I’m a career government employee — over 20 years of service spread over almost 30 years. (Obviously, there were breaks in service.) I started my career as a GS-4 supply clerk in Frankfurt, Germany, back when there were two Germanys, and worked in the Abrams building, going up and down the Paternosters. I’m now a GS-14 working in a job that has its good days and its bad days, just like any other job.
One thing I’ve always done through the years is apply for other Federal opportunities. Now, I want to share my experience in the government job market. I’m not here to slam OPM, others have done that pretty well. But I am going to share my frustrations, incredulity, skepticism, long-suffering, indignant feelings with you.
Gentle readers, join with me in reviewing the latest “Notice of Results” I received. Presented to you as it was sent to me, with some of the PII removed, line breaks exactly as it was received. I don’t know which agency this job is with, I don’t keep all the job announcements. I don’t know what my rating of “ILNR” means, I don’t know where to look it up. And I do know that there is no such word as “amoung,” at least not in my dictionary.
N O T I C E O F R E S U L T S
VHA CBO WFM HR OFFICE
CBO — WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT
TOWNSITE PLAZA II
120 SE 6TH ST – SUITE 102
TOPEKA KS 66603
XXXXXXXX JXXXXXX,
Date Issued: November 9, 2011
Social Security Number: XXX-XX-XXXX
Eligibility Expires: 11/07/2011
Phone:
This is a record of your application for Federal Employment in the occupation shown above. This is not a job offer. This notice
provides information contained in your record as it appears in the files of the Servicing Office shown above. Your qualification and any
veteran preference claims are subject to verification.
Series – PositionTitle: 0343 – Supervisory Program Analyst
Vacancy ID: 534070
Announcement Number: OY534070KAA
Date of Availability: 10/24/2011
Full-time Employment: Yes
Part-time Employment:
Temporary Employment:
Travel Availability:
Geographic Availability:
Orlando, FL
Atlanta, GA
Veteran Preference: 0 Points – NV (not adjudicated)
You must meet all medical, suitability, and qualification requirements to be considered for a position.
Spec Code: Spec Title: Grade: Rating:
001 Supervisory Program Analyst 14 ILNR
Rating Code: Rating Message:
ILNR We have reviewed your application and found you qualified for this position. However, you were not
amoung
the most highly qualified candidates. Therefore, your name will not be referred to the selecting offical at
this
time. If we receive a request for additional candidates within the next 90 days, your application will
again be
reviewed for possible referral.
PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL MESSAGE. IT IS AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED.
For additional information, please refer to the vacancy announcement for this position.
Thanks for sharing that Melissa. I too have been the recipient of the dreaded auto-reply message, depersonalized to the point of near incomprehension. Definitely a bit frustrating. I understand they probably get a ridiculous amount of applications for each posting, and some form of automation is necessary, but I just have to believe that there’s a better way of communicating an applicant’s status than what they currently send out. I’d like to see someone attempt to create an alternative, better crafted option. Couldn’t be too difficult, could it? Any takers?
I’ve experienced these same kinds of emails. Why can’t they have a human write them? Surely they have carbon-based life forms at OPM. The email could still be an auto-reply but something clearer, with an explanation of the process and the acronyms plus a link for more information on HR categories. For example, how can you be “best qualified” but be one of several people and not get interviewed? Or what about the “announcement cancelled notice” – what does that mean? Why did they cancel it? This seems to be something that only happens in government. Between USAJOBS and their opaque and confusing process, it’s really intolerable.
We all know how to create a simple mail merge with Word….how easy would it be to make this email comprehensible, even when sending out hundreds of replies. And really, are there hundreds of applicants for all the jobs? Is there anywhere to find metrics? The Army “Answer” site shows you how many people applied for positions.
So sad it’s funny.
Many, many things happen in life, family, church, and government that I don’t understand. Because I am a very busy person, the only thing I want to hear regarding an application is “Can you come in for an interview….?” Otherwise I ignore these messages.
And we wonder why government gets a bad rap ….
Terrific example of bad customer service. You are right to expect more.
@Joe, Recruitments can go sideways for many reasons. Management might cancel a vacancy because of budgetary issues. It’s possible the cadre of applicants did not appeal to management and that management chose to readvertise the position. Whatever occurs, applicants deserve to know the status of their applications timely. The process has improved with automation but it has not advanced to where it should be.
OPM sends partial SSNs through email, which is not secure, even after news of their huge security breach. What a joke.
My guess is that it’s a form of Non-Recommendation (the NR part of ILNR)… I got one too that also said my name won’t be referred.