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Post by blacthorn1 on Apr 21, 2016 7:54:34 GMT -5
Hi all, New poster so I guess I should begin with a few apologies before I make to bad of an impression!  I apologize if I have placed this into the wrong thread. I have been going through this forum for awhile and the amount of information is a bit overwhelming so I guessed. Second apology is that I'm sure that this has been answered somewhere in the bowels of these threads but I have not stumbled upon it yet and, in lieu of spending another hour, I'm taking the short-cut and writing here. With that said, I newly applied to take the ALJ exam in the most recent opening (which closed 4/8/16 I believe) and I was wondering how long it takes to hear anything whatsoever about whether you have been "approved" to move on in the process and take the exam? I work for the Government -- albeit State -- now and know that nothing moves "fast" but if it isn't a horribly long time, i'm willing to hold off planning much into the future re: job searches and trips and focus on this opportunity. Thanks in advance for your responses! Blac |
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Post by blinky on Apr 21, 2016 8:06:25 GMT -5
Also new here, but based on what I've read, it has previously taken 1-2 months to be notified about step 2 and looks like it could be 2+ years for the entire process if you make it to an offer.
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Post by sealaw90 on Apr 21, 2016 8:06:44 GMT -5
Welcome to the board and welcome to the marathon! If I recall, it took about a month from the 2013 job announcement closing to when emails started trickling out. I say trickle because the two thousand or so (my guess) folks who received the email to move on the Phase 2 reported receiving the emails over a week or two period. The online testing started about 2 weeks later and you had a bout 2 weeks to complete the testing. This is just based on my memory, my notes are at home in a file cabinet so I cannot recall the dates exactly.
Good luck and don't forget to check your spam folder. My other piece of advice is watch this board for when the OPM email notifications start appearing.
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Post by 71stretch on Apr 21, 2016 8:10:44 GMT -5
Do NOT pass on any other opportunities you are interested in while waiting for any stage of the application process. You are applying just to get on a register for a job, not for a job. There are multiple stops left in that process before you will even find out if you are on the register with a competitive score. Then, if you make the register, whether you will get an offer soon thereafter, or years thereafter, if at all, is unknown.
Live your life, apply for jobs that interest you. Don't put all your eggs in this basket. I can't say that strongly enough.
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Post by sealaw90 on Apr 21, 2016 8:11:14 GMT -5
Also new here, but based on what I've read, it has previously taken 1-2 months to be notified about step 2 and looks like it could be 2+ years for the entire process if you make it to an offer. Right Blinky. So for all of you looking at other jobs to apply for, go for it! Don't be concerned about curtailing other job opportunities and offers. When I applied in 2013, I HATED my job and thought the ALJ application would answer all my prayers - however, I also applied to other jobs, as ALJ would be awesome but you've got to live your life right now.
So I am sitting in a great job now about 5 minutes from my house while I STILL wait for SSA to make a decision on offering me a position. Good luck and welcome to the board.
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Post by christina on Apr 21, 2016 8:12:14 GMT -5
I agree with seelaw's timeline
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Post by catspaw on Apr 21, 2016 8:14:05 GMT -5
I'll try a consensus response, and am sure to be corrected if I misstate.
The first leg is fairly quick; you will know within the next 8-10 weeks whether you made the first cut with your initial application. If you did, the second leg (on-line exams) comes up quickly, but the results of that leg seem to take a long time. Then the wait begins. If you find out you passed on-line exams (some of us waited over two years before we received this ok from OPM), then you move on to the DC exams. Getting results from the DC exams is where in the past the process languished again, but in the last year has increased in speed. Then you wait again for the issuance of an NOR. If you are successful in obtaining a measurable NOR, you wait for the issuance of OPM's certificate of eligible candidates (the cert) to SSA. If you are successful in reaching cert, you wait to see if you are asked to interview with SSA. If you are asked to interview, you wait to see if your candidacy was stellar compared to your still, seemingly vast competition.
You have lots of time. If you want to change jobs, do so, but maintain your active bar status and as a general recommendation, stay in the hearing room adjudicating cases if you can.
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Post by catspaw on Apr 21, 2016 8:17:41 GMT -5
Oh yes, and while I was typing, everyone was beating me to a response. I need to get quicker (no . . . back to my brief writing)  |
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Post by southernfun on Apr 21, 2016 8:25:59 GMT -5
I applied a few weeks before your group did. It took about five weeks to get invited to online testing. Whether that is quicker or longer for you based on the large influx / hiring more examiners. I couldn't guess.
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Post by Pixie on Apr 21, 2016 8:29:51 GMT -5
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Post by blinky on Apr 21, 2016 8:45:26 GMT -5
I believe, based on my review of the threads, the 2013 application closed on 3/15 and the first emails were reported on 4/4 and were rolled out until about the 3rd (maybe 4th) week of April. Not that it has any bearing on this exam, but there you go.
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Post by gary on Apr 21, 2016 8:57:22 GMT -5
My dates were:
3/15/2013--JOA open period closed
4/11/2013--email from OPM that I had cleared the preliminary qualifications hurdle and providing link to take online testing
4/29-5/10/2013--online testing link available
7/11/2013--email inviting me to take the proctored testing in DC
9/4-5/2013--DC testing
3/13/2014--received NOR/placed on register
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Post by southernfun on Apr 21, 2016 9:05:25 GMT -5
That main timeline thread started in 2007. The timeline stopped being updated past 2013, as far as I can tell. There is a new step that the older timelines don't show because they didn't exist.
