Oft around these parts there is mention of ‘The Bureaucracy’ in terms comparable to those reserved for a singular organism. It is not that these are not apt, but looking at the cogs that make up the machine, their incentives, and most importantly, how they are selected provides some insight into why the Bureaucracy makes the maddeningly insane decisions it does. The first two root causes that came to mind were Recruitment and Procurement. But this article is only about the Recruitment side of things. So, how does the Bureaucracy staff itself? In New York, at least, it uses a very Chinese system – the Civil Service Exam, mostly.
To get a rank and file job in the system, you apply for an exam you meet the qualifications for, take the test, and wait. Test scores turn into a list of eligible candidates (the list) and when an agency is hiring for a position filled from a list, they send out canvass letters to candidates who are ‘reachable’, choose people to interview from among the respondents, score the interviewees, and select one to make an offer to. So what is ‘Reachable’? It means someone who scored in the top three. That is not three people. For example, I am on a list where I am tied for second with several hundred other candidates who all scored 100 on the exam. I didn’t mention that there are special credits that get added to certain individuals’ exam scores, which is how there is someone on that same list with a 105.
So this pool of Reachable candidates sounds pretty big. For a title like ‘Beginning Clerical Worker’ (the entry-level catch-all for generic office jobs) it is. But, the BCWs are literally the bottom rung of the Civil Service. The criteria to take that test is ‘Do you have a high school diploma or equivalent, and can you read English?’ Once you move up the ladder, the titles get more and more specialized, and the lists shorter and shorter. Every agency has its own specialized title series’ related to the roles that agency performs. Some of these title series contain less than a dozen individuals. But, I can’t speak to how difficult it is to move into or out of those, so I will focus on my specialized title series, Information Technology.
In IT, there are people who started in the BCW title series and moved up through operations, or the help desk and into more advanced technical roles. But these days, the vast majority will get in by applying for the IT Specialist 2 title. There is an ITS1 title, which is generally how the lower level office workers get into the IT Specialist track, but someone who graduated college with a technical degree can hop on at ITS2 from the outside. These are “Open-Competitive” positions, meaning any Citizen-Resident of the state can apply, and if they meet the criteria, be hired. Open-Competitive positions are rare, and generally limited to the ‘entry level’ of a title series. We don’t hire ITS4s Open-Competitive, and for ITS3s, well, it depends. Every other title in the regular Civil Service (ie, not politically appointed) is a Promotional item. To be Reachable on a Promotional list, you need to have taken the test, scored high, and have enough time in title at a specific lower grade within the same title track. In IT that time in title is typically one year. The testing cycle and fill process means you won’t be able to get annual promotions though.
That’s where the next bottleneck comes in – skills.
Because the middle of the title track involves doing the actual work of the specialization, hiring managers are looking for promotional candidates with specific skillsets that either match the work or are ‘close enough’ that the candidate can learn the technology quickly. If you’ve got an uncommon tech, ‘close enough’ is about the best you’ll find. The thing is, the tests are created by a specific division within the Department of Civil Service which is staffed by people who by no means know a damn thing about the skills actually used in the day to day job duties of the specialized title series. Consultation with subject matter experts from those fields only gets them so close. Especially since those selected to help the testing services division are often those at the end of their long career who are unlikely to seek further promotion. That is, those most steeped in the organization culture of the Civil Service, and with the least experience outside of it. To compound it, most of the managerial style questions focus on things like ‘Bureaucratic English’ which amounts to formulating or selecting stilted sentences which most match the English as it exists in official documents.
So, those who score high on the test demonstrate an understanding of how the state has always done things, rather than excellence at their specialization. And an aptitude at the sorts of standardized testing public school students are subjected to year over year.
So, when trying to find someone to fill an open promotional spot on your team to perform specialized work, the hiring manager ends up sifting through good test takers for someone whose skills are ‘close enough’ for the work to be done. None of this selects for good managerial skill or strategic decision making. Which leads to the next bottleneck.
