ALJ Job Posted 10/07/2024

[ARobeByAnyOtherName]

Submitted my application while blasting Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again.” And toasted to the upcoming rollercoaster ride with a virtual tumbler of Angel’s Envy. Let’s do this (again). [Exits to Foreigner’s “Feels Like the First Time”]

[ewartdunlop]

Spent over eight hours on the first two essay answers yesterday. Glad to have a few days to work on the rest. I don’t know the best way to make an application stand out above the rest, but this is my best guess!

[dragon]

Good luck to all who apply! Do we know what the process is now for those who make the list and get considered? (I made the last list, but never heard more until a very recent email that I was not selected). Is it just an interview or still a multi day thing?

[daisy5]

Regarding the 3000 character KSAs, do spaces count as characters?

[trailwalker]

Can anyone clarify whether the current telework policy will be immediately effective for those hired under this announcement or whether it will begin after the first year?

[ewartdunlop]

Oct 8, 2024 9:47:22 GMT -5 daisy5 said:

Regarding the 3000 character KSAs, do spaces count as characters?

Yes.

[fowlfinder]

Oct 8, 2024 9:48:08 GMT -5 trailwalker said:

Can anyone clarify whether the current telework policy will be immediately effective for those hired under this announcement or whether it will begin after the first year?

The last class was required to be in person at their duty station for a number of weeks before they were allowed to telework. It was not an incredibly long time, but in person on boarding and initial training at the duty station were required. However YMMV. 

[stevenq]

Hey, FYI. I'm sure this isn't needed because nobody is harried and being less than fully diligent but wanted to say for no reason at all that it is a 3,000 CHARACTER limit per substantive response. Not 3,000 words.

[recoveringalj]

Just a heads up, I submitted my application and kept finding that one of my documents had failed to upload. I only saw it because I went back in and updated the application and saw "failed" next to the document. When I completed the application and asked to print off a copy, the last page shows the documents attached and provides a status. The status next to the failed document said "processing" v. "pending retrieval." I don't know if it was too big or something else was happening, but I basically rescanned it to a smaller size and uploaded it again, confirming the status change to "pending retrieval." It is odd because there is no indication that it failed to upload until I went back in or looked at the printed application. Hope this helps.

[adminlurker]

How widely or narrowly are people selecting their GAL?

[tsatty]

Oct 8, 2024 15:54:41 GMT -5 adminlurker said:

How widely or narrowly are people selecting their GAL?

In general, your odds are better if you’re willing to go anywhere. There are two reason for that. First, lots of people aren’t willing to go anywhere, and, naturally, there are more applicants from big cities than little cities. Second, SSA only hires in offices In which there is a need. As mentioned up in this thread, the “transfer list” was released, meaning ALJs will transfer around, creating vacancies. So, a common strategy for people who really want to be an ALJ and will go anywhere is to select every city on the GAL, and transfer ASAP (after 15 months at least). The net effect is that a place like Mt Pleasant almost always has an opening. Mt Pleasant is like 2 hours north of Lansing, MI. It’s cold there in winter, and not much going on outside the university and casino. So, unless you’re from mid-Michigan, it’s not someplace most people want to be. A lot of ALJs go there, do the 15 months, and leave. But, if you’re willing to go, you probably have a better chance than if you limit yourself to a warm, sunny big city.

The disadvantage is that if you’re like me, you get selected as an ALJ and then have to move far away for an indefinite period of time (no guarantee you can transfer where you want in 15 months). But, hey, I got in.

[slainte]

Good luck to all ☘️ and IMHO, only list those locales where you’d want to be an ALJ. It could be a small hire so you may stay at your OHO location for a while…..

[ewartdunlop]

Oct 8, 2024 16:13:44 GMT -5 tsatty said:

Oct 8, 2024 15:54:41 GMT -5 adminlurker said:

How widely or narrowly are people selecting their GAL?

In general, your odds are better if you’re willing to go anywhere. There are two reason for that. First, lots of people aren’t willing to go anywhere, and, naturally, there are more applicants from big cities than little cities. Second, SSA only hires in offices In which there is a need. As mentioned up in this thread, the “transfer list” was released, meaning ALJs will transfer around, creating vacancies. So, a common strategy for people who really want to be an ALJ and will go anywhere is to select every city on the GAL, and transfer ASAP (after 15 months at least). The net effect is that a place like Mt Pleasant almost always has an opening. Mt Pleasant is like 2 hours north of Lansing, MI. It’s cold there in winter, and not much going on outside the university and casino. So, unless you’re from mid-Michigan, it’s not someplace most people want to be. A lot of ALJs go there, do the 15 months, and leave. But, if you’re willing to go, you probably have a better chance than if you limit yourself to a warm, sunny big city.

The disadvantage is that if you’re like me, you get selected as an ALJ and then have to move far away for an indefinite period of time (no guarantee you can transfer where you want in 15 months). But, hey, I got in.

