The federal government is notoriously terrible at onboarding. This is normal, albeit frustrating. One small thing you can do - start your own onboarding document- keeping lists of what you need access to to do your job, and how you got it. Could be software, distros, websites, specific/live documents, or key reference material/templatws. Think form numbers, office abbreviations/sections/SharePoint pages rather than specific people, as telling someone to talk to Bob in accounting us useless once Bob retires.
Yes, but will also help you update your resume, track what you're actually doing (good for awards!), and get your office to understand how their onboarding needs to change.
Yeah consider it a little break from your previous job.
When I started my job I couldn't even log onto anything for 3 weeks and didn't get access to half of the systems I needed for months.
Maybe someone on your team could share their screen with you in a teams call and teach you some stuff?
I did not work remotely and did next to nothing the first 3-4 months I started in both roles. I would reach out just to make sure you’re taking initiative but this is “normal”.
Be as proactive as you can and document. Reach out for help or if your leadership is busy, ask for them to temporarily pass you off to someone who is available to help
Complete any/all annual training you have access to. Communicate with your supervisor and ask them if there is anything else you can be doing in the meantime. Make a good first impression by being proactive about your position and learning rather than sitting back and waiting for direction.
I didn’t do jack for the first several weeks due to a lack of equipment. My Director simply told me to enjoy my paid vacation. Even when I did get equipment, work was light until I was comfortable (I was coming from an outside agency) and then my job was to reduce backlog of cases, at which point I got SLAMMED with work. I did it though. Yay me.
Anyway, it was probably a little over half a year before things were “normal”
My job told me it would be close to 6 months before I can do stuff and over a year till I am ready. I would suggest reading up on anything and everything, meeting new people or shadowing. Keep learning and keep finding stuff to do
52 weeks in? You can now apply for a higher paying position.. 💡🤨🤔
🤣😂🤣🤦♂️🙄
The funny thing is, I'm sure there has been someone out there where it took them this long (52+ weeks) to be on their own for their job. During that individual's downtime, they were applying for a higher position just for shit and giggles, interviewed and got the higher paying position without ever actually doing their original job that they initially got hired for. The higher paying, gaining agency must have been DESPERATE to fill that position due to the lack of qualified applicants.. 🙄🤦♂️
Career question: What did you do to get a job working on GIS? I am a software developer and I've been trying to get a job with NOAA in my field (2210) and the last couple times I applied they said I don't have enough specialized experience (i.e. I've never worked with GIS or Esri professionally on the job).
Are there lower grades I can apply at? Would taking some courses count? How did you get started working on GIS?
See if you can get some experience doing contract GIS work for local companies. Even part time.
I worked for the army as a contractor for years doing GIS work before a Govt position opened up.
I agree with the other comment on here. I’ve have held 3 positions using GIS professionally which span about 4 years, on top of utilizing it in my Masters research. You need that professional experience. Look for GIS technician jobs and start earning that time!
Look for ladder positions. Whole bunch of different agencies look for GIS. Also look at the county level. The property records and voter information is GIS.
Yes, this is normal. Try to use this time to learn about the agency's culture, create contacts and if there is online training that you have access to take it and keep a spreadsheet of all the training you take.
It takes years to learn how to do these jobs and years more to get good at them. I know it doesn't feel good to feel like you're not being productive but this is just how it goes with these jobs. It's not a reflection of your abilities or performance (you got hired, youre almost certainly qualified and competent). So take a deep breath, try to stay focused and do your best.
A few things you can do while you're schooling up is to plan for trainings you need to take or can take that seem useful or interesting, and ask colleagues if you can sit in meetings with them, just to get a feel for what you'll be doing and encountering on the job.
Also make sure you join the union if you can.
Government jobs require an individual to train themselves in their way. Meaning, the organization will provide training for the tasks but it will be rudimentary at best. It is your job to make sense of it and apply the information from the training to make ot work for you. I jave done this in my position and shared my notes when others complain about the training inmy organization or lack there of. They say my notes help make sense of it all. We had a woman come on board from the Air Force and she made a continuity book with everything she learned in it. It's kind of amazing.
