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Post by Reverend Geek on Oct 28, 2016 8:26:17 GMT -5
On the way by, I passed a guy who was waxing eloquent to a rapt audience about everything that was on the test the day before. Come on, people - that paper you signed means you can't talk about Fight Club. Or listen to someone who insists on doing so. Please, please, please don't let that guy or his rapt audience be Board members or lurkers. I've said it before: this community is very good about reminding us of our obligations and keeping each others' ethics in check. ("The ALJ Discussion Forum: Good for Morals, Good for Morale").
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Post by rp on Oct 28, 2016 8:53:05 GMT -5
On the way by, I passed a guy who was waxing eloquent to a rapt audience about everything that was on the test the day before. Come on, people - that paper you signed means you can't talk about Fight Club. Or listen to someone who insists on doing so. Please, please, please don't let that guy or his rapt audience be Board members or lurkers. I've said it before: this community is very good about reminding us of our obligations and keeping each others' ethics in check. ("The ALJ Discussion Forum: Good for Morals, Good for Morale"). And shame on those who were in the "rapt audience" as well if they were also subject to the confidentiality agreement.
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Post by foghorn on Oct 28, 2016 15:35:57 GMT -5
the Embassy Suites Georgetown is a distance from OPM and the SI, where are people staying, is there a "happy medium"?
I think a lot depends on how familiar you are with the GW parkway, its signage, getting to /from old town. I am a former DC resident but was glad that out of an abundance of caution I moved after the testing to Alexandria for the evening before the SI. I used the Towne Motel in Alexandria--it's a number of blocks from the Embassy Suites but way cheaper, I found it quiet, clean, very acceptable. My luggage resided in my trunk during testing; I parked for the day at the garage under the GW foreign service school, which is almost directly opposite OPM. At 7:30 it was wide open.
While I love food trucks, for lunch during testing I had sandwiches, nuts, apples which I brought--no chance of my stomache entering an objection and motion to strike.
Good luck to all.
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Post by bayou on Oct 28, 2016 19:59:50 GMT -5
Guess I'll steal a line from a rather well known figure; It is finished. I'm either on the register or not, just have to wait 6 months or more to find out. Curiously, I went into this expecting that my strong work would be on the WD and LBMT and the SI would be the toughest for me. I come out of it most concerned about my performance on the WD and pretty comfortable with my SI. Weird. I stayed both nights in a hotel just north of McPherson Square. It was about 25 minute walk to OPM. I took the Metro from McPherson Station for the SI; about a 25 minute ride. The King Station stop is literally across the street from the SI location. Pixie At some point, in either a confidentiality agreement or in the instructions for a test, there was an admonition that even the administrative procedures in the testing room was confidential, so your "brightline" of no discussion past the door of the testing room is dead on. For those who haven't tested, I will tell you to not worry about knowing what to do or where to be. OPM may frustrate us with many aspects of this testing but they have done an excellent job of walking you through the process. From the time you hit the security guard at OPM on the first day until you leave the SI on the second day, there will be someone telling what to do, where to go or there will be signs directing you along the way.
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Post by Serious, J. on Oct 29, 2016 0:16:53 GMT -5
the Embassy Suites Georgetown is a distance from OPM and the SI, where are people staying, is there a "happy medium"? I think a lot depends on how familiar you are with the GW parkway, its signage, getting to /from old town. I am a former DC resident but was glad that out of an abundance of caution I moved after the testing to Alexandria for the evening before the SI. I used the Towne Motel in Alexandria--it's a number of blocks from the Embassy Suites but way cheaper, I found it quiet, clean, very acceptable. My luggage resided in my trunk during testing; I parked for the day at the garage under the GW foreign service school, which is almost directly opposite OPM. At 7:30 it was wide open. While I love food trucks, for lunch during testing I had sandwiches, nuts, apples which I brought--no chance of my stomache entering an objection and motion to strike. Good luck to all. I'm pretty sure I didn't eat for those two days. Who wants to risk a GI mutiny?
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Post by judgymcjudgypants on Oct 29, 2016 7:28:13 GMT -5
I, too, came and went.
It remains to be seen if I conquered.
I'm pleased that the holiday season is looming, as there will be a multitude of distractions.
J
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mojo
New Member
Posts: 14
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Post by mojo on Oct 29, 2016 8:22:49 GMT -5
Tested this week, Tuesday/Wed. This board was invaluable when it came to planning. Switching hotels worked for me because it reduced transportation stress. However I met numerous nice folks who took different approaches with success. Many sang the praises of metro. Really diverse group. No official count but near 30. Marginally more women than men. I met folks from east, south, mid-west, and west. The west coast peeps had my sympathy for the time change. OPM personnel were great. Very patient answering questions. And a room full of lawyers has lots of questions. All this fretting over confidentiality aside, do yourself a favor and accept that your intelligence and experience has carried you this far and it will get you through this too. No matter the outcome I'm grateful for the experience. But, you know, I'd be lying if I said it will be easy to put this out of my mind for the next 7 months. Best of luck to all in the process. Thanks again to the board for all the great info.