Pretending for the sake of this that you currently work in the Mt. Pleasant OHO, how often do you need to be there? Even if you’re stuck there for (say) 15 months, could you spend a good % of your time working elsewhere due to telework and phone hearings?

And a second question (for the group): by the time interviews are happening, is it possible to make reasonable guesses as to where the openings are likely to be? Or do you have to accept you could go literally anywhere on your list?

[atty]

The game is afoot!

[redbird]

For those who have submitted their application: I wrote my answers to the assessment questions in paragraph form. After submission, when given the option to view/print application, I noticed that in each section, my paragraphs were combined into one giant paragraph. It certainly does not read as well as I had intended this way. Did this unfortunate formatting thing happen to others?

[millennial]

Oct 9, 2024 0:30:11 GMT -5 redbird said:

For those who have submitted their application: I wrote my answers to the assessment questions in paragraph form. After submission, when given the option to view/print application, I noticed that in each section, my paragraphs were combined into one giant paragraph. It certainly does not read as well as I had intended this way. Did this unfortunate formatting thing happen to others?

Yes

[rmspringfield]

Oct 8, 2024 21:44:14 GMT -5 ewartdunlop said:

Oct 8, 2024 16:13:44 GMT -5 tsatty said:

In general, your odds are better if you’re willing to go anywhere. There are two reason for that. First, lots of people aren’t willing to go anywhere, and, naturally, there are more applicants from big cities than little cities. Second, SSA only hires in offices In which there is a need. As mentioned up in this thread, the “transfer list” was released, meaning ALJs will transfer around, creating vacancies. So, a common strategy for people who really want to be an ALJ and will go anywhere is to select every city on the GAL, and transfer ASAP (after 15 months at least). The net effect is that a place like Mt Pleasant almost always has an opening. Mt Pleasant is like 2 hours north of Lansing, MI. It’s cold there in winter, and not much going on outside the university and casino. So, unless you’re from mid-Michigan, it’s not someplace most people want to be. A lot of ALJs go there, do the 15 months, and leave. But, if you’re willing to go, you probably have a better chance than if you limit yourself to a warm, sunny big city.

The disadvantage is that if you’re like me, you get selected as an ALJ and then have to move far away for an indefinite period of time (no guarantee you can transfer where you want in 15 months). But, hey, I got in.

Pretending for the sake of this that you currently work in the Mt. Pleasant OHO, how often do you need to be there? Even if you’re stuck there for (say) 15 months, could you spend a good % of your time working elsewhere due to telework and phone hearings?

And a second question (for the group): by the time interviews are happening, is it possible to make reasonable guesses as to where the openings are likely to be? Or do you have to accept you could go literally anywhere on your list?

for those playing GAL roulette keep the following in mind. You will not know your ODS until you get “the call”. And you will need to be prepared to say yes or no on the spot. 

you will also need to be prepared to show up in person for onboarding. Getting your government ID, computer set up etc. we were also required to be in person for the first round of training. And there was only about 3 weeks or so between “the call” and the 1st day at the ODS. So that’s not a whole lot of time to figure out where you’ll get hotels or rent an apartment while you go house hunting. There is no relocation assistance for new hires.

there are always people that have made it work but it’s not easy. Something to think about if you’re adding the city 1000 miles away that you’ve never been to. So consider your tolerance for adjusting to a new city while learning the ropes during a fairly intensive training process especially if you are coming in from outside SSA. You’ll need to be comfortable saying “yes” to whatever city you’re selected for and working out all the big details as you go. 

The flip side of that coin is that it is very very rare to get selected for your 1st choice ODS. There are several instances where new ALJs get selected for an ODS 100 miles away from their home town but someone else gets selected for the opening in their preferred ODS and that someone also had to make a move from far away. I do not know why they do that and make almost everybody work the transfer list. But they do.

choose wisely and may the odds be in your favor.

[trp888]

Maybe it’s just me, but this ALJ posting round seems… tame on this board. Almost quite. A lot less posting than in the past. Are there just a lot less people applying or is everyone playing it close to the chest and not willing to be chatty?? I find it interesting. I know a handful of people sitting it out this round. Will be interesting when the inside chatter comes out about how many apps were actually submitted with this 3 day window.

[ewartdunlop]

I’d like to ask a more specific kind of question using a hypothetical if that’s ok:

Dominic lives in Portland, ME with his wife and two young children. His family will not move. He accepts an offer from the Mt Pleasant OHO, planning to transfer closer to his home in ME as soon as he can; let’s say this is 15 months.

My question is, during those 15 months, how often might Dominic reasonably see his family? Could he work from home in Maine 1/2 the time? 1/3 of the time?

Thanks

[johnthornton]

The fifteen month rule is a bare minimum. Many offices don't have vacancies for years--with a transfer list that has dozens of judges. If you accept a position, you should probably expect to stay there for five years at least. Unless you want to get back to Mount Pleasant or the like. On the positive side, you might be able to work remotely if you can convince your HOCALJ to let you do all of your in person hearings for the month during a single week. It will involve hotel and plane expense but it might be possible.