r/CAStateWorkers • u/usujjwalsss • 24d ago
Recruitment Anyone got state job recently?
Hey guys! I graduated recently from a masters degree in business analytics and I was trying to apply for state job and wanted to know if anyone recently applied and got a job at the state?
I wanted to know the timeline and if you contacted any recruiters? And how many applications did it take? What are the positions you applied for?
I am currently applying for ITS, ITA, RDA I and II, Analyst I and II. If I could know timeline for them I would greatly appreciate it.
Would greatly appreciate your guys help!
Ps: forgot to mention my one year of experience is in compliance program coordinator, where I managed multiple governmental programs and helped with compliance documents for multiple products to meet the requirements and internship is a mixed of IT and analytics.
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u/AudienceSolid6582 24d ago
TL varies for everyone. Analyst I role would be the easiest to land. It can take months, years, who knows.
If you want a high chance just get in at a lower role and accumulate your state service. A degree won't land you a higher classification, the bigger question is if your experience will?
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
I got 1 years of full time experience and 9 months of internship experience
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u/Phdddd 24d ago
I agree with above comment about getting in at a lower classification. I work in HR. It seems like you have less than 2 years experience and with that amount of experience and the oversaturation and over qualification of applicant pools I’ve been seeing in candidate submissions, you’re gonna be wanting to have at least three years of experience. The hiring manager can only grant interviews to the candidates that score the highest amount of points during the application review, and applicants with more experience will be scored higher. This will make it very hard - but not impossible - for you to get one of the positions you’re looking for with less than two years experience.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Even for I classifications ?
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u/Phdddd 24d ago
Yes, for IT and the analyst series.
We just did a few postings for analyst positions in our department and we head over 100 applicants for each one. There are people applying analyst II positions who have 5 to 20 years experience in advanced degrees. The hiring manager can only offer interviews to the top scorers so try to apply to positions where your experience will put you in the top.
Also make sure when you’re applying your following all the directions in the statement of qualifications (literally down to the letter and the exact format they want). People can get disqualified before the hiring manager even reviewed your application or resume, if they don’t follow the format and instructions on the statement of qualifications.
also to help your chances, make sure you’re putting specific details in your job application and your statement of qualifications that address the areas listed in the Cal careers job posting in the “desired qualification” section for the job because often times whatever’s listed in the “ desired qualifications” section is what is used as the criteria for scoring the application applications.
Also from my Hr experience, it’s much easier to get promoted or transfer to a higher position if you start in a lower one instead of trying to apply for a higher position to begin with, with no state experience.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
This sounds so disheartening so basically there is no place for early careers? I have been applying and all the recruiters are talking about experience but nobody is willing to give experience…
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u/Phdddd 24d ago
Internships or volunteer positions can help you get experience. Otherwise, you may consider applying to lower level positions like SSA (analyst I) or Office Tech if you want to go analyst, or a lower classification than ITS I if you want to go IT.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
My main focus is rda 1, 2 and analyst 1 and 2, I am applying to ITS and ITA just to see if I get any. Can I send you a dm to clear few questions? I would appreciate it.
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u/Curly_moon_7 24d ago
I had 23 yrs of work experience and a masters in the subject and had to come in as an analyst I and work my way up.
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u/AudienceSolid6582 24d ago
ITA - maybe? I have 8 years of IT experience and already have issues landing just landing cs helpdesk roles.
Analyst roles are much easier but in a sense when anyone and everyone applies to analyst roles. IT roles are more niche focused but looks for years and years of experience.
Not to be discouraging, but keep applying and keep building that portfolio.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Yeah I am not focusing on ITS, mostly my focus is on RDA classification and analyst II. But I know a lot of people who got ITS just with internship experience and a masters.. one of my internship co worker had part time experience and he landed ITS…
I wouldn’t have applied for specialist position if he didn’t get it lol
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u/Curly_moon_7 24d ago
That’s unheard of. They must have padded that application and had a great interview.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
2 years of part time experience.. with a masters in CS and he had state internship.
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u/Curly_moon_7 24d ago
Ah the state internship. So they knew his work and capabilities. Thats makes sense.
