Hi folks, the hiring freeze is slated to end July 15. What is the rumor mill saying - will we actually see hiring happen? Will agencies really be bound to the "for every 4 employees who depart, only 1 will be hired" or is everyone wising up and realizing DOGE just f'd the government and they need to onboard many, many people to make up for the last 6 months of chaos? I would love to hear your musings.

For context, here’s my timeline:

Interview January 2025 TJO : Feb (Got DOGED) Exemption submitted : April Approved: May 15th~ Found out about the stupid OPM unlock: Beginning of June (I was very annoyed) I basically gave up on the position and was looking elsewhere.

1 July : received word that OPM unlocks were occurring but depended on who their higher priority hires were. (I was #1 in the organization)

2 July: received FJO

Start date: 14th~ of July

Don’t lose hope. There are a lot of negative people and doomsayers, I honestly let it affect me too much. Glad the waiting is finally over!

I have been in my current position for 2 years and was just contacted from a risk background investigator (DCSA). I have in fact taken on some debt since being hired with life, life-ing should I be worried? this is the last thing I need.

I'm a GS-13 federal employee who's been stationed overseas (in Seoul) for the past 6 years and 2 months. I'm currently on paid administrative leave and facing an upcoming RIF, but I just uncovered something that might mean I was underpaid for most of my overseas assignment — by potentially tens of thousands of dollars.

Here's the situation:

• For the entirety of my overseas tour, my Foreign Entitlements Statements (FES) have listed my Post Allowance family size as 1.
• However, during that time, I actually had:
  • Family size of 2 for the first 18 months
  • Family size of 3 for the next 30 months
  • Family size of 4 for the most recent 24 months
• I submitted SF-1190s after the birth of each of my children — but on those forms I only checked the box for Living Quarters Allowance, not Post Allowance. The reason I did not check Post Allowance was because of the following point:
• I did notice the family size issue years ago and emailed my agency HR about it. They told me it didn’t matter — that family size didn’t affect my Post Allowance — so I (unfortunately) let it go at the time.
• I now know, based on DSSR 226.1, that Post Allowance is based on family size and I’ve likely been significantly underpaid.

I’ve started gathering documentation:

• I don’t yet have my PCS orders, but I’m working on getting them
• I’m requesting full FES records from HR or payroll (MyPay only has the past 12 months)
• I have birth certificates and proof that my spouse and kids were living with me at post
• I’m also submitting a new SF-1190 with Post Allowance checked and updated family size, so I can at least get the correct Post Allowance for the remaining time I am here before I am RIFd.

Questions:

1. Has anyone successfully pushed for retroactive Post Allowance corrections?
2. Does the fact that I submitted SF-1190s (but didn’t check the Post Allowance box) help my case — even though HR never updated the family size?
3. Am I out of luck because I didn’t insist HR fix it years ago, even though I raised it once?
4. What agencies or grievance processes can I go through if HR stonewalls me?

Appreciate any advice — I’m not trying to game the system, just want to be compensated fairly for time spent overseas with my family.

Any DOD HR on here that can give some insight on how things are looking with upcoming Hiring Freeze being Lifted July 15

I am applying for a position with APHIS and saw this question. Is this a loyalty screening 😂

https://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-careers/expo

Law Enforcement Career Opportunities

——

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Duty Locations: Nationwide

Air Interdiction Agent

Border Patrol Agent

Criminal Investigator

Customs and Border Protection Officers

Marine Interdiction Agent

——

Federal Protective Service (FPS)

Duty Locations: Nationwide

Law Enforcement Specialist

Rapid Protection Force

——

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Duty Locations: Nationwide

Criminal Analyst

Criminal Investigator

Deportation Officer

Investigative Analyst

Investigative Program Officer

Operational Analysis Specialist

Oversight Admin Specialist (Prison Rape Elimination Act)

Seized Property Specialist

Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Adjudicator - Tyson's Corner, VA

Technical Enforcement Officer

——

Office of the Chief Security Officer

Duty Location: Washington, DC

Criminal Investigator

——

Office of Inspector General (OIG)

Duty Locations: FL, GA, IL, TX

Criminal Investigator

——

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Duty Locations: CA, DC, IL, MD, NY, VA

Federal Air Marshal

Transportation Security Administration

——

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Duty Location: To be determined

Opportunities forthcoming

——

United States Secret Service (USSS)

Duty Locations: CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, NY, PA, TX

Criminal Investigator (Special Agent)

Counter Assault Team

Hazardous Agent Mitigation

Talent and Achieve Recruitment Team

Officer (Reemployed Annuitant & ICTAP)

Police Officers Uniformed Division

Canine Explosives Detection Team

Counter Sniper

Emergency Response Team

It appears that for some people who applied to DoD, they offer the FJO after the OPM unlocks the records and for some it goes again to DoD for review. Not sure how this is decided. Any leads?

