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Showing posts from April, 2009

#124: Working On It

One of the hardest ways to obtain a job with the Government is via an external agency. There’s several reasons for this and right here, right now, I’ll cover a few of them. Just for the sheer hell of it all. The first thing an external agency will do is make you jump over more hurdles than a 100 metre track final. I kid you not. In a standard Government job the procedure goes something like this: you apply with a cover letter, address the J&P and include a resume. You’ll get a letter either saying your application will be considered or you’ve not made the first cut. If you make the second cut, and are shortlisted for an interview then you’ll get a letter stating so with the time of the interview. The interview will generally be a week after the letter has been sent, so you’ll get a few days to prepare, as is the wont. Do the interview and you’ll either be offered a position or not, and then offered feedback. Feedback here is an important thing and if offered then you should tak

#122: Sixteen Tons (Slightly Altered - More Like 14 Tons)

One of the questions I’m asked during interviews these days that often catches me off guard is a simple one, “How do I get your job?” I used to wonder the same thing, but now I just answer with a wry smile, “Trust me, you don’t want it.” That generally shuts people up and returns the attention to where it should be – on the problem at hand. It has got me wondering though, just what have I learnt about getting a Government job? Nothing. Nothing at all. With that in mind I thought I’d share some thoughts for anyone who actually reads the positions vacant sections in the newspaper and are thinking, “Jeez, I might go for that job.” Here’s the first piece of advice: if it’s a position that involves service delivery then you don’t want the job. Trust me. You don’t need the aggravation.  Sure there’s a lot of people who’ll support you, and there are free headshrinkers on hand if you need them (for a limited time only) but, for the most part you’re screwed and on your own. Deal with it. You’

#121: Baby Got Back

Overheard on the radio the other day; CENTRELINK DUDE: Feel free to phone in and ask me anything. CALLER: Yeah, can you tell me how old a kid has to be before the parent moves from the pension to NewStart? CD: That’d be…oh, between the ages of 5 and 7. CALLER: So, 6 years old then. CD: I’d have to check that, but I think you’ll find it isn’t 6 years old; it’s between the ages of 5 and 7. --------------- CALLER TWO: This new stimulus baby payment - the one for the family tax benefit? CD: Yep. CT: How are you eligible? CD: You have to have been in receipt of FTBA in the first week of February. CT: My wife just dropped another kid two weeks ago. Can we get it? CD: Well, probably not, as the child wasn't born in January. CT: Why can't we get it retrospectively? It's not like we wanted it. Oh well, at least we get the baby bonus. CD: I'm not sure how to answer that. ------------------------------ No wonder you can’t get a straight answer from them when you ph