According to yesterdays Washington Post, the federal government's hiring process is a confusing jumble of conflicting activities. In short, this is absolutely true. These problems are magnified now because the federal government is about to go on a hiring binge that will completely overtax the current system and overwhelm the people who work in human resources. The article says an estimated 100,000 - 250,000 people will be hired under the current budget plan. I assume this doesn't count all of the current vacencies and those that will occur as the retirement pace picks up.
A prospective employee can ease the process somewhat by making sure he or she thoroughly reads the the job announcements (even if they 29 pages long) and tailors a resume to the specific position. The more focused your resume is on the job description the better chance yours will be forwarded to the hiring official by the human resources folks.
Because the hiring process is broken, be prepared for a long wait (mine took two months) and don't stop looking for other jobs. While this part is a pain in the rear, it will be worth it once you get hired.
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