Back when I used to conduct interviews, one of the most infuriating things was when my applicants presented themselves with any kind of an attitude. There were quite a few qualified candidates who managed to move themselves into the “never call again” pile, and these experiences make up my topic for the day. Most people think of burning bridges as something you do when you leave a company, but for unprepared federal applicants, there’s always the chance that you’ll burn your bridges even before you’re offered the job!
For most people, the number one reason to take a job is because of the money. Cash makes the world go round, and chances are fair to middling that if you’ve got enough dough to last you for life, then you won’t need to be applying for a government job in the first place! For the rest of us, money is a primary concern, and improperly reacting to a proposed salary is one of the biggest pitfalls for job seekers. A hiring manager may not always have full control of the starting salary, and this is particularly true with the G. It’s a given reality in this economic climate that job seekers will occasionally have to take bridge employment which pays less money than they were previously making, but if a job doesn’t meet your needs, it’s perfectly fine to say so up front.
The trick, and where most people shoot themselves in the foot, is to do this without coming across as a jerk!
This one time I had been given a resume by one of my employees, so as a favor I called her reference for an interview. The guy was pretty qualified for the job, and everything was going pretty well, until I told him how much my company was willing to pay for the position. He laughed on the other end of the phone and said, “That’s not worth my time, but keep me in mind if you have something better open up.” Let me tell you, I ended the call pretty quickly after that, and didn’t look very hard to place him in any future openings. His attitude was an insult not only to my company, but also to the other team members I had who made the exact same amount of money!
Most importantly, I was so turned off by the way he presented himself that I never bothered passing his resume along to any other managers who might have had higher paying positions available. For the right candidate, there’s usually a little room for managers to fudge with the compensation numbers, whether it’s job duties, flexible scheduling, relocation incentives, or in the federal government, starting someone at a higher step level within a pay grade based on experience or education. The trick for job applicants, however, is presenting yourself as the ideal candidate for the job. Unless you do that, no manager is going to stick his neck out and request anything extra for you. And if you burn your bridges by saying the wrong thing, it’s a certainty that the manager is going to move on to the dozens of qualified candidates behind you!
During any contact with the government’s hiring team, even if it’s not a formal interview, it’s in your best interests to be polite, be professional, and be honest. If you can’t find a way to do these basic things, well then, all I can say is good luck with your federal job search!
No comments:
Post a Comment