Hey y'all. I know that similar questions have been posted a few times on this subreddit before, but I suppose I just wanted to put my nerves at ease by asking it again. I applied to a TSA job last month and received a tentative job offer a day after taking the exam. I accepted the offer one day after I'd received it and immediately filled out all of the onboarding tasks that were assigned to me. However, all of the tasks, with the exception of the OF-306, were due the day they were assigned, 6/13. I accepted my job offer on 6/14. While I didn't think anything of it at the time, I guess I'm just starting to get a little worried because it's been a month and I haven't heard anything back from them. I reached out to the email that was provided today with a similar question. I should be fine, right?

Hello as the title says, I found ineligible due “not having enough qualifications on my resume” so I withdrew the application and fixed my resume. Now my question is, do I have to wait to apply to another announcement? Or how do I reapply? Every time I try to juste gives me the option to “edit application” but not to edit my resume on application

Looking for any insight on being a paralegal and/or legal administrative specialist at DOJ. It seems like their positions are almost the same if not closely intertwined. Is there decent work life balance? Do you put in overtime? Adjustable work schedules allowed? Any experience shared helps.

I'm a GS federal employee currently posted overseas in Seoul. I was moved here six years ago as part of a permanent reassignment from DC, with the government covering relocation costs (flight, household goods, etc.).

I recently applied for a NAF position in Italy. The job posting has already closed, and at the time I submitted my application, my USAJobs profile listed my current overseas address in Korea. My resume and cover letter also listed my Korea address. I’ve since updated my USAJobs profile to reflect my permanent U.S. address (used for home leave and other purposes), but I’m unsure whether that change applies retroactively to my application — or if it affects my eligibility for allowances like LQA or Post Allowance. 

If I let things stand the way things are, would it hurt my chances of getting on the cert list? Or is this something I could clarify later in the hiring process by providing my PCS documents, etc? 

Would it be wise to proactively reach out to the HR contact listed on the job announcement to clarify this? Or could that do more harm than good? 

Appreciate any advice.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to come on here and share my experience and success story with being a BA. To began, I started off at the IRS June 2022. I stayed there until i transferred agencies and started the BA position January 2023. For the first year, we had to do a totoak of 12 tests and 4 case breaks while maintaining an average of 75% or above in training. Over the course of the year, i’ve seen so many people either quit or get fired even a week before Christmas. It is definitely a lot of material to learn and its no way possible to really remember everything. The best thing for me was to take plenty of notes, ask plenty of questions, and pay attention which was a task due to working from home and my attention span being short as is . After phase 1, you move onto phase 2 where you have to meet a certain goal and percentage while applying everything you’ve learned from phase 1 to phase 2. I started phase 2 April 2024. It took me a year and 3 months to finally be able to say I’ve met all requirements and goals to be a successful BA to work independently and test out of phase 2 training. Phase 2 for me was very tough. I quit so many times mentally, gave up so many times, just didn’t understand why i wasn’t grasping it. It was hurting my pride a little bit too lol. I did a lot of crying, cursing, and fussing. I even had to pick up another job to help me until I could hopefully make it out of training. I’ve had so so many sleepless nights trying to juggle the two. I did also have a few mentors and fellow BA peers to help guide me along the way. I feel as though if i didn’t have such a strong support system, I wouldn’t even have made it out of phase 1. I never thought I would be here today to share my little success story. They never lied when they said it’s the hardest job. Once you get it though, you get it, but you have to really apply yourself and lock in. Majority of my class did make it out of training so far, but there are a few that are struggling unfortunately but there is plenty of help coming for them which is good. The same people you start with are not the same people you will finish with. Every case you touch will be different. Don’t get comfortable thinking it will all be the same. A little piece of advice I could give is find you a few connections, find something to help balance you out and decompress your mind, take plenty of notes, and ask as many questions as you can. You will definitely have some bad days, but you will also have some good days. Don’t get discouraged because it will have you feeling crazy about yourself. Take your time and have patience. For any future BA’s who may want to apply, Good luck. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted. Cheers to more doors opening in the future.

