Those of you familiar with the California State Job Applying process (and Federal) (college, gated)

[ecsdude]

Hi all, I'm interested in applying for either a State or Federal job, and would appreciate some input from those of you personally familiar with the process.

I currently work in the private sector in the tech field... so my skill sets may lean more in that direction...

1. on average how long has it taken you to go from application to job interview to hire?
2. what are the exams looking for and what is the difficulty level?
3. what's the best way to approach testing, applying and interviewing to maximize your chances? both state
and federal (including any differences between the two).
4. i hear that Federal jobs are harder to get than State but are more stable and benefits may be better.
how true is this?
5. is it true that State/Fed jobs and general work environment is slow paced, with workers who lack drive or
sense of urgency? would they be better fits for certain types of people and not others?

There's so many state and federal job listings and some of them seem to be reserved for those already working for the state or federal gov't. Some of the Federal jobs seem to pay especially low.. like $10-12 an hour.. In-N-Out burger wage.. I'm just not sure how to go about it better to find the kind of jobs and pay rate I'm looking for, so wondering how people who have successfully navigated the process approached it..

Thanks in advance.

[cb73]

To get a State job, you must take the exam for that job, be placed on a hiring list according to your score on the exam, and then you can apply for openings when you are reachable on the hiring list. Depending on how many openings there in that classification, it can take awhile to get an interview.

Here is the main page for State exams. http://jobs.ca.gov/

There are internet exams for certain jobs--if you do computer programming, there's an internet exam here:
http://jobs.ca.gov/JOBSGEN/PB020.PDF You still have to pass and get on the list, but you don't have to wait months for the exam to come up.

Time from initial application to hire: probably 4 to 6 months, or more.

Exams, difficulty level: every exam has a very clear specification sheet, showing exactly what is required and what will be on the exam.

State job stability and benefits: more than private, but a number of State agencies do lay off employees, there's been five years of monthly unpaid furloughs, and the benefits are shrinking every year.

As far as State employees who lack drive: there are wonderful, vibrant State employees, the best people you could ever work with. And there's a super-strong closed-shop union who makes it their life work to protect the jobs of the "workers who lack drive" as well as the workers who don't seem to work. You just accept it, knowing that in most positions you'll do your job and part of someone else's.

[justducky2]

Take as many exams as you qualify for. A great job opening may open up, but unless you are on the list, you can't apply.

I've had three friends get jobs in the past two years. It took anywhere from 6 months to 1.5 years (state).

Look at the exam requirements, and then study up on what's listed there.

Good luck! It takes perserverance. Oh - and the personnel "gatekeepers" may not "get" that you have knowledge in the field if the keywords don't exactly match up. So try to use as many keywords as possible, and if your degree is in a similar field, exactly state in your cover letter how it is similar. I've had to appeal things, because the hiring Supervisor would understand, but the personnel folks are not specialists in your field. Bright people, for personnel, but they can't know everything.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by justducky2

Take as many exams as you qualify for. A great job opening may open up, but unless you are on the list, you can't apply.

I've had three friends get jobs in the past two years. It took anywhere from 6 months to 1.5 years (state).

Look at the exam requirements, and then study up on what's listed there.

Good luck! It takes perserverance. Oh - and the personnel "gatekeepers" may not "get" that you have knowledge in the field if the keywords don't exactly match up. So try to use as many keywords as possible, and if your degree is in a similar field, exactly state in your cover letter how it is similar. I've had to appeal things, because the hiring Supervisor would understand, but the personnel folks are not specialists in your field. Bright people, for personnel, but they can't know everything.

+1. Also, when I was applying for a job, I spoke to the supervisor for the position and he told me straight away that the "exam", was very broad and asked about your experience in a very broad array of sectors, not all of which applied perfectly to the job in question. He said to state that I had a small amount of experience in any sector that I even had college coursework on, but that I'd never done professionally. For me, that was saying I had experience in things like water quality, when I haven't done anything besides 8 units in college. This helps you boost your test score and makes an interview more likely. This is all above board of course and he wasn't playing favorites. It was just a game the exams kind of make you play.

[calnbs]

My wife is trying to get a state job, Staff Services Analyst position. The online tests are quite easy. It's basically asking you, your job experiences...more like a survey than a test. If you score high enough, you get on the list and can apply for certain job. The higher the score, the better your chances are.

