I am trying to find someone who can give me some relatively informed advice regarding federal employment.
Here's 'the deal'...I enlisted in the Navy in 2001 immediately after graduating high school. I ended up in the nuclear power pipeline in South Carolina. I had lasted for about a year when I had what could be charactorized as a nervous breakdown. As it turns out, the military lifestyle and I didn't mesh as well as I had hoped. I received an honorable discharge and was sent on my way. My DD-214 charactorizes this discharge as honorable, but as a 'narrative reason' it cites 'personality disorder'...
Now, six years later, I am a graduate student with an otherwise sterling record (volunteer hours, a good gpa, solid work history, etc). I had hoped to pursue employment in the federal government upon graduation, but I am concerned about the effect of the charactorization of my discharge paperwork.
I was never involved in anything requiring disciplinary action while enlisted, or as a civilian for that matter. I have tried to gather opinions on the topic, but the best answer I can get is "...Dude, don't worry about it...". Obviously I am looking for something a little more concrete.
I would really appreciate any legitimate advice/wisdom/commentary/direction from anyone who can provide it.

Thanks to all ahead of time
-M.J.C.

Dear MJC:

I wouldn't worry about the "personality disorder" misnomer. You were young, you were discharged honorably, have a new degree, high GPA, stellar work record. You'll probably be fine.

Still, because of anti-discrimination laws, no hiring authority can tell you directly if a handicap prevents you from being hired, so you may never know if this is a negative regarding your career. Just in case, add a few glowing letters of recommendation from professional colleagues, professors, pastors to beef up your portfolio.

Above all, don't let fear of the unknown stop you from applying on jobs. As a 20+ year DOD manager/technical jobs ranking panel member/now disabled retiree/career consultant, I encourage you to apply on federal government jobs.

Once you have the perfect, targeted resume, submit it to usajobs.gov or the specific agency web sites and on specific jobs. (If you need a professional critique of your government or private industry resume, look at my profile and consult me if you like. Every few weeks, contact the HR specialist on the announcement, to ensure you are still in the mill. You'll have to resubmit your on-line resume every six months, otherwise it falls out of the system.

Happy Hunting,
"CareerSeeker"
RF Vasquez, CPRW/CEIP
Wordbusters Resume and Writing Services
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QUOTE]Originally posted by 11136315:
I am trying to find someone who can give me some relatively informed advice regarding federal employment.
Here's 'the deal'...I enlisted in the Navy in 2001 immediately after graduating high school. I ended up in the nuclear power pipeline in South Carolina. I had lasted for about a year when I had what could be charactorized as a nervous breakdown. As it turns out, the military lifestyle and I didn't mesh as well as I had hoped. I received an honorable discharge and was sent on my way. My DD-214 charactorizes this discharge as honorable, but as a 'narrative reason' it cites 'personality disorder'...
Now, six years later, I am a graduate student with an otherwise sterling record (volunteer hours, a good gpa, solid work history, etc). I had hoped to pursue employment in the federal government upon graduation, but I am concerned about the effect of the charactorization of my discharge paperwork.
I was never involved in anything requiring disciplinary action while enlisted, or as a civilian for that matter. I have tried to gather opinions on the topic, but the best answer I can get is "...Dude, don't worry about it...". Obviously I am looking for something a little more concrete.
I would really appreciate any legitimate advice/wisdom/commentary/direction from anyone who can provide it.

Thanks to all ahead of time
-M.J.C.[/QUOTE]

Careerseeker-

you seem to be just the person to possibly give me some advice. i have posted this on some other threads for help, and hopefully will receive some good advice from those as well- my situation is this: i was honorably discharged from the air force in 2002. i was an aircraft electrician- and have documentation of perfect EPR scores. after i got out, i went to a technical school and got an faa airframe and powerplant license. since i got out in 2002 i have been applying for civil service jobs- mostly aviation, but with my training i have experience in a wide variety of mechanical tasks from sheetmetal to hydraulics. i was called in for one "interview" at tinker afb for the position of aircraft mechanic. i drove 3 hours, arrived early and was called in for my interview. the gentleman interviewing me read off a paper six or seven 'yes or no' questions (i.e. "can you work rotating shifts", etc.) to which i gave positive answers- he asked me to tell him what would qualify me for this job, and i did my best to sell myself. (i consider myself to be a strong interviewer). two months later i got a letter saying in effect the handling of the hiring of this position was transferred to randolph afb, and if i was still interested i needed to apply through there. i was in a position at the time where there was no way i could take another day off work without losing my job (i worked in a union shop and had no vacation until i'd been there over a year). anyway, i've read through most of these posts, and have done everything people suggest to get hired on. i've recently applied for a couple jobs down at robins afb- as an aircraft electrician and an aircraft worker- i'm more than qualified for both. i emailed the point of contact and asked if there was anything else i could do besides the documentation i submitted to receive further consideration, they replied that they had everything they needed. i somehow think thats not true- there has to be something else. should i call them every couple weeks to check on my status? i know people say "its who you know" but that simply can't be true in every case, certainly they would give someone a chance if the resume/epr's/and questionaire were stellar enough wouldn't they? anyway, any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. i have also written my congressman about this issue- not that it will do any good, but i just don't think it should be bsed on who you know.

I don't know if any other Veterans have experienced this or not, but I'm a 13 year Vet. as a Navy Field Corpsman and I was also a federal employee for 1 year, but had to move back home from Hawaii because it was tooo expensive for me to survive their anymore on my own. Anyway...my situation is that I have applied for multiple federal jobs here in Albany,NY and even with a 40% VA disability I have been looked over for every job that I've applied for. I have found out that half of the positions have been filled from within and I haven't even received reasons for some of my applications. I think that the VA preference is a joke. Yeah, I spent 15 years total in the medical field and I might get hired as a laundry worker or something. That's only a maybe. Oh, but I can work at the VA as an intern getting $500 a month and they get a full time worker for pretty much nothing. For all of my service I get th eshaft and can barely afford rent with the job I was able to land. WooHoo!

