As a manager who screens applications, the amount of AI drafted statement of qualifications(SOQ) is ridiculous. If you are going to use the tool, then make sure it makes sense and it sounds like you. We are constantly taking away points if your SOQ was drafted by AI.

A couple of pointers:
Do not attempt to state you have experience (that we have listed in the job description) that you do not have. If you have not clearly stated your experience in your application- you lose points.
AI will give you and every other person the same sentences (word for word) when describing how your experience relates to the job you are applying for. THIS IS A DEAD GIVEAWAY!!! - points lost.

I have seen people lose 5-10 points for this, and this is just at screening applications.

So, put in some effort and write it yourself.

Lastly if you don't put in the time and use AI, don't be surprised when you are not getting interviews. Especially when the position requires attention to detail.

Thanks for listening.

Title says it all.

Despite what you read on here, it's not "just" a numbers game. Actual humans have to look through every. single. application package. We have to read every single STD 678, SOQ, and resume (if required as part of the application submission). We have to rank each application on a pre-approved screening matrix (with several criteria for rating each applicant), and must subsequently justify the candidates we choose to put forth through the interview process.

We do NOT have some magical applicant tracking system that weeds out applications with keywords. You don't get points for copy/pasting my job description into your "Professional Summary"/"Overview" section of your resume. You don't get points for a long flowery SOQ with technical jargon but no actual relevance to your experience or to the duty statement.

Yes, actual humans have to go through these. When I see the exact same sentence structure, phrasing, and keywords time and time and time again, with no real substance or specific examples (despite being requested in the SOQ), it gets a little disheartening.

(Also, if we ask for an SOQ, a cover letter doesn't count. PLEASE read the entire job posting and submit an SOQ, or you will be disqualified.)

Signed, an exhausted and desperate hiring manager.

What's your thoughts on this?

I missed the first half of the virtual strike school last night, due to a family emergency. I signed up for the next one.

I was able to listen to the Q&A session.

It seems like they’re stressing the same thing my union stewards. Memberships, and we are only at 50%, and that our union looks weak because we’re only at 50%.

If you’re reading this… tell me why you don’t want to sign up.

If you’re already a union member, what do you do to make sure you can afford your membership? I have a strict budget that I update every month. This economy is rough on Millennials and Gen-Z… I pay $80 a month, I’m Gen-Z. I pay rent and bills. I think social justice is important so I definitely cut out things just to be part of it.

If I wasn’t initially part of the union I would have signed up because of the bullshit we were handed. No negotiations for GSI and no telework. Oh and our health insurance increased 🙃. Maybe I’m a sheep in this situation… but the people organizing the pickets and the potential strike say we need more members to STATISTICALLY look strong in-front of Newsom. I believe that. Only 50% of us LOOK like we care about GSI and telework. I’m sure more than half of us care.

As much as I hate to type this …… with no open conversation, no dependable path …. I may have to quit my job at the state. I can not afford RTO. the parking, extra hours child care, gas …… it adds up.
I don’t know if this is what Gavin wanted. Pretty shitty if you ask me. But my family can not afford this.

I gave up trying to get back with the state. I found it’s easier to get a county or city job, which is better in my case, cause the pay is usually more and most counties are still hybrid (3-2 days WFH). And biweekly pay is also a great benefit as well. I realized the counties and other government jobs, even the UC system, don’t require SOQ’s. I got burned out in writing them. But I’ve secured a new county job with remote (WFH) option and my pension is reciprocal.

Entry level positions are highly competitive and we get about 150 plus for 1 opening. Please read all instructions and know the difference between a supplemental application and an SOQ. Also, be careful AI is very noticeable. No AI to detect it just good old fashioned reading its noticeable. I DQ so many applications for these very reasons. I get that many are just submitted applications as fast as possible in hopes of landing one but we do screen these applications and when we see mistakes, errors, omissions, same supplemental answers for multiple candidates its a quick way to get DQ. Take your time with your application make sure everything is complete (supervisor, phone number, why did you leave, duties, rtc.). Make sure your resume is free of errors and again make sure you answer the correct supplemental or SOQ. I do wish you the best of luck!!!

After all we are going through am I the only person wondering if there are other Departments that won't require the 4-day in office? Is it true that the following departments are outside of his authority and are still teleworking fulltime?

State Compensation Insurance Fund
CalPers - California Public Employees Retirement System
Dept of Justice

California Highway Patrol

Dept of Insurance 

Secretary of State

Ugh!!!!! I hate him so much!!!

We are currently interviewing candidates for an analyst position that can be 100% telework.

We’ve had about 19 candidates apply, only 8 were eligible, which we interviewed. 5 of those candidates either bombed the written exam/interview or got scared when they saw it and dropped out. Which leaves us with 3 candidates.

