I did hear that EOD new hiring orientation classes have trended down since I have come onboard, class sizes have dipped down 1/3rd or in some cases by half. But they seem to be sort of stabilizing recently. Some rumors that the onboarding and processing pauses/slowdowns might continue until the new fiscal year.
I do keep hearing from senior officers, the growing confidence that we will avoid the worst case scenario of mass involuntary separations of staffers (contractors are at risk still). Not new news really, but at least the message is becoming consistent that the agency will get their cuts from mostly voluntarily means.
It makes sense to slow down incoming talent if you need to draw down your overall headcount (and it’s great to hear and does make sense specifically for this agency to do so through voluntary means); however the insane BI timeline makes me question how long they can truly delay COEs…
My MD agency HR person reached out today asking if I was “still interested in continuing with your employment process.” Gave me a deadline to indicate my interest and acknowledged the hiring freeze but couldn’t answer any of the questions I had. At this point I’m just happy they’re letting me stay in the system.
Helpful update but also sad to hear. From what you gathered was the question from a position of “we want to keep as many people in the queue as possible” or was it “let’s reset this entire thing” any insight from your call?
It was over email, not a call, so I couldn’t gather much. I can only hope that they’re trying to keep those still interested in the queue, while also seeing who’s taken a different job in the meantime and is no longer interested the original job offer.
Additionally, I want to give a big THANK YOU. To folks who have contributed here. There is a lot of uncertainty and these little bits of info provide hope and information we all desperately want.
Update from me. My role was cancelled. They found me a different position. Similar to what @RandomMan said, I think once you’re in the process they want to figure it out with you. They are still likely refining and defining new roles and responsibilities. So patience here is key as painful as it is.
Did anyone here complete their poly and get favorably adjudicated during this freeze? Preferably for the Maryland agency? I likely passed my poly in August '24, still radio silence about adjudication.
I poly’d in late Aug '24, adjudicated early December ‘24, indoc and started OTJ in Feb 25’. Mission critical contractor position though, so I’m not sure if that helps with your question other than they have been processing contractors still.
Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for sharing your updates as you are able.
I’m a previous green badge who sat on-site in Springfield. I took an internal PM role in March of 2020 and was read off all compartments, but I’m now interested in going the blue badge route. I’d prefer to avoid sitting behind a desk when possible.
It seems many on this thread were already in some stage of the hiring process when the new admin changes / EOs started. Has anyone recently submitted an interest form for McLean, and been contacted by a recruiter?
Looking forward to any insight or suggestions. Thanks again.