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Post by litig8tor on Jul 25, 2015 15:28:23 GMT -5
I am in the process of getting my references up to speed. Since they are all very busy I want to give them as much info as I can. Can anyone tell me the area code(s) used by the people who call the references? My call from SSA came from area code 703, but I have no reason to believe the reference calling contract service calls from the same place. I tried using the search feature but I don't seem to be able to add to the relevant thread I found (Getting Your References Up to Speed). Thank you in advance. No the contractor who calls may be in Florida or another state. They do not come from one particular number. They will leave a message and your reference can call back. If the reference does not respond they send an email form for them to complete. Thank you for the helpful information. Sorry to have to impose on everyone again, but I am running out of time. I have not yet received the "cert" email with the form that I am supposed to fill out with my references, etc. My interview is Wednesday, but I have to leave home tomorrow due to another stop on the way to D.C. Does anyone have a copy of that form (all identifying info redacted) that they can provide to me today so I can take care of it before I leave?
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Post by gary on Jul 25, 2015 15:36:17 GMT -5
No the contractor who calls may be in Florida or another state. They do not come from one particular number. They will leave a message and your reference can call back. If the reference does not respond they send an email form for them to complete. Thank you for the helpful information. Sorry to have to impose on everyone again, but I am running out of time. I have not yet received the "cert" email with the form that I am supposed to fill out with my references, etc. My interview is Wednesday, but I have to leave home tomorrow due to another stop on the way to D.C. Does anyone have a copy of that form (all identifying info redacted) that they can provide to me today so I can take care of it before I leave? Don't worry about the cert email just now. Nobody has received it yet. SSA will send it to you in due time, whatever that may be this time out. You won't need it to do the interview. The best thing you can do to get ready for the cert email is to begin contacting former supervisors and your references so those are ready when you do get the cert email.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 27, 2015 8:49:31 GMT -5
I find it fascinating that the timing has gotten so off at this point that people are flying into DC this evening for interviews when they don't know what city(ies) they are even being considered for. I think we can be almost certain that some of those people would have declined the city or cities on the cert and wouldn't be getting a trip to DC but for what I imagine are some truly painful scheduling problems.
Good luck to everyone traveling over the next two weeks.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 27, 2015 9:21:28 GMT -5
Yes, Gaidin this is an interesting dilemma for SSA. I believe the data breach into OPM and the changes occurring at OPM and SSA are having some effect on the process and causing it to be different than in the past. All we can do is sit and wait for new cert email to arrive some day. As an aside, my FOAD email has yet to arrive, so I have to believe that some of the former city certs are still in play from the last set of certs. It's anyone's guess at this time as to what will happen next.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jul 27, 2015 9:29:48 GMT -5
I find it fascinating that the timing has gotten so off at this point that people are flying into DC this evening for interviews when they don't know what city(ies) they are even being considered for. I think we can be almost certain that some of those people would have declined the city or cities on the cert and wouldn't be getting a trip to DC but for what I imagine are some truly painful scheduling problems. Good luck to everyone traveling over the next two weeks. I think the reason for this is that you are not interviewing for specific cites... You are interviewing to see if you are a fit for the specific agency as a whole.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 27, 2015 9:35:26 GMT -5
JudgeRatty - I think this is true for ODAR (and they find a place to put you), but I have fairly reliable reports that some other agencies do go city-by-city, Department of Labor, particularly.
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Post by gary on Jul 27, 2015 9:38:47 GMT -5
I find it fascinating that the timing has gotten so off at this point that people are flying into DC this evening for interviews when they don't know what city(ies) they are even being considered for. I think we can be almost certain that some of those people would have declined the city or cities on the cert and wouldn't be getting a trip to DC but for what I imagine are some truly painful scheduling problems. Good luck to everyone traveling over the next two weeks. I think the reason for this is that you are not interviewing for specific cites... You are interviewing to see if you are a fit for the specific agency as a whole. I thought in the past when they scheduled interviews before cert emails they had told people the cities and asked if they were still interested.
