I finally received my FJO after years of trying! Here is my timeline of events:

Applied for position 7/5/26
Position closed 7/14/26
Referred 7/15/26
Interviewed 7/21/26
TJO 7/30/26
Onboarding (paperwork, credentialing, eAPP) 7/31/26 - 8/19/26
Negotiations 8/10/26

FJO 7/31/26
EOD 8/21/26

I’ve been applying off and on with USAjobs for the past 7 years (about 2-3 months a year for very few jobs) and I just couldn’t wrap my head around the federal process. It always resulted in not eligible or referred.

Finally I’ve honed in got my first eligible and referred email. Even if it doesn’t end up with an interview, it’s definitely a mood booster to spend more time trying to finally use my degree instead of manual labor.

Well, flopped my one and only interview I have been contacted for. RIP to my dream job opportunity. 😅 I'll just have to keep applying! I wish you could get a redo, lol.

📣 We’re hiring at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

The 505th Command and Control Wing is hiring a Training Technician, GS-9, to manage the wing’s education and training program in support of approximately 1,900 military and civilian personnel across 13 CONUS and two OCONUS locations.

💼 Position: Training Technician, GS-9
📍 Location: Hurlburt Field, FL
💵 Salary: $61,722 to $80,243 per year
📅 Application closes: 8 September 2026
💻 Telework eligible: Yes, per agency policy
🏠 Remote: No
✈️ Travel: Occasional travel may be required
🔐 Security clearance: Secret
🕒 Work schedule: Full-time
📌 Appointment type: Permanent

This position is open to:
• Federal employees, competitive service
• Federal employees, excepted service
• Career transition applicants (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
• Land and base management employees
• Veterans
• Military spouses
• Individuals with disabilities
• Family of overseas employees
• Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA applicants

*Eligible NAF employees are considered under the Federal employees, excepted service hiring path.

In this role, the selectee will manage the 505 CCW education and training program and serve as the office of primary responsibility for military and civilian training issues. Responsibilities include on-the-job training, formal school requests, Acquisition Professional Development Program actions, ancillary training, combat arms, chemical warfare and maintenance training, and Headquarters Air Combat Command training initiatives. The position also serves as the wing’s sole Advanced Distributed Learning System and Formal Training Manager.

U.S. government positions are subject to federal hiring eligibility, qualification requirements, and applicable hiring authorities. Please review the full announcement for complete details.

Apply: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/883029000

The 505th Command and Control Wing is #hiring for a Management Analyst, GS-12, at the 505 CCW Wing Staff Agency at Hurlburt Field, Florida.
 
This position closes on 3 September 2026; salary range is $89,508 - $116,362, per year.
 
The position is NOT remote but is telework eligible. You may be expected to #travel for this position.
 
This job is open to:
 
1)   Internal to an agency: Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.
2)   Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL): Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
3)   Military spouses: Military spouses of active-duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.
 
Clarification from the agency
Eligible NAF employees are considered under Hiring Path - "Federal employees-Excepted service"
 
The primary purpose of this position is: To maintain an account of valid manpower requirements in compliance with resource allocation and organization policy and to conduct analysis evaluation and project management within the Personnel Manpower section assigned to the Mission Support Office
 
Primary Duties:
Studies the structure and/or functions of organizations with interrelated work processes and functions and accurately advises or proposes solutions to improve processes and maximize mission accomplishment and resources utilization.
Designs, plans, and conducts work measurement, methods and procedures, manpower requirements utilization and engineered time standards; reviews and implements changes to organization and resource controls/programs, and/or benchmarking studies of complex, interrelated substantive work processes or functions.
Designs, plans, and facilitates CPI events, manpower assessments, management surveys, and research projects, providing advisory services of a wide variety on substantive issues with extensive scope, complexity, and impact, assessing the overall effectiveness of program operations.
Provides complex management support services in the areas of strategic planning alignment, program manpower cost analysis, annual/multi-year/long range fiscal planning (e.g., Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System (PPBS) cycles), and development of annual work plan(s), and/or commercial activity for organization(s) whose operations are interrelated and unstable.
 
Click on the link below to find the requirements and qualifications for this position and to apply: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/882271300

Hello,
I was recently selected for a GG-13 General Engineer Pipeline position with a federal agency. I have not been matched to a specific team or role yet, and I was told that the specific position would be confirmed after security and suitability processing, which could take 180 days or longer.
The process as it was explained to me is roughly: selection, COE, security(clearnce) processing, specific position alignment, firm job offer (FJO), enter on duty (EOD)
At the same time, I am about to start a private sector aerospace/defense job. My plan is to start that job normally while continuing through the federal hiring process, since there is no FJO yet and I do not even know what specific federal position I would ultimately be assigned to.

