Your Career: Working in new administration 

Need to have connections? What happened to "Change"?  I thought he was going to veer away from the lobbyists and CAPs and all that!  He hasn't even been sworn in and he's "CRAWFISHIN'".  I can hardly wait until he's really the boss!

I am sure the people in an Obama administration will be qualified for the position, unlike Bush who hires unqualified friends. 

Everyone knows the key to any job, government or not, connections count.  No different from any other job.

The Federal application has always been more detailed.  Unbelievable how much knowledge you lack.

I didn't vote for Obama but in defense of the author of this article and possibly the next administration, federal job resumes have always been very long. I have applied for a number of jobs through the USAJOBS website and the application/resume portions for nearly every position are very long, very detailed.

As for political appointments, note the "political". How can this mean other than having connections? Duh.  They all hire "friends", regardless of party, regardless of qualifications.

Tired of Sensationalism?  Then don't dramatize.

You have a choice:  If you want to work for the career fed, you can do a one or two page resume, or multiple pages.   The multiple pages will get you hired, the short one usually won't.   It has been the fed system for years, so why suddenly attribute it to Obama?  Oh, that's right, he is now responsible for the state of our current economy, too....

Most private hiring processes want you to have a short, concise resume.   The fed system is different.  Initial screenings of the large numbers of applicants is done by automated systems that search for experience in your application against a bunch of specific skills and experience in the duties in the official position description.   After the screening, those that make the cut are referred on to a Selecting Offical or team, which reviews the remaining applicants, conducts interviews, etc.  The "resume" is really a chronological description of past experience and education.  The trick is getting past the computer, yet keeping your content interesting and organized enough so that you stand out.  There are typically two types of lists, a vacancy can have one or both lists for a particularly position:  A Merit list, where existing federal employees compete (along with vets), and DEU, or Delegative Examining Unit, where external and internal applicants are both considered. 

The system is designed to try to keep politics and favoritism out of the process.  The vast majority of federal work falls under this system.  Appointed positions at the top don't, but they are not permanent employment.   It's official name is/was the "Merit System", created I believe in the early 1900's, as a backlash against cronyism.   It doesn't completely stop connections from being a factor, but it helps a great deal.  At the very minimum, you can't select a buddy for a permanent position  unless they get by the screening process which shows you are qualified for the position, and you must state in writing why your buddy was better qualified than others on the list.

One of the first things that Bush's administration led by Rumsfeld did on taking office was to try to get rid of the Merit System in favor of NSPS--- the National Security Personnel System.  NSPS attempted to eliminate many of the checks and balances of the Merit System.   Since implementation was begun shortly after Bush took office, it has been tied up in the courts and within the Office of Personnel Management(OPM), with most of it's content being overturned.  To date, about the only portion of NSPS that has been implemented is changing the evaluation system for some federal employees. 

Personnel evaluations under the Merit System were done where an employee had objectives they were to accomplish over a rating period, and the employee was rated against attainment of multiple objectives.   Multiple factors (time away from workplace, getting along with others, etc.) could be easily factored in to a person's evaluation, and the employee could get various bonuses for high levels of performance.   Under NSPS, the evaluation is limited to a very small number of specific objectives, with a very small number of contributing factors (critical thinking, team player, etc.) that are specifically tied to specific objectives.  These are "locked in" six months prior to the rating.  In this system, it is very possible for a person to be completely disruptive to their office or fail lots of tasks, but if they achieved the objectives on their list and did well with their specific contributing factors, they will get a high rating.   Further, under the Merit System, an employee was measured against how they performed their job.   Under NSPS, employees are placed in "pay pools" and coworkers and compete against each other.   This has the potential to destroy collaboration and foster political infighting in the workplace.   

Oh boy do you seem upset and hurt.

Dont worry, they will just continue to blame Bush. They have nothing better to do. Seems to be the trend latley. Got a problem? That's o.k. just blame it on Bush. I know a scapegoat when I see one, and I'm not even a fan of Bush. This is getting a little old.

Oh but tired don't you know that Obama can't "fix" the economy in the short term?

There's an article right here on msn about that.

I'm not sure he can "fix" the economy long term, in any case.

Presidents can propose policies and take action that have some impact on the economy, but control of market forces lies outside the control of anyone.

But he does have jobs.........

