Questions to ask when the phone rings

[optimistic]

Many of us will receive the long awaited phone call when we are at work, commuting to work, at the supermarket etc. We may be too flustered, happy, or excited to ask the right questions to be able to make this important decision. Since I am no good at composing a haiku, I decided to start a list of questions that we may want to ask the SSA caller. Please add to the list, especially if you have the benefit of experience.

Location of assignment? Is this the only city available to me?
Start date? Is the date flexible?
Will I receive a confirmation email?
How many ALJs are in that office?
Benefits
Relocation dynamics (level of assistance that I will receive)
What happens after I say YES or NO to this offer?

....of course, all followed by "thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity."

[Legal Beagle]

Can I change I designated class?
What is the hotel for training - do you make the reservation or do we?
When should I contact my new office?

[pm]

They have to call 150 people. For their sake and our sake, please do not waste their time.

Yes, this is the only city available to you. You are not being offered a general position with ODAR. You are being offered a specific position in a specific city.

There are two start dates. If you have a genuine problem with those dates, then inquire further. If you do not have a genuine problem, don't waste their time.

Who cares if you will receive a confirmation email? And they will tell you what will be coming your way anyway.

Who cares how many ALJs are in that office? You'll find out soon enough. Look it up yourself when you get off the phone if it's that important.

If you don't already have a good idea what the benefits are for this position, you're probably not seriously interested in it.

If you don't work for the feds, you get no relocation.

After you say yes, you will follow the directions they give you during the phone call. If you say no, move on.

[hooligan]

>>> When should I contact my new office? <<<

This has been a recurring problem. Many new hires have called their new office only to find out that no one has a clue they are coming. The word filters down slowly.

Make it a point to call your new Chief to check in. You can call the main office number and ask the person answering the phone if you can speak to the Chief Judge. The Chief will probably appreciate as early a "heads up" as possible. Do not expect him to have a lot of answers about the details of your training - he will probably ask you. Ask for his email address and commit to provide updates on your scheduling so he can plan for you.

[alj]

Hooligan has given you some good advice. As a former HOCALJ, I can tell you we usually found out most of the training information and schedule from the new judge.

In the past it has not been unusual for the new judge to show up for work the first day with no advance notice from region that he was on the way!

[Propmaster]

I have to agree with PM (and not just because it is my initals!), although I think the reply might have been a bit . . . terse.

This topic was not a bad idea Optimistic, because, as you say, it doesn't hurt to know what you are going to say. However, some of the things you suggested are well covered in other posts on this forum. As PM mentioned, there is no flexibility of location or start date. The FAQs and other relevant threads should clear this up for you if you have questions remaining.

If you want to ask how confirmation will come, I see no harm. Do keep in mind that there are a lot of phone calls to make.

It is almost impossible that the people calling you will be able to tell you anything about the composition of the office to which you are going. These are HR people calling from a list they were given.

I agree with PM that you should know everything about benefits that you want to know. Aside from the job posting itself, there are numerous threads on thi board that will explain all of the questions you asked in this regard.

However, I think your final quesiton, if it isn't covered by the boilerplate phone call script, is a valid question that you should feel free to ask.

In any event, I hope you and everyone on this board gets a call in the next two days. Good luck.

[tigerfan]

Do Call your HOCALJ and if he/she is not available talk to the HOD.
You will be assigned a mentor who will be an ALJ from your new office. There will also be a Regional mentor as well as a national mentor. You will go to your new office for 2 weeks before your report to training class. The report dates are June 22 and July 20. 75 for each report date. I hope this helps some.

[jagghagg]

May 31, 2009 23:28:55 GMT -5 Propmaster said:

I have to agree with PM (and not just because it is my initals!), although I think the reply might have been a bit . . . terse.

Terse, maybe - dead on, yes.
(OMG, I can't believe I wrote that !)
With the exception of inquiring when you will get written confirmation - which I think any reasonable person would want before they cut their strings on such short notice with their current employer - the rest of the stuff, you should not need to know at this phone call or should already know.

The answer is: "Wow, yes! Thank you very much! I absolutely DO accept this offer and look forward to going to _____________. Do you happen to have the phone number there, so I can give them a call ? What class did you say I was to be a part ? Ah, that's great! I look forward to receiving all the logistics and paperwork of that. Again, thank you very much."