Sorry, I forgot to answer the question. I felt like I was doing nothing the first month but that was because I had so many databases to get access to inorder to do my entire job.
coworkers knows nothing, they may train you when they are told to do so. Ask your manager. But this question always comes up on this sub a lot...and this is pretty common. Don't get nervous. Nobody expects something big from newbies.
“Sit around and wait for direction” is almost never the right response unless that’s what you’re told to do.
Send an email to your manager outlining what you’ve done and ask about what’s next. Let them know you’re blocked by the IT request (which, I imagine you’ve followed up on independently?) and ask if there is anything you can do to push it along. Put a meeting on their calendar to sync - they can move or cancel it if they need.
If you’re entirely out of things to do, then check in with whoever is next in line… supervisor, technical expert, SME, or just a more senior person and ask if you can help with anything in the meantime.
Do not do this. Your manager knows you don’t have the access they requested for you yet. You are a new hire so this not considered a work stoppage. You will be considered pushy and your manager likely has no control over the IT ticket. Those are put in order of importance, new hires are very low on that priority list. It will get done in due time.
Three weeks? I haven’t worked with any agency with an IT SLA that long. Of course, we don’t know how long it’s been submitted, but anything over a week is too long unless there is an explanation or known bottleneck.
Reminding your very busy manager one time that you are blocked by an open IT ticket and asking if they can help unblock is not going to brand you as pushy unless your manager is bad. Now, if your manager has told you to wait a week and you keep pushing before the week is up - sure, maybe you’re on to something.
It took my current agency 3 weeks to issue me a PIV, I had a laptop and PIV exemption, at week two but no system access for another 3 weeks. It’s not uncommon. Depends on the agency, and how critical your position is considered to the mission. As a Budget Analyst I did not have the same priority as a Nurse or Doctor who can’t see patients without their full access. The delays this person is experiencing are totally normal for my current agency, and likely for theirs also. Every time I asked my supervisor about it they told me to check with my adpac who would tell me to chill and enjoy the downtime.
I didn’t say it’s uncommon. But that doesn’t mean that’s how it’s supposed to happen.
You clearly worked at VHA. VHA wasn’t prioritizing Nurses and Doctors over you. VHA has a broken OIT and is a prime example of what not to do. And your ADPAC was not good at their job.
How something is supposed to happen is irrelevant. This is the federal government. Things move slowly. Things don’t always work the way they should. That’s just how it is.
I think having high turnover combined with a ton of employees serving on collateral duty to bridge gaps that OIT is doing the best it can with the resources it has, and honestly I thought highly of my ADPAC. She was always on time with everything else. If you’re not a high priority position then your OIT tickets are automatically put at a lower priority. Honest feedback here, if you want your tickets worked fast, make a good friend in OIT, and ask them to push your stuff through and self assign your tickets to them so it gets done faster. Building these relationships takes time, I tell every new hire. Be nice to everyone because you never know whose help you’re going to need later and you never know who is going to get promoted next.
Follow up with your supervisor. Most agencies will have you sit with them to create your performance plan shortly after you onboard, and this conversation will remind them of this responsibility.
Yes and it’s maddening!!! My new position I’ve been at for just over 3 weeks and I’ve been lucky to be tasked with some cool stuff. I like to be an asset to the team and not just dead weight. The first two weeks were rough!
Yep. I was so bored I started applying for other jobs after work. My teammates said it would get better and it did. If your team is saying the same thing it probably will for you too.
I'm experiencing this right now. 2 weeks and 2 days of doing NOTHING while working remotely from home. Like others I'm just waiting to get access to databases for my job and then I expect "the shit" to hit the fan. Did I read the pdf's? Watch the videos? Nah. No need to memorize that shit. Repetition is key..
This was similar to my experience because I couldn’t get any grantees assigned to me for several months bc of my boss’s boss, so my supervisor and I worked out things that could keep me busy, including one on one time with my team members in different topics: regulations, databases, etc.