How many people are without one....now???........Way too many...

Or you could wait for your tax return base on no or very little income.  Someone is surely willing to share with you; after all it their patriotic duty.  If that doesn't work, I heard that the President Elect is working on providing manna to his unemployed supporters.  So sit tight and save your Starbucks money.

Volunteering helps, and you never know which of the fruit you have sown will bear fruit, until you look back a few years and realize how something you did was the turning point.  You can hope but not expect any one thing you do will play out like you would like.   There is a lot of competition out there, many others who want the same thing as you.

You work your tush off trying to be successful and you don't give up.

If one thing doesn't work, try another.

You think outside the box, do something different than the rest of the pack, maybe find the s*** job that pays less than you want, with harder work than you want, but gives you the credentials that you can put on your resume for the better one next time.

You don't expect a handout.

Specific to Ecupirate.... with your college orientation, have you thought about working overseas as an English teacher?   Particularly in Asia, there are a boatload of English academies where about the only prerequisite to getting hired is having a College degree, this would give you great international experience, and connections.... many of the people hiring English teachers are rich and/or politically important people who can afford to send their kids to private English tutors....  plus you get great international experience in another culture.   Most of these schools hire you for a contract period, pay your transportation and provide you room and board.   For the duration of your contract you usually can only teach for the school and the housing provided might not be perfect, but after the year you can go independent and do private tutoring w/the connections you have made for very good money.    As an expatriate, you will meet many other Americans who have been successful working internationally in various fields who will share knowledge and contacts.

It seems that no experience is ok for Obama, Jarrett and First.  Sarah Palin's experience was a hugh issue though.  Alright, I'll get over it.

Go read about what the Center for American Progress wants Obama (or rather Congress to create).

A National Energy Policy that would be THE authority for climate policy.

Don't we have the EPA for that?

What was that Obama wanted to do to get rid of agencies with duplicate purposes? (I understand he might not go for yet another agency. Though I do wonder where all the money comes for the Health Corps, the Classroom Corps, the Green Works Corp, an expanded Peace Corps, an expanded Americorps. These are nice and all but where will the money come from?)

I didn't vote for Obama but I hope (sorry) that his policies/plans/programs/whatever don't fail miserably. That will hurt everyone. We shouldn't wish harm to our nation because we don't like the guy in the Oval Office.

Come on Mr. Torres... enough with the indignation...  It is what it is and is what has made the world go round for a very long time.    Just as relevent, your overall orientation is pretty darned apparent when you are attributing a third-party's advice on how to get a job to what is going on within the selection process and jumping to the conclusion that this is Obama's domain and orientation.

The article is no different than a thousand other advice pieces you can find anywhere about getting a job.  To go from there to take the GIANT leap you take from there to predict what Obama is going to do, i.e.  "Green Maniacs" is pretty revealing as to where you are coming from.  

Well Obama does want to establish something called "Green Corps" which would work on "green" projects around the country. (It's on his change.gov site and it was on his campaign site)

Sounds great, huh?

Why not just let the market create those jobs and get the work done? The private sector is generally more efficient than the public sector.

Really, Theojt?! So what happened the last time we elected a black democrat newbie to the oval office??

wow Theojt, are you naturally negative or you just hatin' on obama? he's not president yet. and he's still a human being. I think people should take the initiative to make their life better. hatin' on obama is useless and shows the kind of person you are more than shows what kind of person he is.

Kuskus....I was keeping race out of it.  I really don't care about Obama's color - I care about his policies and strategies.

Spygirl...I am naturally positive; however I am more than a bit negative about Obama, it's true.  I have read and studied the candidates and formed my own opinion.  My opinion by the way is NOT based on his "star profile", his charisma, his color, or his rhetoric.  It is based on his policies and strategies vs. my own opinion and beliefs.  We live in a great and strong country.  We will be able to weather 4 years of "The One", and then we'll have "The Next One".  BTW - I have nothing against him as a human being - I just honestly believe he'll suck as POTUS.  I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Let's hope so......

I'm certain theojit is referring to Obama's policies and proposals not his race.

And the world has tried his policies and proposals. They do not work.