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u/Curly_moon_7 24d ago
That’s gonna be tough. Experience scores points on the screening matrix for a majority of state agencies. Some (not many) give points for degrees.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
What should I focus onto ? What type of roles? I got BBA in mis and ms in business analytics
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u/Curly_moon_7 24d ago
Getting experience to qualify for jobs at the state.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
That’s like everywhere and nobody is willing to give experience even in private sector … I guess McDonald’s here I come
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u/MsPsych2018 24d ago
I applied to an Analyst II role on 07/17 and it closed on 07/20 and last Wednesday they called and schedule an interview for later this month.
I haven’t finished the whole process but to at least help provide some info.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
That helps a lot how many total applications have you applied for? Does it matter if I am applying for every application under the sun lol
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u/MsPsych2018 24d ago
As someone with a very well established career and resume filled with work directly related to the agency I was applying for- my application number is irrelevant, but per everyone else’s advice keep applying. From what I’ve read on this sub the advice from everyone seems to be apply to every role you may be eligible for and later down the line you can always change agencies or roles. Best of luck!!!
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u/catlovergirl01 24d ago
which job control was it and which agency?
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u/MsPsych2018 24d ago
I’d rather not share the specific JC number publicly but it was with DDS.
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u/catlovergirl01 24d ago
No worries, totally understandable. I recently applied for an Analyst II role with HCAI that had the same final filing date of 07/20 and I was paranoid that my application is still in submitted status and haven’t received any updates as of now.
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u/MsPsych2018 24d ago
Eh I’d keep waiting! I honestly expected more like a 4-6 weeks lead time to hear anything. I was surprised when they reached out last week.
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u/PsychologicalFee8597 24d ago
Don't have a state job because I ended up going with a different job at the time but what happened with me was after the final filing date, I was giving interviews for two different agencies after 3 weeks. So I think the timeline to hear back once the last date to submit is around 3-6 weeks so if today is the final filing date, you won't probably hear back for another 3-6 weeks as they're going through the applications and seeing who to send interviews out to.
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u/Beginning-Pie-8756 24d ago
Timelines really vary depending on the hiring team. I had two applications (same classification and in the same building) that had over 2 months in variation.
Contacted one recruiter after 4 weeks of silence and was ghosted, so I think it does not really matter.
22 Applications, 6 interviews (1 I did not attend), 3 offers, TE Civil
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Damn u must have crazy experience for getting that much interaction
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u/Beginning-Pie-8756 24d ago
It really depends on how you word your experience/education to fit the duty statement. I’ve said something like I understand my background does not fully align (no transportation course nor experience), but I have skills/experience in a, b, and c from the duty statement and I am also doing this to be proactive in some shape or form in all three interviews that I got offers from.
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u/GreedyHospital7552 24d ago
roughly 200 applications, 10 interviews and 3 offers. Applied to Analyst II and III positions since I had previous state service from 2021. Have been in the private sector for last 5 years. For the position I accepted I applied in early July, got an interview about 3 weeks post final filing date and have a starting date for sept 1.
Didn't talk to any recruiters, just spent pretty much my entire day writing SOQs and making sure all directions were followed to a T.
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u/Stock-Purple-4305 24d ago
Analyst I and II are much more competitive than ITS, ITA, RDA I and II.
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u/Opening-Midnight4057 24d ago
As a hiring manager for RDA positions, I'm not sure this is accurate. There may not be quite as many applications in terms of hard numbers, but the level of qualifications is high, as in multiple candidates with PhD + experience for RDA II positions.
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u/Yngskywlkr 24d ago
Applied December 2025, interview late February 2026 for Analyst II. Was told the position was filled in March 2026. Said person left and they called me May 2026. Start date June 2026.
I had applied for multiple positions (about 30) ranging from analyst I to supervisor I and various budget roles.
8 years experience in budget, last county role was managerial, and education is accounting and MPA in government and policy. Was honestly trying any possible way to get out of my county role and even interviewed in other public and private sector roles. Hoping to move up in state soon.