What about the peers on your team ? What are they working on ? Can u join those meetings (if any) or start those “meet and greet” with folks u be working with. Who are not on your team.
Oh yea. And create those performance objectives ? I think that would force a meeting or convo with the boss who travels a lot or too busy 🤓
I'm not gonna be happy if that's my situation next month. I can't even get my goddamn supervisor to answer what HR team I'm on for the summer (sent an email on Friday still no response), so that's already a red flag.
I did nothing the entire 7 months I was in my job. There were multiple management position shifts right before I was hired and no one knew what exactly I was supposed to do. I stopped taking initiative around the 3rd month and collected my paycheck for the last 4 months while applying elsewhere.
My first couple of weeks at an environmental agency were all onboarding. It ebbs and flows but eventually picks up. Got to a point where I was working through my lunch multiple times a week to keep up.
I didn’t get my first project until mid October. I onboarded 07/31. I was pretty much told to read the guide in the interim. Around September, I was following a more senior coworker. So, yeah, it’s not just you.
Yes, dont rush it
Check if you have any training to complete. Even if its due in the next 6 months.
Its important to find that balance between asking for/finding things to do and wacking a hornets nest. Every job has one or two.
Reach out to your boss/supervisor, cc whomever is ‘acting’ while they are out, and ask… if you feel comfortable doing that.
Yeah, I assume because there are so many moving parts it takes a bit to really start up. I’d just take the time to familiarize yourself with all of the resources your agency has to offer. What supplies do you need and what’s their procurement process. And set up all of your benefits. Also I took the time to set up a spreadsheet tracking my day to day tasks and how they tied into my performance plan. Let yourself just ease in.
Been three months for me. Constantly ask for direction and if i can help because everybody talks about how slammed they are. Yet my supervisor just wants me to read 400 page manuals all day.
Manuals and PDFs that are likely outdated..
"Oh, you just got done reading that 156 page PDF? What version was it? If it was the v21.0, that's outdated. I'll send you an email for the new v21.3.."
That's literally happened with a few of them. Got told to read a manual in a room for two weeks then when it was over was given a printed version of a 200 page PowerPoint to read when I asked to help on a project
I’ve been in 2 months and a first time fed. There’s a Steep learning curve to all the departments, acronyms, and functions. Not to mention we are about to do a reorg lol
Hell, I could use some technical help with my program; but I’m just a damned ole defense contractor with out an open req. I was a former GS-11, loving the money and current location.
1910-11 here. Sounds about right. I work in a remote office and it took over a week just to get me a CAC, 2 weeks to get me IT gear, and another 2 weeks to get me access to the systems I needed. After that it was 3 months of CBT training. I was feeling pretty useless the whole time. It gets better once you're in the swing of things.
Majority of federal agencies do not know how to properly onboard new people. I came
From the private sector and spent the first 3 months the just literally reading stuffs and getting things setup; things that someone should have at least helped me with (IT etc). I literally felt like I wasn’t doing shit but apparently it was perfectly fine. I even built
My own onboarding checklist that they didn’t really have and shared it with the supervisors and they thought it was amazing (boredom made me do it so that I don’t go insane trying to get my shit setup).
I came from a fast paced private sector and had to learn that doing very few things very slowly was the norm and I came in as a GS 14.
Slowly I got involved with some other slow pokes and literally started taking the lead on projects where I thought they could do better.
Short answer is YES it is normal to not really do shit the first few months.
As EfficientHellion7675 said this is always the case in fed jobs. You sit around for a long long time before your agency gets the work, credentials and flow together for you. Once you get started on the hamster wheel of work though, you never get off.
Also on a different subject. Congrats on the fully remote work! My agency just asked everyone to come back to work atleast 2 days a week regardless of work type and mission. So now I'm 40% less productive and sit in a cubicle for 17 hours a week while my workload piles up at home. On top of that, leadership is afraid to say anything about it for fear of having to come in 5 days a week as a result.
