George Jakabcin, CIO of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), takes a conservative approach to new technology. Not surprising considering his cybersecurity background and the risk-averse agency he works in. FedInsider talked to Jakabcin about his role at TIGTA and within the IRS, and about his thoughts on virtualization, cloud computing, and otherRead… Read more »
The 3% rule, developed by the IRS, requires federal, state and local governments to withhold 3% of payments they make to contractors for taxes, much like employers withhold a percentage of employees’ income for tax purposes. Last week the IRS delayed the rule going into effect, which means there might be time to kill it.Read… Read more »
A friend recently asked me, “You work in recruitment for the government, but you’re under a hiring freeze… What do you do all day?” I resisted the urge to say something snarky like, “Recruiters aren’t bears – we don’t hibernate and wait for the freeze to thaw.” The business of recruitment isn’t a 100-meter dash,Read… Read more »
Last week I attended the Government Video Solutions Forum. There were panel discussions about everything from content creation to the use of video for intelligence analysis. While it was all informative, one statement really stood out as the simplest, yet most profound one made all day: If you want your outreach to be successful –Read… Read more »
The other day some co-workers and I were discussing how many members of our staff telework – or as the IRS calls it, “flexiplace.” While teleworking certainly has its benefits, it can also have drawbacks, including fewer opportunities for networking. It didn’t surprise me that nearly every member of our staff works some variation ofRead… Read more »
LinkedIn has been on our radar for a while. Several of our staff members have accounts on the popular professional networking site, so it was only a matter of time before it became part of our toolbox. When we started using LinkedIn as a recruitment resource, we knew it would be an asset, but weRead… Read more »
I just got back from another wonderful AFFIRM Luncheon for a great discussion about the changing landscape for mobility in the government workforce. The event began with insightful opening remarks from Wyatt Kash, Editorial Director for AOL Government. Kash addressed the changes that smart devices have brought to the way we connect and work andRead… Read more »
A co-worker recently sent me a Fortune magazine article, Facebook: Where marketing efforts go to die? Knowing Facebook is an essential element of our recruitment marketing, I was immediately curious. As I started reading, I realized the article was talking more about product marketing than marketing a brand like we do at the IRS. WithRead… Read more »
Thanks to Twitter, it’s as easy to keep up with your favorite celebrity as it is to stay in touch with your best friend. An estimated 200 million users send more than 65 million tweets every day. These days, if you want people to talk about it, you should tweet about it. Our Twitter approachRead… Read more »
In 1996 Tom Daschle called the last shut down a premeditated conspiracy to impact small businesses and shut down the economy. Today we want to know the hard facts. Perhaps there is something we can learn especially from contracting officers, and program managers about what to expect from a Government Shut down. What will aRead… Read more »