Many federal agencies are trying to meet two goals in the month of September: spend their end of year funding and meet their small business quotas. This could be good news for the contractors that fit the small business description. With a less than three weeks to go before the end of the fiscal year, small business contractors need to be in contact with other contractors that have established contract vehicles.
Hiring veterans? Make sure you know what you can’t ask in an interview, and what you can. It is okay to ask about a veteran’s discharge, if it relates to veteran hiring quotas, but be wary of any questioning that tries to draw out disability or PTSD details.
Independent contractors (IC) can sometimes be the perfect fit on many contracts, particularly for projects requiring a specific skill for a short period of time. It can be a win-win scenario for both the IC and the company. While outsourcing is not exactly in vogue in the federal government these days, decreasing overhead has become critical for many federal contractors. Enter MBO Partners, an organization that links ICs and companies. MBO Partners also provides a support system (think billing, contract administration, accounting, etc. support) for ICs. Expect more companies like IC, and more job seekers willing to take that route.
New organizations are popping up with additional recruiting tools: mock interviews and candidate screening databases. According to ere.net, MockSource is a startup that provides a practice 40-minute phone interview or Skype session for a fee.
Who’s Hiring
The federal workforce may be shrinking and new Federal hires are few and far between, but the information technology field seems to be a high performer for the few federal positions that do become available. Defense and security-related agencies were the primary winners in bringing in new hires last year.
Who’s Firing
L-3 Communications is downsizing its Utah workforce by more than 200 employees. L-3’s engineering organization is the primary target for the layoffs. L-3 indicated that the layoffs are an attempt to continue to manage the impact of sequestration and the defense industry budget shifts.
The Pentagon, along with many large defense companies, is making the wise choice of cutting travel before cutting employees. Every dollar does count. With teleconferences increasing and travel time decreasing, the travel industry could be facing some future pain.