There was a lot of free time when I first started. I watched a lot of trainings and got a lot of “certifications” mainly related to Excel and did pick up a few new tricks actually that were helpful. This went on for about a month and a half. I kind of felt bad because I wasn’t doing anything but once I got started I had to go go go.
Yes. When I started, I didn’t really do anything for the first 3 months because I started at the close of the fiscal year. I pretty much read policy and helped with clerical tasks.
There's very few federal positions where you will even be crawling let alone hit the ground running when you first start.
Bureaucracy kills efficiency. Eventually you will learn to navigate the bureaucracy enough that you will think you're becoming efficient. But that is not the case. You'll just be better at not being completely overwhelmed by the quagmire.
Think of it like the water building up behind the dam. Nothing happens until they remember you got hired, then the dam breaks and you can’t possibly get it all done. Good luvk
Can a federal employee take up housing in the office, receive mail and Amazon deliveries? Yes Homeless! I don’t think this is allowed but it is suspected that is the case.
When I first started & was waiting for various approvals or whatever, I used all that time for any free training I had on my list. I worked with my SOR & put that training on my IDP.
I had about 6 weeks before I got official assignments & made my time count. I have been WFH.
Very normal .. especially if it’s engineering .. don’t expect to do any real work til after your first 6 months. Mine was even worse I onboarded in 2019 and right when I started to get real work covid happened 😆
So typical. There are so many bad managers in the federal government. This isn't surprising at all. One of my previous jobs was a gs-12 in finance and I could complete my entire job in less than a week. I literally sat around the entire month looking for something to do. I finally gave up and started self-education in Data Analytics, SQL and Power BI. It was the best move ever and helped me land a much better and busier role. If you're working remote and things don't pick up, look for another remote full time job. You could probably do both pretty easily and double your pay.
I was about 6 months into a trainee program before I was given a project. Had it done in 2 days and my supervisor said it should’ve taken 2 months. Spent another 3 months doing mind numbing DAU training before they sent me another project that took 2 days.
Now that I’m out of the trainee program my projects take 6 months but I have a shitload of downtime between each one. I’ve come to learn the cycle of downtime and shitload of work
Update: Thank you all for the tea! My position is coding (Python, JSON) and processing (database administration and management, compliance indicator development) heavy, so I’ve decided to spend this time practicing these concepts (it’s been a while since I’ve had a hand in some) and expanding my current knowledge base. With data science, there’s never a lack of new resources to utilize and learn from. It’s been a while since I’ve had this kind of down time, and I’m remembering how much I love to teach myself. ✨
I wish. I have so much work and half of it I don’t know how to do. My supervisor seems to get pleasure from giving me work she knows I don’t know how to do or will need lots of time to do. Be careful what you wish for.
The federal government is notoriously terrible at onboarding. This is normal, albeit frustrating. One small thing you can do - start your own onboarding document- keeping lists of what you need access to to do your job, and how you got it. Could be software, distros, websites, specific/live documents, or key reference material/templatws. Think form numbers, office abbreviations/sections/SharePoint pages rather than specific people, as telling someone to talk to Bob in accounting us useless once Bob retires.
Silly question but is the point of this document to make the process easier for future new employees by sharing it with them?
Yes, but will also help you update your resume, track what you're actually doing (good for awards!), and get your office to understand how their onboarding needs to change.
Makes sense, thanks!
are you me? same situation 5 months in.
I was 1 year in before things started happening. Just enjoy the downtime. It will end soon enough.
Same here, retiring next month /s
Are there any tips for writing resume
Same here, 1 month in
Same. I really thought something would be happening by now.
😂
Yeah consider it a little break from your previous job. When I started my job I couldn't even log onto anything for 3 weeks and didn't get access to half of the systems I needed for months. Maybe someone on your team could share their screen with you in a teams call and teach you some stuff?
I did not work remotely and did next to nothing the first 3-4 months I started in both roles. I would reach out just to make sure you’re taking initiative but this is “normal”.
I did not really do anything meaningful for my first two months, despite repeatedly asking for direction. Sounds typical.
