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Post by lildavey on Sept 26, 2013 10:55:47 GMT -5
Moo, I did the same thing. While I only have 60+ cities on my GAL, it was as wide as I could live with. And, based on my personal knowledge, coupled with info on this board, it seems that my selections are in the "crapland" that most others want. However, based on more current information, it seems that everyone or most everyone on this decided to pick "crapland" cities. Hopefully I will score well enough to get selected in one of the ones I picked. Surely ODAR has heard about me calling "dibs" on select locations! Lurker, I don't think there are as many people as you believe that have wide open GALs. Even from those people on this Board it is only about 1/3 or so of the 100-200 testing this time that have a wide open GAL. Hence, you still have a shot at a position in one of the 60+ cities you chose. Keep up positive thoughts and your fingers crossed, in addition to shouting out dibs and I think you may get lucky with obtaining a position yet. I concur. The folks with whom I tested had only one or two cities on their GAL. I didn't speak with a single one who had more than 3. I completely understood their reasons, kids in school, not wanting to uproot them, spouse with terrific job, etc. etc. When I told them I had 98 cities on my list, they looked at me like I had two heads.
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Post by bartleby on Sept 26, 2013 10:57:27 GMT -5
MPD, in my post, I was considering 60+ as being pretty much a wide open GAL. I would consider 10 or less to be restrictive, but 60+ is pretty open. I think with a good NOR, good interview and 60+ you have a good shot of getting picked up.
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Post by moopigsdad on Sept 26, 2013 11:09:48 GMT -5
MPD, in my post, I was considering 60+ as being pretty much a wide open GAL. I would consider 10 or less to be restrictive, but 60+ is pretty open. I think with a good NOR, good interview and 60+ you have a good shot of getting picked up. I don't disagree at all bartleby. I think you are spot on and thanks for the tip, information and encouragement.
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Post by sandiferhands (old) on Sept 26, 2013 11:14:07 GMT -5
Moo, I did the same thing. While I only have 60+ cities on my GAL, it was as wide as I could live with. And, based on my personal knowledge, coupled with info on this board, it seems that my selections are in the "crapland" that most others want. However, based on more current information, it seems that everyone or most everyone on this decided to pick "crapland" cities. Hopefully I will score well enough to get selected in one of the ones I picked. Surely ODAR has heard about me calling "dibs" on select locations! Lurker, we are of one mind on this. I, too, have found it very hard to get back into my normal practice after testing. I guess it's the natural human desire to resolve life decisions quickly that makes me want to know whether I should continue working and building this practice or begin to wind it down for an ALJ position. I know that I need to keep it moving, but am ready to move on if there's a place for me as an ALJ. As for the GAL, I listed 76 places on mine, out of sheer dumb luck, just reasoning that the more I listed the better a chance I'd have. Some I wouldn't do now, like most of the California locations. They are very desirable but not practical because of the cost of living. I also like the rural southern locations (read "BFE" to most of you), as long as they're not too quaint (need airport, shopping, etc. for Mrs. Sandiferhands). I'm fortunately at a point when I can accept a position where I work out of town 4 or 5 days a week and commute home, and then seek a transfer back home in 90 days. The worst thing about this after the testing is thinking back on the things I probably got wrong in the testing. I will not mention them here obviously--but every so often, while walking the dog, or in the shower, I'll *cringe* and think "Did I really write/say that??" So, we're all in the same boat--trudging along in the marathon. I'm glad this Board is here to provide us come collegial commiseration.
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Post by lurker/dibs on Sept 26, 2013 11:26:02 GMT -5
I'm hoping my GAL, coupled with a decent score, will be enough! Trying to stay positive.
Sand, I, too, have tried to figure out what to do with my cases. Do I dump iffy cases because no one wants them on a referral or do I keep them because I know I'll be trying them? Do I start training our baby lawyer on what I do or do I teach her what we need the most help with now? I know most think it's putting the cart before the horse, but you simply can't pick up and leave a private practice of the volume that I have without plenty of prior arrangements. And it all could be for naught if I killed--in the bad way--in DC.
