From application advice to insights into day-to-day work at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Talk About It Tuesday (TAIT) is back to help viewers learn more about VA and how to better navigate the federal hiring process. 

Hosted by VA National Recruiter Mike Owens, TAIT invites job seekers like you to explore career opportunities, learn helpful application tips and find out what it’s like to work at VA from our fellow VA employees. 

Airing each week at noon ET on the Department of Veterans Affairs LinkedIn page, TAIT is a livestream program dedicated to discussing VA job opportunities and providing career advice to potential applicants.  

Missed an episode? Check out what we’ve been doing since the show returned in May. 

Making the most of May 

We welcomed TAIT back on May 12 with a special Nurse’s Week episode, where we invited Ashton Carder, a VA nurse recruiter, to share her experiences about what it means to work at VA.  

“I think the main thing is to just go ahead and jump forward,” she advised viewers who may be considering a move to VA. “Reach out to that recruiter. I know I’m a nurse recruiter, but I talk about any position in the facility, so if you have any questions or concerns, reach out. Go ahead and hit the button and apply.” 

From there, we turned the focus to the updated federal resume requirements, and then segued into and exploration of the General Schedule and how that federal system helps fairly determine the skills and experience needed for different pay grades.  

(That’s a topic we recently covered right here on the Job News and Advice page, too, if you’re interested in further reading.) 

June was for job-seekers 

From there, TAIT took some time to discuss what to expect from the federal hiring process and 3 common resume mistakes to avoid when submitting your application.  

And as we closed out the month, we were honored to welcome VA Deputy Secretary Dr. Paul R. Lawrence, who spoke about being a Veteran and resources available for Veterans at VA. 

Looking ahead 

We’ve got a great summer of TAIT planned, including episodes on the best practices for selecting references, preparing for your VA interview, an explanation of how Veterans’ preference works and more.  

But we want you to be part of the conversation! 

Host Mike takes a few questions at the end of every broadcast, and we invite the audience to share what’s on their minds related to the week’s topic of choice. For a broader array of questions, though, we host a Q&A Week on the second Tuesday of every month.  

Keep an eye on the VA Careers social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn, where we’ll post an open call for questions about applications, interviews and anything else related to the VA hiring process.  

During Q&A Week, Mike will answer as many of those questions as he can, and who knows—maybe a question someone asks will help you get answers, too!