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Post by tricia on May 26, 2010 10:07:55 GMT -5
I have received a PM from someone who got onto the cert for Puerto Rico, and is concerned that I had said that I would go anywhere except Puerto Rico. I am terribly sorry if I gave people the impression that I had some inside information about Puerto Rico being a bad place to work. That is certainly not the case. The reason that I chose anywhere except Puerto Rico for my GAL is that my husband has a somewhat portable job, so we could move almost anywhere, but we have a grandchild in Portland, Oregon, and we felt that if we were in Puerto Rico, it was just too far, so we would almost never see her. Sorry. I should know how stressed out everyone is, and explain what I say.
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Post by milagros on May 26, 2010 10:33:58 GMT -5
Oh please. You have nothing to apologize for, IMHO. I originally said I would go anywhere except Puerto Rico, because I do not speak Spanish, not because there is anything undesirable about Puerto Rico.
I think it is well established on this board that we all have our own reasons for why we are willing to move certain places and not willing to move to others.
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Post by ladyatlaw on May 26, 2010 11:43:32 GMT -5
Related to the location, but on different note...
For those who recently received a seperate SSA Cert notice for those PR cities that are hiring, when did you receive notice? Although I listed all PR cities on my GAL, I was too modest in characterizing my Spanish language experience. As I recall, the question was whether or not you were "fluent" in the language. While I am not truly fluent, I do have transferable language skills. Have I missed this opportunity? ¡Ay Caramba!
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Post by maxlaw on May 26, 2010 13:36:49 GMT -5
Related to the location, but on different note...
For those who recently received a seperate SSA Cert notice for those PR cities that are hiring, when did you receive notice? Although I listed all PR cities on my GAL, I was too modest in characterizing my Spanish language experience. As I recall, the question was whether or not you were "fluent" in the language. While I am not truly fluent, I do have transferable language skills. Have I missed this opportunity? ¡Ay Caramba! Perhaps. From the past accounts on the board the interview is in Spanish, so you need to be genuinely proficient. Good luck with the other cities you've listed. [/size]
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Post by Orly on May 26, 2010 13:50:01 GMT -5
I believe there is also a literacy test. If you can't read a Spanish medical report, you probably should not apply.
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Post by ladyatlaw on May 26, 2010 15:26:55 GMT -5
Maxlaw & Orly: Many thanks for clearing that up for me. In fact, thanks for all of your sage advice on this forum. Quite helpful!
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Post by imiram1372 on May 26, 2010 20:16:04 GMT -5
I agree with ladyatlaw -- thank you so much maxlaw and orly for all the great information and advice. I just had one more question. If one is on the Puerto Rico mini-cert and the regular cert, does this mean that there will be two separate interviews scheduled since the Puerto Rico interview presumably will be in Spanish? If you have any information on this, I would really appreciate it! Thanks again.
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Post by lawmaker on May 26, 2010 20:46:56 GMT -5
Related to the location, but on different note... For those who recently received a seperate SSA Cert notice for those PR cities that are hiring, when did you receive notice? Although I listed all PR cities on my GAL, I was too modest in characterizing my Spanish language experience. As I recall, the question was whether or not you were "fluent" in the language. While I am not truly fluent, I do have transferable language skills. Have I missed this opportunity? ¡Ay Caramba! I will suggest based on past experience that you need more than transferable language skills. You need sufficient fluency to pass your interview at ODAR. If you have clicked off PR as a place you wish to go and have been certified for PR you better start studying now.
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Post by ladyatlaw on May 26, 2010 23:29:00 GMT -5
Hi lawmaker and thanks for your comment. I did not get on the mini PR Cert, though I selected all of the PR cities. Apparently, you can select the cities but if you also indicate "not fluent" then you are seemingly disqualified from Cert selection for PR altogether. No worries; I did not know that.
I would've been happy to start studying though. As an Arabic linguist, Spanish would be a nice break!
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RAM
Full Member
Posts: 42
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Post by RAM on May 27, 2010 13:41:37 GMT -5
I listed Puerto Rico in my GAL and I am fluent in Spanish. When I was called by the Soc Sec Admin to schedule my interview I was informed that my interview would be in Spanish. I also remember that I was informed (I think it was in a correspondence from the Soc Sec Admin) that if I was not fluent in Spanish that I should inform them of it immediately so my name could be removed as a Spanish speaking candidate. When I went to my interview, I was greeted in Spanish and the first question was in Spanish. Once they determined that I was in fact fluent in Spanish, the remaining portion of the interview was in English. Additionally, after my two hour interview, I was handed a question written in Spanish and had to answer it in Spanish. They put me in a room with a computer so I could type my answer. I was quickly informed that the computer was only a word processor and that I could not surf the net for any help with answering the question. So, not only was I required to speak Spanish fluently, I also had to read and write in Spanish. Having said all of this, I agree that unless one is fluent in the Spanish language, both oral and written, the Soc Sec Admin would probably remove that person from the Puerto Rico cert. So don't feel bad that you didn't list Puerto Rico.
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Post by Orly on May 27, 2010 19:22:23 GMT -5
I had two PR bound ALJs in my class last year. Let's just say their Spanish skills are probably at the professional native level.
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Post by imiram1372 on May 28, 2010 7:36:12 GMT -5
RAM -- Thank you so much for the helpful information and input!
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