Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2016 8:48:01 GMT -5
Condensed version: 1. Apply 2. Wait a month 3. Complete the online testing 4. [nonsensical lottery-like process, wait a year] 5. Maybe go to D.C. for the WD/SI -like process] Is that still correct.... a year between online testing and in-person live proctored DC testing? I mean, it felt that way.
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Post by christina on Apr 12, 2016 8:51:23 GMT -5
heck, it was 2.5 years for me. but i am in that odd group that tested last fall...
if memory serves me right, those who got to DC on first try still had to wait 6 months. not to mention pass phase you just did and pass the online phase.
and yeah, it feels long no matter what phase you are in.
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Post by gary on Apr 12, 2016 9:20:42 GMT -5
Gaidin's 2013 timeline is right on the money. I differ with him in that I think the timeline this time out will be similar, but his thought that OPM'll take longer has a strong basis and I wouldn't be surprised if it's correct. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong and Gaidin was right.
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Post by gary on Apr 12, 2016 9:23:32 GMT -5
Condensed version: 1. Apply 2. Wait a month 3. Complete the online testing 4. [nonsensical lottery-like process, wait a year] 5. Maybe go to D.C. for the WD/SI -like process] Is that still correct.... a year between online testing and in-person live proctored DC testing? I'll go out on a limb here and prognosticate that it won't be a year between online and proctored testing.
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bee
Full Member
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Post by bee on Apr 12, 2016 9:46:39 GMT -5
I was in that odd group as well. After being told I did not pass the on-line portion. I put it all behind me since I didn't believe I would have another chance at it since the opportunity to apply for an ALJ position did not come very often. Then BANG! Two years later I received an e-mail that said we have decided you can go on to the next round if you're still interested. Of course, I was interested! I would never pass up such a great opportunity! That's when I found out about this Board. I read all the pertinent threads about the DC testing and the tips that were given. I read the previous time lines to find out approximately how much time it would take from testing to NORs, and then I would check the Board to see when people started reporting NORs. That way, I wouldn't obsess over when something would happen. After the DC WD/SI, I obsessed over that Logic based test and whether I heard the SI interviewer correct about scoring. I searched the Board to find anything that would put my mind at ease.. and it did.
Just take one step at a time (advise I found on this Board... and followed). Good luck!
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Post by Prrple on Apr 12, 2016 13:59:06 GMT -5
Gaidin's 2013 timeline is right on the money. I differ with him in that I think the timeline this time out will be similar, but his thought that OPM'll take longer has a strong basis and I wouldn't be surprised if it's correct. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong and Gaidin was right. So nobody is going with the theory that the "expedited" language will have the effect of actually expediting it this time?
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Post by gary on Apr 12, 2016 14:13:27 GMT -5
Gaidin's 2013 timeline is right on the money. I differ with him in that I think the timeline this time out will be similar, but his thought that OPM'll take longer has a strong basis and I wouldn't be surprised if it's correct. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong and Gaidin was right. So nobody is going with the theory that the "expedited" language will have the effect of actually expediting it this time? I think the extent of the expediting is likely OPM opening the JOA when they did.
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Post by Gaidin on Apr 12, 2016 14:28:38 GMT -5
So nobody is going with the theory that the "expedited" language will have the effect of actually expediting it this time? I think the extent of the expediting is likely OPM opening the JOA when they did. I agree. Also other than hiring additional ALJ graders to review WDs there isn't a great deal they can do to expedite the process and that will all be on the very back end. I also don't believe they will do it.
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Post by backtoeden on Apr 12, 2016 17:25:20 GMT -5
I think the extent of the expediting is likely OPM opening the JOA when they did. I agree. Also other than hiring additional ALJ graders to review WDs there isn't a great deal they can do to expedite the process and that will all be on the very back end. I also don't believe they will do it. Does OPM grade the SJT, essay and experience assessment? If so, don't you think the addition of the new HR Specialists could help to speed up that phase?
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Post by Gaidin on Apr 12, 2016 18:33:21 GMT -5
I believe that is one of the things the HR specialists will be reviewing. However, I do not believe these are additional HR folks. I believe these are the HR folks.
OPM downsized since 2013 and even in 2013 the exam proctors were telling folks on the tail end of testing that when that week was over they were out of a job. I believe this is OPM staffing up not hiring additional folks to their existing staff.
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Post by cowboy on Apr 13, 2016 0:25:00 GMT -5
Greetings everyone.
