Hello, my favorite federal-job-seeking Earthlings! How is your job search coming along? As promised, I am going to share a topic today that is chock-full of unique ideas and strategies.

You see, most people who are seeking federal jobs jump into line along with everyone else and follow the USAJOBs crowd, thinking that is the only way to get a federal job.

Now, granted – it IS the federal government’s primary website for posting job openings.

But, guess what?

There are lots and lots and lots of VACANT jobs that aren’t advertised on USAJOBs — a plethora of unadvertised job openings, if you are a fan of the Three Amigos. 

What are these “Invisible Jobs”?

When a new position is created in an organization (or when the person in the job leaves, retires, gets fired, transfers, etc.) a vacant slot is created.

Those empty jobs sometimes sit there for a long time before they are ever filled through an advertisement. Why? Lots of reasons:

  • The supervisor could be lazy, dragging their feet, etc.
  • HR could be back-logged and too busy to advertise it.
  • There might be budget/approval delays.
  • There might be an organizational restructuring going on and the vacant slot cannot be filled until it’s over.

One time I recruited for an organization that had 30 – yes, THIRTY — vacancies but only 5 — yes, only FIVE — of them were advertised. We simply didn’t have time to advertise all 30. So, those 25 empty jobs just sat there being bored and lonely.

They were sitting there… hidden in plain sight… “invisible” to outsiders.

So, who cares, Ken?

You do. Anyone who is a VRA eligible should care!

Why?

Because VRA allows you to bypass USAJOBs advertisements and get hired into these invisible (unadvertised) jobs – straight off the street!

WHAT!

Yes, it’s true. That’s the purpose of VRA.

What is VRA and why should I care?

Now, as a reminder, VRA is a special law by which agencies can, IF THEY WISH, appoint eligible veterans without competition to positions at any grade level through General Schedule (GS) 11 or equivalent.

In order to be eligible for VRA, you must be a Veteran who meets AT LEAST ONE of the following criteria:

  1. Disabled veterans; or
  2. Veterans who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; or
  3. Veterans who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded; or
  4. Recently separated veterans.

I refer to VRA as the “Golden Ticket” because eligible Veterans can literally approach HR or a Supervisor, physically hand their resume/DD214/Disability paperwork over, and say they want to be considered for a vacant job that isn’t currently advertised.

See? The law allows that person to he hired directly “off the street” and into a job!

NO competition!

No USAJOBs shenanigans!

No advertisements!

It’s my favorite law (does that sound nerdy?). It saved me a ton of time as a federal HR Specialist because I didn’t have to build announcements and screen a bunch of resumes. We could put VRAs directly into jobs.

A word of caution

Being VRA eligible DOES NOT GUARANTEE you an interview, or a job. It’s ALWAYS up to supervisory discretion on whether they hire you or not. They can say “No”. That doesn’t mean you are being discriminated against. It merely means they aren’t interested in interviewing you right now.

Also, you still have to be qualified for the job and have the necessary experience or education required.

How do I land an “Invisible Job”?

If you are a VRA-eligible, you can contact HR or the hiring manager directly, let them know you are VRA-eligible and you would like to be considered for any vacancy positions that are currently open – or any upcoming openings that are anticipated.

I know what you are thinking: How can I do that, Ken?!

Good question!

How to reach an HR staffing specialist – option 1

  1. Go to Google.com.
  2. Search facility name (wherever you want to work, or wherever their HR Office is).
  3. Find the 1-800 number.
  4. Call operator at 800.
  5. Ask operator to speak to HR.
  6. Get connected to HR.
  7. Ask HR to speak to the staffing supervisor.
  8. Ask supervisor for the name/number of the HR specialist who recruits for the department you want to work in.

Booyah!

Or…

How to reach an HR staffing specialist – option 2

  1. Go to usajobs.gov.
  2. Search for the facility name or city name where you want to work.
  3. Open the job openings that are located at the facility you want to work at.
  4. Scroll down to the bottom of the announcement and locate the HR Specialists contact number and email address.
  5. Call them and ask to speak to the staffing specialist who fills positions in the department you want to work in (IT, Police, Plumbing, etc.).

You can repeat this process to try to reach the manager who oversees the position by following the same steps.

Piece of cake!

Here is some more good news!

Know this: SOME HR offices will actually keep a copy of your resume on file and, when a job opens up (that you are qualified for), HR will send your resume forward automatically.

These copies of your resume are kept in what’s called ‘standing registries’. Sometimes they are called “Applicant Supply System” or “Applicant Supply Files”.

These are files (paper or electronic) where the facility can collect and stockpile VRA-eligible resumes from qualified Veterans.

Contact the facility where you want to work and ask if they maintain an ASF—applicant supply file and ask how you can get your resume added.

Here is a real-world example of an online ASF application packet.

Reminder

NOT ALL FACILITIES KEEP STANDING REGISTRIES. They are not required to. Its optional for them. So, if they won’t hold onto your resume for you – that is legally OK! They aren’t required to.

OK, that’s enough. Let your huge brain chew on this stuff for a bit. Read it. Re-read it. Then, share with your friends and let them stew on this mind-blowing stuff that no one else is teaching except your old Pal Ken!

Remember to join our Vets 2 Fed Gov Jobs FB group, and make sure to visit the FILES section for tons of valuable resources.

‘til next time!