TheoJt- I just lived through 7+ years of bush. now you know how 80% of us feel. 7+ years already. I want change. mccain/palin- I would have like them if mccain didn't turn his campaign into smut campaign. I really don't think that was truly him, but it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. it was the negativity that most people rejected. and palin- during the campaign, everything that came out of her mouth was smear and attacks. that doesn't make voting for her enticing. people were rejecting that negativity and I'm glad they did. I don't expect obama to be perfect, but if he runs the country the way he ran his campaign, then I'm comfy.

As I have stated above, I really don't care who is president.  They could be a sky blue pink hermaphrodite if that is what/who got elected to the highest office of the land.  And yes, I am into hope.  But I am not into idolatry.  I will be the first to congradulate Mr. Obama if the people he picks to make economic decisions make the right decisions.  Hope is one thing and worship is another.  As far as I know we have a president elect not a savior elect.  I believe he should be judged on the merit of what he does and how well he upholds his"Change" platform.

So far, in this instance, I see business as usual.

And many of us just wonder how all this hope and change will be paid for. In the real world, there is no free lunch. It is not about negativity, it is about reality.

But don't let reality get in the way of those warm fuzzy feelings.

FWIW, I have visited the change.gov website. There is very little content there. I can no longer even access the Agenda portion of the site.

All I can say is we will see.   Is all predictions at this point, time will tell.   For me, I am choosing to be hopeful.  There is lot's to be negative about if we choose, but I am tired of the negativism and choose to look forward in terms of what can be, instead of living in fear.   If I turn out to be wrong I will adjust and move on.

Almost nothing is unattainable.  The key to success is setting goals, arriving at objectives to attain those goals, identifying individual tasks to meet the objectives and working to accomplish the tasks.  It all starts with deciding to do it. If you believe you can make it happen, you can.  If you believe you can't, you can't.    Reality is seeing what is.  Hope is seeing what can be.  Optimism is working to get there.  I choose to be an optimist.

Tired....    I agree with you on the hope vs. the idolatry.  And I agree with you that there is danger w/idolatry in Obama....  there are a lot of expectations out there among many.... for some, at the very least it might be unrealistic expectations.   This applies to me as well, probably.  After too many years where our politics was reaction to fear(Red/Amber/Green terrorism threat alerts posted on the news everyday, where did they go after they lost their political punch?), I admit I was one of the first to grab onto an orientation that is more oriented to positive forward change.   I believe fear paralyzes, hope creates possiblilities, and when I see the positive message, it is so refreshing that it is hard not to go to far the other way.  I need to keep this in mind moving forward.

The problem I have is the excessive orientation toward the negave on the part of many on the other side of the fence.  Some are so ridiculous they would be funny if they weren't so sad/scary... calling Obama a Marxist or Communist, or questioning his birth certificate, for example.  Sad where people through ignorance or because they want to propogate what they know to be false, repeat divisive dialogue, seemingly would rather tear down hope than give it a chance, simply because it is a different view than their own.   Scary because there are some that are completely rabid with these beliefs...  I have seen websites already dedicated to the impeachment of a president for his actions, where he has months to go before he takes office... I think the only thing limiting the content of some of the sites is the fact that to go further would get the Secret Service involved.  Where you have a group like that, there definitely will be at least a few who might do something really bad.

Of the less radical, many of the rest will say that they will wait and see, but in the same breath will talk about how Obama is this or that, or has done this or that, and this is evidence he will fail.  Hannity and much of Fox News is a perfect example...   Their negative framing of the discussion is such that there is no room for a middle ground.

We all have a very difficult path in front of us over the next few years.  Realism is necessary to face up to what we have in front of us.  One point for conservatives.  Hope is necessary to get through it.   A point for liberals.  Both can keep each other in check.  Put them together CONSTRUCTIVELY and we are a very powerful force.  Put them against each other and we will fail.

48 percent of voters are not sheeple.

that's a ridiculous comment MK-459279. how do my comments make you assume I do not pay taxes? do you pay taxes?

Is this intended to be sarcasm, or did you just wake up from a dream?   If you can show any proof on the Acorn Preference, I will write a 500 dollar check to the RNC tomorrow (It won't happen....vet's preference is hard-coded by legislation, as is any other preference).   As for Presidential Parades and Pep Rallies, I am going through the list of sitting presidents since the 70's, and I can't think of a single Presidential Parade or Pep Rally,  unless it was during an election cycle.