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Federal Resume & KSA Writing Specialists
November 6th, 2009
If you can't read this email, you can read this ALJ Job Announcement article at our Blog.
If you want to be deleted from this list, write to kathryn@resume-place.com. Thanks for reading.
-- Kathryn Troutman
Leaving the grind of legal practice: how to land the
plum job of Administrative Law Judge
by Elizabeth Juge, Certified Federal Resume Writer and ALJ Expert
ALJ Announcement Opening Soon!
Demystifying the application process for the Federal ALJ
Experienced litigators and administrative law specialists take note--the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management recently announced that the Administrative Law Judge exam is soon to open.
Thought to be one of the best jobs in government, ALJs are paid on a special pay scale that is
commensurate with Senior Executive Service; but ALJs do not have direct supervisors and are not
subject to participation in cursory performance appraisal activities. They have no production goals,
and are not responsible for supervising others.
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Some view the position as prestigious--the Supreme Court noted that for most Americans, an ALJ is
the highest ranking government official they will ever encounter. For attorneys looking to leave the
grind of private practice, especially in a declining economy, the ALJ position provides steady and
interesting work at a stable and equitable salary, which tops out in 7 years at over $160,000.
You can't talk about ALJ hiring without talking about the Social Security Administration. SSA
employs around 90% of all ALJs in the federal government. As of March 2009, there were 1,422
ALJs employed at 30 federal agencies and sub-agencies. SSA employed more than 1,100 of
them. Chief Judge Frank Cristaudo has stated that SSA will hire up to 190 ALJs in a variety of
locations in fiscal year 2010. Those judges will be hired from the register created by successful
applicants from the upcoming exam. Applicants on the register could also be hired by any of the
other agencies employing ALJs.
Join in the Social Security Administration Blog and read about ALJ discussions. Blog quote: "I urge
those who want to become Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to study this notice carefully
and to monitor the OPM website closely. The last time the register was opened, it only
stayed open for a few days. Many who were interested in becoming ALJs failed to apply in
time."
Elizabeth Juge, a Senior Federal Career Consultant and Legal Application Expert at The Resume
Place in Baltimore, MD, answers Frequently Asked Questions by attorney applicants about
qualifications, the exam review process and how to prepare successful application materials.
________________________________________
QUICK TIPS FOR THE ALJ APPLICATION:
1. START NOW! The announcement may only be open 1 to 5 days, depending on how many
applications they have set as their goal.
2. Use PLAIN LANGUAGE and the KEY WORDS from the application. Avoid complicated legal
jargon. Remember that your application will be rated by a non-attorney.
3. Make sure your RESUME supports your Accomplishment Record. The resume should
feature your DUTIES that speak to the required skills as well as your unique career
ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
4. Apply the CCAR (context-challenge-actions-results) method to your Accomplishment Record
NARRATIVES. You can use our free KSA CCAR builder to draft accomplishments.
5. Feature areas of ADMINISTRATIVE LAW in which you have experience that might be of
benefit to the regulatory and enforcement agencies. Examples are employment, immigration,
disability, energy, etc.
________________________________________
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Do I have to have prior judicial experience?
In a word, no. Most selected as ALJs have never been judges, although former state and local
judges do fare well in the process. To debunk another myth, no political connections are required.
ALJs are the only U.S. judges that are appointed solely based on merit. They are rated and ranked
based on the information provided in the exam process. The minimum requirement is completion of
a Juris Doctor, being a member in good standing of a state bar association in the U.S. (or one of a
few territories) and 7 or more years experience as a practicing attorney. The best candidates have
both litigation and administrative law experience. Other excellent attributes to feature are your
ability to maintain a composed judicial demeanor and your knowledge of how a courtroom is run.
Typically candidates with varied career experience fare well.
What is the deadline for applying? Is the exam timed?
When the announcement for the exam gets posted (which is rumored to be mid November 2009),
the application will be open for a designated period of time (historically 2 weeks) OR until a
maximum number of applicants is received. In 2008, 600 applications were allowed and that
number was reached on the second day the announcement was posted. Plan ahead and get your
materials in shape well before the announcement comes out. It is very unlikely you will have more
than 2-3 days to apply.
You will submit your materials online at OPM's website. The process of inputting your application is
not timed. It is recommended that you do your writing in a word processing program and
copy/paste into the online system to avoid errors or technological glitches.
What is the total application like?
The full application and "examination" requires answers to multiple choice questions (self-
assessment questionnaire), a federal resume (which is typically 4-6 pages long), answers to the
Accomplishment Record and 2 additional narratives that respectively detail your administrative law
and litigation experience.
What does the Federal Resume look like for an ALJ Application?
The Federal resume is more detailed than your private practice resume. Most private practice
resumes are two pages and do not include a great amount of detail describing your legal
experience. The federal resume should contain more information in the Work Experience section of
the resume. Your current position, and the past two positions should be described in more detail. I
would recommend that the current position be written in ½ to 2/3rds of one full page. This is the
most important position. The second and third positions can be somewhat shorter. But the Human
Resources specialists will be looking for content and descriptions of your work as an attorney, or
your positions. Study OPM's qualifications when writing your federal resume. They will be most
interested in the last 10 years of your professional career. The biggest differences between private
practice and federal resume will be in the Work Experience section with more details about the last
10 years of experience.
What is composed of the ALJ Accomplishment Record?
The Accomplishment Record is made up of several competencies relevant to the job in which you
will detail examples from your experience that demonstrate your competence in each area. Not all
of your examples need to be from your legal experience. Other parts of your community and life
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experience can be effective too. Have you ever served on a board or commission? Made critical
decisions as part of a review panel? Written a published work that was persuasive and well
received? It's all fair game for your accomplishments.