Between an application being deemed "complete" and being invited to DC for the WD/SI is the online test of SJT/writing/EA.
Best I can tell, and based on what I am experiencing, it is 4-5 weeks from application complete to be invited to take the online test (if you pass the initial experience assessment - MANY don't). You have to wait a week from invite to actually taking it online.
Then it appears it is 5-8 weeks to find out if you are invited to DC for in person testing (WD/SI). Those are scheduled perhaps 4-8 weeks for after you get the notice. THEN, you wait maybe 4-6 months to get a NOR ( ).
This is my current best estimation from reading lots of threads on this, talking to people IRL, and listening carefully to the forum elders like Gaiden and Pixie, and many others that provide INVALUABLE knowledge to applicants if you take the time to search for it and study with an open mind what they are telling you.
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Post by Gaidin on Apr 21, 2016 9:51:42 GMT -5
Hi all, New poster so I guess I should begin with a few apologies before I make to bad of an impression! I apologize if I have placed this into the wrong thread. I have been going through this forum for awhile and the amount of information is a bit overwhelming so I guessed. Second apology is that I'm sure that this has been answered somewhere in the bowels of these threads but I have not stumbled upon it yet and, in lieu of spending another hour, I'm taking the short-cut and writing here. With that said, I newly applied to take the ALJ exam in the most recent opening (which closed 4/8/16 I believe) and I was wondering how long it takes to hear anything whatsoever about whether you have been "approved" to move on in the process and take the exam? I work for the Government -- albeit State -- now and know that nothing moves "fast" but if it isn't a horribly long time, i'm willing to hold off planning much into the future re: job searches and trips and focus on this opportunity. Thanks in advance for your responses! Blac Try this thread. aljdiscussion.proboards.com/thread/3781/application-alj-submitted?page=1 |
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Post by hurryupandwait on Apr 22, 2016 11:09:23 GMT -5
Thank you for the advice. I wasn't sure if I should continue applying for other positions while also trying to grow my solo practice.
I'm new and glad I joined this alj discussion group. A lot of helpful information in the postings. Thanks to all the senior members for creating this and sharing your knowledge.
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Post by Pixie on Apr 22, 2016 11:25:10 GMT -5
Thank you for the advice. I wasn't sure if I should continue applying for other positions while also trying to grow my solo practice.
I'm new and glad I joined this alj discussion group. A lot of helpful information in the postings. Thanks to all the senior members for creating this and sharing your knowledge. One thing you should never do is to make plans based on an expectation of getting this job. You should make plans with the expectation that you will not get the job. The odds will ever be not in your favor. Don't mean to be unnecessarily pessimistic, but that is the way it is. Pixie. |
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Post by hopefalj on Apr 22, 2016 14:34:02 GMT -5
Thank you for the advice. I wasn't sure if I should continue applying for other positions while also trying to grow my solo practice.
I'm new and glad I joined this alj discussion group. A lot of helpful information in the postings. Thanks to all the senior members for creating this and sharing your knowledge. One thing you should never do is to make plans based on an expectation of getting this job. You should make plans with the expectation that you will not get the job. The odds will ever be not in your favor. Don't mean to be unnecessarily pessimistic, but that is the way it is. Pixie. Considering that out of the approximately 6000 applicants from 2013 fewer than 300 total have been hired so far three years later, the pessimism/realism is warranted. Granted, several of those 6000 applicants that initially were bumped in July 2013 are now on the register and will get hired, but I'm not sure that even 10% of the applicants off of the 2013 application will wind up hired before the most recent applicants get added to the register just based on hiring numbers. Heck, even making it on to the register is a long shot, statistically speaking. |
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Post by 71stretch on Apr 22, 2016 14:51:35 GMT -5
One thing you should never do is to make plans based on an expectation of getting this job. You should make plans with the expectation that you will not get the job. The odds will ever be not in your favor. Don't mean to be unnecessarily pessimistic, but that is the way it is. Pixie. Considering that out of the approximately 6000 applicants from 2013 fewer than 300 total have been hired so far three years later, the pessimism/realism is warranted. Granted, several of those 6000 applicants that initially were bumped in July 2013 are now on the register and will get hired, but I'm not sure that even 10% of the applicants off of the 2013 application will wind up hired before the most recent applicants get added to the register just based on hiring numbers. Heck, even making it on to the register is a long shot, statistically speaking. And let's not forget all the people who were on the register before this register (since either 2007 or 2010), went back through the new process and got on again, and are still waiting. That's why no one should put anything on hold waiting for this job. |
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Post by hurryupandwait on Apr 22, 2016 19:00:38 GMT -5
Thanks. I had no idea the hiring stats were that discouraging. At least now, I know what to expect. Yikes.
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Post by blacthorn1 on Jun 6, 2016 12:23:13 GMT -5
I have still not heard anything as of yet. Has anything from the recent submissions gone out as far as anyone knows? I've seen others further along in the process have heard things recently so I thought I would ask about this?
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I apologize if I have placed this into the wrong thread. I have been going through this forum for awhile and the amount of information is a bit overwhelming so I guessed. Second apology is that I'm sure that this has been answered somewhere in the bowels of these threads but I have not stumbled upon it yet and, in lieu of spending another hour, I'm taking the short-cut and writing here.
). 