Managerial titles are Promotional spots from among the rank and file of their specialized title series. So, for managers you get to pick from among the good test takers whose specialization skills were close enough to the business area’s work who show the most promise at being decent supervisors. And since technical tracks tend to stop where the management tracks begin, any staff interested in better pay but not management will end up jumping ship from state service to the private sector. This further reduces the pool and forces a backfill from among those Reachable on the list.
Division Directors are selected from Managers, and Deputy Agency Heads are selected from Division Directors, each time, the pool gets smaller, and the choice is from a smaller and smaller pool of ‘close enough’ candidates. Agency heads tend to be political appointees, so Deputy Agency Head is the top of the Civil Service track proper. These people, Managers, Division Directors, and Deputy Agency Heads are the ones who make the day to day decisions on how the agency will act or react. Barring a political directive, this ever shallower pool of ‘close enough’ candidates. All of this is when the system is working objectively. Those who work in the system figure out how to game the system and will find ways to get their favorites into available positions. These favorites may be good at their job, or may just be good friends of the hiring manager. So long as they’re not related and the letter of the rules have been followed, the system can’t tell.
So, to borrow a quote, “They’re not sending their best,” to run these agencies. The hiring managers are selecting their preferred least bad candidates from an ever shallower pool, by whichever definition of ‘least bad’ that hiring manager can make fit into the letter of the law. At its heart, longevity and conformity to the Civil Service culture matter more than competence for opening up opportunities for advancement. Oh, did I mention that, depending on the title, it can be between seven and ten years between exams? The higher up the title, the less frequent the exams become.
OMG UCS my head is spinning. Even the Feds don’t have this same system (though there are some similarities, like getting extra “points” for certain things like vet status)
inorite??
My first question was how do you get the extra credit.
Being a vet, chick, handicapped, or brown person, would be my guess for some.
Vets get BIG points, at least with the Feds.
Yeah, I was guessing woke shit. Or “connections”.
chick
Down the victim stack with you! There are more gender privilege points to accrue than for being cis-!
Plain ole vet (with service during specified periods) gets 5 points. Vet with disabilty gets you 10 points.
The 10 points can be eligible to unmarried spouses or a mother
All of the FBI agents I’ve dealt with were military vets, mostly Marines. They loved to hassle the Air Force guy.
How bad do you want this job rhywun?
Not that bad.
Many military retirees stay around their last post and try to get hired Civil Service. They have the added bonus of vet plus 20 years accrued service for pay purposes..
Several of my old friends stayed on at Ft Hood, Ft Hauchuca, Ft Gordon. Signal people gotta signal
Yeah, I had a friend who worked for the National Weather Service for about thirty years. He retired with full pension then a month later went back to work for the NWS as a contract worker with higher pay.
The guy who was the lead BLM LE out of Winnemucca for years retired and showed up as a contractor on the civil side for several years (out at Burning Man). He supposedly is really retired now – I’ll see in a few days.
I remember the drivers of the cattle cars & buses at Benning had 1SG/MSG stickers in their cab or rear window. Its was… a little deflating.
When I was a Security Force Instructor in Chesapeake, the Warrant Officer in charge of the range retired.
Then they created a civilian position to run the range and hired the retired WO.
That dude was living good.
It gets worse – I simplified the process.
To even list a position for hire takes four different approvals for us – two managerial, one HR, and one Budget. And then we go through something called ‘selective certification’ which is intended to help filter on the IT skills problem (but is yet another layer of complication) before we get a slate of eligable candidates to try to interview. If we get too few candidate, we have to relist, and adjust the selective certification parameters.
A friend who works for the DoD once tried to explain the process for successfully applying for a job there. He lost me pretty quick – and I lost interest in learning more.
In DC there are tons of classes on “how to apply for a Fed job”.
I successfully coached my friend through the application process at the Smithsonian (though their process is slightly different).
Maybe I should get paid for my Fed knowledge…
Excellent idea for extra income.
It would, especially people leaving military service. They typically write their packages as if they are still in the military and it doesn’t translate.
Write an ebook.
I applied for a change of hats. The process was so slow and disorganized that I bailed for the private sector.
I see nothing about a casting couch.
or unions.
