|
Post by agilitymom on Dec 7, 2014 6:40:14 GMT -5
What I thought was precious was when the interview asked me "what does demeanor mean? Everyone keeps using that word."
|
|
|
Post by moopigsdad on Dec 7, 2014 7:17:47 GMT -5
What I thought was precious was when the interview asked me "what does demeanor mean? Everyone keeps using that word." Thanks for my chuckle of the day agilitymom. However, I am assuming that the contractor just hires people who can read English and record answers, they don't need to understand what is being stated.
|
|
|
Post by mamaru on Dec 7, 2014 9:09:46 GMT -5
Lucky everyone is working OT here! Yep, today was a big OT day. Christmas is coming and one of our ALJs is retiring at the end of the year - an excellent combination of events to encourage overtime. Lots of writing and lots of motivation. Today I get to spend it!
|
|
|
Post by Missundaztood on Dec 7, 2014 10:31:32 GMT -5
Yep, today was a big OT day. Christmas is coming and one of our ALJs is retiring at the end of the year - an excellent combination of events to encourage overtime. Lots of writing and lots of motivation. Today I get to spend it! OT. I am so jealous! No OT is a downside to private firm life.
|
|
|
Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 7, 2014 12:20:05 GMT -5
Christmas is coming and one of our ALJs is retiring at the end of the year - an excellent combination of events to encourage overtime. Lots of writing and lots of motivation. Today I get to spend it! OT. I am so jealous! No OT is a downside to private firm life. Yep, that was a real treat when I started at ODAR. I had never heard of any attorney job getting OT pay, ever. Welcome to federal government work! Of course, ALJs have no such extra pay, and no awards either. But I am willing to sacrifice it.
|
|
|
Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 7, 2014 12:27:45 GMT -5
BTW, all of my references and past supervisors have been contacted. They did not miss a single one. The references had the questions asked that have been referenced on the board in the past, including the 500-700 disposition question. However, my past non-ODAR supervisors seemed to have a slightly different more generic set of questions than asked of the references and ODAR supervisors. I noticed some have posted that ALL references and supervisors had the same set of questions. I am not so sure mine did.
Some of my past non-ODAR supervisors were in the legal field when I was private practice, and some were from my nursing career on the edge of the 15 years. The ODAR supervisors all had the same questions as the ALJ references and other references that we needed.
EDIT: I prepared all of my references and past sups with the same known set of questions posted on this board in the past. Only the non-ODAR sups reported back to me that not ALL of those questions were asked. I am not sure if this was because there was "actually" a set of different questions for them, or if it was perception, or perhaps the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. Maybe the interviewer/contractor left off the courtroom question and the disposition number knowing my nursing supervisor would not know this? I am not sure. Just passing along what they have told me.
|
|
|
Post by Missundaztood on Dec 7, 2014 12:40:36 GMT -5
OT. I am so jealous! No OT is a downside to private firm life. Yep, that was a real treat when I started at ODAR. I had never heard of any attorney job getting OT pay, ever. Welcome to federal government work! Of course, ALJs have no such extra pay, and no awards either. But I am willing to sacrifice it. But ALJs can get comp time, right? (Sorry if I have that wrong. I follow the discussions with interest but know it will really click if I get the gig.) Amazing. I can attest that federal benefits are awesome. I wish I appreciated them more when I was a fed. But I was younger. Then going to private practice, the difference in benefits was a real shock. Now I am older and wiser.
|
|
|
Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 7, 2014 12:51:46 GMT -5
Yep, that was a real treat when I started at ODAR. I had never heard of any attorney job getting OT pay, ever. Welcome to federal government work! Of course, ALJs have no such extra pay, and no awards either. But I am willing to sacrifice it. But ALJs can get comp time, right? (Sorry if I have that wrong. I follow the discussions with interest but know it will really click if I get the gig.) Amazing. I can attest that federal benefits are awesome. I wish I appreciated them more when I was a fed. But I was younger. Then going to private practice, the difference in benefits was a real shock. Now I am older and wiser. Credit hours. Yes, they get them, but finding time to use them is sometimes a stretch. With advanced planning you can sure use them. You just have to work it around your hearing schedule.
|
|
|
Post by mamaru on Dec 7, 2014 14:04:58 GMT -5
But ALJs can get comp time, right? (Sorry if I have that wrong. I follow the discussions with interest but know it will really click if I get the gig.) Amazing. I can attest that federal benefits are awesome. I wish I appreciated them more when I was a fed. But I was younger. Then going to private practice, the difference in benefits was a real shock. Now I am older and wiser. Credit hours. Yes, they get them, but finding time to use them is sometimes a stretch. With advanced planning you can sure use them. You just have to work it around your hearing schedule. If you are "commuting," your office may be sympathetic enough to allow you to schedule hearings so that you can use your credit hours for long weekends. Probably depends on a variety of factors, such as hearing room availability, number of people in same situation, etc. It's my impression that the spur of the moment "drop (your leave slip) and run" advantage many of us enjoy as agency attorneys (provided we have the leave, of course) pretty much disappears if you don the black robe. Miss and other former feds, but certain to make sure you get credit for your prior service when you re-up! It makes a real difference with vacation accrual.