Funny thing is, the lower paying entry level positions such as office clerical/support, their test are actually much harder. You have to set up appointments to take tests at an onsite location. The test consists of reading, writing, grammar, and math. You have to score at least a 70%.

If your score is high enough, you can start your job search and apply and apply and apply and apply. They are very slow at getting back to you. Months goes by and she gets a call for an interview or she would receive rejection letters like 4-5 months later. LOL.

The competition for gov't job is fierce at this point. Much harder to get in than it was many years ago.

[cb73]

Originally Posted by calnbs

My wife is trying to get a state job, Staff Services Analyst position. The online tests are quite easy. It's basically asking you, your job experiences...more like a survey than a test. If you score high enough, you get on the list and can apply for certain job. The higher the score, the better your chances are.

Funny thing is, the lower paying entry level positions such as office clerical/support, their test are actually much harder. You have to set up appointments to take tests at an onsite location. The test consists of reading, writing, grammar, and math. You have to score at least a 70%.

If your score is high enough, you can start your job search and apply and apply and apply and apply. They are very slow at getting back to you. Months goes by and she gets a call for an interview or she would receive rejection letters like 4-5 months later. LOL.

The competition for gov't job is fierce at this point. Much harder to get in than it was many years ago.

Part of that is consolidation of agencies/departments done by the governor a bit ago. There's still a lot of people that are in the areas being consolidated that need to be absorbed into new areas. They will always have priority in hiring.

Second, many times when a job is advertised, the hiring manager already has someone in mind--maybe someone that works in a near area or whatever, so an unknown person on a list isn't really going to be considered.

Third, yes, a LOT of people apply for openings. Particularly in the SSA positions. I do know three people who were hired off the street into the positions--all had either batchelors or masters degrees in business.

[ls1975]

Okay, I'm a State employee. It's all in the interview, since it's scored.
In short, you can lie and you'll score higher than someone who actually has more experience; you won't get caught.
This is how you must interview:
For example: Have you done ABC?
Yes, I have X years doing ABC. I performed ABC at (name company and projects related); the more you can elaborate here, the higher you'll score.

**Answer in a similar capacity to all proceeding questions.

I agree with cb73. Yes, there are great, smart people here, but it is also the land of under achievers. I am in the process of leaving currently.

[herrerae24]

I have been applying for a SSA position with the State of California for close to a year now. I do know that there is a lot of competition for this particular position. I scored well on the exam and I have my degree so I'm guessing at this point that maybe I am not including the correct information within the application packets. Is there an SSA out there that can give some advise into what exactly do I need to include along with the application itself? Maybe there is an HR personnel out there that can give some advise on what they look for within the application packet. I know that one exam posting for an SSA position receives hundreds of application. What can I do to differentiate my application from all others?

[Fearless Kid]

Originally Posted by herrerae24

I have been applying for a SSA position with the State of California for close to a year now. I do know that there is a lot of competition for this particular position. I scored well on the exam and I have my degree so I'm guessing at this point that maybe I am not including the correct information within the application packets. Is there an SSA out there that can give some advise into what exactly do I need to include along with the application itself? Maybe there is an HR personnel out there that can give some advise on what they look for within the application packet. I know that one exam posting for an SSA position receives hundreds of application. What can I do to differentiate my application from all others?

If you're not in the top 3 ranks, it could be a while until you are reachable. You're also competing with internal candidates, so it makes it that much harder. Maybe get in as an Office Techinician and move up from there? Althought I'm not sure of the hiring freeze for OTs.

[Chimérique]

All above advice is fine, but the Best advise is to network. Who are these supervisors and mangers and make friends with their friends, acquaintances, employees, or co-workers. If you have a friend of a friend who is a manger or supervisor find a way to get to know them. When you make it thorough the gauntlets and steps to be eligible for actual hire you need to impress the one single person who has the most influence for whom gets the job.

You don’t need to be the actual friend of the manager or supervisor, or even know them, but if that managers friend is a friend of yours, then your mutual friend can steer you to the job opening and some crucial details about the job. The manager is likely to hire friends and/or acquaintances of fellow co-mangers and supervisors, or friends of his best employees friends. Bottom line, the more employees of any given work place you know, the better chances of you landing the job over your competitors.

This does not mean people who don't know anyone of any given work place can't get the job, but comparing equally qualified candidates, the one who comes recommended or simply has familiarity with some of the more reputable employees of said workplace are more likely to get the job.