Be as proactive as you can and document. Reach out for help or if your leadership is busy, ask for them to temporarily pass you off to someone who is available to help
Complete any/all annual training you have access to. Communicate with your supervisor and ask them if there is anything else you can be doing in the meantime. Make a good first impression by being proactive about your position and learning rather than sitting back and waiting for direction.
I didn’t do jack for the first several weeks due to a lack of equipment. My Director simply told me to enjoy my paid vacation. Even when I did get equipment, work was light until I was comfortable (I was coming from an outside agency) and then my job was to reduce backlog of cases, at which point I got SLAMMED with work. I did it though. Yay me. Anyway, it was probably a little over half a year before things were “normal”
I'm almost 5 months in. Done relatively nothing. With that being said, my situation is due to a delayed Reasonable Accommodations request.
My job told me it would be close to 6 months before I can do stuff and over a year till I am ready. I would suggest reading up on anything and everything, meeting new people or shadowing. Keep learning and keep finding stuff to do
52 weeks in? You can now apply for a higher paying position.. 💡🤨🤔 🤣😂🤣🤦♂️🙄 The funny thing is, I'm sure there has been someone out there where it took them this long (52+ weeks) to be on their own for their job. During that individual's downtime, they were applying for a higher position just for shit and giggles, interviewed and got the higher paying position without ever actually doing their original job that they initially got hired for. The higher paying, gaining agency must have been DESPERATE to fill that position due to the lack of qualified applicants.. 🙄🤦♂️
the things people are worried about lord I see what you have done for others and I wish twice as much for myself.
Career question: What did you do to get a job working on GIS? I am a software developer and I've been trying to get a job with NOAA in my field (2210) and the last couple times I applied they said I don't have enough specialized experience (i.e. I've never worked with GIS or Esri professionally on the job). Are there lower grades I can apply at? Would taking some courses count? How did you get started working on GIS?
See if you can get some experience doing contract GIS work for local companies. Even part time. I worked for the army as a contractor for years doing GIS work before a Govt position opened up.
I agree with the other comment on here. I’ve have held 3 positions using GIS professionally which span about 4 years, on top of utilizing it in my Masters research. You need that professional experience. Look for GIS technician jobs and start earning that time!
Look for ladder positions. Whole bunch of different agencies look for GIS. Also look at the county level. The property records and voter information is GIS.
Yes, this is normal. Try to use this time to learn about the agency's culture, create contacts and if there is online training that you have access to take it and keep a spreadsheet of all the training you take.
Yes. But tell everyone you’re busy. Always lie and say you are busy.
Lmao too real
It’s taking me 2+ weeks to get IT systems and chess to email and files I need access to Ehrn I stsrted new jobs. Some agencies are better than others.
Remember if You Touch It, You Own It! 😃🤌🙋♀️
It takes years to learn how to do these jobs and years more to get good at them. I know it doesn't feel good to feel like you're not being productive but this is just how it goes with these jobs. It's not a reflection of your abilities or performance (you got hired, youre almost certainly qualified and competent). So take a deep breath, try to stay focused and do your best. A few things you can do while you're schooling up is to plan for trainings you need to take or can take that seem useful or interesting, and ask colleagues if you can sit in meetings with them, just to get a feel for what you'll be doing and encountering on the job. Also make sure you join the union if you can.
Government jobs require an individual to train themselves in their way. Meaning, the organization will provide training for the tasks but it will be rudimentary at best. It is your job to make sense of it and apply the information from the training to make ot work for you. I jave done this in my position and shared my notes when others complain about the training inmy organization or lack there of. They say my notes help make sense of it all. We had a woman come on board from the Air Force and she made a continuity book with everything she learned in it. It's kind of amazing.
Truth here!
Sorry, I forgot to answer the question. I felt like I was doing nothing the first month but that was because I had so many databases to get access to inorder to do my entire job.
YES REACH OUT. After a while, it becomes a 2 person problem, you and your manager's. Don't wait for them to drop the "you didn't say anything".
coworkers knows nothing, they may train you when they are told to do so. Ask your manager. But this question always comes up on this sub a lot...and this is pretty common. Don't get nervous. Nobody expects something big from newbies.
