medsjet
Full Member
I'm all about the communal obsessive speculation....
Posts: 31
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Post by medsjet on Dec 9, 2015 20:19:14 GMT -5
Same here. I did the test Oct 2015 and have no NOR. And I got the GAL expansion email also.
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Post by JenMPR on Dec 9, 2015 20:37:32 GMT -5
Me too. I tested last week and I got the email.
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Post by lawmom90 on Dec 9, 2015 20:46:05 GMT -5
Why the rush to submit the form? If you think you might expand your GAL, take the time to do your research. If you think you might cull a few cities now that you know you'd have to live there for almost a year and a half, take your time. We all have until January 6th to decide. This is a great opportunity for all of us to adjust our 2013 aspirations accordingly so that 2016 brings you a better chance to get the offer you can accept without hesitation. Any new polls Gaidin??? I'm having a nutso week. But if I get time tonight or tomorrow night I will get some GAL modification polls up. You're so awesome to us :-)
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Post by gary on Dec 9, 2015 20:50:44 GMT -5
I think hiring for 2/8 will not be affected by the GAL modification. I think subsequent hiring (beginning March or April) will be affected by the GAL modification. SSA will either get new certs or have the present certs supplemented so that the new GALs are taken into account. I think OPM has to begin testing another group before 4/1/2016 by operation of the new statute. I think that testing could take the form of a register refresh (with another GAL modification opportunity for us) or yet another cut from the 2013 online testees (the next highest scoring subgroup) (with no GAL modification opportunity for us). Some time down the road, whether for the April testing or for subsequent testing, there will be a refresh, at which time there will be a JOA posted and another opportunity to modify GALs. If there is a refresh in early 2016 and one changes their GAL- is that effective immediately or when the new candidates roll out? If immediately then it would appear OPM is trying to push off a refresh. Or people taking cities off their locations from the Cert made it neccessary if it was slowing the process down? I don't know when a GAL modification in connection with a refresh would take effect. My theory about the timing of this GAL modification is that a refresh is going to start soon--before the recent testees' scores will be available. On a refresh it appears only those already on the register would get to modify their GALs. In order to allow those who have been tested but not sent scores to modify their GALs, OPM is exercising its discretion to allow modification of GALs not only by those already on the register, but also by the so far NOR-less testees. If this is correct, only those on the register at the time of the refresh will get another chance to modify their GALs in the near term.
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Post by 71stretch on Dec 9, 2015 21:21:52 GMT -5
When a GAL change is done by someone already on the register during a refresh, it makes sense that it would be effective for those people when the application period closes and the GAL can no longer be modified until the next time. I'm sure OPM can answer that question.
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Post by tinman on Dec 9, 2015 21:43:55 GMT -5
Anyone see a downside to checking all the cities except the obvious negatives (e.g., Stockton) and saving the soul-searching for when a cert email goes out? This would allow somewhat for unanticipated life changes going forward. I don't believe there's a penalty for doing it this way...
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Post by gary on Dec 9, 2015 21:46:13 GMT -5
Anyone see a downside to checking all the cities except the obvious negatives (e.g., Stockton) and saving the soul-searching for when a cert email goes out? This would allow somewhat for unanticipated life changes going forward. I don't believe there's a penalty for doing it this way... I know of no downside except for doing the soul searching with a short deadline for returning your GAL spreadsheet to SSA.
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Post by keepsake on Dec 9, 2015 22:03:10 GMT -5
Also - Stockton is not necessarily an obvious negative for some . . .
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Post by Pixie on Dec 9, 2015 22:03:44 GMT -5
Be inclusive and get picked up; be exclusive and keep doing what you are currently doing. Pix.
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Post by jessejames on Dec 9, 2015 22:06:21 GMT -5
The only penalty is that you must be prepared to live in a city for 2 years before a transfer can be accomplished to a more desirable city. The other option is to decline a city on a cert. However, at that point, it is then removed from consideration for the remainder of the life of the register unless they allow another GAL selection. Thus, I would think long and hard before selecting a city where you could absolutely not live for 2 years. Undoubtedly, this new GAL selection will result in larger GAL's for most candidates. If everyone selected a wide open GAL, then the odds of someone getting an offer because fewer persons selected a city would decrease. For those interested in cities viewed by many as "Crapland," they hope that everyone does not select a wide open GAL. For my part, I will likely choose a "wider open" GAL but NOT a "wide open" GAL. Because any selection will not matter until after January 6, I believe giving some time to a thoughtful selection of cities might be more appropriate instead of a "wide open" GAL
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Post by Pixie on Dec 9, 2015 22:11:54 GMT -5
Hopefully no one will be so inclusive as to include a city where they "absolutely could not live for two years." A little common sense has to be at play here. Pix.
