To those not selected

[oldschool]

I'm not going to blow smoke and tell you not to be disappointed because I have been there. I was disappointed 3 times before I was finally picked up. You look for reasons or you try to assess blame. I've done it. But you can't take your non-selection personally because it's not personal to the powers that be. Remember that you would not be on the register if you were not highly qualified. Hundreds of other experienced attorneys didn't even make the first cut.

I would encourage all of you to get through the disappointment and look to the future. There will be other certs. If the register stays intact, you will all have additional chances to be picked up. I think the agency will have a hard time selling another register "refreshing" given their reduced hiring needs for the future.

Continue to excel at your current jobs. Make more contacts. Perhaps get new and better references. The first time I was non-selected I was told that this process is a marathon, not a sprint. I agree wholeheartedly.

This is an absolutely great job and it is worth a long term investment of your time. I'm glad I stuck it out and kept the faith. The second, third, or fourth time may be the charm for many of you. Whenever it happens, I assure you, it will be worth it.

[71stretch]

Thank you for the wise words. Sometimes things work out the way they are supposed to, just not as quickly as we'd like.

[marciabrady1977]

Hi! Marcia Brady here...

I was NOT selected (again)...and I'll say this about that...WHATEVER!! I've been hanging around since 2007...on every cert as far as I know...and never selected...I'm just relieved this thing is over!!

To those not selected...

Being disappointed is not the same thing as being discouraged. Of course we are disappointed!!! But, it is not the end of the world!!! Don't be down for too long...the entire ALJ process is an emotional riptide...it can pull you out to sea unless you break free by swimming parallel to the shore. I'm a blonde haired blue eyed SoCal girl and I know these things!!!

Keep your eye on your shore...the place where you find what really matters...love, health, and peace!!

Stay cool...and look for the next good wave!

And with that...I'M OUTTA HERE!

Peace

Marcia Brady

[hope]

Thanks for your post, oldschool. This has been such a disheartening process, so it helps to get some encouraging words from someone who has been there. I'll keep trying and hoping, and prayerfully, one day I'll get that call too. In the meantime, I'll just be thankful for the fact that I still have a really good job at a time when many people aren't even that lucky...

[marciabrady1977]

hope...

You are TOTALLY on target...not sure where you work but I know I, too, have an awesome job for which I am abundantly thankful!!!

Thanks to "oldschool" for the comments...

Marcia B.

[maxlaw]

Hang in there gang. While I too am disappointed, as I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago:

• About 2 out of 3 of us won't make it (this time at least)
  
• It is no reflection on us professionally or personally
  
• While I certainly can't speak for everyone, in the grand scheme our current lives, should we be "forced" to continue them, probably aren't so bad.
  

So, how can do anything but take my own advice?

Keep looking forward, there's already talk of a supplemental cert...

[71stretch]

Aug 4, 2010 14:23:51 GMT -5 maxlaw said:

Hang in there gang. While I too am disappointed, as I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago:

• About 2 out of 3 of us won't make it (this time at least)
  
• It is no reflection on us professionally or personally
  
• While I certainly can't speak for everyone, in the grand scheme our current lives, should we be "forced" to continue them, probably aren't so bad.
  

Maxlaw-

Thanks for "reposting"; I was recalling the previous post earlier this morning, but couldn't remember who had said it or where to look for it. It sums things up very well.

So, how can do anything but take my own advice?

Keep looking forward, there's already talk of a supplemental cert...

[nobodyhome]

The foregoing posts are uplifting, pleasant, appropriately positive and conciliatory but decidedly naive. Well deserved qualified candidates make it together with ill-suited properly connected ones. That is the way it is now and ever shall be, amen. Occam's razor: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this instance, the neutrality of the process is not sacrosanct as proven by the success of otherwise ill-equipped or ill-prepared candidates which no one will be able to deny once they venture further down the ALJ career path. While it may no longer be the "all-employment act" for veterans that it was in the past, a new mutation of the general theme of non-neutral hiring continues to evolve. Bottom line: if you are willing to play OPM lottery and get past that into SSA bingo just remember that just like church bingo the house is handing out the cards, calling the numbers, and awarding the prizes; and to extend the dreaded gambling metaphor to even more strained lengths: the house always wins. If ODAR wants you- you're in. If they don't - you're not. If you honestly believe that a genuinely pristine process is at play and that makes you feel better and accept not getting the call then please enjoy living in denial; such blind acceptance may in itself be sufficient proof of why you were not selected. On the other hand, if you are the real lawyer you thought you were when you started this process you should think very hard about filing an FOIA to find out what was done to you. You may not like what you find out but you will surely prove to them that you mean business and that you might actually have earned that bar certification that you finally remembered to attach the proper 9-10 digit date form to your application way back when.

[71stretch]

So did you file a FOIA request (I'm assuming you have not been hired by SSA)? And if so, did it confirm what you are saying here?