The unions have no role in the hiring process. A position is classified as part of a given negotiating unit and whoever lands in the spot is stuck with that union, paying their dues, paying their shop fees (at the same rate as dues) or jumping through gratuitously difficult hoops to exercise Janus rights.
Personnel decisions are a managerial right. Now does the union lean on or try to flex sure
Amazing. Thanks for this. Now I understand why my brother jumped ship from the IT department of a pretty large suburb and went to work for a hedge fund!
Yup.
Although there is reason hedge funds pay the way they do. If you aren’t wealthy they are a young man’s game. I know only one person who has remained at the same hedge fund for more than 4 years.
Yep. He’s already moved on. There was a more traditional investment company under the same umbrella. That’s where he landed.
Reading “Liar’s Poker” (Michael Lewis) disabused me of the notion that there was any honor and decency on Wall Street.
“The higher up the title, the less frequent the exams become.”
To clarify, is this less frequent for an individual employee to be able to take (e.g. UCS can only take test x once every 5 years), or the tests are less frequently scheduled for all potential candidates to take at one time (test x is only scheduled to be administered once every 5 years)?
Very eye opening, thanks for the write-up. Seems like they’ve codified the Peter Principle.
The tests are less frequently scheduled. Each new test offered wipes out the old eligable list and generates a new one, so if you’ve not been promote,d you want to take every test for the next titles that get offered to stay eligable for those jobs.
Social credits? 🇨🇳
More likely vet credits.
Does the company have a lot of animals to care for?
Some airhead just texted this to me:
“Hi EvilSheldon, I’m Bryanna w/ REPRO Rising VA. Do you agree with 77% of Virginians that abortion should be legal?”
I’m open to suggestions as to an appropriate reply. Perhaps, ‘Only for negroes’?
“Are those Virginians or Federal Carpetbaggers?”
Yes, up through the sixth trimester.
Why stop there?
Big fan of 75th.
“I brought you into this world, I can bring you out!”
Mandatory.
“Mandatory abortion, if you are going to raise your kid as a Democrat.”
I vote for this
“How well do you understand Algebra?”
Are there really people out there stupid enough to accept those figures at face value? 77%? And what does “pro” entail? Partial birth and shit like that? No thanks.
“Fuck off.”
“Wanna fud?”
“Is this the Bryanna I had a one-nighter with last weekend? If so, I’m in favor of abortion.”
And we have a winner!
“Show me your titties.”
a/s/l?
At least your account is not locked requiring immediate action through the like provided.
Feds win.
Straight up entrapment pays off again.
I think yesterday was the anniversary of Vicki Weaver getting whacked.
Monsters.
Three informants and two undercover agents. It’s amazing there was anyone left to arrest.
Side note; that was a surprisingly balanced article, considering the source.
😁 Figures it drops on the day I’ve got an all-day meeting with the vendor prior to project kickoff. (It’s the lunch break right now)
Anyway, I hope this provides some insights.
My head hurts.
There is another aspect that UCS didn’t touch on – why are people motivated (cough, cough) to work in the Civil Service? Well they tend to be people who highly value security of their employment, and they all well understand that absent egregious misconduct – you ain’t getting fired.
I’ve found it more comes into play with who stays rather than who first seeks it. A lot of the entry level folks are of a mindset “it is a job with good benefits” (though the latter part is less true than it used to be). A lot of us don’t want to leave because it’s hard to fire us and thus makes it more comfortable to plan for the future.
Agreed, benefits are often mediocre to good. No longer could you consider them ‘great’. At least where I’ve worked. Particularly if you factor everything together( bonus, base pay, time off, pension, etc) one thing I’ve found is that medical benefits are substandard for my field.
My wife works at one of the local universities – they’re very similar to government jobs, in that they allegedly have good job security and good benefits, at the expense of lower pay.
Her benefits are significantly worse than mine. We’ll see about the job security. The pay is certainly no great shakes – I, an individual contributor, make more than the top-end of the grade for the Director of IT position they posted. And I’m likely underpaid.
A lot of us don’t want to leave because it’s hard to fire us and thus makes it more comfortable to plan for the future.
