Kingston, Pa. , Oct. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Networking is just as crucial in government contracting as it is in the private sector. Sometimes though, landing government-related work doesn’t mean getting an award notice at all. Instead, it could be a matter of actively putting yourself in the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. Although a newcomer to the federal marketplace, AJ Consultants, LLC is already making their mark and they did it by simply attending bid training sessions.
For about a decade, AJ Consultants, LLC has provided staffing services for various professional positions. These range from temporary to permanent placements in such industries as banking, finance, engineering, healthcare, and IT. As a company that is always looking to grow, opening up their business to the public sector seemed like the natural path to take.
“It’s a good opportunity for us to explore a new market,” says Staffing Executive Shahd Majeed.
For one thing, there aren’t that many placement agencies in the federal marketplace. They also saw the company's size as an advantage. When you’re certified as a small business under the SBA standards, you can get exclusive bidding privileges on some contracts. If your company is seen fit for the opportunity, contracting officers have a greater incentive to work with your business to fulfill their set-aside quota.
Working with US Federal Contractor Registration, the company was able to get registered in SAM and certified as a small business. Shahd also partook in bid training sessions hosted by USFCR Executive Bid Trainer, John Wayne II. Although she learned the bidding process and got comfortable with it, Shahd saw that networking was another bonus of attending the sessions.
“During the training recently, I’ve been telling people that if you want to network, put your email in the chat window,” says John, “everyone can see the chat window, they can see your email, they can reach out to you.”
It wasn’t too long after working with Shahd in the training sessions that John found an opportunity for AJ Consultants, LLC. Another USFCR client was on the verge of winning a contract but needed staff to perform it. Reaching out to John, the client sought advice on how to find personnel to help fulfill what the government was soliciting. John thought it was a good idea to reach out to a temp agency since they would have a wide network of skilled workers in a variety of fields.
“John Wayne was kind enough to refer us to somebody who had a need to place some staff at a government account,” says Shahd, “he put us in touch.”
The company that AJ Consultants, LLC is subcontracting with is RD&T Consulting, Inc. They needed to fill senior positions for IT in Virginia and Washington D.C. It was for a simplified acquisition contract with the Department of the Navy.
“We like to put our hands on something that we can service and deliver 100 percent,” says Shahd.
Even though the staffing agency is working as a subcontractor, this experience will still count toward their past performance. In government contracting, past performance is pretty much your “grade” on how well you carried out a government job. The better your rating, the better your chances of winning a government contract.
Shahd hopes to keep searching for more opportunities in the federal marketplace and keep on submitting bids. With USFCR’s Advanced Procurement Portal, she is constantly browsing for more opportunities on a daily basis.
“Just keep working at it,” she says, “it’s not something that’s going to happen overnight, this is a long-term investment.”