Super annoyed with the State of NC.

So I have applied and interviewed for a job with the State of NC. It is currently going on 3 months since the job closed and a month and a half since the interview. The job was originally for the Dept of Environmental Quality IT dept but the IT dept for DEQ is now being folded into the State of NC dept of IT so now all the paperwork is going through both depts HR and I apparently have to do a background check but there is no eta on when any of the paperwork will be sent to me.

If I am lucky I might hear something by the end of October.

The state of NC is complaining about not being able to recruit and keep younger people and that the average age of a state employee is like 46.5. Well how do they expect to keep and recruit younger people if the process is going to take at least 4 months. Young people usually dont have that kind of time to waist on a job that might not materialize.

I am at the point where I might get the job solely because the other candidates have moved on.

Honestly I have given up finding a meaningful job here in Asheville and have started looking elsewhere. Even though I dont want to move I have to so I can further my career.

End Rant

There are a LOT of people currently "Super annoyed with the State of NC". Mainly due to stupid politics.

4 months sounds annoying, but on par with other govt. positions. Good luck to you sir... I wouldn't want to leave Asheville either.

Welcome to working for the state. Or a non-profit.

Story of my whole berkeleying career.

What little I know about Asheville tells me you are fortunate to get something that isn't waiting tables. A job with an employer that won't go out of business and would be tough to get fired from, the ability to live in one of the loveliest places in the US, and a pension(?). Might be worthwhile to have a little patience...

MrChaos wrote: Super annoyed with the State of NC.

Isn't like most of the country? Sorry too easy.

I had the same issue in Louisiana trying to pick up a state job. I will say two things.

1. Given the political climate, what is the likely hood your job won't get axed? I was up for an Environmental Engineer position in La. before I came to DC to work for the feds in the patent office. That is a real concern and my job was (would have been mine if I took it?) cut. GOP run states don't tolerate environmental protections these days, and support staff isn't immune.

2. Is this what you want to do? 4 month delay in hiring isn't horrible for a government entity unless it is a self funded one or a must fill. If you are this frustrated now imagine when this is your work life.

Just some thoughts.

EDIT: I love Asheville. I was raised across the mountain in Erwin TN. Great quality of life in Asheville.

Think the bright side. If you do something seriously wrong, it will take even longer to get fired.

It's not just government. Any large bureaucracy works like that.

I work for the largest company in the world in the hospitality sector.

If I put in 2 weeks notice on January 1, the job doesn't become open until January 15th. Then HR takes about 2 weeks to post the job. Now the job is officially posted on January 28th.

Then they wait 30 days for applications to come in. Now it's March 1.

My manager begins scheduling interviews. That may take 2 weeks. By the time HR gets the info on which applicant he wants and processes that info, it's April 1.

Then there's drug & background checks. That takes a week. Now it's April 7.

Another 2 weeks for processing and orientation. The new guy can start on April 21.

So it will be almost 4 months from the date I put my notice in until a replacement employee is in place.

Fabulous, isn't it?

What sort of IT position are you looking for? I'm in Richmond, but could use some people to come join me here...looking for a production support analyst, business analyst, ETL developers, .NET developers...

It's a Gubbymint job, wait til you see the hoops once you get in.

Like Evan said, my first job out of College was with State Farm as a claim rep.

My first interview was in January, the next round in February, they called me early March to tell me I had the job..........start date wasn't first week of May.

They hired 11 of us in that round so all the training and everything had to be setup.

When my mom went to work for the Feds in the Federal District Atty officer her in town (even though she had past city experience in the legal dept), I think application, to background check, security clearance etc, to actual start date was something 5-6 months.

I was looking to get on-board at a major telecom company. I applied, interviewed in a week or so and then a month went by before a second interview. Another month went by, I started looking. A month after that, they made an offer, but I had interviewed and was considering another position by that time. They couldn't match the salary offer, but I declined mainly due to benefits not starting to kick in until 90 days after the hire date.

So, three months went by between the first interview and the actual offer. They seemed really irritated that I didn't take the job with them, too, so I think I burned a bridge, which is a shame, because it would have been a good company to possibly work for.

Sounds about right. I have been in State employ here in lovely Asheville for almost ten years and the hoops just keep on coming. Gov't work is the same all around not bad work but you have to be too patient in my opinion. Also I hope the benefits are better with that branch of State of NC than over in education because the just aren't what they used to be even when I started a few years back. Good luck on the job though, I understand why you would want to stay here.

They are trying to get the position filled since it has been vacant for over a year now and they have to have a person from the 2 closest DEQ offices(Mooresville or Winston-Salem) come every 2 weeks to take care of the IT needs. The job has been posted 3 times and the first 2 they didnt get enough qualified candidates so they changed the posting twice, It was posted in Feb and April.

I have basically given up on Asheville at this point in my job search as there is just nothing here other than this job which would double my salary. I am most likely going to have to go to Knoxville, TN or Greenville, SC to find any meaningful employment and to a bigger city like Charlotte or Nashville to find a job that will take me down the career path I want to go down. I am honestly considering applying to a job in Montana since it is what I want to do and I think I would qualify for it.

Lots of Lemons teams in Knoxville! (Like seven or eight I think)

I applied with FCA back in July. So there are slower processes.

Welcome to dealing with the state looking for a job. All I can say is be glad its not SC you are looking at. I had two interviews at SCDHEC and both told me to my face that they were filling the position with a black female. I am pasty white male. The third interview was for stormwater manager. There was no position at that time and there was no job description, but I didn't meet their criteria (whatever that was).

So it looks like for the field I want to go into, I will need to move to Atlanta, the Triangle, or Dallas Texas to find work.

I have a friend who took over 9 months from final interview to job start date for a federal job.

My experiences have been 4 months and 2 months from final interview to job start since I started working post-college.

Apexcarver wrote: I have a friend who took over 9 months from final interview to job start date for a federal job.

During one of my 6 months periods of unemployment, I applied of a federal job at the Savannah River Site (the Bomb Plant). Based on my experience with SCDHEC, I was reluctant to send in the application because it was so heavily worded for minorities and women. After looking a the posting for months, I thought, what the hell have I got to lose? I sent in an application and forgot about it Several months later I was working a temp position back in the asbestos field, which I desperately wanted to stay out of. I got a notice from SRS that I was offered a position, which I took. I was there about 10 weeks (and loved it) and was offered a job back home for position I had applied for a year earlier. This would save several thousand$$ a year in travel and expenses so I took it. I am still there after 24 years. That is how much I hate doing resumes and interviewing.

We just hired a new IT guy from PLI over in the Sweeten Creek Industrial Park. PLI has this job ad up. Sorry I do not know all nuances in the IT field.

PLI

Hang in there! The right job will come open!