I worked at the Office of Fellowships, SI for two years. I was a federal employee. You must fill out an sf-171 form for all federally funded SI jobs. The office of human resources does initiall y screen jobs, but they do send the ones they pick out of the pool to the proper dept. This is a huge impersonal machine. Make some initial contacts within the dept you want to work in. Most people there are kind and helpful. Good luck! >From: Patricia McDougall <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: help with smithsonian applications >Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2005 16:25:10 -0500 > >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] . 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