Just trying to stay positive. While trying to stay realistic. Surely 60+ is enough. Surely. Plus they have to know I've got dibs on at least one locale!
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Post by sandiferhands (old) on Sept 26, 2013 11:37:25 GMT -5
Well said Lurker. Stay positive, but divorce this opportunity from your mind essentially for the next 3 months waiting on your NOR, then again, for another ? months until a possible interview and possible hiring in June 2014??!! Maddening.
I did find it very interesting to go onto the Poll Palace and search "scores". I came up with several polls about the variety of scores that resulted in placements from previous registers. The range of successful scores seemed encouragingly wide, and I would guess correlated with how broad those candidates' GALs were. So, perhaps there is hope for those of us who have wide-open GALs. I've come to view this as a two-step process: Get the appointment first, then worry about your permanent placement after 90 days.
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Post by moopigsdad on Sept 26, 2013 12:39:12 GMT -5
Well said Lurker. Stay positive, but divorce this opportunity from your mind essentially for the next 3 months waiting on your NOR, then again, for another ? months until a possible interview and possible hiring in June 2014??!! Maddening. I did find it very interesting to go onto the Poll Palace and search "scores". I came up with several polls about the variety of scores that resulted in placements from previous registers. The range of successful scores seemed encouragingly wide, and I would guess correlated with how broad those candidates' GALs were. So, perhaps there is hope for those of us who have wide-open GALs. I've come to view this as a two-step process: Get the appointment first, then worry about your permanent placement after 90 days. Sandiferhands it might be much longer than 90 days as long as you realize that prospect. It could be a year or more depending upon the numbers hired after you. Hence, realize there is no rule that you will be able to transfer to your desired location(s) within 90 days of your hiring. I understand this fact and yet I have a GAL of greater than 150-plus locations. I do realize the risk and reward of this choice and will deal with it as necessary. Good luck!
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Post by 71stretch on Sept 26, 2013 12:43:28 GMT -5
Well said Lurker. Stay positive, but divorce this opportunity from your mind essentially for the next 3 months waiting on your NOR, then again, for another ? months until a possible interview and possible hiring in June 2014??!! Maddening. I did find it very interesting to go onto the Poll Palace and search "scores". I came up with several polls about the variety of scores that resulted in placements from previous registers. The range of successful scores seemed encouragingly wide, and I would guess correlated with how broad those candidates' GALs were. So, perhaps there is hope for those of us who have wide-open GALs. I've come to view this as a two-step process: Get the appointment first, then worry about your permanent placement after 90 days. Sandiferhands it might be much longer than 90 days as long as you realize that prospect. It could be a year or more depending upon the numbers hired after you. Hence, realize there is no rule that you will be able to transfer to your desired location(s) within 90 days of your hiring. I understand this fact and yet I have a GAL of greater than 150-plus locations. I do realize the risk and reward of this choice and will deal with it as necessary. Good luck! True. Some people have made multiple transfers working their way back closer to home. The 90 days just allows you to get on the transfer list. There's no guarantee of anything. Some get near home relatively quickly, but others do not.
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Post by slulawkid on Sept 26, 2013 14:53:51 GMT -5
If offered a city I do not care for, I will decline. This is my last attempt, and I see no reason to make my family and myself miserable over a job.
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Post by 71stretch on Sept 26, 2013 15:20:09 GMT -5
If offered a city I do not care for, I will decline. This is my last attempt, and I see no reason to make my family and myself miserable over a job. Which is precisely why cities you (or anyone here) dsn't care for, and couldn't live in for a few years, should not be on the GAL in the first place. Even this job is not worth having one's whole family unhappy.
