Post by owl on Aug 21, 2015 12:20:21 GMT -5
Funky put it well that the OPM testing is a measurement of skills, not knowledge, so any "studying" geared toward increasing knowledge wouldn't help.
But let's unpack the fact that OPM is testing to measure the skills needed (as deemed by OPM) to be an ALJ.
Ideally, how would you measure the skills needed to do a job? You would have the person actually do the job, right? You would throw them into some sort of job simulation, and observe and rate their performance.
But that is not realistic, of course -- at least, not with present technology; maybe a couple generations in the future ALJ wannabes will summoned to OPM in DC to don virtual-reality helmets and conduct simulated hearings and do other things that ALJs do! But in the meanwhile, creating some sort of live-action simulation scenario - that is exactly the same for dozens/hundreds/thousands of applicants at once - to perfectly measure their skills would be wildly cost-prohibitive, obviously. Therefore, OPM must instead use a somewhat blunt instrument - the testing procedure - to approximately measure those skills.
And therein lies the reason that I would disagree a bit with the notion that "there's no sense preparing; you either have it or you don't."
IMHO, you most definitely can, and should, prepare, because any test is, first and foremost, a test of test-taking, and even more specifically, a test of your test-taking ability with respect to the format being used. OPM is trying to measure your skills, but you only get to express them through the format OPM has prescribed. I mean, think back to the SJT. Without compromising the confidentiality of the test, it's obvious what sort of skills OPM was trying to measure through that test, right? But your demonstration of those skills still had to be filtered through the multiple-choice answer format. Remember, OPM promulgated official SJT sample questions - did it not help you to practice that format before taking the actual live SJT?
So you are going to DC to take a WD, LBMT, and SI. The fact that everybody here is sworn to secrecy and that there are no official OPM sample questions, no available past exams, and no bar-review-type prep course, does not, however, mean that there is nothing that can be learned about those formats and prepared for.
Start with the WD. Here, from the job announcement, is what OPM tells you beforehand about the WD: "The purpose of the WD is to evaluate an applicant's ability to prepare a clear, concise, and well-reasoned legal decision of the type that one might be expected to write if employed as an ALJ." So, news flash: they aren't going to be asking you to write an essay on "What I Did on My Summer Vacation." No, there are no past samples, but you would do well to seriously contemplate what OPM has said, and if you can figure out a way, practice. Some of us have jobs that come with those opportunities for practice built right in (decision writers represent!), but for those who aren't already judges or decision writers or some such, here is some good advice right here from this thread:
For the LBMT, you can find general logic-test practice aids, questions, etc. I didn't spend hours taking practice tests but I didn't let my first familiarity with these types of questions occur in DC, either.
And finally, for the SI: "The objective of the SI is to evaluate an applicant's responses to competency-based questions related to being an ALJ. A panel will conduct the interview and evaluate the responses provided by the applicant." So right there, you know the SI is not a "tell us about yourself and why you want the job" free-wheeling BS session. Oh, and right in the job announcement, OPM also tells you: "the competencies ... essential to performing the work of an ALJ ... include: Decision Making, Interpersonal Skills, Judicial Analysis, Judicial Decisiveness, Judicial Management, Judicial Temperament, Litigation and Courtroom Competence, Oral Communication, Problem Solving, Professionalism, Reasoning, Self-Management, and Writing."
If you have not been through any type of SI before (they are certainly not exclusive to government hiring but probably cannot yet be said to be widespread), research it online. Research how, if you were on the panel, you would be scoring an applicant's responses - and then research how to give responses that are likely to be scored well. The SI is a testing format. You should think of it that way and approach it accordingly. You are not interviewing with decision-makers who can give you a job and you are not trying to convince your interviewers to hire you. You are taking a test and will be given a score (a score you will never find out other than pass/fail, but I digress), and the score will be based on the competencies they have specified. Your goal is to score as many points as possible. Research and develop a strategy for doing this.
Good luck all!
