Civil Service Sucks

Last Friday I was subject to round two of testing for a title which is the one above which I now occupy in the staff side of the community college universe. Mind you, I have already tested for, passed, and probably now occupy the #1 hiring slot for the title ABOVE the one I'm in the middle of testing for, but one is not allowed to "back-fill." You have to test for every position--except for some people who are allowed to be reclassified. Reclassification may depend on who you are sleeping with, but I don't have tangible evidence of that, only rumor.

So, having taken the written exam for all three, I can say with certainty:

1. The test for Senior Administrative Analyst was the easiest.

2. The multiple choice test for Assistant Administrative Analyst (the job I now have) was the most difficult of the three multiple choice tests.

3. The multiple choice test for Administrative Analyst was so similar to what I remember of the multiple choice test for Administrative Analyst, that I question the value of either exam.

4. The THREE HOUR written examination, which was part two of the Administrative Analyst position, was really about policy determination, which, according to the job descriptions, is really what the Senior Administrative Analyst does. It therefore has no relationship to the job which will be done by the employee (and even less relevance to the position at my college which will be held by someone with the Administrative Analyst title.)

I did take all three hours to finish the test and I probably could have used at least another half an hour to flesh out my analysis of the choices I did not make. I do not recall that the written part of the test for Senior Administrative Analyst was anywhere near as long--I can't even remember what it was--and I think that the oral interview was held on the same day.

My other recent run in with this system was when the position of "Compliance Officer" was announced for one of the other colleges as a provisional appointment. The compliance officer at my college is an attorney. Looking at the description of the work a compliance officer does, I have either had experience or training in every single point, which involves knowing and interpreting the law. However, when it came down to the requirement for the job, I did not have "four years" of very narrowly drawn experience dealing only with EEOC, Title 9, affirmative action, and hiring and firing. Nothing I said or did would change that, so I can't test for the job and I can't interview for the provisional appointment. I think they are afraid I would pass the written exam, which would really show how worthless this system is.

This post has been on hold for almost two weeks, during which other things have gone on and I'll soon write about them. But I did get the news that I will be interviewed tomorrow, the last step to being placed on the hiring list. Interestingly, they required that I bring in a copy of my LAW SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT. My J.D. was not necessary for this job (not listed as a requirement or alternative and I do have both the education and work experience to otherwise qualify) and they did not require it when I tested for the Senior Administrative Analyst position, so I am very much still of the mind that the people in the system don't have a clue about what they are doing.

Of course, it will mean that they have to treat me as having a doctorate, which does mean an adjustment in salary for both my administrative and teaching work. It will buy lunch once a month, after taxes come out.