STIHLMAN83
ArboristSite Member
I am looking to get in touch with someone who works with the forest serive as a tech or forester. You could PM through here or just post up to this thread. Thanks!!!
US Forest Service
- Thread starter STIHLMAN83
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
You can't call your local USFS office?
What are you wanting to know?
STIHLMAN83
ArboristSite Member
I am looking for information on applying for posistion in the West Coast, and to see if it feasable. currently I am self employed, I have a college degree in foresty ( I know that does not mean much now-a-days). I am young and looking for oppertunities. My question is about the hiring process through avueonline. It says it is done by computer (sorting of applications). Is it frowned upon to contact ranger stations and introduce yourself and tell them what you are interested in doing? I feel like the computer application is not a good representation of the person. Anyways, it may sound like a stupid question. Any info would be appreciated. I have sent in several applications already as well.
Oldtimer
Addicted to ArboristSite
More power to you, but Maine and NH have a lot of private owned land. The opportunities abound here for a guy that has ambition. In fact, the day soon comes when I would seek to hire a fellow like you to be my primary wood buyer / forester.
But adventure counts for a lot too. Best of luck!
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
Nothing beats the old phone call followed by an in-person visit. The more they know you in person the more likely you are to be hired.
Still though, Avue is the only way to get your application in. And don't ever forget to include your transcripts, even if the job description doesn't say to.
Also (and this is something I'm typing as much to remind myself as any other reason) KEEP YOUR RESUME UP TO DATE. Any new certifications you get or training you receive needs to be documented and visible. I'm calling myself out because I'm so fat, dumb, and happy in this job that I haven't bothered to even look at my own resume in I think three years, and I have a big old stack of certificates saying I'm smarterer now than I used to be. I really should get crackin' on that.
richard88
ArboristSite Lurker
I worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a wildland firefighter. The application proccess is confusing for sure. You're welcome to call and introduce yourself, but the problem you'll run into is that with a government job if they cant offer an interview to everyone (which they never can because people apply from all over) they cant give an interview to anyone, another problem for example is that when i applied for jobs in wyoming the people that decided whether or not i was qualified were in new mexico and they submit a list to the district office of prospective employees to choose from. The best thing to do is just beef up your online application and attach a very well done resume. I hope this info helps and good luck. I truely loved working for the Forest Service.
STIHLMAN83
ArboristSite Member
Thanks everyone for your replies. Oldtimer-I truly enjoy the east coast I enjoy working for myself in the woods and I will continue to as long as I can. I just figure this is a good way to get west and see different stuff while I am still not to grounded to one area to permanently. The application process for the government sucks. I keep my resume as up to date as I can with all recent certs. etc. I tried to get west for the fire season, I had a contact (through a friend) at a ranger station, I called spoke to the fellow and same thing though had to go through avue. But anyways, thanks again for all the replies.
So AVUE sucks. That isn't anything profound.
Yes, call the person who would be your supervisor. This is called, "Getting to be known." It is perfectly legal and is NOT an interview. Forestryworks did it. He almost got the job but the budget was cut and so was the position. He is now known.
Some helpful hints...If you are serious about getting a forester PERMANENT position, do not be choosy about where you go. Even "out west" there are places where nobody wants to go. There will be less competition for these places. Sometimes, very little or no competition. Happy Camp, CA, Orleans, CA Burns, OR, Silver Lake, OR, etc. The remote places. You'll have tons of competition for most anywhere in the Willamette Valley (Oregon) or on the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie or the Olympic...better add Forks to that list of places most folks don't want to go to.
Don't make the mistake of asking if you HAVE to live there. Or anything that sounds negative. Listen, find out what they are looking for.
If you hate AVUE, and don't want to do it, then you don't want to work for the Feds. There are lots of AVUE type things that you will run into.
I got my last transfer, back to here--home, prior to the AVUE system, so I don't know what it is, but I can imagine.
Stick to it, and keep trying. That's all I can tell you.
STIHLMAN83
ArboristSite Member
As much as I hate avue I know its what I have to do and I fill out each application that I have to. I am not being picky, I will go anywhere, the more remote the better!!! Thanks for the help/tips!!!
The big thing is to make your application and resume stand out from the crowd. This means absolutely no typos, misspellings, and keeping the use of slang or jargon to a minimum. The people who initially read and sort your application/resume package are personnel specialists and human resource types who most likely have never been a forester or a fire fighter and are not familiar with the common forestry lingo. They'll digest that as a lack of sophistication on your part and rate your application lower. They want to see professional, business-like language on everything.
All application packages that meet the minimum qualification standard for a particular position are given a rating, usually on a five-point scale. This gives the hiring official an idea of the top candidates who are rated as "highly qualified." Most of the time there's so many names on a certification for a job that the hiring official only gets into the top 30-40 names and the other 2-300 aren't even considered. I hired four fire fighter positions this year and I had over 600 names on my GS-04/05 cert alone. I only called about the first 40 names on the list. The other 560+ may have been qualified but weren't rated as highly qualified.
The big thing with forestry positions these days is the amount of administrative experience you have. There's a ton of red tape that professional foresters and technicians have to wade through in order to complete anything in the field and the agency wants to be sure that a candidate has the where-with-all to digest all of it. Think of your resume/application as a key that's going to open a particular lock. It has to have the exact profile and shape to fit the lock.
All application packages that meet the minimum qualification standard for a particular position are given a rating, usually on a five-point scale. This gives the hiring official an idea of the top candidates who are rated as "highly qualified." Most of the time there's so many names on a certification for a job that the hiring official only gets into the top 30-40 names and the other 2-300 aren't even considered. I hired four fire fighter positions this year and I had over 600 names on my GS-04/05 cert alone. I only called about the first 40 names on the list. The other 560+ may have been qualified but weren't rated as highly qualified.
The big thing with forestry positions these days is the amount of administrative experience you have. There's a ton of red tape that professional foresters and technicians have to wade through in order to complete anything in the field and the agency wants to be sure that a candidate has the where-with-all to digest all of it. Think of your resume/application as a key that's going to open a particular lock. It has to have the exact profile and shape to fit the lock.
I think that more people want to work in fire than in timber. We had a local kid, who went to school and then worked here each summer, in timber, and he got picked up right away after he graduated. He was hired as a timber sale adminstration trainee and is working in another state--A year round, permanent position.
It is the job that not too many people want to do, and those that are doing are retiring. Timber is kind of the black sheep of the FS now. In fact, it is now called "Forest Products".
It is the job that not too many people want to do, and those that are doing are retiring. Timber is kind of the black sheep of the FS now. In fact, it is now called "Forest Products".
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
I treat our seasonal program like an internship. Most of the folks who hire on here seasonally are students, and may or may not decide to pursue either Fire or Forestry as a career. I do what I can to show them as much as I am able to about how each world works, so that they can make the best-educated decisions possible. Our returnees are expected to shoulder the responsibility of seniority, and be crew leads in the field when assigned accordingly. We're a small outfit, but I like to think we do good work. Several of our past seasonal employees have gone on to careers in Natural Resources -- some Fire, some Forestry, and one I can think of went to Wildlife.
OregonSawyer
ArboristSite Operative
They can have the fire, I want the timber!
Speaking of which, I think I saw an opening for a Forester in Veneta (15 min west of here) a couple of weeks ago... Not sure if you saw that one or are looking in this area, but I figured I'd mention it.
forestryworks
Addicted to ArboristSite
Back to school in August for me. Thanks though. I'll be an old PNW web footed fella before I die!
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
-
-
-
Hi from Florida recent Chainsaw injury experience with my son- Latest: Breckinridge Elkins
-
