Top 5- Things New Feds Need to Know

Alright so I’m working on our N1 Summer Student Hire Program and I’m gearing up to hire TWELVE student temporary appointments. Anyone who is in HR can relate to the lengthy hiring process. But ladies and gentlemen, DONT KILL YOUR HR REP! We are here for YOU (and management).

When you apply to any federal position and are selected, know these top five things:

1) No matter if you already had a clearance or worked in the federal government before, you will come on board WITHOUT a CAC card. Period. And it takes atleast a week for SF-50 to generate to the DEERS system for a CAC specialist to process your CAC card request. Please note this managers and supervisors!! HR does NOT have a way to “speed this up”– no matter how good your bribes are.

2) Just because you are ready to come on board (and we in HR appreciate your eagerness) doesn’t mean that everything is kosher for you to start right away. There is a such thing as a security clearance, an official offer letter, paysetting, PROOF of your resume (transcripts, references), and the actual process of inputting the selection into whatever HR program you use (for Navy it is DCPDS). Just be patient and responsive.

3) Don’t have your mom or dad call me in your place. I can appreciate a well-intentioned mommy or daddy but reality is, this is YOUR job. Own it. Show us that we made the right selection and not that we should have hired one of your parents. If you have a question, call or email me. Don’t rely on your parents. In the end, this will serve you much better in your future career.

4) I didn’t take a bribe or hire my sister or give someone a leg up because of some under-the-table deal. You were selected because you met the qualifications, you applied to the announcement correctly, and you were the best fit. Sure, some of you would like to attack this point but I’m speaking from my experience. I didn’t overlook a Vet because they were a Vet and I didn’t overlook you because of any other claim. It comes down to your resume. And if you were not selected, ASK ME WHY! I personally make an effort to counsel those who ask me.

5) Know Your Benefits. This is very important. In the Department of Navy we have an EXCELLENT Benefits Center that was centralized about ten years ago or so. EVERYTHING is processed through there. You don’t need to talk to me face to face to understand what benefits are available to you. SPECIALISTS who understand all of the new laws and regulations that are coming out, the processes that are in place, and the forms that need to be filled out. Any employee needs to know what is available to them and really research into what health insurance to elect, beneficiaries to designate, enrollment into TSP, and other elections. I think this is one of the THE best perks of working for the federal government, the benefits (which includes work schedule flexibilities).

A great article was just published about the top 5 things new feds need to know about retirement:

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0610/060410rp.htm Check this out too.

I hope this was a service!! Because my thoughts are well intentioned and HR doesn’t get the respect it should. I feel we are being slammed so much recently and the fact of the matter is, we use the rules and processes in place to fill the positions that need to keep this country running and protected.GO HR!!