Hi,

I'm wondering if anybody has any perspectives on applying for/working for the Navy in a civilian position. If this isn't the right place -- can someone redirect me?

More info: I am finishing a (technical) grad degree that qualifies me for a position I'm very interested in, but it's listed with the Navy... and I don't have a good sense of what that would mean for me or the type of work I might be doing. I have a good job, and am reluctant to leave it unless I know that the next job will be a better fit and more service-oriented, but I'm struggling to figure out who to talk to.

What is it like to work as a civilian for the Navy? How long have people generally found the application process to be? What about for the background/security checks?

Also, what does it mean when a position is listed as acquisition? It sounded like there was a shortage of employees, but does that mean anything for me if I apply? Is there a shortage because nobody wants the job or because nobody's qualified/has security clearance?

Thanks for your help!

How it goes depends on what you'll be doing. You kinda left that part out.

It really depends on the job. A lot of ex-military have the security clearance and if it is a job that those who have served are trained for, there is a lot of competition. Security clearance can take forever, depending on a lot of factors.

In this economy government jobs are in high demand, but does not mean every job is in high demand. My son is an economist, first with BLS and now with USGS, and when he was hired 8 years ago, BLS could not compete with Wall Street. Last I heard they had a hiring freeze. If they are hiring, they is a lot less competition.

So it depends. Tell us more, and someone might be able to help.

I would plan on the hiring process for any Federal civilian job to take a fair amount of time...certainly up to 4-5 months or longer depending on the position. A lot depends upon the paygrade/payband of the position, and whether it a permanent or term position. And that's once you have a tentative offer...

As for the application process, it can literally take over a year or more from application date to start date. Look at when the job is scheduled to close on USAJOBS and see if there is any information about the selecting official. If there is, I personally would contact them to ask when they expect to be making a selection.

If I had one piece of advice, it is to apply to EVERY single job you are qualified for and/or interested in on USAJOBS...I must have applied to well over 50, I had 5 responses and 3 offers, one of which I accepted. One thing to be cognizant of is that many agencies may already have somebody in mind that they already want to hire, but because of the payband of the billet they have to make it a 'competitive hire'. I was also selected as a final candidate for a job only to see the funding go away and the requirement be canceled.

Don't take it personally...its just the way the system works. Expect it to be long and frustrating...expect paperwork to get lost, forms needed to be signed in triplicate, arbitrary deadlines for submission, etc. I work for the USAF, not the USN, but I imagine the Navy's HR is about the same. Getting hired for me was a LONG, unpleasant process, but for me it has proven to be entirely worth it to be a Govie.

USAJOBS is good and will link you to the HR sites for a lot of agencies.

The best thing with regard to the Navy is to search for the Department of the Navy Human Resources site.

Once there, you can create your resume and start applying.

You should apply for the announcements that are "Open and Continous" - that is, they have no closing date.

Once you apply, HR will pull resumes posted for a particular series (that is, occupational area) and review them to see if you are qualified for a particular position within the geographic area you want to work in.

If you are considered "Best Qualified" then your name is forwarded to the manager that has the opening for consideration.

Bear in mind that it will take some time for HR to pull resumes, for the hiring organization to decide who they want and tell HR to call you with the formal offer of employment.

Also, bear in mind you have a lot of vets that are also applying for those positions that are qualified, and sometimes that veteran's preference is the difference between getting the job and being told "sorry, we can't use you, please try again".

quote:

The best thing with regard to the Navy is to search for the Department of the Navy Human Resources site.

A link to which is found on navy.mil;

https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/index.asp