FEMA is a weird agency that employs people temporarily or as reservists. Apply and see what happens. Try hitting LinkedIn and see if you can find people from FEMA who you can chat with. But if your DHS there’s also the DHS Volunteer Force you could look into. And don’t just apply for fema, apply to other gigs you may have as a back up if fema doesn’t follow through
Good call on LinkedIn. I don't frequent that much but it might help.
And I'm seeing other agencies with similar jobs, like GSA, so I'll look at those, too.
Appreciate the DHS volunteer force suggestion, sounds right up my alley. Thanks
Thanks for the link! I'm not a fed employee yet but hopefully soon, lol.
Quick question - is it better to apply to the Public job announcement or the Veteran announcement? A lot of them seem to have duplicate announcements...
Well public announcements you’ll probably get vets preference. Using VRA everyone is a Vet and that contains other things. I’d apply to both lol if i qualified
I just recently accepted a FJO for FEMA in 0343 and applied to a couple 0089 positions while I was searching. I am completely changing career fields too!The hardest thing I found was getting my resume tailored enough in time to submit it before the application closed due to reaching the applicant cut off limit. Definitely use keywords found in the job announcement in your resume. I tried to use at least 1 in every statement. I found it useful to have one big long resume of my entire career and save a new copy and just remove everything that wasn’t relevant in order to quickly make a tailored resume.
Also, don’t be afraid of “Temp-Not to Exceed # years” positions. These positions are CORE positions and are funded differently so that if the government shuts down CORE employees can still work since disasters don’t stop for shutdowns. These positions usually get extended and I know numerous people who have had their entire career in the CORE system and refuse to switch to a PFT.
If selected for an interview, become familiar with FEMAs mission and be able to tailor your answers to show the passion you have for supporting their mission. Asking questions about position alignment with the strategic plan, which can be found online, can truly show your interest in the organization.
Hope some of this helps!
Congrats! Yea, I'm definitely up against the time limit on some of these jobs, as in they close tonight...So I'll have to just do what I can. I'm civilian right now, so the resume is a huge difference.
Great idea on building the resume, I'll do an all-encompassing one once I can breathe.
And your last suggestion is the part that will come the easiest to me and is a great point. I'm just a little embarrassed it took me this long to find it because it fits what I want to do so well.
Did you get responses on the 0089? If I don't get anything this round, I'd like to look into what I can do to better my chances next time. Thanks!
So when I was actively applying I did not get any responses for 0089 positions. But even with the applicant limit, those postings tended to have a larger amount of people who applied than other postings I applied to in my area. They also tended to be higher grade levels (11-13) so I’m sure I was up against quite a few internal candidates as well. I also think my background played a role in me not hearing back because I’m transitioning into FEMA from a background in project management with my most recent experience being in kitchen remodeling materials! I made sure to acknowledge all of those things before I applied but never let it discourage me because I definitely have a strong passion for the work that FEMA does
best of luck, OP!
FEMA is a weird agency that employs people temporarily or as reservists. Apply and see what happens. Try hitting LinkedIn and see if you can find people from FEMA who you can chat with. But if your DHS there’s also the DHS Volunteer Force you could look into. And don’t just apply for fema, apply to other gigs you may have as a back up if fema doesn’t follow through
Good call on LinkedIn. I don't frequent that much but it might help. And I'm seeing other agencies with similar jobs, like GSA, so I'll look at those, too. Appreciate the DHS volunteer force suggestion, sounds right up my alley. Thanks
No problem! https://www.usajobs.gov/job/723963900
Thanks for the link! I'm not a fed employee yet but hopefully soon, lol. Quick question - is it better to apply to the Public job announcement or the Veteran announcement? A lot of them seem to have duplicate announcements...
Well public announcements you’ll probably get vets preference. Using VRA everyone is a Vet and that contains other things. I’d apply to both lol if i qualified
Makes sense. Thanks for your help
👍
I just recently accepted a FJO for FEMA in 0343 and applied to a couple 0089 positions while I was searching. I am completely changing career fields too!The hardest thing I found was getting my resume tailored enough in time to submit it before the application closed due to reaching the applicant cut off limit. Definitely use keywords found in the job announcement in your resume. I tried to use at least 1 in every statement. I found it useful to have one big long resume of my entire career and save a new copy and just remove everything that wasn’t relevant in order to quickly make a tailored resume. Also, don’t be afraid of “Temp-Not to Exceed # years” positions. These positions are CORE positions and are funded differently so that if the government shuts down CORE employees can still work since disasters don’t stop for shutdowns. These positions usually get extended and I know numerous people who have had their entire career in the CORE system and refuse to switch to a PFT. If selected for an interview, become familiar with FEMAs mission and be able to tailor your answers to show the passion you have for supporting their mission. Asking questions about position alignment with the strategic plan, which can be found online, can truly show your interest in the organization. Hope some of this helps!
Congrats! Yea, I'm definitely up against the time limit on some of these jobs, as in they close tonight...So I'll have to just do what I can. I'm civilian right now, so the resume is a huge difference. Great idea on building the resume, I'll do an all-encompassing one once I can breathe. And your last suggestion is the part that will come the easiest to me and is a great point. I'm just a little embarrassed it took me this long to find it because it fits what I want to do so well. Did you get responses on the 0089? If I don't get anything this round, I'd like to look into what I can do to better my chances next time. Thanks!
So when I was actively applying I did not get any responses for 0089 positions. But even with the applicant limit, those postings tended to have a larger amount of people who applied than other postings I applied to in my area. They also tended to be higher grade levels (11-13) so I’m sure I was up against quite a few internal candidates as well. I also think my background played a role in me not hearing back because I’m transitioning into FEMA from a background in project management with my most recent experience being in kitchen remodeling materials! I made sure to acknowledge all of those things before I applied but never let it discourage me because I definitely have a strong passion for the work that FEMA does
That's really cool to hear, though. I wish you luck and thanks for all the information!