raven1090, I am leaving, but for the record, I am returning in 3 years, as I have return rights, so anything I do or say is because I still have a vested interest in helping to make this place a great place to work. Are there challenges here, you bet. Is it difficult at times, yes it is, but things are getting better, and if I couldn't come back here, I wouldn't be leaving to go and challenge myself overseas.
You obviously know alot about me, or know someone who does, as well as the workings of what goes on in the hiring process, so it leads me to believe, that you know one of the line controllers here. Are you local? If you are, or you know someone, feel free to contact me and we can talk. As for your questions, they are very loaded, and not ones I will discuss in open forum. I will say that some of your points are valid, but not when taken out of context or made in anger, frustration and/or disappointment. Resumes, are indeed important, and out of the 104 applicants, I saw quite a few that were excellent and/or exceptional, a fair amount that were very good, and more than adequate. However, the rest, half or more, were marginal at best, error filled, lacking in content and substance, grammatically weak, and spelling mistake proned. About a quarter, were completely useless to a screener to make a determination.
On another note we all know that it doesn't hurt to know someone at a facility you are applying to, and if that person has a good reputation, and vouches for the guy applying that certainly can carry some weight, and can be the great equalizer in resumes against stronger ones, or if already a strong resume, vault them to the top, but it is still no guarantee that who you know will get anyone the job. Does it happen, probably, which is why I'm not surprised when I suspect it does. If the person can't do the job, it will show soon enough, but usually they end up doing fine, and prove themselves more than capable. You can't fault or penalize that individual for maximizing his/her network that may or may not have gotten them the job.
As for the next hire, that is up to the Air Traffic Manager, I will not even be here for the next hiring process, but trust it will be done as it has in the past, open and efficiently. I am confident that the next person hired will have a good resume, if not a great one, and will have a great interview, because that is where the people making the decision are truly impressed.
Who that will be, is as much a mystery to everyone else as it is to me, and will depend on the candidates that apply the next round, who knows, there might be the next ATC Hero in the batch. I can tell you this, I don't give out my referrals lightly, and if I do, it is because I have worked with them personally, and know their ability and expertise, or I have direct knowledge of thier ability, from people I trust, or have seen the direct result of their expertise and ability by the quality controllers they have trained and sent out to the fleet, and even then I don't give out a bunch. The controllers I have helped here on stucmic and other venues, have all been successful in finding jobs, or at least increasing their marketability and getting more looks, and have attributted mentoring received as a big part of that success, and I hope they are passing it on.
DoD is a tough nut to crack, but once you do it is worth it benefit wise to be in. Fortunately, I have been picked up for every job I have applied for, and a few that I hadn't applied for, because someone had recommended me to them, and then called asking me to apply. Every lead I get, even those I've applied for, I've shared with the rest my peers as early as possible. It's called networking and it takes time and effort on everyone's part, just not a few regulars that are putting out leads and advice...
Anyway, I am venting now, must be something about a spot integrity check out of the blue that gets a guy's bood pumping first thing in the morning. The offer stands, feel free to contact me off line and off record, as I think you already know how to do so.
I will leave you and the rest with this....If you are thinking about coming after the ATM, and challenging the hiring process, you need to know, that on paper, and proceedure, it was above board, and on the up and up, and will stand up under scrutiny, and while the subjective part of the process can be questioned and the argument focused for debate, the hiring official is given a lot of leeway there, and it can be easily defended from his part. So, all you will do is succeed in making some noise, bringing some attention to the process, delaying future hires while they validate the process, and then when hiring starts up again, how do you honestly think you will do, team player? Just saying......
(All comments made are unofficial and the personal opinion of the author, and are not the opinion, policy or views of the USAF, Space Command or any commander, manager, or supervisor within those agencies)
