VET –HIRE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

 Q. What is Vet-Hire?
 A.  Vet-Hire is a citizen-centered outreach initiative sponsored by the American GI 
 Forum that is designed to assist Federal Agencies recruit veterans from nuestra 
 comunidad who are interested in being considered for federal employment. 

Q. Why is there a Vet-Hire?
A. Vet-Hire is a citizen-center initiative designed to assist Federal Agencies
improve upon the historical under representation of Hispanics in federal employment.  See http://www.opm.gov/pressrel/2002/CC-FEORP.asp
and http://www.mspb.gov/studies/hispanic.pdf

Q. How is Vet-Hire going to change the historical under representation of Hispanics in the Federal Government?
A. The American GI Forum has developed an outreach strategy for registering veterans from nuestra comunidades who are interested in federal employment for electronic referral to participating Federal Agencies.  

Q. Why is the American GI Forum sponsoring this outreach initiative?
A. Studies conducted by the Federal Government indicate (see Merit Systems Protection Board study, Competing for Federal Jobs ) that relatives and friends were the most common form of federal job information, encouraging coaching and guiding friends and relatives through the federal employment process.  Read more about this study at http://www.mspb.gov/studies/newhires.pdf.  

Q. Does this mean recruiters from Federal Agencies will no longer be available?
A. No.  What VET-HIRE does and will do is provide electronic access to a robust pool of Hispanics seeking federal employment participating federal recruiters located anywhere in the world for jobs anywhere in the world based on geographical availability, employment interests, veteran status, etc.

 Q. What happens once I submit my VET-HIRE application?
 A.  VET-HIRE is not an “application” per se.  VET-HIRE is a simple registration
of basic personal information indicating your basic federal employment interests which is filed into a database for referral to participating Federal Agencies.  Recruiters at participating Federal Agencies are still responsible for “recruiting” you, i.e. obtaining a federal application from you, i.e. a detailed resume (make sure it is longer than two pages or a full application see http://contacts.gsa.gov/webforms.nsf/0/41A93F1A1771761B85256A720061344C/$file/of612.pdf

Q. Is it permissible to target the outreach and recruitment of one group, 
 Hispanics?
A. Yes. This targeted outreach and recruitment is based on two Presidential 
 Executive Orders No. E.O. 13171, E.O. 12900 and the Federal Equal 
 Opportunity Recruitment Program (FEORP) a congressional act passed by 
 Congress in 1972 which were developed to improve upon the historical under 
 representation of Hispanics in federal employment.  To date, Hispanics are the only 
 under represented group government wide in the Federal Government.

Q. Can I be considered for federal employment without a college degree?
A. Yes, 70% of all jobs in the Federal Government do not require a 4-year
college degree. A high school degree or GED is NOT required for most federal jobs.  In lieu of education, experience is the basis for qualifying for most federal jobs.

Q. What are my chances of getting a federal job?
A. Several government studies conducted by the Merit Systems Protection Board found Hispanics are as qualified and well-qualified as any other applicants for federal jobs.  One such study reads Hispanics can obtain federal jobs ,”… if recruited and treated fairly during the assessment and selection process” see Merit System Protection Board Study, page 12 at http://www.mspb.gov/studies/restoring.pdf

Q. How do you register?
A. You can register through your local American GI Forum Chapter who can assist you to register onto VET-HIRE through their computer or provide you with the website address.

Q. How much will it cost me to register for this service?
A. Registration costs are zero.  This is a public service.

Q. How about students that cannot work full-time but need part-time trabajo?
A. Students seeking student employment with Federal Agencies can register at  http://www.chicanos2000.com/intake.shtml   This is a specially-designed Student Intake/Registration Form for students. Students attending any accredited academic or vocational program enrolled as part-time or more, are eligible to participate in temporary and career-related student employment opportunities. 

Q. Can I register for federal employment as both a student and veteran?
A. Yes, you can register as both a student and veteran on the same form through the Vet-Hire initiative or the student form.

Q. What kinds of federal jobs will I be considered for?
A. You will be considered for the jobs that match the career interests (see the pull 
down window of the Vet-Hire form) you indicate.  In addition, Federal 
Agencies may contact you to ascertain your interest in being considered for 
other and specific jobs they believe you can qualify for.

Q. Can I qualify and get a job even though I am disabled?
A. Yes.  Federal Agencies have special and non-competitive appointing authorities for 
 appointing persons with disabilities.
 

Q. Does being bilingual in Spanish count for anything?
A. Yes.  VET-HIRE specifically asks you to indicate languages other than English that 
you are proficient in.  Many federal jobs involve or require the ability to converse in
Spanish.  The ability to speak Spanish may used as a selective requirement as well as 
providing one with the non-competitive eligibility to be selected out-of-order for any 
GS-5 and GS-7 jobs formerly covered by the Professional, Administrative Careers 
Examination (PACE) which include mostly 111 Administrative, two-graded level 
Jobs filled at the GS-5 and GS-7 levels.

Q. How about if I am contacted by different recruiters for different jobs?
A. Good!  As a citizen, freedom of choice is the goal of Vet-Hire.  Accordingly you will 
then have choices to make about which job(s) you wish serious consideration for 
based on the duty location of the job, the pay involved, etc.  Remember VET-HIRE is 
only referring you for federal employment.  You must still apply and be selected 
and have the job offer made to you BEFORE you decide.

Q. How will Federal Agencies contact me about jobs?
A. Participating Federal Agencies will receive copies of the data you entered on the Vet-Hire form which they will use to match you up with projected vacancies including geographical availability and contact you via e-mail, telephone and/or hard-copy mailing address.   Please note however that most federal jobs are filled between the months of December and April of each year see Merit System Protection Board’s study, Issues of Merit – 2002, page 4 at http://www.mspb.gov/studies/02jannws.pdf

 Q.  If all I am doing now is registering for federal employment, when can/do I fill 
 out the application?  You can fill out an application at any time and have it 
 ready for submission WHEN YOU ARE ASKED TO SUBMIT AN 
 APPLICATION OR WHEN YOU ARE APPLYING TO A SPECIFIC 
 VACANCY ANNOUNCMENT.  The OF-612 Form is the form you should 
 Fill out and have handy for submission.  You can access this form and either
download it or fill it out online at http://contacts.gsa.gov/webforms.nsf/0/41A93F1A1771761B85256A720061344C/$file/of612.pdf  Be sure to fill out the OF-306 form and have it handy for submission with the OF-612 which can be accessed at: http://contacts.gsa.gov/webforms.nsf/0/047C39FC0226D01E85256AAB005DF2AD/$file/of306.pdf