I'm glad to know that it's not just me. I've been in search of a job for 3 years now since I've returned home out of the US Navy. I served 10 years and was honorably discharged in 2004. Yeah, the veteran's preference for jobs is a Big Joke! It seems that military veterans have a harder time finding a job than non-military vets. If anyone knows of any contacts that will help with this please let us know.

I am a disabled vet and went back to school using the Vocational rehab program from the VA. I got my bachelors degree and within 2 months of graduating actually got 2 great job offers. I recommend to all!!!!!!!!!!Get your bachelors degree...tough it out and get good grades!!!!
Employers are seeking those that have Bachelors degrees and more so those degrees in the sciences!!!
If you can afford to go back to college do it!

I don't recommend Associate Degrees only because they don't carry as much weight as a bachelors degree program.

I also recommend taking a degree program from a state university or Privately run Universities ie: Notre Dame, Princeton, Marquette, etc. There are alot of universities out there that are accredited, but a lot that are not. You need an accredited university degree to get a good paying job. I took correspondent college classes from California Coast University, a non accredited college and the bachelors degree wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. I spent over $6,000 to take all the classes for the bachelors degree and it didn't open up any doors in fact I had a job interview for a maintenance supervisor position at Chrysler and when they did the background check of my degree and found out it was non-accredited they cancelled my interview.
Plus, I think that because state universities have higher standards than Technical colleges that offer only Associate degrees.
I think that those that can finish a bachelors degree and do anything and I think employers really feel the same way.

when i was a manager with the state and a vet would come in for a job.. the points never counted,now this wasnt my dision, it was the person above me. that sat on the bord.what we needed was skill and personality.
now working with the feds , i have seen inside hiring,and i dont know about the vet points and how they work, but i will tell you this .. we have a hard time passing on vets and are always looking for a job that we can give them,, everyone where i work is a vet.

I know Ive said it on these boards before, but its worth saying again.

The most important thing a Vet can do when applying for a Federal Position is to apply on ALL lists for that certain job they they are able to.

Lets say the job is for a Jimcracker Replacement Specialist. There will usually be 2 to 3 listings for it. First listing will be for Current Federal Employees and Preference Eligibles. Most Vets will apply on this list as preference eligibles.

Next listing for the same job will be for General Public. Now the Vets tend to think that the hiring lists have a priority system (List one being the main hiring list, list 2 being the secondary). NOT True! The hiring Authority can hire off of either list, so apply on BOTH! Thats how you close a loophole that allows a Preference Eligible Vet to be passed over on hiring.

Maybe I can help but first a bit of history so stay with me..

I am retired from the USPS with 33 years experience and I am a disabled vet. I have an MBA and dual undergrad degrees from average to upper echelon universities. My GPA's were 3.85, 3.88 + 3.82 respectively. At times, I interviewed new employees and interviewed those who were looking to get ahead as a manager like myself...When I decided to retire I made the list to become Manager of a very large facility. I told the 4 interviewers that I was not interested and thanked them for keeping me in mind. I did work for the USPS as a Manager and Postmaster for more than 16 years and a craft employee for 18.5 years..I really had enough of military type of work and didn't want or need any more...It was a good job but I had enough so I retired.

My pay hoovered around $68k. The next step in managing was big and was $86k. It seemed great but I would need to stay another 8 years to reap all the monetary benefits.

As far as education goes, it does seem to me that one needs to refine themselves if they have the education or when in that job find out if they will pay for your schooling...I still owe more than $60k in school tuition which to some of my colleges is not really high. I discovered that there were 3 of my 7 co-workers who owed $120k in school tuition and this was as of 3 years ago. One person owed $120k for a single undergrad degree and was persuing a Ph.D at 45 years old. It was costing her an additional $38k +. When she attains her Ph.D she will assume a new position + will start at $109k. It may not be enough to pay off her $158k debt in 30 years. She discovered that when she finances it for 10 years the monthly fees will be around $1900/month at the current fed rates and she cannot afford it..!

Given the cost I believe the QOL (quality of life) issue also must be considered. I think the QOL combined with education means the most to me.

In essence, there are good schools and there are OK schools. Penn State, Univ of Penn and Notre Dame in my opinion are great schools because those were the schools I attended. I believe if one is getting a job without experience a minimum of an undergraduate degree is necessary and it can be accomplished (online_see Univ of Phoenix). If you have experience then you may get that JOB but it may not be a guarantee. Get your degree or job required education first then get your foot in the door...

Second, do reasearch and understand what the interviewer/s will ask you or get a professional Resume writer, if necessary, but please be prepared for anything.

Thanks and good luck..

quote:

Originally posted by fielddoc00:
I don't know if any other Veterans have experienced this or not, but I'm a 13 year Vet. as a Navy Field Corpsman and I was also a federal employee for 1 year, but had to move back home from Hawaii because it was tooo expensive for me to survive their anymore on my own. Anyway...my situation is that I have applied for multiple federal jobs here in Albany,NY and even with a 40% VA disability I have been looked over for every job that I've applied for. I have found out that half of the positions have been filled from within and I haven't even received reasons for some of my applications. I think that the VA preference is a joke. Yeah, I spent 15 years total in the medical field and I might get hired as a laundry worker or something. That's only a maybe. Oh, but I can work at the VA as an intern getting $500 a month and they get a full time worker for pretty much nothing. For all of my service I get th eshaft and can barely afford rent with the job I was able to land. WooHoo!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Wego_again,