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Post by JudgeRatty on Nov 16, 2014 15:01:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip -- incredibly, this still didn't work for me, every single listed hotel within 5 miles of Skyline Tower is sold out for the night I'd be staying there (before this coming Thursday). So this means, I'm either driving down, or staying several miles away and cabbing it everywhere. I have a tentative reservation for a place 7 miles away for the night before my morning interview. Which means, unavoidably, that I'll probably have to haul my overnight bag to the interview site, something I was kind of hoping to not have to do. "Hi, I want to be a judge. Check out my bright fluorescent duffel bag, redolent of cheap aftershave and rumpled sweaters. Hire me!" Before the interview you might want to douse your duffel in better aftershave. Yes, dousing the duffel is important.
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Post by Loopstok on Nov 16, 2014 20:53:42 GMT -5
Before the interview you might want to douse your duffel in better aftershave. Yes, dousing the duffel is important. I suppose it would be a violation of confidentiality to ask which brand of aftershave other interviewees have used to douse their duffel bags, moments before the big dance?
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 17, 2014 9:59:09 GMT -5
On the way to the airport. Good luck to everyone interviewing this week!
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Post by Gaidin on Nov 17, 2014 10:01:13 GMT -5
Good Luck O53 and to everyone else interviewing this week. Also be safe out there guys its getting nasty in parts of the country.
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Post by moopigsdad on Nov 17, 2014 11:05:28 GMT -5
On the way to the airport. Good luck to everyone interviewing this week! Same to you Observer53. Hit a home run with the interview my friend.
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 17, 2014 21:17:24 GMT -5
I'm here. Delicious dinner at Vietnamese restaurant a block away... CCCCold! Was raining until just before plane landed at 5, now it's windy. BRRR. The high tomorrow is forecast in the low 30's.
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Post by ok1956 on Nov 17, 2014 22:02:31 GMT -5
I'm here. Delicious dinner at Vietnamese restaurant a block away... CCCCold! Was raining until just before plane landed at 5, now it's windy. BRRR. The high tomorrow is forecast in the low 30's. Good luck!
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Post by Missundaztood on Nov 17, 2014 22:05:02 GMT -5
I'm here. Delicious dinner at Vietnamese restaurant a block away... CCCCold! Was raining until just before plane landed at 5, now it's windy. BRRR. The high tomorrow is forecast in the low 30's. Heatwave compared to some places... Good luck!
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Post by mamaru on Nov 17, 2014 22:25:38 GMT -5
I posted this in another thread, but it's probably more appropriate here.
As far as hotels go, I interviewed last week and stayed at one of the recommended locations (Hampton Inn), then stayed the weekend (at my own expense) to spend time with my daughter who lives in Arlington. I moved to the Residence Inn in Ballston, an area in Arlington, which is maybe 15 minutes away. If you are not driving and need to hop a taxi anyway, I recommend it. Whenever I was in and out, there were plenty of taxis waiting. It's on Quincy. A couple of blocks to the Metro. I used to live in the neighborhood. Good restaurants.
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 18, 2014 5:25:47 GMT -5
I'm here. Delicious dinner at Vietnamese restaurant a block away... CCCCold! Was raining until just before plane landed at 5, now it's windy. BRRR. The high tomorrow is forecast in the low 30's. Heatwave compared to some places... Good luck! 30 MPH winds. Wind chills in the teens this AM. Definite bad hair day!
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Post by peacemaker on Nov 18, 2014 7:28:00 GMT -5
I interviewed yesterday. I stayed at the Hilton, which is very nice, for $120. There's a Clydes, a Subway and a CVS within walking distance, but the ODAR office is a five minute cab ride. Best tip--take a five minute walk to Winklers Botanical Preserve, where there is a small lake, a waterfall and lovely fall colors. Nice place to take a hike and get everything in perspective. Good luck everyone!
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Post by Gaidin on Nov 18, 2014 9:56:35 GMT -5
Good luck!!!!
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tpm
Full Member
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Post by tpm on Nov 18, 2014 13:36:34 GMT -5
Can anyone enlighten me as to how long the interview is? Just so I can schedule a departure flight in time.