My main questions are:

1. Is it normal and acceptable to accept the COE and go through the security process while continuing to work at another employer?
   
2. If I eventually become cleared, learn the specific position, and receive an FJO, can I still decline the FJO if I decide my current job is a better fit?
   
3. Would accepting the COE and then withdrawing several months later at the FJO stage be viewed as burning a bridge with the agency?
   
4. For those who have gone through a pipeline hiring process, when did you actually learn what team or specific position you were being hired into?
   
5. Roughly how long did it take you to go from COE to FJO?

I am genuinely interested in the federal opportunity, but I do not want to leave a good job before I know the specific role and final offer.

After waiting a mind-numbing amount of time between applying and being referred, I finally interviewed with the CDC for a GS-11 Chemist position during the first week of June and a GS-11 Biologist position during the first week of July.

I can’t exactly say I knocked either interview out of the park, especially since both lasted roughly 40 minutes of the allotted hour, but I gave them the best shot I could. Since then, however, it’s been complete radio silence.

I’ve seen plenty of posts from people saying their references were requested anywhere from one to two weeks after their interviews, which has me wondering: am I just wasting my time holding out hope for something that ultimately isn’t going to happen?

I’ve tried reaching out to the HHS help desk since the help link in the job post doesn’t work for some insight, but they weren’t able to provide any useful information.

At this point, I’m just trying to get a sense of whether this kind of timeline is normal or if I should take the silence as a sign that I’m probably no longer being considered.

I was recently removed from a federal IT position following a dispute involving telework, timekeeping, and my reasonable-accommodation request. I have appealed the removal to the MSPB, and that case is still pending.
When I began the position, I was working remotely and did not receive clear training from my supervisor on the agency’s telework requirements or how to properly record telework in the EAGLE timekeeping system. I was generally told to follow the example provided by another employee.
I later requested a reasonable accommodation, and telework was discussed as a possible option during the initial accommodation meeting. After that meeting, however, approximately 10 months passed before the reasonable-accommodation office meaningfully followed up. During that period, I repeatedly contacted the office seeking guidance and clarification.
The agency ultimately removed me based partly on allegations that I failed to properly report my telework and failed to return to the office after the return-to-office mandate. I dispute the agency’s characterization of what happened, which is why I am pursuing the MSPB appeal.
In the meantime, I am applying for other federal positions for which I am qualified. I understand that the removal SF-50 may need to be submitted or disclosed when an application asks about prior federal service or disciplinary history.
Has anyone been hired by another federal agency after being removed from a previous position, particularly while an MSPB appeal was still pending?
I would especially appreciate insight on the following:

- Does a removal automatically prevent another agency from hiring someone?

- How much discretion does the gaining agency have?
At what point in the hiring process should I explain the circumstances?

- How should I address the removal honestly without undermining my pending appeal?

- Has anyone had a tentative offer delayed or withdrawn because of a removal SF-50?

I am not looking for legal advice about the appeal—primarily experiences from federal employees, HR specialists, or hiring managers familiar with similar situations.

Just curious for all veterans, if currently you cant not find a job that is best of your interet and career you want to be in. Would you accept a Full time job just for source of income?

Does that hurt your career or prevent you find you next job that you wanted? If working full time, how would I continue to find the job I wanted

Story: Currently applying for USAJOBS in logistic and interviewing for few. But my interview skills is too bad so I cant guarteen myself for a job. If working in USPS full time, does that gonna hurt my career and prevent me interviewing other jobs I wanted

I’m not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but just looking for some insight on the hiring process. I work for a federal land management agency, and we’re currently hiring for our land management unit project leader. All the rumor and circumstances suggest that agency leadership is stacking the deck to hire a member of a corporation with local interest in mining and resource extraction. This person does not have any experience in federal government, a bachelors degree, or advanced education, but leadership is working on finding a way to hire them, despite this being a GS13 position. I know for a fact that multiple experienced, qualified, and well-fit people with PhD‘s have applied for the position, but everything suggests that they are not going to get it. If the corporation executive is selected, despite not meeting minimum qualifications, is there a way to petition for reevaluation and reselection of a more qualified candidate? Obviously, this person being selected for this position would be very bad for Public Lands, so I want to find out what options are available to protect the area. Thanks!

Just applied to this job on USAJobs, for anyone who is or has ever been one before could you tell me a little bit about the job and if you enjoyed it or not ? Thank you!

Anyone work for the Clinical Contact Center for Visn 17? Any insight? How do you like working there ?

what can I expect at the expo! What should I prepare for ?

Hi all,

I am planning a lateral transfer (same GS grade) to a new agency. I am exactly 3 months away from my next Within-Grade Increase (WGI). If I transfer before that date, does my time-in-step carry over, or does the clock reset? I want to make sure I don't lose my progress this close to the step increase. Has anyone done this recently? Thanks!