|
|
|
Post by luckylady2 on Dec 7, 2014 17:53:25 GMT -5
If you've been able to keep track of your SF-51's, they can be real helpful in making that service date update much easier. Having been in and out of the feds a couple of times and switched agencies a few times, too, I've found it was better if I put the paper trail together for them, so their job was basically to verify the info I gave them, rather than to request and wade through my entire OPM file. I've had some wonderful personnel folks who've helped me keep my paper trail intact over the years. For those of you who are looking at switching agencies, it's worth meeting with your personnel people before the very last day and go over the final SF-51 to make sure it's accurate. It doesn't take much time, but it's sooo much easier to get fixed while you're still there!
|
|
|
Post by gary on Dec 7, 2014 17:59:29 GMT -5
If you've been able to keep track of your SF-51's, they can be real helpful in making that service date update much easier. Having been in and out of the feds a couple of times and switched agencies a few times, too, I've found it was better if I put the paper trail together for them, so their job was basically to verify the info I gave them, rather than to request and wade through my entire OPM file. I've had some wonderful personnel folks who've helped me keep my paper trail intact over the years. For those of you who are looking at switching agencies, it's worth meeting with your personnel people before the very last day and go over the final SF-51 to make sure it's accurate. It doesn't take much time, but it's sooo much easier to get fixed while you're still there! Do you mean SF-50s?
|
|
|
Post by luckylady2 on Dec 7, 2014 18:07:45 GMT -5
Ooops - yes I do!
|
|
|
Post by bartleby on Dec 7, 2014 20:40:07 GMT -5
Sratty, I totally agree about finding the time to use them. I have hearings scheduled out to May 2015 and recently figured out I will be losing about 8 days of leave due to non-attention on my part. I don't know when I could have used it though, because I am either having hearings or preparing for hearings everyday. I think I am a little slower in reviewing case files than some, so mileage may vary..
|
|
|
Post by jerseymom on Dec 7, 2014 22:46:30 GMT -5
Credit hours are a great benefit for ALJs who have no prior federal experience. They help you build up a leave balance. By my third year, I was in use or lose. A helpful hint-don't use sick leave once you have built up your annual leave. Bart, you can always donate your extra days to colleagues facing serious medical setbacks.
|
|
|
Post by bartleby on Dec 8, 2014 8:34:27 GMT -5
Jerseymom, I know. Do you know if there is a list posted somewhere that has everybody approved to receive it? Might as well do somebody some good.
|
|
|
Post by sealaw90 on Dec 8, 2014 9:30:44 GMT -5
Ooops - yes I do! Yeah, that 'SF -51' had me freaking out at first . . . "What is luckylady talking about???" . . . LOL!!
|
|
|
Post by moopigsdad on Dec 8, 2014 10:04:41 GMT -5
BTW, all of my references and past supervisors have been contacted. They did not miss a single one. The references had the questions asked that have been referenced on the board in the past, including the 500-700 disposition question. However, my past non-ODAR supervisors seemed to have a slightly different more generic set of questions than asked of the references and ODAR supervisors. I noticed some have posted that ALL references and supervisors had the same set of questions. I am not so sure mine did. Some of my past non-ODAR supervisors were in the legal field when I was private practice, and some were from my nursing career on the edge of the 15 years. The ODAR supervisors all had the same questions as the ALJ references and other references that we needed. EDIT: I prepared all of my references and past sups with the same known set of questions posted on this board in the past. Only the non-ODAR sups reported back to me that not ALL of those questions were asked. I am not sure if this was because there was "actually" a set of different questions for them, or if it was perception, or perhaps the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. Maybe the interviewer/contractor left off the courtroom question and the disposition number knowing my nursing supervisor would not know this? I am not sure. Just passing along what they have told me. As an aside not all of my references were contacted, but 6 of them were contacted, so I assume this is more than enough for the hiring committee to make a decision. According to all of my references, the chats went well and there were no issues or problems. All gave very positive reviews.
|
|
|
Post by luckylady2 on Dec 8, 2014 10:26:17 GMT -5
Ooops - yes I do! Yeah, that 'SF -51' had me freaking out at first . . . "What is luckylady talking about???" . . . LOL!! It's that Lawyer Math - always add a 0 or a 1 to any number! ?
|
|
|
Post by philliesfan on Dec 8, 2014 10:26:48 GMT -5
Bart:
About once a month we get an e-mail national list of eligible people. In addition, my Regional Office sends out individual requests as they receive and approve them.
|
|
|
Post by JudgeRatty on Dec 8, 2014 10:28:45 GMT -5
Bart: About once a month we get an e-mail national list of eligible people. In addition, my Regional Office sends out individual requests as they receive and approve them. Ditto was just going to say the same thing.
|
|