What's the best way to write the "2 additional narratives"?
Detail your administrative law and litigation experience.
What are key words and do I really need to worry about them?
Key words are the buzz words and phrases that pertain to the top skills and most relevant
qualifications for the job. They can be found right in the announcement and assessment questions.
Because the applications are rated by Human Resources professionals and not fellow attorneys
(nor ALJs), use of these key words points a lay person to how your qualifications match up to
critical criteria. This is an area where many applications go astray. The use of legal jargon and
complicated language can hurt your application. Understanding how to use the key words is vital.
This process may make the application seem duplicative, especially because you will use the same
key words in the resume and the narratives, but is effective and proven to yield good results.
Do you have to be an agency insider to have a real shot at this job?
No. Because of the merit-based principles, each applicant is rated solely on merit. In fact, being an
agency insider can be a detriment if your agency work is viewed as less than stellar.
Will I get my veteran's preference?
Yes. All the consideration of veteran's preference apply, including the 5 or 10 points.
What happens after I submit my initial application?
If you are among the highest scoring applicants on the initial Accomplishment Record, you will be
invited to OPM headquarters for the Written Demonstration and a Structured Interview. The Written
Demonstration has been described as similar to a bar exam and each candidate will write a mock
decision. The Structured Interview is just that--an interview where each candidate is asked the
same set of identical questions. The combined score of all three steps in the process makes up
your final score. A score of 40 or higher will land you on the register.
What does it mean to be on the register?
Those candidates whose applications have scored highly enough will be placed on the ALJ register
-- simply a list of high-scoring candidates -- until an agency requests names of candidates who can
be interviewed by the agency and hired. This second list is called a "certificate," and it contains
three candidates for every one position to be filled. You could be on the register for a few weeks or
many months before being called by an agency for an interview. The current register will expire in
October 2010. The timeline for the new register will be detailed in the upcoming announcement.
Why are so many ALJs being hired?
Because they employ so many judges, the Social Security Administration largely drives the
process. SSA needs to decrease the backlog of pending disability claims from some 800,000 cases
and also reduce the processing time for the almost 500,000 new cases annually.
How can I find a list of the agencies that hire ALJs?
Visit the website for the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference at www.faljc.org . There
you can find a list of agencies that hire ALJs, a copy of the 2008 application questions and other
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basic information about the application process.
What is the salary structure?
Starting salary ranges from $116,000 to $129,000, depending on locality. Full performance level is
$162,000 and is reached in 7 years. Current or former federal employees who are earning more
than the starting salary do not take a pay cut and may start with a small increase over their previous
salary.
What areas of the country have these jobs available?
There are ALJs all over the United States and in Puerto Rico. When you apply for the job, you will
be asked to select from 80-120 cities where jobs are available. You can preference as many as you
like. Later in the process, you are allowed to reduce the number of areas you will consider. Once
you submit your final geographic availability list, you may be offered a job in any of those locations.
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE REFERENCE LINK:
OPM's press release:
http://www.opm.gov/news/opm-to-announce-opening-of-administrative-law-judge-exam,1487.aspx
OPM to Open Administrative Law Judge Exam
http://www.fedmanager.com/current_e-report.php#1400
OPM's Qualifications for ALJ:
http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/alj/alj.asp
ALJ Pay System & Scale:
http://www.opm.gov/oca/pay/HTML/ALJ-PaySystem.asp
http://www.opm.gov/oca/09tables/html/alj_loc.asp
The Administrative Law Judge job Announcement is not out yet.
Please search for it at www.usajobs.gov
OPM to Open Administrative Law Judge Exam
http://www.fedmanager.com/current_e-report.php#1400
OPM's Qualifications for ALJ:
http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/alj/alj.asp
OPM ALJ Fact Sheet:
http://www.usajobs.gov/ei28.asp
Social Security Blog / News:
http://socsecnews.blogspot.com/search/label/ALJs
Elizabeth Juge, Certified Federal Resume Writer and ALJ Application Expert
Elizabeth is trained in Federal Human Resources recruitment and selection. She has written
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professionally for 15 years and joined The Resume Place as a full time writer and career consultant
in 2005. She consults with jobseekers to match their qualifications to targeted jobs and develops
strategies for the job search and application materials. As a professional trainer working alongside
Kathryn Troutman, Elizabeth has taught Ten Steps to a Federal Job and writing classes to
numerous job seekers, military counselors and federal human resources professionals.
A specialist in federal legal applications and Senior Executive Service writing, Elizabeth was a
contributing editor on Kathryn Troutman's 4th edition Federal Resume Guidebook, editing chapters
on resume writing and career development. She recently wrote the chapter on KSA writing and
edited other chapters in Ten Steps to a Federal Job, 2nd edition. Her application writing work has
helped numerous RP clients earn best-qualified rankings in their Federal Job applications.
Need help with your ALJ Application? We can provide consultation for your application,
developmental editing services for your package. Please request Executive level / ALJ Consultation
here to begin the application. Federal Resume writing for the ALJ Federal Resume will be $750.00.
Information and Order here. Hourly editing for narrative statements is $175 per hour. DO NOT
WAIT. TIMING IS CRITICAL. Register for Consultation quickly, to begin the process.
Thank you for reading our newsletter about federal careers and application processes.
-- Kathryn Troutman, President
The Resume Place, Inc.
Consider The Resume Place for your next federal application!
Contact Info:
(888) 480-8285
resume@resume-place.com
89 Mellor Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21228
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