Field notes.
Practical notes on contracting, skills, hiring and workforce operations.
335 matching articles · Page 8 of 28
1099 vs W-2 Onboarding Flows for GovCon Staffing: What Changes and Why It Matters ↗
Misclassifying a contractor as 1099 on a federal task order can trigger IRS scrutiny, FAR violations, and failed E-Verify runs. Here is how to build the right flow.
Capture Before the RFP Drops: Shaping a Requirement You Can Win ↗
Most contracts are decided before the RFP posts. Here is how small business federal contractors do pre-RFP capture work that actually moves the needle.
Skills-Based Hiring vs Resume Screening for IT Roles: What Actually Predicts Performance ↗
Resumes predict interview confidence. Verified skills predict job performance. Here is the evidence, and what it means for how you hire IT staff.
A Bid/No-Bid Scoring Rubric for Small Federal Contractors ↗
Stop deciding by gut feel. A weighted rubric catches the pursuits that drain your B&P budget and flags the ones worth a full proposal push.
The compliance matrix step most small contractors skip (and how it loses bids) ↗
A compliance matrix mirrors how a federal evaluator actually reads your proposal. Skipping it is one of the most common reasons a capable small firm loses a winnable bid.
ESIGN and UETA Compliance for Electronic Offer Letters and Contractor Agreements ↗
Before your next e-signed offer letter holds up in an audit or dispute, make sure your process satisfies ESIGN and UETA. Here is what that actually requires.
How to respond to a SAM.gov solicitation: a small-business walkthrough ↗
The order an experienced small-business contractor works in to respond to a federal solicitation without a proposal team, with the steps that lose bids called out.
I-9 and E-Verify for Federal Contractors: Getting the Timing Right ↗
A single day's delay in E-Verify submission can trigger a Tentative Nonconfirmation that derails a cleared hire. Here's how to get the timing right.
Interim Clearance Onboarding: The Workflow from EOD to Badge ↗
Interim clearances can cut months off a contractor's start date, but only if HR, the FSO, and the program office run a tight handoff sequence.
Section M Evaluation Factors: Writing to the Score, Not the Page Count ↗
Most proposal teams fill pages. Winning teams map every paragraph to a Section M adjectival rating. Here is how to close that gap.
Writing a Past-Performance Volume That Actually Scores Well ↗
Most past-performance volumes fail before the evaluator reads page two. Here is how to build one that holds up under SSEB scrutiny.
Running Color Team Reviews When Your Proposal Team Is Two People ↗
Pink, red, and gold reviews exist for a reason. Here is how a two-person shop runs them without pretending you have a 12-person war room.
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