Don't make more of the forms than they are. Forms, as most people are aware, are like a means test at the polls - which were, by the way, outlawed as unconstitutional. They keep out people who are form-phobic, illiterate, mentally challenged or have adult ADHD.

Get out of the habit of being afraid of a batch of papers. The questions do not require an advanced degree in nuclear physics to answer. They are just a relative PIA - if you are not familiar with that term the first words are pain in the ...

If you want the job, do the paperwork. If you have questions, call the US office listed on the documents who it will go back to and they are better answering them than someone who hasn't seen the forms.

I think that part of the problem is that you have reservations about going back to the feds. Decide first. if you want the job, it is like going to the bathroom. You can't say you are through until the paperwork's been completed!

Best of luck to you whatever you decide. When deciding ... donm't forget abotu the pension and other bennies. if you have a husband who may not be able to retunr to work, what you will bring home after retirement is as important as a paycheck now.

You're right, you're right...and I'm a little less stressed about it now, as I'm back in Ohio and have been able to get into my files. I have STACKS of KSA's already filled out and completed. KSA stands for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, by the way. Thank goodness I save stuff.

You are also correct that I should not be afraid of a stack of papers, but you are talking to the queen of forms here. I quit my Federal job in 2002 because of severe burnout. You couldn't even imagine the TONS of paperwork I plowed through every single month. Also, I've recently been filling out TONS of paperwork for the VA and Social Security. I hate paperwork so much that I pay an accountant to do my taxes...I've been doing so for about six years now.

And as to the question of whether or not I want the job...well, that's quite a toughie. I wanted to own my own business and set my own hours. I did it for the last 3 to 4 years, and did a fairly decent business. But it isn't nearly enough to support me AND my husband. I truly depended on his income. And I shouldn't have put myself in that position.

I think it's time to let someone else be the boss, and go back to being a worker bee. Hey, if I get this, I get my tenure back, and start off with four weeks vacation, so it won't be horiffic, after all. And it is handling a budget, but it's GOT to be smaller than the one I was handling at my previous position. It actually sounds like fun to prove that I can jump back in and handle it.

The only real problem I have remaining is about the application itself. Federal Government job applications, at least in the past, were expected to be quite verbose. There is a snazzy way to state everything, including answering the phone or emptying your trashcan. AND, some people actually include these as skills on their applications. If anyone out there is reading this and knows what an OF-612 is, here's my question: this form only gives enough room to list two previous jobs for work experience. In the past, I have always listed every single job I have ever had in my entire life, from age 16 on, for my federal job applications. Everyone used to. It was expected. Do I add continuation sheets, or has the government truly changed??? Anybody?

I wanted to update this thread, because I now have some news....

I GOT THE JOB!

I asked some questions here on this thread, I found a fellow TBD-er who is a current federal employee, and I called my former supervisor. I got lots of advice. The main thing was...JUST DO IT. Get over the fear, the apprehension, and get to it. Thanks to Milt T for such straightforward, no-nonsense advice. He got me up off of my tushie.

Yes, it was scary, and yes, the form was complicated and annoying. But I just gritted my teeth and filled it out to the best of my ability.

I was qualified and I got called for an interview. Then I sat and waited for three very long, stress-filled weeks.

I got the phone call this past week, and I start in two weeks. They have to do a background check on me and take my fingerprints. Fun stuff.

If there are any job-seekers out there who are hesitating and putting off taking those necessary steps to get started, take Milt's advice above. Sometimes, it really does work out.