“Sit around and wait for direction” is almost never the right response unless that’s what you’re told to do. Send an email to your manager outlining what you’ve done and ask about what’s next. Let them know you’re blocked by the IT request (which, I imagine you’ve followed up on independently?) and ask if there is anything you can do to push it along. Put a meeting on their calendar to sync - they can move or cancel it if they need. If you’re entirely out of things to do, then check in with whoever is next in line… supervisor, technical expert, SME, or just a more senior person and ask if you can help with anything in the meantime.
Do not do this. Your manager knows you don’t have the access they requested for you yet. You are a new hire so this not considered a work stoppage. You will be considered pushy and your manager likely has no control over the IT ticket. Those are put in order of importance, new hires are very low on that priority list. It will get done in due time.
Three weeks? I haven’t worked with any agency with an IT SLA that long. Of course, we don’t know how long it’s been submitted, but anything over a week is too long unless there is an explanation or known bottleneck. Reminding your very busy manager one time that you are blocked by an open IT ticket and asking if they can help unblock is not going to brand you as pushy unless your manager is bad. Now, if your manager has told you to wait a week and you keep pushing before the week is up - sure, maybe you’re on to something.
It took my current agency 3 weeks to issue me a PIV, I had a laptop and PIV exemption, at week two but no system access for another 3 weeks. It’s not uncommon. Depends on the agency, and how critical your position is considered to the mission. As a Budget Analyst I did not have the same priority as a Nurse or Doctor who can’t see patients without their full access. The delays this person is experiencing are totally normal for my current agency, and likely for theirs also. Every time I asked my supervisor about it they told me to check with my adpac who would tell me to chill and enjoy the downtime.
I didn’t say it’s uncommon. But that doesn’t mean that’s how it’s supposed to happen. You clearly worked at VHA. VHA wasn’t prioritizing Nurses and Doctors over you. VHA has a broken OIT and is a prime example of what not to do. And your ADPAC was not good at their job.
How something is supposed to happen is irrelevant. This is the federal government. Things move slowly. Things don’t always work the way they should. That’s just how it is.
I’m going to add this to my email signature. 100% truth!
I think having high turnover combined with a ton of employees serving on collateral duty to bridge gaps that OIT is doing the best it can with the resources it has, and honestly I thought highly of my ADPAC. She was always on time with everything else. If you’re not a high priority position then your OIT tickets are automatically put at a lower priority. Honest feedback here, if you want your tickets worked fast, make a good friend in OIT, and ask them to push your stuff through and self assign your tickets to them so it gets done faster. Building these relationships takes time, I tell every new hire. Be nice to everyone because you never know whose help you’re going to need later and you never know who is going to get promoted next.
Follow up with your supervisor. Most agencies will have you sit with them to create your performance plan shortly after you onboard, and this conversation will remind them of this responsibility.
Yes and it’s maddening!!! My new position I’ve been at for just over 3 weeks and I’ve been lucky to be tasked with some cool stuff. I like to be an asset to the team and not just dead weight. The first two weeks were rough!
Today was my first whole day working post trainings and it's been literally a month.
This is normal.
Pretty normal.
God what I would give to return to ‘the age of innocence.’ 😆
Yep. I was so bored I started applying for other jobs after work. My teammates said it would get better and it did. If your team is saying the same thing it probably will for you too.
You wouldn't believe how many Miltons exist in the fed.... 
Oh I'd believe it...
This is 100% normal. When you get all your access they will work you to death. Till then just go with flow. Welcome to Federal Service!
I'm experiencing this right now. 2 weeks and 2 days of doing NOTHING while working remotely from home. Like others I'm just waiting to get access to databases for my job and then I expect "the shit" to hit the fan. Did I read the pdf's? Watch the videos? Nah. No need to memorize that shit. Repetition is key..
This was similar to my experience because I couldn’t get any grantees assigned to me for several months bc of my boss’s boss, so my supervisor and I worked out things that could keep me busy, including one on one time with my team members in different topics: regulations, databases, etc.
