Federal jobs hiring process

[Fender247]

Anyone have any experience with this? How long does it take through each step of the way? From the time you apply, hear back, interview, get a response, background checks, etc.

[dengeist]

I'll give you a timeline of when I was a Border Patrol Agent (keep in mind this was pre-9/11):

Oct '99: Completed and sent in the application
Dec '99: Took the exam (got the results the same day) Scheduled for interview same day
Jan '00: Interview with three BPA's (hilarity ensued) but I passed
Jan '00- May '00: Background check (it felt a lot longer)
May '00: Background checker came to my house (I needed 10 references!)
June '00: Got a call from the gov't with a choice of two duty stations in Texas or AZ. They gave me 24 hours to research them (the net wasn't what it was today) The next day, I called back with the choice of Ajo, AZ.
Early July '00: I was on a train to AZ to get sworn in and to see my duty station.

It seemed a lot longer back then, I was fresh out of college and working in a bookstore. But all in all the process was about 9 months.

[Rage]

Depends on the agency. FBI can take as long as a year or more, depending upon if you have what they want.