I saw a lot of people reading newspapers at their desk or hanging out in the cafeteria all day when I was in government space in the late 90s. They got passed around in a game of musical chairs with each reorganization.
I highly value employment security because I would rather be dragged by my hair naked over broken glass than go through the job hunting process.
Years ago when I first returned to my hometown of Dayton as a refugee from Indiana, I went through the application and testing process for a brand new US Postal Service processing facility, where I could have blissfully spent my days generating barcodes for mail. I got the impression I was close to the top of the heap and probably could have gotten one of those jobs, but I ended up taking a temp-to-hire office job through Manpower. That USPS facility closed about ten years ago, so if I’d gone that route, my job would have moved to Columbus ::shudders:: … though I likely would have long since killed myself (or otherwise “gone postal.”)
I knew a guy who had a great job working IT for the state, making good money, with great benefits. He quit to take a private sector job, ended up getting fired, and bounced from job to job after that. He couldn’t even hold down a $10 an hour job for more than a month or two before getting fired. He told me quitting his government job was the biggest mistake he ever made, because he would never get fired no matter what he did. Eventually after years of trying, he finally got hired back on. I’m sure he’s as bad an employee as ever, but last I heard he was still there.
My biggest fear is ending up with a story like that, even though I have a good track record of showing up on time and getting my work done.
It didn’t help that my last stint in the private sector was on the wrong side of the permatemp / real employee line.
I find it hard to believe anyone would hire me at a middle manager or even advanced tech role with 14.5 years in the state marring my resume.
At this point you’re probably better off sticking with it. My advice would be to start planning for retirement, early if possible.
Well they tend to be people who highly value security of their employment, and they all well understand that absent egregious misconduct – you ain’t getting fired.
Or, more worser, THEY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
That probably gets metaphorically beaten out of them jiffy quick. ::recalls favorite teachers who warned her never to become a teacher::
After I did my student teaching (circa 1977) I left my ambitions behind and regained my sanity. Working with and watching the other teachers dispelled any illusions I had about “making a difference”.
Now those folks learn fairly quickly that they should shut up and mind their manners – the system will proceed quite nicely without them getting ambitious or dutiful. Just stick to doing the minimum of what you are told and don’t go getting funny ideas.
There was one guy when I started who wanted to change how things were done. The problem was he didn’t even want to learn why the process existed, nor work through convincing people that his ideas were worthwhile. He flounced out of there with a tantrum.
The process is more important than the product.
My wife is a DoD SES. I find it interesting watching her struggles to hire decent people both civilian and military to her organization. The field she works in requires pretty specialized knowledge and is one of the few that if you screw up can have very serious consequences. People hop jobs constantly in the DC area in an attempt to get GS15 as quickly as possible and then ride it out until retirement and an industry gig. Her field seems to be full of non-supervisory GS15s that basically do the work of a glorified secretary and a few supervisory GS15s that end up being responsible for huge areas of the organization. This seems to lead to burnout very quickly for the highly qualified and motivated. Couple that with very poor mentoring by the command of those highly qualified people and it is no surprise they leave for easier positions or industry where they can make quite a bit more money. Military personal in her field cannot switch to her particular MOS until E-7 or O-3 which puts them at a disadvantage in knowledge and experience to the civilian personnel but because they are at rank the military insists they be given leadership positions which leads to situations where she has O-6s that have less knowledge and capability then her GS12s but are sitting in senior positions with significant authority over actions.
Sounds familiar…. In my experience the colonels tend to defer to technical staff on issues that they’re experts, but not always.
As long as it keeps the stars happy. If necessary ignore competent people to satisfy the star(s).
Fascinating insight, UCS. Makes me glad I never got into government work.
Everything I hear of late from the private sector indicates that the bureaucracy is getting as bad there as it is in the govt. Maybe a little behind, but on that trajectory.
Fair point. I even see signs of it in my medium sized employer up in the NoDak tundra. It seems to be mostly driven by modern HR practices.
I watched my previous employment grow and grow with the resultant bureaucracy expanding. More and more encroachment into my areas of responsibility, I retired when I could, at age 55. I had been offered positions in the bureaucracy but I needed to work with the productive people rather that sit around in corporate meetings in a game of pretend.