As for the rest, the FAQs and the benevolence of the board will be guiding you through this.

[roggenbier]

Will anyone's phone ring? That is the relevant question.

[superdude]

The question I'll ask is "So . . . what are you wearing?"

[aaa]

Slightly different point of view...

I would wait to call your new HOCALJ/hearing office for a couple of days. This is a flurry of activity that is nationwide. If you call immediately to talk to the HOCALJ, in most cases your call will not just be directed to the HOCALJ without some explanation of who you are and why you are calling. When I was selected I was the HOD and I was selected for my own office. My notification came by email. My HOCALJ was on leave so I called him at home to let him know. Although he most likely already knew since he is the assistant RCALJ also, I still called him. If memory serves me right it was a couple of days or more before we got notification of who the other ALJ was that was selected for our office. I was in one of those positions of being in management for another 6 weeks after I was selected so I got the management emails.

Likewise, your new office isn't going to have the information regarding training dates or hotels to stay in. I think I was told that new ALJ training is going to be in Falls Church and that the hotel is a Residence Inn in Pentagon City and that shuttles will be used to take you to Skyline for training.

A note for people driving - there is something funky with parking at Skyline - something about if you park at Target, after two hours you either have to move your car or get ticketed. Apparently they are pretty vigilent about checking on the cars.

The good news about FC is that it may be easier to bring your own laptop to training, but my experience last year was that it really wasn't necessary. The notes I took were mostly in my training book and truthfully I didn't take a lot of notes. I did put tabs in my 20 CFR book that was provided at training.

The trainers lined up for the classes are outstanding. Although it was tedious to be away from home for that 4 weeks, I found the training very beneficial ( even after 17 years in the Agency). I had hoped to be able to help with training this summer but wasn't selected.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to meet and talk with Judge Cristaudo, I find him to be an excellent speaker. He has a lot to say and speaks quickly - he is personable and has been open for questions and gives real answers. I found Comm. Astrue to be the same. I have not met the new ODAR Deputy Commissioner, David Foster, but I assume you will at training. His emails are supportive and information.

If you have more specific questions, PM me and I'll answer what I know!

Good luck to you all!

[Propmaster]

Thanks for the informative post, aaa.

[lawandorder]

If you get a call, please don't ask unnecessary questions. Let the notification process run smooothly. Now, last Friday CCJ posted here about her offer at 11:05 am ET. Some people should be getting calls now.

[Propmaster]

OK . . . NOW!


Now.



OK, now? Now? NOW!



OK . . . . . . . .



Someone will get a call . . . NOW!



DRAT! This psychic stuff is hard

[okeydokey]

A theory:

1. Calls had to begin before 5/31 to appease the boss.
2. Calls went out on 5/31, all three of them.
3. Now there is an opportunity for ODAR to take its time on the other 154.
4. Hence, no calls for a while.
5. When calls begin it will be fast and furious.

[Propmaster]

I can see this happening, OD, with the exception that I think it is safe to assume more like 6-12 calls were made - our forum is not comprehensive of candidates.

[Propmaster]

Jun 1, 2009 10:33:27 GMT -5 lawandorder said:

If you get a call, please don't ask unnecessary questions. Let the notification process run smooothly. Now, last Friday CCJ posted here about her offer at 11:05 am ET. Some people should be getting calls now.

Good call L&O!

[ldtajesq]

Jun 1, 2009 10:46:06 GMT -5 okeydokey said:

A theory:

1. Calls had to begin before 5/31 to appease the boss.
2. Calls went out on 5/31, all three of them.
3. Now there is an opportunity for ODAR to take its time on the other 154.
4. Hence, no calls for a while.
5. When calls begin it will be fast and furious.

Are we sure that calls will begin/resume today? I believe ALJD posted that someone PM'ed that calls would be completed by Tuesday. Has anyone else confirmed this?

[ldtajesq]

Nevermind. Someone just posted on another thread that they were called today.

[benchsitter]

At this stage, one of the most important questions is "Will you be calling anyone else today?"
Just kidding...sort of.