How long does the SEC's hiring process take?
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Anonymous
Where are you now? |
Anonymous
Well, that does give me some comfort knowing that I am not the only one. I applied and interviewed for an Examiner position in the Fort Worth office in late August. I just want to know one way or another so I can mentally move on! |
Anonymous
I'm a lawyer with DOJ and have never worked at the SEC, but I have many friends there. They all came from firms and are all very happy. They have no reason to sugar coat it for me, and they have their complaints like people do with any job, but none of them would say it's a bad place to work. Based on what I know about their jobs, I'm really surprised at some of the low rankings in that link. For example, SEC attorneys are allowed to telework, they are allowed flex scheduling, they get comp time, and they get paid way more than other government lawyers. So when I see low rankings for pay or family friendliness or work/life balance, I have to roll my eyes a bit. Maybe people comparing the SEC to some other cushy government jobs are disappointed, but compared to my job at DOJ (where I work my ass off for less money and zero perks like telework, flex scheduling, etc.) or law firm jobs, the SEC seems pretty awesome. |
Anonymous
shoot me a line. ss046702 at gmail if you discuss/compare our experience. |
Anonymous
Not the PP you're responding to but I, too, used to work at the SEC and left because of the poor environment. Leadership is extremely poor, unsupportive and sometimes vindictive. I realize this behavior exists to some degree everywhere but it wasn't always this way at SEC and it’s like nowhere else I’ve been. Several individuals I worked with were unfairly targeted and when you witness something like that, it’s incredibly demoralizing. It was abusive. I think that’s one of the reasons the survey results are so low. Yes, the money is good and some can telework (not every division allows it or flexible schedules and the agency is proposing to eliminate telework for everyone). The FLRA recently found the SEC had been negotiating with the union in bad faith. As a result of the finding, the SEC Chairman was required to post this notice http://www.secunion.org/files/ULPFLRANotice.pdf . I wasn’t eligible to join the union but I know from talking with the stewards that membership was at an all time high. I also know a lot of non-attorney staff were getting professional liability insurance – people like COTRs and low level contracting officers. That’s unusual. The IG they had (David Kotz who left last year) was a whacko who saw wrongdoing at every turn. His reports/investigations were poorly done and factually incorrect yet ‘leadership’ required concurrence with his findings. If you were someone targeted in one of his reports (as some people I know were), if you didn’t have professional liability insurance, it became very costly to defend yourself. I don’t know what division/office your friends work in but it sounds like your friends were in an area where they were shielded. Not everyone is so lucky. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sec-officials-lawyering-up/2011/09/14/gIQAWmYkSK_story.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_J._Aguirre - Largest settlement ever disclosed by the MSPB. http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/11/11/Complaint%20to%20CIGIE%20Concerning%20the%20SEC%20OIG.pdf |
Anonymous
I interviewed with Enforcement (regional office) two weeks ago, and just found this thread. The interview was exactly as you describe. Not at all laid back, extremely rigid, entirely scripted, but also not particularly challenging or difficult hypos. In any event, my question is not so much about timing (I expect it to take quite some time to hear anything, and I certainly didn't expect to hear by now), but about how exactly your performance gets evaluated during this new hiring process. Does each interviewer on your panels grade how he thinks you did? Do you get some sort of numeric score? Or is it an up-or-down / hire-don't-hire type of assessment? Do they submit comments to anybody? If so, how are those taken into account? Who evaluates the writing exercise? How is it scored/graded/assessed? How is a candidate's performance during the panel interviews weighted relative to his or her performance on the written part? Any insight that anybody can provide would be much appreciated. |
Anonymous
| Glad I found this thread b/c I interviewed in early October and was told I was one of the top candidates. They checked my references about 2 weeks later and it went great. Then a month goes by and no word. I emailed the HR person and was told I was selected and to submit my W-2, and paystub and that that info would be sent to the Hiring Manager to determin my starting salary and then onto the HR Director for approval. Then the background process would begin. But it's been over 2 weeks and still nothing. Does this sound out of the norm at all? Anyone have any insight as to the negotiation part if and when i get an official offer? Will it be electronically done or by snail mail? |
Anonymous
| Two weeks is not unusual at all. I got an official offer letter by email about four weeks after I got the unofficial offer. Others can pipe up if they had different experiences, but unless you are being hired for a specialized position, there really isn't any negotiating salary. I think it has something to do with the union and am pretty fuzzy on details, but all the attorneys that I know in the Enforcement Division started at the exact same grade and step despite having vastly different levels of experience. It's crazy. I have not heard of anybody in ENF who successfully negotiated for more. The good news is that the salary is generous relative to other federal jobs and most people get a sizable raise after a year of successful performance. |
Anonymous
| Has anybody interviewed for a NYC position? What are some of the panel questions that were asked? After the 1st round what occurs? Anybody for risk analyst position? Thanks in advance |
Anonymous
| I have no idea how the interview process works for risk analysts. The panel interview questions that PPs were referring to were part of the new interview process for Enforcement attorneys, and all the applicants were asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement regarding the questions asked. Seriously. |
Anonymous
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I'm coming from a non profit and new to the government scene. I'll be starting my new position at the SEC at the end of the month after applying over 6 months ago. I'm trying to figure out my hours for commuting purposes.
Does anyone know if lunch is a mandatory 1 hour at the SEC? For example if I came in at 8:30, took an hour lunch, would I leave at 5:30? (8 hr working + 1 hr lunch) or do I have it wrong? |
Anonymous
| Mandatory 30 mins for lunch. |
Anonymous
Can you share at what salary they start new attorney hires? And do you happen to know if the ongoing sequester and/or budget problem has led to a hiring freeze or slowdown? |
Anonymous
| I applied for a position within the SEC's Office of Support Services back in February 2013. The position closed out on March 13, 2013 and I haven't heard a peep from HR or the hiring manager. I actually waited a month to follow up and didn't get a response to my follow up email. I am hesistant to send another email, but ancy because I would like to know what their intent is. |
Anonymous
| I heard the culture there is awful...really bad. |