I cannot locate any DCSA Background Investigator position on the DCSA website or the USAjobs.gov website.
What is the web link/web address for the job posting?
I’d like to submit my resume along with the other 5,000 contractors working for Perspecta, CACI, SCIS, 1Force, ISN, Next Level Background Investigations, StratusIQ, ACI Federal (have I left anyone out??). And then I will await my employment application/resume to be rejected by DCSA because I am not a veteran, no prior federal service or prior federal employment, and have no disability or preference points. This rejection letter will come as no surprise just as it was in the 15 years I’ve submitted employment applications to NBIB/OPM for federal BI positions.
I mean why would the federal government want to hire a tenured, experienced, and qualified person when they can hire one of the thousands of veterans who are unemployed and looking for work right now?
It really is all about who know, I’ve met a couple NBIB special agents out in the field and also the one who did my investigation, and they all said they knew someone to get their position. I’m a vet with preference points and a degree + experience on the contract, and I applied to every single opening that came up during all of 2018 and early 2019 and did not make it further than a referral notice. I was even willing to relocate no matter where the position was
If you have preference points, served in the military, and acquired preference points, it’s just a matter of time before you will be hired. If you keep applying, you’ll even beat out guys like me with more experience in the industry. It’s the government’s way of hiring and rewarding the vets and prior Feds. I get it but it sucks for guys that have remained in the contract sector and never get a chance to work as a GS12; get a pension; great healthcare; and low production requirements; less stress; and less pressure as compared to the contractors doing the same job.
My opinion is that DCSA wants a robust and large federal workforce to do the BI’s and less reliance upon contractors. This was their policy when DSS did the BI’s pre-2005. I’ve stated this numerous times on the blog. It all makes sense because they are giving little to no work to the vendors and they were influential in reducing the backlog with the backlog mitigation policies enacted in 07/2018. Small and reasonable backlog = much less reliance upon contractors.
The prime contractors will not be able to survive if the work assigned to them is reduced any more. They rely on a large assignment of cases to cover the overhead and keep the lights on. Perhaps GDIT recognized this early and bowed out. Not sure how the shareholders at perspecta and caci will like to hear all of this. Scis has a little different business model and their required profit margin is lower since the main company is foreign owned.
Bitter Much? Some of the “unemployed veterans” may be actually credentialed, experienced, qualified and hold degrees. But don’t lets facts get in the way of why people aren’t selected for a GS job.
The whole vet preference thing is not the reason non-vets are turned down. Getting a gov’t position is like playing the lottery. A friend in an HR dept. of a USG agency told me that for a certain GS-07/09 position it is typical to get 15k applications. A lot of those self-selected themselves out of the process because they admitted to not having expert-level knowledge on one of the knowledge/skills self-assessment questions.
On to vet preference. Since the overwhelming majority of military veterans were in paid support roles (jobs) outside of combat theater it does seem vet preference in USG hiring should be limited to vets who served in combat theater. Then again, I believe the U.S. should have two-year compulsory military service (or even just one-year like a few of our NATO allies). #JustOneOldGuysOpinion
I didn’t say veterans couldn’t do the job and do it well. I was stating how difficult it is for non Feds and non vets to get hired by the federal government. I should know…I’ve tried at least 40 times and never made a cert list even though I’m extremely qualified.
Not bitter. Frustrated would be a better word. I’m very aware that veterans have degrees, job skills, and abilities to be a good BI.
But what gives them an advantage and is the lynch pin for many of them is their preference points that puts them over the top with even more qualified folks like myself that have been doing this longer (and in some cases vets beat out experienced contract investigators with the veterans having zero experience in this industry) and are multi credentialed with many federal contracts and work experience. I understand the hiring process. My previous post was to shed some light to the present situation for at least 75% of the Contract Investigator Workforce out there.
I’m just stating the obvious about veterans preference and some of these veterans are getting all offended and riled up. Not everyone doing this job as an Investigator has served in the military. Many of us have been Investigators working national security cases and providing a civil service for more years than the soldier, airmen, seaman, or military member that only gives 4 years, is never deployed, and never put in combat related environment and they get veterans preference because they were at a USAF base for 4-5 years. So who’s provided more of a service to the government? The investigator that has put in 15+ years as a contractor providing essentially a civil service function for the federal government or the airmen that spent 4 years on a USAF installation and now receives veterans preference and preferential treatment when applying for government jobs?
Before any vets fly off the handle, I’m not comparing 20+ year veterans that have retired and been deployed all over the world. I believe these individuals should be preferred candidates in retaining federal service. My comparison is to military service members and national guard members that put in 4-5 years and receive preference and then act like it’s deserved and they should beat out for a federal position the actual qualified experienced and tenured contract Investigator that has provided an essential civil service function and been yanked around for 15 years working for schizophrenic and dishonest OPM vendors.
Simple fact. There was/is a law in place over the last few years that encourage agencies to hire veterans. Civil Service laws give veterans a preference in hiring. Civil Service laws also give current feds a preference in hiring. That does not guarantee someon being hired. When several hundred people apply for one or two slots, the preference helps cut the field down. Just as having a degree cuts out veterans without one. Just as being in a military occupation that normally does well in that position, etc.
Toss in the fact that most contractors are not willing to go back to GS7 pay in order to become a Fed. Everyone I knew that did this jump were retired military.
Also, few personnel at an operational Air Force base sit on their rump stateside for four to five years. Most squadrons are (and have been since 1990) on a rotational deployment to SWA. Your statement shows a lack of knowledge about the military. You might as well as said that Sailors just sit on their ships along the pier for four to five years then expect veterans preference.
I have plenty of knowledge about the military. Thank you very much. I know Air National Guardsman that receive veterans preference and never have deployed more than six months over the course of five years and they receive veteran’s preference points. In fact, I’ve known an Investigator or two that purposefully joined the ANG and put in 5 years of drill, were never deployed on an assignment for more than 3 months in the course of five years and received veterans preference.
As I said before, if it’s so easy you should sign up.
Before you do, I’ll help you out on the definition of who receives the preference, so 4 years from now you’re not saying it’s not fair you still don’t get the Vet preference.