabled veterans who believe their preference rights have been overlooked or ignored,” said Brian Lawrence of Disabled American Veterans.
Meg Bartley of the National Veterans Legal Service Program said her group has spent eight years reviewing and investigating veterans’ preference violations.

“Our conclusion, based on discussions with individual veterans, review of numerous complaints and participation in litigation concerning alleged veterans’ preference violations, is there are many violations of the spirit and the letter of veterans’ preference laws.”
Bartley identified three practices by some hiring managers that deprive veterans of what she called “even-handed” treatment:
• Canceling job postings to avoid hiring veterans who are the top candidates.
• Issuing complicated job listings — known as certificates — that allow multiple competitions for a single job.
• Filling jobs outside the normal competitive exam process where veterans’ preference would apply.
The law awards five points in a competitive review to most veterans and 10 points to veterans who have disabilities rated at 30 percent or more.
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., subcommittee chairwoman, said she thinks something needs to be done because the veterans’ preference program is confusing and does not seem to be given the same emphasis in every federal agency.
Some argued that the outsourcing of some types of federal jobs, such as security guards, also hurts veterans.A representative of the American Federation of Government Employees said new physical training requirements weed out some veterans from jobs as government security guards. Mary Jean Burke, first executive vice president for the union’s National Veterans Affairs Council, said that when physical requirements were established, many employees were grandfathered or given waivers.
“Now, the Army, and ultimately [the Defense Department], are seeking to force these requirements on existing employees, many of whom are disabled veterans,” she said.
Roger Tadsen, a certified fraud examiner with the Air Force Audit Agency, described a 15-year battle to receive promotions that were instead going to people with less experience, ignoring the fact that as a 70 percent disabled veteran, he should have received special treatment.
“It has taken almost nine years for my promotion to GS-13. The average for the majority of others is three years or less,” said Tadsen, whose military career ended after 15 years when be became partially paralyzed after surgery.
Veterans’ preference laws apply to hiring and to handling of reductions-in-force but not to promotions, although there has been talk of adding promotions, transfers, reassignments and reinstatement to the situations where being a veteran would be a bonus.
AFGE’s Burke said even protections for reductions-in-force appear to have eroded because of new personnel rules being used by the Pentagon and Homeland Security Department.
An example, she said, would be if the Air Force eliminated jobs at a maintenance depot. Under new rules, an F-16 aircraft mechanic who is a disabled veteran could avoid a reduction-in-force by displacing a nonveteran working on another aircraft. New rules do not allow a switch between aircraft types.
Federal personnel officials admit there are problems, but say they seem to be isolated.
“The vast majority of federal agencies follow veterans’ preference requirements to the letter of the law,” insisted Anita Hanson, outreach group manager for the Office of Personnel Management.
“We typically do not see systemic violations of veterans’ preference across an entire agency,” she said. “When we do find problems, they tend to be isolated to a specific installation or organization and are typically caused by inadequate direction or lack of adequate accountability systems.”
She pointed out that, of the 456,000 veterans in the federal work force, 93,000 are disabled and 50,000 are rated at 30 percent or greater disability.
OPM doesn’t track cancelled job postings, she said, and keeping such a record would not reflect why a posting was changed.
Testimony from the Veterans Affairs Department, where 31 percent of employees are veterans, showed that progress does not come easy.
Willie Hensley, VA deputy assistant secretary for human resource management, said an average of 787 veterans are hired every month as a result of a strong recruiting drive. However, VA also is losing 810 veterans a month, some to retirement, some to other jobs. Vietnam veterans, in particular, are leaving in large numbers.
The Defense Department has 227,730 civilian workers who are veterans, 33,681 of them rated as 30 percent disabled or higher.
Patricia Bradshaw, deputy undersecretary of Defense for civilian personnel policy, said the military is trying to hire more veterans through a recruitment program called Hiring Heroes, with job fairs involving federal, state and local agencies.
“The fairs provide a unique environment where our service members can meet face-to-face with employment recruiters, learn firsthand about jobs and career choices and establish connections,” she said, noting that nine of the 11 job fairs held so far were at or near military hospitals so that wounded combat veterans and their families could attend.
Two agencies oversee veterans’ hiring rules: the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service at the Labor Department.
John McWilliam, deputy assistant secretary of Labor for veterans’ employment and training, said most investigations of complaints about veterans’ preference tend to not find any problems. So far this fiscal year, the Labor Department has completed 335 investigations, only nine of which were found to have merit, he said.
Neil McPhie, Merit Systems Protection Board chairman, said the board has received 1,600 veteran-related complaints since 1998. Most concerned alleged failures by agencies to apply veterans’ preference points in hiring. He did not have statistics to show the outcome of cases.

I am a female veteran and have applied for government jobs for the past 6 years. I have a college degree, years of experience in administration and human resources. Doesn't matter! I can never seem to get hired or even get an interview for the matter. It can be a year before you get notification that a job you applied for was filled. What is going on?