I'm overthinking this, probably, but how should I make sure I'm hitting all of the required Competencies for a federal job on my resume?

For instance, a job wants demonstrated competency of:

Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

How should I word my previous experience to ensure that requirement box gets checked? I have past experience training and on-boarding co-workers in job duties, which certainly involved lots of expressing technical information orally, but should I word it like (and this is just a generalization):

Trained and mentored [x] team members in job duties via individualized coaching.

or

Communicated orally technical information during training and mentoring to [x] team members during individualized coaching sessions.

Basically, can I reasonably assume that the person reviewing the resume for Oral Communication competency can infer that training co-workers in job duties and responsibilities would involve talking to them in technical terms and therefore satisfies that requirement, or should I figure out some way of re-writing my experience to explicitly state competency in communicating technical information orally? Or does it seem too copy-pasted in a way and would get trashed immediately upon review?

I know there’s a few old Palace Acquire (PAQ) for the AFCS discussion threads but I couldn’t find any over this specific topic.

I am a PAQ right now in finance in software specifically and I was wondering what kind of jobs do people who did the PAQ program usually go into after the program out places you? I know you outplace at the GS12 (NH3) level but do people usually stay in the federal system or move to something by private, etc? I wasn’t sure how employers viewed a PAQ from a resume perspective!

Can someone clarify the reinstatement eligibility per OPM? Former federal employee here - Would I be eligible for reinstatement even though my SF50 shows I am career conditional, competitive service? I was employed as a probationary for about 9 months before the doge cuts and did not go back. Seems like if you had over 3 years of continuous service, you are eligible for reinstatement. I saw something that said if you were career conditional, you have 3 years from date of separation to be reinstated. Not sure if I am truly eligible since this is somewhat confusing. On usajobs, I am currently only looking at open to the public jobs but not sure if I can apply to any internal jobs. Thanks for any insight.

I recently received a TJO for an AcqDemo NH-02, Target NH-03 developmental position. The position is under ACDP and has a full-performance level of NH-03.

The initial offer was equivalent to a GS-7 Step 1 within the pay band.

When I received the TJO, I requested consideration for a higher starting rate ideally around Step 5 based on my experience. I completed the Superior Qualifications request, but it was denied.

I also requested consideration for increased leave/PTO accrual based on my 10 year of experience, and that request was also denied.

The reason provided was:

“Your experience does not meet the required threshold relative to the available candidate pool because we have a competitive certificate that contains other qualified candidates.”

I was also provided a fairly detailed explanation of how AcqDemo pay increases work under ACDP. However, the information was somewhat vague regarding what I could realistically expect my salary to be at each stage of the developmental plan.

For those of you with significant AcqDemo/ACDP experience, could you give me a realistic example of what the progression might look like?

After 1 year: Approximately

After 2 years: Approximately

After 3 years Approximately

I understand that performance and organizational decisions can affect the actual numbers, so I'm not looking for a guarantee. I'm just trying to get a realistic idea of what the expected progression could look like over the three-year developmental period.

I went ahead and accepted the TJO since I understand I can still change my mind up until the FJO.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through an NH-02 → NH-03 ACDP developmental position, especially if you can provide actual salary progression examples.

It was my dream role, dream agency, and dream location. All in one. Got all the way to the in-person interview and then choked and failed. Feeling really defeated.

Also is it true that a 26 year old is "too young" to handle the job of a GG-13?

Does anyone know the procedure if I never signed up for selective service in HS? I’ve applied to over 80 GOVT jobs have gotten 2 TJO’s but once the background process gets going I’ve have both offers rescinded on two different occasions because of that. I’ve asked for a waiver, followed the steps of getting a notorized letter stating why I never signed up for it but I still get rejected.

How is it being an Revenue officer at the GS-7 level?

What would an Revenue Officer be doing at a GS7 compared to a GS9 and GS11?

Also how is it being an Revenue Officer with a ACS background and without ACS background?

Also I seen RO position goes to an GS11 is that automatic?

So I had an interview for a GS12 position today only to find out that the job announcement had nothing to do with what they actually want in a candidate. I became so annoyed and disappointed after learning that. They have my resume so I don’t understand why they set up an interview knowing that I wouldn’t be interested. The interview questions were odd, but it could be that they wanted to see how I reason and solve problems. Ok but that’s not the job duties I applied for.

Anyway, what a waste of time. I was ready and very excited to interview for a position like the one in the job announcement. The interview I had a month ago was spot on with their job announcement.

I have already had my interview and references were contacted the same day. Sitting here waiting for what’s next is very nerve wrecking!!. I hope I get called my stress level is high!.!