I don't consider myself naive, and I've worked with state and local govt too long not to know that there are games to be played. But the fact is, there's way more qualified applicants than jobs. We knew that going in. Those of us who restricted our chances further with our GALs knew that going in, too. Did some people get hired who are "ill prepared or ill equipped"? Well, possibly, that happens in the public and the private sector. We've certainly made some bad hires here in my office. I just can't work up a lot of hostility about this 38 week process and how it turned out.

The way I feel right now, I'm going to let it ride and see what happens next time. I have reasons to believe it will be better. If I'm wrong, well, I have a job I like.

[momlawyer]

I was not selected either, but have decided what is meant to be will happen in good time. I have three children in transition school years (college, middle school and starting school). So, it is best that I stay put and help them anyway.

[gaga]

Observer53 - I like your attitude and observations. In my class, I saw no indications of ill prepared or ill equipped judges. Had a few quirky personalities, but the resumes were very impressive. The group discussions revealed highly intelligent, successful and motivated individuals. I'm seen my share of "dud" judges in the past, but selections over these last few years have done remarkably well.

I have no doubt many wonderful and well qualified people did not get offers. There is tremendous competition for these positions with too many hurdles. I know many who were eventually selected who were a part of this process for long periods of time and many certs. Keep trying. It's worth the time, effort and stress.

[yellowdog]

I was not selected either. Congratulations and best wishes to those who were hired. And I hope that the rest of us can "hang in there" for another round of hiring. This process has been exhausting and, for a while this afternoon, I felt beaten. After putting everything in perspective (I still have my health, family, job, dog, etc) I am feeling a bit better. Better luck to us next time!

[privateatty]

Aug 4, 2010 15:40:41 GMT -5 nobodyhome said:

The foregoing posts are uplifting, pleasant, appropriately positive and conciliatory but decidedly naive. Well deserved qualified candidates make it together with ill-suited properly connected ones. That is the way it is now and ever shall be, amen. Occam's razor: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. In this instance, the neutrality of the process is not sacrosanct as proven by the success of otherwise ill-equipped or ill-prepared candidates which no one will be able to deny once they venture further down the ALJ career path. While it may no longer be the "all-employment act" for veterans that it was in the past, a new mutation of the general theme of non-neutral hiring continues to evolve. Bottom line: if you are willing to play OPM lottery and get past that into SSA bingo just remember that just like church bingo the house is handing out the cards, calling the numbers, and awarding the prizes; and to extend the dreaded gambling metaphor to even more strained lengths: the house always wins. If ODAR wants you- you're in. If they don't - you're not. If you honestly believe that a genuinely pristine process is at play and that makes you feel better and accept not getting the call then please enjoy living in denial; such blind acceptance may in itself be sufficient proof of why you were not selected. On the other hand, if you are the real lawyer you thought you were when you started this process you should think very hard about filing an FOIA to find out what was done to you. You may not like what you find out but you will surely prove to them that you mean business and that you might actually have earned that bar certification that you finally remembered to attach the proper 9-10 digit date form to your application way back when.

I feel qualified to answer this. I was on 3 SSA certs and was a non selectee each time. Or maybe you could say I was road kill or 3 struck material to get out of the way. My ego took a bit hit. Heck, I even bought a house against all market odds.

And then just when my practice was going as well as it had for a long time I get this call. There have been more than a dozen of us Board Members picked up by other Agencies. Yes, its true that folks had an inside track. They know who they are and we'll let the Universe or their own karma sort it out.

The Fat Lady may have sung but her slim sister is still singing.

oldschool is spot on. You all get to choose where to go from here.

[factfinder]

I do not consider myself naive, but nevertheless, I do believe they run the process as fair as they can. However, this does not mean the OPM scoring makes sense either.

I admit that I did not make it on the first cert I was on - score was really not competitive enough for the locations I was willing to accept. Then, for the heck of it, I took the test again - just chilled out and did it. (Ate breakfast just before the WD - I think it helped.) I improved my score significantly. Have no idea why, but I do confess that I paid some more editorial attention to the questions they asked on the application and repeated some of their words back to OPM. It got me an 84.31 score and yes, I am a vet, but not a 10 pointer.

One city I was willing to try was on the list and I got lucky. I had been interviewed the year before by a panel with the Regional Chief Judge and he told me to call him if I got hired. I did. He was affable and very helpful - gave me great advice and information when I spoke to him yesterday. This has prejudiced me to expect good things of ODAR.

FYI, I have been a lawyer for a while, tried more than a hundred cases (some against partners of uber major law firms) and have taken many depositions of experts and am thought to be competent in electronic discovery. (I am an outsider as well.) I have also been a judge for five years and have lots of Federal Service and I think this hiring process is rather transparent, in large part due to this forum. So, some folks may consider me to be qualified.

Bottom line: Keep plugging!! You have nothing to lose and the camaraderie and support of this site is worth it. Also, the folks give of themselves on this site - the advice seems heartfelt and balanced. (I do know it has helped me!) I believe that many of you will make it because many of you are the kind that do care and do try hard. Hence, many of you are exactly what ODAR or other folks want!

So, if I appear to be a "Pollyanna," I plead nolo contendre. ;D