Stressin' a bit...

I have been filling my days at work with preparing and applying for various positions with the government.

Do any of you, my blreaders (blog readers), realize how time consuming and difficult it is to apply for a government job? I'm applying for specific class, guaranteeing a specified salary with a very clear range for promotion. I, with help, have predetermined I will not apply to classes lower than a specific one based on my experience and education. So, I've created a profile, uploaded my resume and followed the necessary steps to fulfilling the applications through specified online channels. I've gotten a copy of my transcript and my birth certificate to verify education and citizenship. Usually, with the complete application, that should be enough, right? Wrong. There are these things called KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities). I hate them. I hate them with a passion. They are different for each job in context and in number. But I've put forth my best effort and submitted a number of them recently, 3 jobs to be exact and 14 questions. 14. Ugh.

Now, these aren't easy questions to be answered in a simple, one paragraph effort. I'm talking full page, multiple paragraph answers. These questions, sometimes filled in online, have character limits of upwards of 8,000. That's right, 8,000. That's crazy. Really crazy.

Anyways, apparently these 3 applications have begun to be reviewed. I have received one outright "sorry, you don't meet the qualifications" and one "you meet the qualifications, but were not in the first group of people to be submitted to the hiring manager." Kind of daunting. But there are supposed to be over a thousand and something jobs opening up in the government, so I have hope. I am submitting 2 more applications later on this week. I'm not looking forward to the KSAs. They give you the questions/statements ahead of time, but I have had two surprise questions thrown at me in the middle of the application process.

So, it's a little stressful. I feel like I'm back in college, writing a paper that counts for my final grade and that's all I have going for me. Except I have to write about myself and what I know as succint as possible in response to an exact issue. Three down, two left. Then we'll see if I continue with this or start in on the private sector.