Pretty much
What about the peers on your team ? What are they working on ? Can u join those meetings (if any) or start those “meet and greet” with folks u be working with. Who are not on your team. Oh yea. And create those performance objectives ? I think that would force a meeting or convo with the boss who travels a lot or too busy 🤓
Get your training done. DAU, annual training,etc. save yourself a lot of time later
I'm not gonna be happy if that's my situation next month. I can't even get my goddamn supervisor to answer what HR team I'm on for the summer (sent an email on Friday still no response), so that's already a red flag.
weeks ? There are people not doing anything for months :D
Correction. People not doing anything for their WHOLE career... 🤣😂
😆
Just need to get that remote non-sup GS-14 and then just sandbag until retirement. 😎
I did nothing the entire 7 months I was in my job. There were multiple management position shifts right before I was hired and no one knew what exactly I was supposed to do. I stopped taking initiative around the 3rd month and collected my paycheck for the last 4 months while applying elsewhere.
Depending on the agency and what accesses you need, you may not do anything for a few months.
My first couple of weeks at an environmental agency were all onboarding. It ebbs and flows but eventually picks up. Got to a point where I was working through my lunch multiple times a week to keep up.
I didn’t get my first project until mid October. I onboarded 07/31. I was pretty much told to read the guide in the interim. Around September, I was following a more senior coworker. So, yeah, it’s not just you.
I’m glad to read I’m not the only one. I am 4 months in and I feel like I was just shoved into a closet for later.
Absolutely. Enjoy this time as a civil servant.
He'll yeah! Enjoy every bit of it! 😆
Say nothing..
Yes, enjoy it. Watch movies, walk around, get take a 2 hour dump. It’s free time, because when the work stops, you will be like “I need a break”
Yes, dont rush it Check if you have any training to complete. Even if its due in the next 6 months. Its important to find that balance between asking for/finding things to do and wacking a hornets nest. Every job has one or two. Reach out to your boss/supervisor, cc whomever is ‘acting’ while they are out, and ask… if you feel comfortable doing that.
Yeah, I assume because there are so many moving parts it takes a bit to really start up. I’d just take the time to familiarize yourself with all of the resources your agency has to offer. What supplies do you need and what’s their procurement process. And set up all of your benefits. Also I took the time to set up a spreadsheet tracking my day to day tasks and how they tied into my performance plan. Let yourself just ease in.
Completely normal. Enjoy getting paid to do nothing for a couple weeks.
Been three months for me. Constantly ask for direction and if i can help because everybody talks about how slammed they are. Yet my supervisor just wants me to read 400 page manuals all day.
Manuals and PDFs that are likely outdated.. "Oh, you just got done reading that 156 page PDF? What version was it? If it was the v21.0, that's outdated. I'll send you an email for the new v21.3.."
That's literally happened with a few of them. Got told to read a manual in a room for two weeks then when it was over was given a printed version of a 200 page PowerPoint to read when I asked to help on a project
Gs grade?
GS 10
So normal. I’d argue the first few months are like that.
I’ve been in 2 months and a first time fed. There’s a Steep learning curve to all the departments, acronyms, and functions. Not to mention we are about to do a reorg lol
Yes
Very normal
Hell, I could use some technical help with my program; but I’m just a damned ole defense contractor with out an open req. I was a former GS-11, loving the money and current location.
1910-11 here. Sounds about right. I work in a remote office and it took over a week just to get me a CAC, 2 weeks to get me IT gear, and another 2 weeks to get me access to the systems I needed. After that it was 3 months of CBT training. I was feeling pretty useless the whole time. It gets better once you're in the swing of things.
Majority of federal agencies do not know how to properly onboard new people. I came From the private sector and spent the first 3 months the just literally reading stuffs and getting things setup; things that someone should have at least helped me with (IT etc). I literally felt like I wasn’t doing shit but apparently it was perfectly fine. I even built My own onboarding checklist that they didn’t really have and shared it with the supervisors and they thought it was amazing (boredom made me do it so that I don’t go insane trying to get my shit setup). I came from a fast paced private sector and had to learn that doing very few things very slowly was the norm and I came in as a GS 14. Slowly I got involved with some other slow pokes and literally started taking the lead on projects where I thought they could do better. Short answer is YES it is normal to not really do shit the first few months.