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Post by bartleby on Sept 26, 2013 15:22:11 GMT -5
Well, at least you are being open-minded about it... They will not offer you a city you didn't put on your GAL. That being said, some unknown places may be better than what you currently are in. I know, it's hard to believe, but you should at least take 24-48 hours to consider it when they offer it to you and do a little research on it. I was pleasantly surprised, Toledo was much nicer than I could have hoped. I am glad I got the experience of the office and the staff and the city that I did. It was a grand adventure and probably the last one of my life. I never thought I would do such a thing, but I did with the idea I could quit anytime I wanted to and come home. If it wasn't so, so cold there and if I didn't have 15 semi-trailers of junk to move, we probably would be living there now. Stay open to it, put good vibes into the Universe, don't burn your bridges yet. Almost all ODAR offices are in cities that are decent to live in. At least temporarily. As the most interesting man in the world once told me, time will pass. I learned this lesson and pass it on. I was talking to a young man and he was deep in thought looking out a window and I asked him what was wrong. He said he had a good job and had applied to Law School on a whim. He got accepted and then he wasn't sure he wanted to go. I told him that three years would pass. Three years from now he would either be looking out that window saying to himself that today he would have been walking across the stage getting his diploma as a lawyer or he would be walking across that stage and being that lawyer. I then asked, "Can you live with yourself if you don't go to law school??" At this time he is a District Attorney in a local County.
As Sgt. Oddball said, "Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?"
Stay positive my Friends..
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Post by redryder on Sept 26, 2013 16:25:52 GMT -5
It will be a while before any agency is hiring new judges with the current budget problems. As one of you noted, SSA does not expect to start its hiring until sometime in 2014. But should you get the offer for a job with SSA, you need to understand the transfer policies. You can put your name on the transfer list for a maximum of 3 sites after you have been on the job for 90 days. SSA is only obligated by contract to work the transfer list when it is hiring new judges. So if you are picked up in 2014, the next wave of hiring that may affect you may not occur until sometime in 2015. And once you take a transfer, you will not be eligible for a transfer again for 2 years. The only way you will move during that time is if you are selected as the chief judge for an office and move into management. You should get to the SSA office of your choice eventually but don't count on it being 90 days. The short turnarounds between appointment and transfer only occurred when SSA was hiring several times throughout the year, and hiring large numbers of judges. To give you an idea of how much the hiring has slowed down, my spouse was hired in that first big hire in 2008 and I came on in 2010. There's a gap of over 540 between our ALJ numbers. There's a gap of 320 between my number and that of a judge who came to our office in the last hire in 2013. Fewer vacancies mean potential longer waits for transfers.
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Post by moopigsdad on Sept 26, 2013 17:07:36 GMT -5
It will be a while before any agency is hiring new judges with the current budget problems. As one of you noted, SSA does not expect to start its hiring until sometime in 2014. But should you get the offer for a job with SSA, you need to understand the transfer policies. You can put your name on the transfer list for a maximum of 3 sites after you have been on the job for 90 days. SSA is only obligated by contract to work the transfer list when it is hiring new judges. So if you are picked up in 2014, the next wave of hiring that may affect you may not occur until sometime in 2015. And once you take a transfer, you will not be eligible for a transfer again for 2 years. The only way you will move during that time is if you are selected as the chief judge for an office and move into management. You should get to the SSA office of your choice eventually but don't count on it being 90 days. The short turnarounds between appointment and transfer only occurred when SSA was hiring several times throughout the year, and hiring large numbers of judges. To give you an idea of how much the hiring has slowed down, my spouse was hired in that first big hire in 2008 and I came on in 2010. There's a gap of over 540 between our ALJ numbers. There's a gap of 320 between my number and that of a judge who came to our office in the last hire in 2013. Fewer vacancies mean potential longer waits for transfers. Well said redryder. Good information and advice.
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Post by westernalj on Sept 26, 2013 20:19:02 GMT -5
It also seems to me that there is a lot of focus on the first round of hiring. Even if you eventually get the job, it could be two years from now.