VETERAN KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND LAWS, START QUESTIONING AND DO NO'T ACCEPT THERE BS AND LIES and believe me your get alot of that. Here is the HR OPM BIBLE page 178, start sending FOIA letters to all you applied, the lawlessness and the anti-veteran sentiment comming out of these Government agencys HR hiring office. read this guide and start sending FOIA request letters, on all job refusals start doing your own investigations, if you get a name call them, see if they are veteran education, etc. ask questions. http://www.opm.gov/deu/Handbook_2007/DEO_Handbook.pdf read page 178, use the FOIA generator paste and copy start sending letters on refusals, when you get enough contact the media, your Senator, Representaive they know its happening and will do little. See each agency acts like there "United States of own own rules, you have one agency that will give you name of the person hired, and you have another that will not, that is public information the VA will not they want you to go through there gaulent of FOIA unhelp.
As you see on page 178 on the bible, there is many questions you can ask, SEND THEM A FOIA LETTER. Many with DOL/VETS. you will be wasting your time, but at least they get in the system. When they tell you to appeal, that is another way the government is telling the VET to go away, because they know the soldier can't afford 4 to 5 thousand dollars for MSPB lawyer and the government does not give you one or will pay for it, THEY SHOULD. But if your try to do it your self all your find out there just another office that will make excuses and will protect the government.
Veterans its not the corporations that hate us, its our own government, if there letting hiring practices like that that is hate. Write your politicians I already did, do they care "?".
Good luck Veterans, and women veterans we need more then luck we need a God send.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3026827

THE TRUTH http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3026827, Iput in over 500 government applications, the truth is the government has many anti veteran, anti american people working in there HR offices. The facts are there in Black and White even the DAV in April 2009 Issue states the VA only hire 30 percent Veteran and 8 percent disabled veterans, and its not just the VA, but lets talk about the VA, they will deny you, they will hire less educated then you, and if your a women veteran forget it. The VA will violate your FOIA rights then perjure them selves, getting help forget it the DOL is worthless, theylike to tell you to appeal to MSPB because they have no idea how to do there jobs, Then when you go the MSPB fair hearing no way, you need to hire a lawyer got 5000 dollars, 5k to fight a government you fought to protect, the MSPB lawyers want another arm and leg you already gave to protect America. There is no help for veterans out there for jobs, just do what everybody does stay home, your get a job then. Network? you mean like all the civilains will tell you that work at the VA, how they got in I knew someone within, but I got a high school,diploma and I never served that whay i get 70 percent of the time, forget until our govrnment does a congressional inquiry veterans forget it, they need to get rid of all the loop holes, that these anti veterans HR have matter of fact they need to start getting rid of many of the HR that have not served and hire some that have, to work these hiring agencies.

Great information on the things you think will get you hired but I am sorry to report it is not what you know or what you have done its who you know and who you have pissed off that is now in the hiring authority position. NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK! Its all about who you know. You may be the Lords gift to mankind in your area of expertise but if you don't know the right poepl to get you hired you won't get the job even if you are recommended. I recommend the following as well: 1) If you are not recommended appeal the decision and fight for it, the last thing they want is a congressional inquiry or a DAV inquiry into discrimanatory hiring practices. 2) Apply VERY early in the job announcement posting. 3) Know someone where you want to work.

I recently did a project with the DoD for their hiring and recruiting. I worked on USAJobs from the hiring side as well as the candidate side. There are are certain things that most candidates are unaware of:
1. Sometimes the hiring group will hire based on the paperwork and never meet the candidate.
Because of this, it is very important to ensure that when candidates self nominate that they mirror the job description within their resume and not making sure that the apprpriate key words are being used.
2. Applying to the government is different than applying for jobs in the private sector. For government jobs you need to make sure that the resume and application contains EVERY job, training class, certification, education, award, etc. is included. The data should incllude EVERYTHING you have ever done.
3. Applicants should make sure that the MEET all qualification criteria.

You do not need a professional resume writer for government jobs if you have all the information on past employment because the format doesn't come out the same way you put it in.

Good Luck!
Bonnie@placementprofessionals.com

should be-folks at Nc CPAC DO NOT care

I think your 11 steps is a good artice - but for 5 years I have applied for positions at the North Central US Army CPAC for Ft. Sam Houston Texas and have yet to get a bite on my resume. My resume has been through 7 re-writes and the last time it was co-authored by a representative from the Office of Personnel Management and rated at a GS 11-12 level only to be turned down cold by the North Central CPAC. Even my Military Service was insulted by a Mr. Hanson who is a Human Resource Representative at this very Office. But guess what nothing was done I wrote the appropiate people reference these issues and guess what nothing got done. Veterans do not have the advantage as you say they do with the US Army North Central CPAC office, even the director is a lame duck. They do not think they have to answer questions and they act like they are untouchable. This is the largest buch of sad sacks I have had the displeasure of dealing with. My opinion they all should be replaced.

Kenneth J. Carden
SFC US Army retired
210.296.4742