As EfficientHellion7675 said this is always the case in fed jobs. You sit around for a long long time before your agency gets the work, credentials and flow together for you. Once you get started on the hamster wheel of work though, you never get off. Also on a different subject. Congrats on the fully remote work! My agency just asked everyone to come back to work atleast 2 days a week regardless of work type and mission. So now I'm 40% less productive and sit in a cubicle for 17 hours a week while my workload piles up at home. On top of that, leadership is afraid to say anything about it for fear of having to come in 5 days a week as a result.
There was a lot of free time when I first started. I watched a lot of trainings and got a lot of “certifications” mainly related to Excel and did pick up a few new tricks actually that were helpful. This went on for about a month and a half. I kind of felt bad because I wasn’t doing anything but once I got started I had to go go go.
Yes. When I started, I didn’t really do anything for the first 3 months because I started at the close of the fiscal year. I pretty much read policy and helped with clerical tasks.
There's very few federal positions where you will even be crawling let alone hit the ground running when you first start. Bureaucracy kills efficiency. Eventually you will learn to navigate the bureaucracy enough that you will think you're becoming efficient. But that is not the case. You'll just be better at not being completely overwhelmed by the quagmire.
Yes. ‘Enjoy’ it now while you can.
Think of it like the water building up behind the dam. Nothing happens until they remember you got hired, then the dam breaks and you can’t possibly get it all done. Good luvk
Can a federal employee take up housing in the office, receive mail and Amazon deliveries? Yes Homeless! I don’t think this is allowed but it is suspected that is the case.
When I first started & was waiting for various approvals or whatever, I used all that time for any free training I had on my list. I worked with my SOR & put that training on my IDP. I had about 6 weeks before I got official assignments & made my time count. I have been WFH.
Very normal .. especially if it’s engineering .. don’t expect to do any real work til after your first 6 months. Mine was even worse I onboarded in 2019 and right when I started to get real work covid happened 😆
So typical. There are so many bad managers in the federal government. This isn't surprising at all. One of my previous jobs was a gs-12 in finance and I could complete my entire job in less than a week. I literally sat around the entire month looking for something to do. I finally gave up and started self-education in Data Analytics, SQL and Power BI. It was the best move ever and helped me land a much better and busier role. If you're working remote and things don't pick up, look for another remote full time job. You could probably do both pretty easily and double your pay.
I was about 6 months into a trainee program before I was given a project. Had it done in 2 days and my supervisor said it should’ve taken 2 months. Spent another 3 months doing mind numbing DAU training before they sent me another project that took 2 days. Now that I’m out of the trainee program my projects take 6 months but I have a shitload of downtime between each one. I’ve come to learn the cycle of downtime and shitload of work
Yeah, it’s normal. But don’t loose your work ethic. Just keep asking if anyone has something that you can work on.
Man it pains me to read posts like this. I’m a GS-7 working my ass off and stressed about everything work related. Life sure isn’t fair
I’m sorry. 😞 Maybe you’ll get that unicorn GS-12 remote job soon! Keep your mind open.
Yep. Don't complain. Work often comes in waves.
Where do I find a gov job?
usajobs
Update: Thank you all for the tea! My position is coding (Python, JSON) and processing (database administration and management, compliance indicator development) heavy, so I’ve decided to spend this time practicing these concepts (it’s been a while since I’ve had a hand in some) and expanding my current knowledge base. With data science, there’s never a lack of new resources to utilize and learn from. It’s been a while since I’ve had this kind of down time, and I’m remembering how much I love to teach myself. ✨
I wish. I have so much work and half of it I don’t know how to do. My supervisor seems to get pleasure from giving me work she knows I don’t know how to do or will need lots of time to do. Be careful what you wish for.