It seems correlated with the size of the business.
Working for State Street Bank was what I imagined working for the government was like.
I’ve been at $current_employer for ~ 16 years now – it was an incredible breath of fresh air when I got here; I got more done in 6 months than in 2 years at the bank.
Now, as we cross the 10k employee line, we’re getting more and more like State Street.
I’m not sure if it’s inevitable, but it’s not entirely surprising.
I would very much agree on size/scale being extremely relevant. Smaller has to be leaner, the bigger they get the more bloated they are.
I’m late to the party, as usual, but…
Now, as we cross the 10k employee line, we’re getting more and more like State Street.
s/State Street/Barclays/ (or the bank formerly know as Chase Manhattan, or UBS…). Coming up on 5 years with a company that employed ~200 when I joined and just crossed 1K. It seems like 50% of the new arrivals are red tape enhancers.
thanks for the article
Tales from the Road #4: In wandering around the State Capitol in Concord, NH, I learned the legislature has only 24 senators but 400 representatives. Each senator represents about 55,000 people and each rep about 3,500. All serve only 2 year terms. And get paid only $200 for their whole term, plus travel expenses, for a 45-60 day session. That almost guarantees they have to have private sector jobs too. Chump change compared to, say, New York, Penna. and California legislators. I wonder, however, if NH still attracts career grifters and leeches who stay on and on and on, wielding power over others?
Decided to grill steaks for lunch. First rule of grilling is beer must be drank (drunk?). So, day-drinking it is. I love vacation.
I thought the first rule was to be armed. Because steak thieves.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/your-steak-is-getting-cheaper-at-the-supermarket-11661160602?st=zjjejoj79c0e8sy&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Yeah, I ain’t seeing prices like that around here.
Porterhouses were on sale at 9.99/lb this past weekend though.
Probably came from a cow like this
Shit
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/skinny-thin-cow-rests-cowshed-bangladesh-251122745.jpg
Thanks Joe Biden!
Another Biden Win!
I thought that went without saying.
Yikes.
Nice muzzle burn on her forehead
How about a trigger warning (pun very much intended) there, guys?
What? You don’t get a thrill when someone racks the slide with their finger on the trigger?
Less so than before.
That was almost a Darwin moment on film.
She should certainly get an honorable mention.
This seems problematic.
What could go wrong?
Everything
Seriously, this is so far outside any conception of reasonable precautions and accountability that anyone involved in setting up and executing these programs should be banned from industry and possibly imprisoned for being a threat to society.
Only a fool, a nut, or a bought and paid for shill would sign on the dotted line with those terms.
Somewhat related (posted in dead thread) – British doctor reviews Thai study of Pfizer vax side-effects among 13-18 year old Thais.
Tachycardia in 7.6% of double vaccinees? JFC
And it just gets worse from there.
Right? And for an age cohort with a ~ .01% chance of dying?
It’s not about those we lose, it’s about those we save!
I am saving -$3.20/gal . The costs are higher than they should be.
Sorry, I responded to the wrong thread.
Never apologize.
17% with abnormal EKGs???
And 2.3% with elevated cardiac biomarkers, that is fucking huge.
WP ate my reply but it was something about the evil cartoon villains running this show being worse than actual cartoon villains.
Gasoline is under $4.70/gal here. Woohoo, I got a raise!
I paid $3.19 yesterday. Enjoy it now, the SPR runs dry in a couple of months.
Is that for premium? Here, 87 octane has been stuck at $3.79 for weeks. Almost like someone is teaching us what “new normal” is.
Obligatory: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5dd-Un22DzA
Paul Pelosi gets 5 days in jail, 3 years of probation in DUI
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/23/paul-pelosi-dui-00053335
Ok, so two days. And I bet those “two days in jail” were from the evening of the first to the morning of the second.
OK, I actually feel for the guy now. .082% Really? They do BAC to the thousandth of a percent? No room for error there, I’m sure.
IIRC, he was also tested several hours after the accident. Not going to work up too much sympathy for one of the elites getting hurt by policies enacted by their spouse.