Also, the Homewood Suites are the closest per Google maps, but it seems everyone chose Hampton over it. Any reason?
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tpm
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Post by tpm on Nov 18, 2014 13:45:28 GMT -5
I think I answered my hotel question. Homewood is $30 more per night and only yards closer. : )
It looks like you can walk to the interview from Hampton. Has anyone done this?
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Post by mamaru on Nov 18, 2014 14:17:06 GMT -5
Homewoods typically includes dinner making them a federal favorite.
As for walking, it's doable from the Homewood and Hampton, but it's not as close as it looks on the map. It's not right on the street but inside an office park consisting of several buildings. Someone on an earlier thread recommending going over the day before to get the lay of the land. I think that's good advice.
Taxi was very cheap. Less than $5.
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tpm
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Post by tpm on Nov 18, 2014 14:23:33 GMT -5
Absolutely, I'll be getting into Hampton by 7pm day before midday interview so will scope out. Good luck to everyone!
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 18, 2014 15:48:47 GMT -5
Especially for those of you who have yet to interview (and I am sure those who already have will agree with me) everyone you encounter from the moment you enter Skyline Tower to the moment you walk back out the door into the hopefully not too cold air will be unfailingly pleasant, courteous, helpful. ODAR should be proud. Makes a stressful experience much easier! Good luck to all!
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Post by owl on Nov 18, 2014 18:34:34 GMT -5
Can anyone enlighten me as to how long the interview is? Just so I can schedule a departure flight in time. Mine started precisely at the scheduled time and lasted 75 minutes. There is no strict time limit like the SI, but I believe they are scheduling them 2 hours apart. So, from that one can infer that they do not expect them to exceed about 90 minutes, since I believe the interviewers use some time before each interview to review the interviewee's file, and some time after each interview to confer and fill out scoring paperwork. Leaving after the interview was the only part of the process that didn't work perfectly smoothly for me. After the interview, you probably will be asked if you need a taxi, and the helpful assistants will call one for you. However, all the cab dispatcher/driver hears is 5107 Leesburg Pike, but the entrance is actually off another street, in the rear of the building, and a bit of a pain to get to. I had no problem getting TO the interview, because I could just point out the building (a glass building with red stripes at the top, just like the email said) once we were close. But the taxi that was called for me may not have been able to figure it out; at any rate it never showed up, as far as I could tell. After 20 minutes of waiting, I requested an Uber, texted the driver to come to the back of Skyline Tower, and he was there in 3 minutes. For anyone who needs to hightail it to the airport after their interview, I'd recommend declining the taxi and using Uber instead.
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Post by anotherfed on Nov 18, 2014 22:20:00 GMT -5
Good luck, everyone!
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Post by 71stretch on Nov 18, 2014 23:43:24 GMT -5
Can anyone enlighten me as to how long the interview is? Just so I can schedule a departure flight in time. Mine started precisely at the scheduled time and lasted 75 minutes. There is no strict time limit like the SI, but I believe they are scheduling them 2 hours apart. So, from that one can infer that they do not expect them to exceed about 90 minutes, since I believe the interviewers use some time before each interview to review the interviewee's file, and some time after each interview to confer and fill out scoring paperwork. Leaving after the interview was the only part of the process that didn't work perfectly smoothly for me. After the interview, you probably will be asked if you need a taxi, and the helpful assistants will call one for you. However, all the cab dispatcher/driver hears is 5107 Leesburg Pike, but the entrance is actually off another street, in the rear of the building, and a bit of a pain to get to. I had no problem getting TO the interview, because I could just point out the building (a glass building with red stripes at the top, just like the email said) once we were close. But the taxi that was called for me may not have been able to figure it out; at any rate it never showed up, as far as I could tell. After 20 minutes of waiting, I requested an Uber, texted the driver to come to the back of Skyline Tower, and he was there in 3 minutes. For anyone who needs to hightail it to the airport after their interview, I'd recommend declining the taxi and using Uber instead. \ My cab was right outside the front door by the time I got downstairs. Some drivers must have had more practice than others.
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