The V.A. - A Nightmare Experience

[edieb]

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Has anybody else on here applied to the V.A. for a job? I have applied to 10 V.A.s and have had nothing but a hellish experience.
Everything from H.R. sitting on applications and not returning phone calls (one HR department, who said their V.A. was is "desperate" need of psychologists, sat on my application for 4 months -- in that 4 months, the contact person did not return any of my e-mails or phone calls, so he must have been deleting them as they came in. I finally e-mailed someone else in HR and asked her if there was someone else whom i could send my application. Magically, the orignally man sent me an e-mail saying my app was received and the next day I got an interview) to psychologists saying they will call me back the next week and never doing so. My friends have had very similar experiences. Any tips for dealing with this process?

 

[Shatani]

oh, thats not good news....i am planning to apply to the VA

 

[erg923]

When i was applying to Practicums at 2 local VAs, we had to go thru all the hoops and background checks as regular employees. I had the same HR experience. Although I recieved good training/supervisor at my VA placement, it was also obvious that an equal priority for them was ensuring free slave labor for themselves.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

It can be a bit daunting to get through to the right person. It definitely helps to be in the system already, as we can go through the global e-mail list to get contacts, titles, etc.....though it still will take multiple contacts to get through. It definitely takes persistence and timing to get an interview.

 

[Cosmo75]

Sounds pretty standard. I say that partially tongue in cheek. But in all honesty, I've heard similar problems and it taking months to get hired. There are so many layers of bureaucracy that it's easy to get "lost". HR seems to be an especially problematic area. When I was an intern it floored me how difficult it was to get simple things done, like getting someone to fix your computer. It comes down to knowing the right people, which is pretty difficult when you're a job applicant.

 

[Thrak]

I worked in two different VAs, as a research assistant (not the same as psychologist, I know). Depending on where you apply, all applications may go to a central cite in the VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network, I think). They may also do all hiring in batches.

The bureaucracy is ridiculous, HR (and much of the staff) is frequently incompetent. It's not uncommon that the most important factor for most evaluations is whether or not people show up on time and keep accurate records of their sick/vacation time. "Not my job" is the prevailing sentiment. The good people are worked beyond all reason.

It may be better for psychologists, but I found general morale there to be horrible.

The vets themselves are great, though.

 

[SingingCow]

It probably depends on the location as well? I have heard great things about many VAs in California.

I worked in two different VAs, as a research assistant (not the same as psychologist, I know). Depending on where you apply, all applications may go to a central cite in the VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network, I think). They may also do all hiring in batches.

The bureaucracy is ridiculous, HR (and much of the staff) is frequently incompetent. It's not uncommon that the most important factor for most evaluations is whether or not people show up on time and keep accurate records of their sick/vacation time. "Not my job" is the prevailing sentiment. The good people are worked beyond all reason.

It may be better for psychologists, but I found general morale there to be horrible.

The vets themselves are great, though.

 

[psychmama]

I worked in two different VAs, as a research assistant (not the same as psychologist, I know). Depending on where you apply, all applications may go to a central cite in the VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network, I think). They may also do all hiring in batches.

The bureaucracy is ridiculous, HR (and much of the staff) is frequently incompetent. It's not uncommon that the most important factor for most evaluations is whether or not people show up on time and keep accurate records of their sick/vacation time. "Not my job" is the prevailing sentiment. The good people are worked beyond all reason.

It may be better for psychologists, but I found general morale there to be horrible.

The vets themselves are great, though.

In my experience, this culture prevails at many state psych hospitals too. 😡

 

[JockNerd]

I'm praccing at a VA now. The bureaucracy is INSANE, it took me over a month to get all my paperwork and codes done. I do really like my VA though, and I have a great supervisor.

 

[Cosmo75]

The vets themselves are great, though.

Very true. These were the best people I've worked with, even though their problems were probably the most complicated I'd ever seen.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Very true. These were the best people I've worked with, even though their problems were probably the most complicated I'd ever seen.

Agreed.

RE: Red Tape

I had to submit a work order to hang some pictures, diplomas, etc (they don't want us putting holes in the walls)....and it was going on 2.5 weeks since I filed my paperwork with maintenance, and I happened to run into one of our regular maintenance people. He told me that he doesn't do that, since it had to do with decor, so I'd have to talk to this other person, who files some paperwork that goes to this other person, who then calls her person to do it. I did that, and 1 day later someone is hanging my stuff. I later asked around, and no one knew that was the process.

RE: Admin people

I got lucky, as both of the people at my hospital are AWESOME. They make our lives SO much easier, and considering the stories I"ve heard at other places....I'm thankful.

 

[hkusp]

Oh yeah, if you want to work for the VA you had better plan on waiting at least 6 months.

It is worth it, the vets are great. Very complicated problems but wonderful people.

 

[RGMSU]

red-tape nightmare pretty much all the way around the board

Isn't anything the government is involved in always a red-tape nightmare? Coming soon to a corner near you - we all get to work for the government, whether we want to or not.

 

[WannaBeDrMe]

Isn't anything the government is involved in always a red-tape nightmare? Coming soon to a corner near you - we all get to work for the government, whether we want to or not.

I'm back in school and "accidentally" earned enough academic credit for a substance abuse prevention credential. I applied, I'm still working part-time, why not, and received EIGHT letters in the mail, on the same day, from my state government. I don't even know why they felt the need to become involved in my substance abuse credentialing but they did, have, and are as evidenced by the 8 letters.

Each letter said a different thing... welcoming me to the governor's council for abuse prevention, acknowledging my other license, offering a newsletter subscription, etc, etc, etc. I was floored. I saved all of the envelopes and letters with the intent of scanning them in as a chained PDF and demonstrating where we are losing a lot of cash. Inefficient administration of basic communications...

As for the Federal, state, county jobs... yup. I've never made it to interview on Federal but have friends who waited forever unless they had a contact. Even with a contact, it would take weeks and strategic planning to make sure they cleared hoops without any mis-steps. State has been the easiest for me. I usually get through with no issues. County was a 3 month process with a half dozen assessments and 3 or 4 interviews. Weird.