If I may be so bold to offer information from the other side of the fence, SSA is eagerly waiting for new ALJ hires to join the ranks and this hiring season may be a bit different than the past. My reasons? I saw several signs. SSA was actually promoting the hiring process and advertising within the agency to have people tell their friends about becoming an ALJ. There still is a video on the front page of their intranet discussing the benefits of the process. Earlier this year SSA was asking management of hearing offices to account for all ALJ spaces and all non-conforming spaces for ALJ. In Region 9 alone, they are considering a cert of 29 ALJs (which will not be separate but be a part of a regular but huge SSA cert presumably when the new applicants have been placed on the register by OPM). They are ready to put more ALJs in each office than it has generally held in the past. All this is highly unusual. If anyone remembers years ago, I did a statistical analysis of the hiring process by SSA since 2007. Fully 67% of ALJs were hired in Regions 3, 4 & 5 while only 9% of ALJs were hired in Region 9 by 2012. That was mostly because transfers precede hiring and many ALJs are still going west. It doesn't take a mathematician to calculate that many more will be hired in the rest of the nation.
The reasons are simple. Many of the offices have only half of the ALJs needed to do the job. Some have less. Everyone knows the story of the backlog. The emphasis in the past year has been quality of the decisions, not quantity. They are no longer pushing ALJs to get more decisions done (though some may still argue that point). Last year, more ALJs left the agency (retirement mostly) than were hired. For the past several years the agency has been touting a number of 250 hopeful hires per year to swell up the ranks. They haven't come close, but now they have little room to beef. That's the reason for Congress' order to OPM to get moving on the new register. SSA was pointing fingers. Once OPM finishes the register the ball will be in the SSA court. The agency also advertised for additional instructors for the upcoming ALJ classes. I believe these signs point to a lot of hiring in the coming months and probably years. Good luck to all the candidates.
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Post by Judicially Imployed on Apr 13, 2016 9:53:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the pep talk, cowboy. The second to last line caught my eye. Did they happen to give aljs a list of dates they serve as instructors for the upcoming classes?
There is conformation of the June 26th start date, but everything past that is simply speculation, IIRC. Any dates they gave you for when they needed trainers would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Post by cowboy on Apr 13, 2016 23:16:20 GMT -5
I learned no dates, just of the solicitation. If I hear something from the instructors I will pass it on, but at this point I think it is still too early. Others have posted possible training dates at a different thread and I think that is likely. It is the same pattern of training classes they have done in the past, but again, it is tentative until they actually get a cert from OPM. It has happened in the past where training classes were planned, but postponed due to the lack of applicants from OPM. That last point is a highly contested issue, so don't blame the messenger. As far as I am concerned, SSA should have been hiring hundreds of applicants in the past two years, but they just didn't.
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Post by Gaidin on Apr 22, 2016 11:03:56 GMT -5
southernfun has reported that she has been scheduled for the online portion of the exam. She is a 10 pt vet and applied before the refresh but it is encouraging that they were able to get her processed so quickly.
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Post by funkyodar on Apr 22, 2016 11:07:14 GMT -5
southernfun has reported that she has been scheduled for the online portion of the exam. She is a 10 pt vet and applied before the refresh but it is encouraging that they were able to get her processed so quickly. I southernfun still a "her"? Last time I saw here she was a Chinese dude. She shape shifts more than Christina changes her hair color.
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Post by southernfun on Apr 22, 2016 16:47:39 GMT -5
southernfun has reported that she has been scheduled for the online portion of the exam. She is a 10 pt vet and applied before the refresh but it is encouraging that they were able to get her processed so quickly. I southernfun still a "her"? Last time I saw here she was a Chinese dude. She shape shifts more than Christina changes her hair color.
christina has hair that's always looking fabulous.
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Post by wingnut on Apr 22, 2016 16:59:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the intel, southernfun. Good luck on the online portion!
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Post by southernfun on Apr 22, 2016 17:11:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the intel, southernfun. Good luck on the online portion! Thanks wingnut. Took it last week. Felt fine about it. You never know I guess. It was surprisingly straight forward.
The "intel" is that I applied about a month before the refresh, was invited to take the online test about 5 weeks after I applied. I only had to wait one week to take the online test. I noticed in old threads that it seemed like a two week wait was happening. It will be interesting to see if ~5 weeks holds true for the refresh applicants. My WAG is that it takes longer for the refresh applicants to get invited.
OPM's staff does an amazing job considering the monumental size of their task coupled with the importance of getting a correct result. It is very hard to "unhire" someone that turns out to be a poor match for the ALJ position.
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Post by christina on Apr 22, 2016 17:13:53 GMT -5
I southernfun still a "her"? Last time I saw here she was a Chinese dude. She shape shifts more than Christina changes her hair color.
christina has hair that's always looking fabulous. pity my avatar does better than i do in real life with fabulous hair.. oh well. and thanks for noticing Funky! and thank you southernfun!
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Post by blinky on Apr 27, 2016 12:30:35 GMT -5
Based on the timeline in 2013, I was wondering if any emails would be arriving today. Not yet it seems...
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