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Post by Gaidin on Jul 27, 2015 9:45:18 GMT -5
I think the reason for this is that you are not interviewing for specific cites... You are interviewing to see if you are a fit for the specific agency as a whole. I thought in the past when they scheduled interviews before cert emails they had told people the cities and asked if they were still interested. That was my recollection and I haven't seen any reports about that.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jul 27, 2015 9:51:38 GMT -5
I think the reason for this is that you are not interviewing for specific cites... You are interviewing to see if you are a fit for the specific agency as a whole. I thought in the past when they scheduled interviews before cert emails they had told people the cities and asked if they were still interested. Ok I see where you would think this. What happened was that they had several things going on at the same time and those who asked that didn't know if the individual was interested in SSA in general as some people decline all cities on a cert when they return the paperwork, or they totally changed their mind about the process. That person needed to know if they wanted to continue before wasting time on an interview for no reason. The interview is not office or city specific.
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Post by 71stretch on Jul 27, 2015 12:14:44 GMT -5
JudgeRatty - I think this is true for ODAR (and they find a place to put you), but I have fairly reliable reports that some other agencies do go city-by-city, Department of Labor, particularly. They may, but DOL and other small hire agencies are looking at a very small number of offices in total. It's apples and oranges comparing the two agencies in this regard. ODAR is clearly NOT interviewing with particular cities in mind.
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Post by 71stretch on Jul 27, 2015 12:17:26 GMT -5
I thought in the past when they scheduled interviews before cert emails they had told people the cities and asked if they were still interested. Ok I see where you would think this. What happened was that they had several things going on at the same time and those who asked that didn't know if the individual was interested in SSA in general as some people decline all cities on a cert when they return the paperwork, or they totally changed their mind about the process. That person needed to know if they wanted to continue before wasting time on an interview for no reason. The interview is not office or city specific. Also, OMHA has been asking about interest in particular cities before scheduling interviews or sending paperwork. Again, small number of cities in total, no relocation expenses for current Feds. Apples and oranges, again.
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Post by Ace Midnight on Jul 27, 2015 12:17:33 GMT -5
ODAR is clearly NOT interviewing with particular cities in mind. I agree completely - there is 1 agency interview for ODAR (at least 1 per candidate, per register) - and that has been the practice for some time.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Jul 27, 2015 12:17:26 GMT -5
JudgeRatty - I think this is true for ODAR (and they find a place to put you), but I have fairly reliable reports that some other agencies do go city-by-city, Department of Labor, particularly. Exactly. I was focused on ODAR.
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Post by litig8tor on Jul 27, 2015 18:03:49 GMT -5
Just opened the "cert" email. It was waiting for me when my plane landed in DC 30 minutes ago. Some attachments have to be turned in by COB July 29, all others by July 31. Same process as before where you can decline cities. Good thing I want the one in my email.
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Post by anotherfed on Jul 28, 2015 8:08:18 GMT -5
Just opened the "cert" email. It was waiting for me when my plane landed in DC 30 minutes ago. Some attachments have to be turned in by COB July 29, all others by July 31. Same process as before where you can decline cities. Good thing I want the one in my email. Good luck!
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Post by litig8tor on Jul 29, 2015 12:40:12 GMT -5
I finished my interview about 90 minutes ago. As always, no talking about the questions. What I can say is that I met 3 other applicants also there for their 10:30 interviews, so at least today they are running 4 interview tracks. The four of us were from 4 entirely different regions of the country. Lasted right about 90 minutes.
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 29, 2015 12:59:50 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing that information litig8tor.
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 30, 2015 10:51:10 GMT -5
So based on litig8tor's and my experience, we definitely had 8 folks, but most likely 16 interviewed on Wednesday. If someone could post about todays interviews, that would be great. Good to compare the numbers on the board to actual observation.
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Post by gary on Jul 30, 2015 11:08:03 GMT -5
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Post by mcb on Jul 30, 2015 13:49:46 GMT -5
Haven't been here for a while, but a decision writer in our office has accepted an SSA ALJ position at an ODAR on the West Coast.
EDIT: report date is 8/17/15.
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