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Post by christina on Dec 9, 2015 22:17:51 GMT -5
And to clarify it is 15 months plus however long it takes to transfer.
Some folks have been able to transfer quickly and some have taken years.that being said, I also support the wider the gal the wider the net theory.
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Post by phoenixrakkasan on Dec 9, 2015 22:28:06 GMT -5
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity or non-selection.
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Post by hapi2balj on Dec 9, 2015 22:33:14 GMT -5
I'm going to focus on my interview next week, and then Christmas with the family. I'm currently certed for two of my three GAL cities and I'm hoping to get my ticket punched for one of them for the 2/8 class. But, I likely will go ahead (sometime after the end of the year) and expand my GAL per today's invitation. Not sure how wide, but that's a decision for early January 2016, not now.
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Post by luckylady2 on Dec 9, 2015 22:38:49 GMT -5
I'm going to focus on my interview next week, and then Christmas with the family. I'm currently certed for two of my three GAL cities and I'm hoping to get my ticket punched for one of them for the 2/8 class. But, I likely will go ahead (sometime after the end of the year) and expand my GAL per today's invitation. Not sure how wide, but that's a decision for early January 2016, not now. Just FYI, characteristically, ODAR tends to make offers about 3-4 weeks ahead of the report date for the class. There's some likelihood that ODAR will not start calling until after the Jan 6 deadline for OPM's GAL expansion.
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Post by anotherfed on Dec 10, 2015 8:52:46 GMT -5
With all the pieces ODAR has to move to place a newbie, why make it more difficult by limiting yourself geographically? You are the widget in the cog, and ODAR is the wheel. Unless you have a super high NOR (probably north of 86, which I heard somewhere was average ), you need to be flexible. And even then, if you are limited to just a few cities, you may be waiting a while. I heard a totally unfounded rumor* that the guy with a 99 NOR but with only one city -- Honolulu -- has been waiting since 1942.
*and fabricated by me for illustrative purposes. omg, I'm thinking in hypos in every aspect of my life now...
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Post by ba on Dec 10, 2015 9:32:29 GMT -5
With all the pieces ODAR has to move to place a newbie, why make it more difficult by limiting yourself geographically? You are the widget in the cog, and ODAR is the wheel. Unless you have a super high NOR (probably north of 86, which I heard somewhere was average ), you need to be flexible. And even then, if you are limited to just a few cities, you may be waiting a while. I heard a totally unfounded rumor* that the guy with a 99 NOR but with only one city -- Honolulu -- has been waiting since 1942.
*and fabricated by me for illustrative purposes. omg, I'm thinking in hypos in every aspect of my life now... While I generally agree with you, there is a reality for a lot of people. Maybe they have a spouse with an established work practice that is built into a particular community. Maybe they have a child issue that doesn't allow them to uproot their children (it doesn't take a lot of imagination to think of one). Maybe they have an ailing parent that requires them to be within a few hours at most, or even closer. There are any number of reasons that a person may need to limit their GAL. If you don't need to, sure, it helps your chances. And as people learn more about the process from the original JOA, there are likely a group that have been waiting anxiously to expand, but some people have no choice but to limit their GALs. Hopefully, the expansion will let folks who had changed circumstances from then to now open up some options.
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Post by msp on Dec 10, 2015 9:38:59 GMT -5
I can confirm that...I tested in October, have not yet received an NOR, but did receive the survey email yesterday. A much-needed glimmer of hope.
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Post by hereforthedance on Dec 10, 2015 9:46:34 GMT -5
Like many things in life, including clothing, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! Expansion, contraction or maintenance of your GAL is YOUR personal choice. Most importantly, this is the first time in the history of this register that gives everyone that opportunity.
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Post by gary on Dec 10, 2015 10:13:30 GMT -5
And it is the first time ever that people not on the register have been allowed to modify their GALs.
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