Depending on how soon after drinking he got in the car, and how many “several hours” is, his BAC could have been going up or down at the time of the test.
Basically, I hate everyone in this story.
Who doesn’t have to attend their own sentencing?
“Sentencing? I had a whole Paragraphing.”
Imma hafta rename my dog “Spaulding”.
“You’ll get nothing and like it!”
Because he’ll get nothing and like it?
She helped me finish the steak.
Is that for premium?
Haha. Bottom of the barrel 85 octane. I don’t know why gas is so expensive in Idaho. No pipelines, maybe.
“The higher cost of gasoline is offset by savings from July inflation of zero percent. Also, cheap spuds”
-Joe Biden
It’s expensive because of greedy corporations. I learned that on Twitter. Applies to everything that’s more expensive now. In fact, almost everything bad in the world is due to greedy corporations and billionaires.
My school supply buying days are over. While that is good for my wallet, I can’t help but wistfully browse school/office supply sections wishing I needed ANYTHING on those shelves. Alas, I do not, and thus, I cannot buy more.
You can always find a use for post-it notes.
POST-ITS!!! I have many Post-Its and flags and other such nincompoopery because I cannot resist.
I’m gonna get a bunch of the Post-It Extreme XLs and replace all the roof shingles with ’em!
*takes notes on many mini Post-Its.
Heh. School supplies were my crack back in the day.
China punishes 27 people over ‘tragically ugly’ illustrations in maths textbook
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/23/china-punishes-27-people-over-tragically-ugly-illustrations-in-maths-textbook
Those in the US on both the left and right can only dream of having this kind of power.
A months-long investigation by a ministry of education working group found the books were “not beautiful”, and some illustrations were “quite ugly” and did not “properly reflect the sunny image of China’s children”.
I see they’re taking cues from US primary education now.
Boobie check!
Importing 42000 rows into the database,….
*snore*
I was so close to a really good score.
Daily Quordle 211
2️⃣3️⃣
7️⃣5️⃣
Oh no… For the few Glibs that care. BTW – trigger warning Gizmodo
Birds of Prey’s Cathy Yan Will Direct a Live-Action Adaption of Paprika
https://gizmodo.com/cathy-yan-paprika-satoshi-kon-anime-prime-video-series-1849441852
I expect it to be awful given the current politics and culture.
I can’t believe there’s a large fandom Hungary for that.
Paprikash!
Satoshi Kon is beloved. (I was shocked he actually had a large NYT Obit.)
Speaking of shitty shows…
I got five minutes into the new Game of Thrones series before switching it off.
I made it to the first gratuitous barely soft core scene before bouncing.
Damn, now I have to go back and check.
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abuse-of-your-mayoral-authority-fetterman-allegedly-ordered-cop-to-dig-up-dirt-on-political-rival/
Fuck Fetterman.
Lazy ass socialist:
Glad I don’t have to make that choice. The carpetbagger is no better.
Fake ass Oz may be RINO, but I don’t believe he’s a rat fucking commie.
In the race between two assholes, I’ll take the GOP one right now.
Stalin v Hitler.
Maybe, but my vote would really be about getting Rand a committee to rain hell on the CDC/NIH/FDA.
I was just reading about him.
LOL because of course it is
I have several Dem friends of mine asking me what I think of this guy. It’s an easy answer. He is trying to come off as some bad ass biker, but he is a career politician who lived with mommy and Daddy while he was in office as Mayor. Want’s to take your guns but had a history of using a shotgun to intimidate a citizen in his own town.
He will take your gun rights, tax you to death, and act like a totalitarian.
He is trying to pull in the blue collar Trump populists and no BS/FU contingent, but ultimately he is a commie in Carhart’s nothing more.
I’ve just noticed that Harvard requires all students to get flu shots annually. Pretty sure they were not mandatory in the past. And this article from 2009 confirms it.
Show me the long term study that demonstrates effectiveness please.
“We have redefined ‘long term’ to mean ‘fifteen minutes'”
Anthony Fauci, is that you?
That says recommended, is it required now?
It was recommended in 2009. Now it’s required.
Yes.
https://huhs.harvard.edu/immunizations#gsc.tab=0