What a great discussion! I won't try to defend federal hiring practices here, but I will try to defend myself. I certainly would not have gone to the effort of posting this on Ecolog if I had someone lined up to fill it. I posted this announcement because I wanted to widely advertise this position, given that it is unfortunately only open for 10 days. Our new hiring rules are very restrictive, and I hoped to generate the best possible pool of candidates within these constraints. Although many people on Ecolog may not be eligible for this position, I took the risk of posting it in case there were folks out there I hadn't been able to reach through other channels.
I may be a fair-haired, pencil-pushing clone, but I sincerely want to recruit the best possible person for this position! -Kyle Merriam -----Original Message----- From: Merriam, Kyle Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 10:24 AM To: 'jon mccloskey'; [email protected] Subject: RE: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist What a great discussion! I won't try to defend federal hiring practices here, but I will try to defend myself. I certainly would not have gone to the effort of posting this on Ecolog if I had someone lined up to fill it. I posted this announcement because I wanted to widely advertise this position given that is unfortunately only open for 10 days. Our new hiring rules are very restrictive, and I wanted to ensure we had the best pool of candidates possible given these constraints. Although many people on Ecolog may not be eligible for this position, I took the risk of posting it in case there were folks out there I hadn't been able to reach through other channels. I may be a fair-haired, pencil-pushing clone, but I sincerely want to recruit the best possible person for this position! Sincerely, Kyle Merriam -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of jon mccloskey Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 4:15 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist To Whom it May Concern, I rarely respond to these futile discussion, but felt the need this time. These type of practices have been going on for at least 20 years (my first job was in 1992)...and we wonder why the system remains impotent. Filling positions with clones that think exactly like their predecessors is not likely to result in change or innovation...people talk about systems thinking, but few really understand it. I feel sorry for the poor souls who will, no doubt, spend considerable time and effort in the application process. I guess it keeps the pencil pushers employed. Remember, follow the incentives. The money comes from the tax payers, these are NOT entrepreneurial efforts and are largely self serving. Good Luck, Jon McCloskey, Ph.D. > Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:34:31 -0400 > From: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist > To: [email protected] > > Dear Wayne, although I am not a federal employee I have watched > federal hiring practices and seen ads like this before that have > nothing to do with "fair-haired boys" or girls. What they have > everything to do with is getting people on board before drastic budget > cuts occur so that you don't automatically lose funding by having > money sitting around for an unfilled position. cheers, g2 > > On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 12:32 AM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hmmmm--I'd be willing to bet there's a fair-haired boy or girl > > waiting in the wings and that it would be a waste of time to apply. > > I hope I'm wrong, but really, TEN days? Read the advertisement > > carefully. It will be interesting to see who is hired . . . > > > > WT > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kyle Merriam" > > <[email protected]> > > To: <[email protected]> > > Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 3:39 PM > > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Job Announcement: US Forest Service Ecologist > > > > > > The USDA Forest Service Sierra Cascade Province, comprised of the > > Modoc, Lassen, and Plumas National Forests in northeastern > > California, is currently advertising a one-year detail position for > > a GS-11 Associate Ecologist ($57,408.00 - $74,628.00 per year). > > This position is a temporary promotion/detail for one year, which > > may be extended for up to five years and/or be made permanent > > without further competition. This position is open to current Career > > and Career-Conditional status Forest Service employees. > > > > This vacancy will be open for 10 days, beginning on 8/16/2011 and > > closing on 8/26/2011. More information about the position and how to > > apply is posted on www.usajobs.gov. Find the announcement by > > searching for Ecologist in Quincy, CA and by checking "all jobs, > > public and status" on the right of the results screen. > > > > > > > > > -- > Gary D. Grossman, PhD > > Professor of Animal Ecology > Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources University of Georgia > Athens, GA, USA 30602 > > Research & teaching web site - > http://grossman.myweb.uga.edu/<http://www.arches.uga.edu/%7Egrossman> > > Board of Editors - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation Editorial > Board - Freshwater Biology Editorial Board - Ecology Freshwater Fish > > Sculpture by Gary D. Grossman > www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=2002317&id=1348406658<http: > //www.facebook.com/?ref=home#%21/album.php?aid=2002317&id=1348406658> > > Hutson Gallery Provincetown, MA - www.hutsongallery.net/artists.html
