Also, HR does not do the primary screening of applications, that is 
contracted out.  The first two people to read your application doesn't have 
any experience in the job that you are applying for.  Just write your 
application (do not send a resume) as if you were trying to convince a 
monkey that you are qualified for the job.

Unless your application gets all the way to the selecting official(the 
person who will be the supervisor for the job), there is very little chance 
that you will hear from SI.

Trish
current SI employee


>Dear Cecelia,
>
>A couple of years ago I talked to a contact in the Smithsonian about 
>applying for jobs after years of my own frustration trying to get a job 
>there. Numerous times, here in the DC area, I have heard SI referred to as 
>the Black Hole in to which applications disappear because acknowledgement 
>of their receipt is rarely made.
>
>The important points she made were:  First of all, primary screening of the 
>application is made not by the department within SI seeking applicants, but 
>by the front office of all powerful bureaucrats who will disqualify the 
>application for any inadequacy they interpret in the application.  She 
>related how often she has had to argue for a particular applicant with HR 
>over too strict interpretations of the job announcement requirements.  But 
>the good thing here is that if the particular dept knows you are applying, 
>they apparently will fight for you if they really want you.  That means, 
>somehow, making contact with the dept and letting them know who you are and 
>that you are applying.
>
>Secondly, she underlined the necessity to stay on point when answering the 
>questions under Selective Factors.  Address the mandatory requirements 
>clearly and directly and do not wonder off into tangential discussions.  
>I’m guessing that HR does not have the special subject background that each 
>hiring dept in SI would, and also they probably have to deal with many 
>hundreds of applications, so they most likely employ a cold and quick 
>approach in eliminating those who seem not to be right on target in their 
>applications.
>
>I wonder what kinds of experiences others have had with SI.
>
>Rich Vidutis
>============================================================
>From: Cecelia Ottenweller <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: 2005/01/14 Fri PM 05:04:18 EST
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: help with smithsonian applications
>
>Hello All,
>
>I'm interested in applying for a few positions within the Smithsonian and 
>am concerned that I will
>botch the job because of not knowing the proper protocal for presenting my 
>resume. Is there anyone
>out there who could help me with this?
>
>Thank you,
>
>Cecelia Ottenweller
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
>http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at 
>http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed 
>information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail 
>message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should 
>read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to 
>[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff 
>Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>============================================================
>
>=========================================================
>Important Subscriber Information:
>
>The Museum-L FAQ file is located at 
>http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed 
>information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail 
>message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should 
>read "help" (without the quotes).
>
>If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to 
>[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff 
>Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).