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Post by gary on Oct 29, 2016 8:31:32 GMT -5
Pixie At some point, in either a confidentiality agreement or in the instructions for a test, there was an admonition that even the administrative procedures in the testing room was confidential, so your "brightline" of no discussion past the door of the testing room is dead on. That's what we've been trying to tell you guys (with mixed success)--the CAs are very comprehensive.
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Post by acttwo on Oct 29, 2016 10:56:48 GMT -5
Pixie At some point, in either a confidentiality agreement or in the instructions for a test, there was an admonition that even the administrative procedures in the testing room was confidential, so your "brightline" of no discussion past the door of the testing room is dead on. That's what we've been trying to tell you guys (with mixed success)--the CAs are very comprehensive. Right as usual, Gary! So glad I found the board before my testing in September. Now just putting into the past and the future, two places out of our control.
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Post by kingnole on Oct 31, 2016 9:10:18 GMT -5
Just returned from testing Oct. 25 & 26. I concur with most comments about the test. There are no more "single" desks for testing, as everyone in our exam were at the two-seater tables. The OPM employees are friendly and generally helpful. The environment was good for testing, and I heard no noises aside from the clicking of keyboards. I couldn't imagine needing earplugs, but I did see 1-2 people using them. The group was a little younger than I expected based on past posts I've read. The handful of people I spoke to about the discussion board were not aware of it, so I'm happy to say I may have brought in a few newbies.
I want to recommend my hotel, the Comfort Inn Pentagon City. It's an excellent location and half the price of anything in Foggy Bottom or near OPM. It's equally distant between the testing and interview sites (4 Metro stops north for the exam, 4 Metro stops south to the SI), and has a FREE shuttle service to/from DCA airport and the Pentagon City Metro stop. Hence, I shelled out zero dollars for Uber/taxi rides during my stay. The hotel is clean, and has good service and a free breakfast. All great for that federal employee budget.
Now for that long wait I've been reading about. Good luck to everyone.
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Post by msp on Oct 31, 2016 10:33:10 GMT -5
Good luck to all who are testing this week!
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Post by Prrple on Oct 31, 2016 21:40:51 GMT -5
Just returned from testing Oct. 25 & 26. I concur with most comments about the test. There are no more "single" desks for testing, as everyone in our exam were at the two-seater tables. The OPM employees are friendly and generally helpful. The environment was good for testing, and I heard no noises aside from the clicking of keyboards. I couldn't imagine needing earplugs, but I did see 1-2 people using them. The group was a little younger than I expected based on past posts I've read. The handful of people I spoke to about the discussion board were not aware of it, so I'm happy to say I may have brought in a few newbies. I want to recommend my hotel, the Comfort Inn Pentagon City. It's an excellent location and half the price of anything in Foggy Bottom or near OPM. It's equally distant between the testing and interview sites (4 Metro stops north for the exam, 4 Metro stops south to the SI), and has a FREE shuttle service to/from DCA airport and the Pentagon City Metro stop. Hence, I shelled out zero dollars for Uber/taxi rides during my stay. The hotel is clean, and has good service and a free breakfast. All great for that federal employee budget. Now for that long wait I've been reading about. Good luck to everyone. Thanks for the hotel specifics - very helpful about the Metro especially.
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sanne
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by sanne on Nov 2, 2016 10:41:58 GMT -5
Bring earplugs. I tested on November 1 and one woman seemed to be in a fight with her keyboard banging it when spacing etc and seemed completely oblivious to the fact she was not in the room alone.
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maine
Full Member
Posts: 35
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Post by maine on Nov 2, 2016 11:45:57 GMT -5
Bring earplugs. I tested on November 1 and one woman seemed to be in a fight with her keyboard banging it when spacing etc and seemed completely oblivious to the fact she was not in the room alone. I agree with this suggestion. I wished I had even though it probably didn't matter in the end.
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sanne
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by sanne on Nov 2, 2016 11:53:55 GMT -5
One other thing to mention -- I had a two person interview panel and I did not sign a waiver. I mention this because I believe I read elsewhere the panels were 3 people unless a waiver was signed.
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Post by weisstho on Nov 2, 2016 11:59:12 GMT -5
Me, too. Two-person panel and no waiver mentioned or offered.
Personal opinion - I think a two-person panel was a help, and not a disability.
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Post by msp on Nov 2, 2016 12:03:34 GMT -5
Please be careful...these last comments may be getting dangerously close to TMI re: the CA and testing process.
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sanne
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by sanne on Nov 2, 2016 12:12:05 GMT -5
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Post by weisstho on Nov 2, 2016 12:51:19 GMT -5
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Post by aljwishhope on Nov 2, 2016 13:01:26 GMT -5
Me, too. Two-person panel and no waiver mentioned or offered. Personal opinion - I think a two-person panel was a help, and not a disability. Yeah I wondered about that as I had 2 and no waiver. It seems the burden of 3 person panel has been eliminated. WAG. I made the register but can only speculate as to whether my score would differ with one more panelist.
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