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Post by privateatty on Sept 27, 2013 6:25:30 GMT -5
Well, at least you are being open-minded about it... They will not offer you a city you didn't put on your GAL. That being said, some unknown places may be better than what you currently are in. I know, it's hard to believe, but you should at least take 24-48 hours to consider it when they offer it to you and do a little research on it. I was pleasantly surprised, Toledo was much nicer than I could have hoped. I am glad I got the experience of the office and the staff and the city that I did. It was a grand adventure and probably the last one of my life. I never thought I would do such a thing, but I did with the idea I could quit anytime I wanted to and come home. If it wasn't so, so cold there and if I didn't have 15 semi-trailers of junk to move, we probably would be living there now. Stay open to it, put good vibes into the Universe, don't burn your bridges yet. Almost all ODAR offices are in cities that are decent to live in. At least temporarily. As the most interesting man in the world once told me, time will pass. I learned this lesson and pass it on. I was talking to a young man and he was deep in thought looking out a window and I asked him what was wrong. He said he had a good job and had applied to Law School on a whim. He got accepted and then he wasn't sure he wanted to go. I told him that three years would pass. Three years from now he would either be looking out that window saying to himself that today he would have been walking across the stage getting his diploma as a lawyer or he would be walking across that stage and being that lawyer. I then asked, "Can you live with yourself if you don't go to law school??" At this time he is a District Attorney in a local County. As Sgt. Oddball said, "Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?" Stay positive my Friends.. "Kelly's Heroes" (1970) is a classic. Donald Sutherland (Oddball) and Clint Eastwood trade insults. Don Rickles and Carroll O'Connor provide high comedic relief. For Vietnam vets it was a balm--today it would be seen as un-American and an insult to the troops. Kelly's Heroes makes me proud to be a Boomer---and to have a vet's perspective. I would urge all of you to dial it up from your favorite provider. The Mrs would love it too. "Oddball: [looking at aerial pics of the a remaining bridge] Beautiful. Moriarty: suppose the bridge ain't there? Oddball: [groans] Don't hit me with them negative waves so early in the morning. Think the bridge will be there and it will be there. It's a mother, beautiful bridge, and it's gonna be there. Ok? Oddball: [Later: Oddball is looking through binoculars at the bridge] Still up! Oddball: [planes fly and bomb the bridge] ... No it ain't. See what sending out them negative waves did, Moriarty? Moriarty: That ain't my fault, Oddball, I've done nothing but have good thoughts about that damn bridge ever since we left!"
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Post by yarddog on Oct 25, 2013 18:55:15 GMT -5
Happy weekend, Everybody! Hope all is well. Keep chopping wood. Got a promo at work and headed to the mountains!. Sgt Oddball sends positive waves.
Any Falls Church news out there In the universe?
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Post by usnrcwo on Oct 25, 2013 19:02:02 GMT -5
For the past two weeks, I've had Tom Petty's "The Waiting" bouncing around in my head.
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Post by yarddog on Oct 25, 2013 19:13:40 GMT -5
My avatar character - King Theoden is asked: "and what is the King's decision?" I realize we are at the 20ish mile mark of the marathon, but yes, I would like a decision! Hoping for that "ThanksHannukah" email.
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Post by BagLady on Oct 26, 2013 10:10:33 GMT -5
I ran a half marathon and a full marathon this month, and the training was a welcome distraction from all things ALJ. Now what to do to distract myself in November?
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Post by epic0ego on Oct 26, 2013 10:45:25 GMT -5
I ran a half marathon and a full marathon this month, and the training was a welcome distraction from all things ALJ. Now what to do to distract myself in November? congrats baglady. you are an inspiration to us all. it is all i can do to handle the "ALJ marathon!" we focus on the process because we know it will take our strongest competitive skills and alot of luck to land the position. but there is so, so much more to life, and running an actual marathon is a great path to health and happiness. as for november, it is the season of thanksgiving, so we are looking at the places that will most need our help. i feel i can make a difference there as opposed to my alj prospects. i can't do marathons but maybe i will look into a 2K fun run/walk!
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