Geographical oopsie

[bern]

My wife, in an effort to be "helpfull" was re-reading my application prior to submitting it, and "edited" my geographical choices. She didn't know how important expanding the pool was to my chances. My question is, can I modify my choices at any point, before decisions are made or am I prety much skrewed??

[chieftain]

When you make a cert you will have the opportunity to subtract cities from your list but you will not be able to add cities until the next time the register reopens or one year after your NOR I think. How many did you start with and how many did your wife whittle you down to?

[chieftain]

When you make a cert you will have the opportunity to subtract cities from your list but you will not be able to add cities until the next time the register reopens or one year after your NOR I think. How many did you start with and how many did your wife whittle you down to?

[bern]

My wife can't remember if she messed with my ALJ app. or with one of the state jobs I had applied for. She is my "editor" usually, and does a fine job but didn't realize I actually MEANT to put random cities on my list (probably should have mentioned that fact to her). She's pretty sure she modified my geo choices to the ones in the greater SF bay area and Sacramento. We currently live in Sac. Anyone know if Sac is a "big ticket item" in this game or not?

[workdrone]

You can log into your OPM application manager and there is an option to view/print your entire application. Choose view, it will have your whole app, including cities on there.

As Chief said in his posts above, you're locked in until the next time the exam reopens.

If you only put down the greater SF Bay Area and Sac, your odds are probably limited. Then again, I have known people with very limited geographical preferences similar to yours getting picked up. So be optimistic but don't bet the farm on it. Good luck.

[judicature]

I started with 7 offices in a 4 state area in the Midwest. They ended up only interviewing for 4 of these and ultimately only hired 4 new ALJ's for 3 offices (the 4th office was filled with a transfer). I ended up getting one of the 3 cities, so you never know. I can't say that it is good for your stress level to realize that you have severely limited your possibilities. On the other hand, there is a theory that those who list all cities tend to be put in places that allow other favored candidates with fewer listed offices to be hired. In my training class, for example, there were several new ALJ's who were moving from the West to places as diverse as Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania - places where most of these new ALJ's had never been before. So, the safest option is to only list those cities you are really interested in living in. Just to underscore this point, ODAR will have you sign an agreement that you won't seek a transfer for at least 2 years from your commencement date; trades of locations are not allowed - no exceptions, and whining only serves to annoy everyone, everywhere. Even when you are eligible, transfers can be hard to pull off for the following reasons: you have to pay for your own move (assuming you are not becoming the HOCALJ in the new office); and you may have others on the transfer list in front of you (and for the more popular locations you may have a lot of others on the transfer list in front of you). It can take many years before a transfer to a more acceptable location can be secured....It is not fair to yourself and not fair to the office in which you are placed to list a location that is in truth unacceptable to you.

[lurker]

Oct 30, 2008 22:45:04 GMT -5 judicature said:

...It is not fair to yourself and not fair to the office in which you are placed to list a location that is in truth unacceptable to you.

Or, to be fair, unacceptable to your wife. I let my spouse select the cities on my geo preference list, because I knew if I got placed somewhere distant, the whole family would be going. I have classmates who are now living away from their families because they were placed in locations where either the spouse refused to go, or where it made no sense, given spouse's job, for the spouse to relocate. By "editing" your choices, your wife has now ensured that you can only be placed somewhere that she is willing to go. (Well, at least that's the theory - it didn't work out 100% for me since my spouse selected the city where I'm currently working - but didn't want to move, so I now commute 5-6 hours each day).

[lee]

I want to second the comments offered by lurker and judicature. Don't list a city unless you really are willing to work & live there indefinitely. I had a very limited number of locations because of family considerations, and was lucky.
At the ALJ training, I was amazed at the moves or family adjustments my new colleagues were experiencing. Massachusetts to California, California to Georgia, California to Mississippi, Michigan to Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania to Louisiana. Also, dozens of people were facing the prospect of living separately from spouse and/or children indefinitely. Think about the cost of living if you get assigned to LA or Manhattan. What if you can't sell your current home? If you are a Spanish speaker, and end up in PR, what about your family? Do they speak Spanish as well?
That said, this is a wonderful job. However, do not overlook the stress of adjusting to a new job and simultaneously moving to a strange location.
Good luck to everyone.

[pm]

And good luck especially to those husband and wife combos who are both on the register. That's a tough situation but it can work.

[lawlord]

I didn't have the foresight (or maybe common sense) to consult with my spouse regarding cities. Having done so, we've now decided on only 7 cities. I don't want to add cities, just delete cities. When will I be able to do this?

[workdrone]

Nov 19, 2008 17:05:13 GMT -5 lawlord said:

I didn't have the foresight (or maybe common sense) to consult with my spouse regarding cities. Having done so, we've now decided on only 7 cities. I don't want to add cities, just delete cities. When will I be able to do this?

You can delete cities (but not add) for the purposes of SSA hiring if they invite you to the interview. This is done through the forms SSA will sent to you prior to the interview.