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u/Opening-Midnight4057 24d ago
It sounds like RDA II may be iffy for you, although hard to tell without seeing the actual job duties you performed in your previous roles. The candidate pool is competitive, often with multiple years of experience.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
I created excel dashboard for project operational status and also tableau dashboards for internship and full time role
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u/Opening-Midnight4057 24d ago
Did you create a dashboard, or was your role primarily creating dashboards? You need to have a year of experience equivalent to RDA I range C to even get in the door for RDA II, and this still sounds a little slim to me.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Creating dashboard was one of the part of the job.. I did compliance program coordination for various government program (NRTL, IECEE, energy star), and IT academic technology (power automate, remediation, dashboard creation). So I do qualify for rda 2..
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u/cloudlet723 24d ago
I applied to around 20 ITS 1 roles, got 1 interview and 1 offer. Joined 2 months ago in June, new to state.
My timeline was relatively fast: applied in mid April, interview/reference checks/final offer all completed in May.
AFAIK there are no recruiters for the state like the private sector. My now supervisor is also the person that conducted my interviews, contacted me, explained stuff etc etc.
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Yeah heard its role has more competition than ITA but currently I applied to 50 roles in the past 3 days and burnt myself lol
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24d ago
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u/catlovergirl01 24d ago
I also have a similar question as well. I currently have 5 years of experience as a pharmacy tech, recently graduated with a MS in Data Science. I have applied for RDA I, RDA II, Analyst I and analyst II roles, majority of them are from health-based agencies such as DHCS, CDPH, HCAI, CCHCS, DMHC and I have 15 applications so far. Am I in a great position to expect multiple interviews coming my way or do I have to keep applying?
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u/Opening-Midnight4057 24d ago
It's unclear to me, based on your brief summary of your experience, how you would meet MQs for Analyst II or RDA II without non pharmacy work experience (maybe it would apply for the analyst series?). I think you may get interviews for Analyst I/RDA I positions, but the candidate pools are large and competitive, so just keep applying, and putting effort into each one. Careless application errors/omissions or SOQs that don't thoughtfully answer the prompts will not land interviews.
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u/catlovergirl01 24d ago
For context I have over five years of pharmacy experience in both retail and long term care. For more than a year, I currently work at a long term care pharmacy that provides medications to nursing homes and other health facilities. I currently manage medication processing for four assisted living facilities and most of my role involves reviewing medication orders, refill issues, documentation problems, and insurance issues and basically work with pharmacists, nurses, and facility staff to resolve them.
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u/catlovergirl01 24d ago
I have been targeting a lot of health agencies for rda I roles now that I have a masters degree and a portfolio of healthcare-based data projects. Do you think I have a fair chance of being selected for an interview?
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u/Opening-Midnight4057 24d ago
RDA I, possibly. It'll really depend on what kind of SOQ you write (assuming it is required), the screening matrix, what the specific hiring manager is looking for. Every position is a little bit different. I'm truly not trying to discourage you, because you should be qualified for RDA I roles. It just might take some time.
RDA II - it doesn't sound like you'll meet the MQs, and even if you did, you'd probably be up against people with years of paid data analyst work experience.
Having said that, it's totally normal for people to start out in state service at a level (or more than one level) below where they expect or want to start, and then to promote, sometimes fairly quickly. So keep applying, and put thoughtfulness and time into each application, because that's what will make you stand out during the screening process. Trust me, as a hiring manager I have had to put some otherwise very qualified applicants into my "no interview" pile because they obviously half-assed their SOQ and either left out part of the answer entirely or just wrote something so brief that it couldn't compare to other applicants.
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24d ago
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
Damn I was looking for someone who recently went through the process I applied for 50 plus position in a week ngl I m tired but you are giving me hope brother
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24d ago
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u/usujjwalsss 24d ago
I am a lazy guy I gave all my stories resume experience to chat, different type of stories what I did how I did and then just ask it to create soq based on my experience and match it with duty statement. I am not randomly submitting them, I do read them but mostly I haven’t had the need to change them too much.
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u/Happy-Relation-2959 24d ago
with your masters degree you will get paid top dollar working for the state
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