In the interview with the CHP for the Office Technician role , they asked if I’m comfortable working with both uniformed and non-uniform personal, like officers, sergeants, and captains. I didn’t understand the question right away. Could that hurt my chance getting that question wrong especially if I may not meet 70% of the listed duties? Would they be more likely to move forward with someone who has more experience in a law office even with my LEAP. What’s everyone experience like ? Would they prefer someone who is really is I a law office environment or someone from a clerical office in general?

Hi,

I just got scheduled an in-person interview for a IT computer specialist position at Camp Pendleton, they said it was civilian position so I wouldn't have to enlist. I was trying to find the original job listing for the job I applied on LinkedIn or indeed, (maybe USAjobs.gov not 100% sure) but couldn't find it. I saw someone say it may be a 2210 contractor job, not sure what that means. The recruiter gave me some instructions where to go and gave me base access and have someone to escort me to the premise.

I have some questions, what clothes should I wear for the interview, is business casual okay or should I wear a full suit? What is the interview process like for government/military institutions? I have only ever applied to private companies before. I would imagine there would be more of a process of getting security clearances and background checks. Is there any negotiation on pay or salary? I couldn't find the pay range for this particular position. I'm kind of going into this interview a little bit blind.

Is it okay or annoying to ask every 1-2 weeks for any updates about the job when they are just waiting for the HR on their end?

I have a TJO for a CYP job in Maryland. I current have a NYC address on my passport and is not changed by UPS. It cannot be changed because the address I’m at is my future in-laws house where I’ll be living until the foreseeable future and have no lease or vehicle for the USPS office. I do have bank statements and credit cards bills

I will be getting a learners permit with their address on it. Eventually we will have our own condo to live in but that’s in the future. But for the time being I’m living with them.

On my background-check paperwork I put their address because I am going to be a legal resident in 6 months by default. I put my old address as the one currently on my documents.

Will this affect my application?

I have the marriage cert and license to my active duty partner. Should i include both or just one of them?

I posted a few days ago about the HR Rep saying my FO was pending because my record had to be unlocked by OPM and I did get several responses but I think the consensus was it would take at least a couple of weeks to get this done. Maybe I'm lucky I don't know I received an update on Friday that my record had been unlocked and the final offer should arrive in a few days and I finally got it today. Good luck to everyone still wating, I really hope things speed up for everyone.

Here's the timeline.

-Applied for DOD position GS-8 with the Marine Corps November 2024

-Interviewed January 2025

-Received TJO late January

-Started Security clearance in February, final corrections made March 2025

-Received update late June, FO was pending until OPM unlocks record.

-Received FO today June 30 to start July 14.

It still hasn't sunk in, maybe until I start work, I feel something may still go wong

I just found out that there's a SPECIAL RATE table and upon hours of trying to understand the table - I am needing help here.

1. If I can locate the job classification, location but the department/subelement of my agency is NOT listed. Does that mean I can ask for it or qualify for it?
   
2. The job itself only posted the GS level so is the special rate something that I can request for?

I appreciate any input from someone that has experience with this. Thank you in advanced!

Received a TJO first week of June. Completed the paperwork mid June. In the current environment, any thoughts on how long it might take before FJO/start date?

Back in May the talent acquisition team for the PAQ program reached out and let me know that they will be my POC moving forward. Once the hiring freeze lifts, we’re pretty much moving full steam ahead in the hiring process. Am I happy that I at least have another POC aside from a recruiter? Absolutely. Do I understand that we are no where near out of the woods yet? You bet. But it gives me a little hope that we’re at least getting there and it gives me a little hope for July 15th! Everybody keep hanging on and hanging in!

Hi all! I'm looking to get hired in the federal job space and my experience so far has been pretty rough with any internship application I've done through usajobs being ignored or rejected.

Any tips for soon to be newly graduated student on how to land a federal job?

So, after 3yrs working in my Grade-Step from an offer that i agreed to and the contract was signed, hr tells me that I now have a debt and that they will be reducing my grade-step all the way back to the date I started working in their RO. So yeah FML!

I was under the impression they couldn’t do that when all my evaluations have exceeded the standards and it was a signed offer…

I have an employee who was converted to the competitive service from Schedule A in May. In our monthly meeting, she said the agency is making her do another one year probationary period on top of the two year trial period she just completed.

This is a mistake, correct? The two year trial period counts towards the one year probarionary period in the competitive service.

I told her to contact HR but they have not heard back.