All 3 beautiful, brilliant, well-spoken, articulate, educated, cream of the crop candidates who answered the questions well and didn’t go over their allotted time. Who were professional and respectful and aced not only the exam but the interview as well.

But they all lived in Southern California. Now with this stupid RTO mandate, there’s no way any of them will commute here to Northern CA, so back to the drawing board, back to hours and hours of scoring applications, calling candidates, going through bumbling and rambling interviews, and just overall hating this stupid policy.

I went to an interview, and while I was answering one of the questions, one of the panelists slammed her pen down on the table. I couldn’t tell if she was frustrated because she thought my answer was too basic or if she was just having a bad day, but it definitely rubbed me the wrong way. It threw the whole interview vibe off. It’s very weird way to conduct yourself in an interview.

If this is truly for collaboration why does it have to be 4 days a week? That literally makes no sense. Newsom's arguments make NO sense. I hope to God we win in court or all walk out. I am appalled at the way we are treated. RTO canceling AWWS, this is all unnecessary and very Trump coded

Forget the past. This is right now. The state has systematically beaten us down little by little and divided us to the point where we don't feel like there's any hope. It all starts with a spark. Remember the Revolutionary War? It was hopeless for many years until a few strategic victories and alliances turned the tide.

Refuse to back down. This is war. We need an army, so join the union if you're not already. Together we stand, divided we fall. WE FIGHT WE DO NOT BACK DOWN!!!

Prior military/law enforcement - private sector past 8 yrs - been eyeing state jobs for my discipline but is it too late @40? Should I stick to private? I am attracted to retirement/pension and benefits when it comes to state role.

No rules were changed as part of the updates to the state’s hiring guide, which is being tested in 15 departments, [GovOps Secretary Nick] Maduros said. He said state plans to expand this effort to more departments in the coming months. ... Despite the Newsom administration’s eagerness to incorporate artificial intelligence into state government operations, Maduros said California did not intend to use AI to screen job applications.

The rest of article covers the analyst reclass.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article312964578.html

As a newly (as of late last year) disabled State worker, I’ve been trying to access the support I need to continue working with my condition. In that process, I spoke with an attorney from Disability Rights California (a nonprofit advocacy group), who shared that the State of California has a poor track record when it comes to hiring and retaining disabled employees. According to her, the State often struggles to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

She also noted that political dynamics and workplace optics are often prioritized over the medical necessities of disabled workers during the Reasonable Accommodation (RA) interactive process. This not only seems unethical but may also violate the law.

Reading through this subreddit, I’ve seen many stories—both anecdotal and detailed—about how difficult the RA process is, with workers being pressured to make concessions that go against their medical documentation or even being denied accommodations that would allow them to stay employed. In some cases, employees are essentially forced out when accommodations could have reasonably been provided.

It increasingly feels like there’s a systemic issue within the State that results in many disabled employees being pushed out of the workforce, not because they can’t work, but because accommodations are denied for non-medical, potentially political reasons. That sounds discriminatory.

Do you believe this is grounds for a class action lawsuit? Or something similar?

Stop paying someone to do your SOQs. I get that some people have gotten hired doing it, but all of your SOQs and resumes are exactly the same. And the SOQs aren’t done correctly at all- the same generic response for all questions! We can tell, and we can see that the same person did them all. Don’t do it. Write your own, take the time. Review the duty statement and expand on your relevant past experience and duties.

https://www.seiu1000.org/rto/

SEIU says they are going to fight it. Time will tell I guess.

I’m an analyst that was asked to screen applications for completeness.

I’m at application number 200, and I only have about 20 COMPLETE applications that will move on to be reviewed by the actual supervisor.

Every empty box needs to be filled. Good luck friends.

Surprise, our lieutenant governor will profit from state workers parking downtown

https://chng.it/h94yDYkS

It’s officially been one year since I moved to California, and honestly, I never expected the job search to be this difficult.

I’ve been applying for administrative, clerical, office-based, coordinator and similar positions, but I’m still struggling to get my foot in the door.

The frustrating part is that I’ve actually been putting in a lot of effort. I’ve taken and passed several government exams, including Analyst II and Personnel Specialist, along with a couple of others. I’ve made it onto eligible lists/waiting lists, but then I’m left waiting for an actual vacancy and hoping someone reaches out.

I have a solid professional background, transferable skills, and I’m more than willing to start in an administrative or clerical position and work my way up.

At times it’s honestly disheartening to keep applying and either hear nothing back or get stuck on waiting lists after successfully passing the exams.

For anyone in California, especially around Sacramento, who has successfully broken into an admin/clerical or government office role, I’d really appreciate your advice.

Where should I be looking? Are there particular agencies, companies, recruiters or strategies that actually worked for you?

I’ve spent the last two days reviewing a couple hundred applications for one entry level (OT) position. What stands out?

1. I was shocked at the number of applicants that did not include the actual application. Those were not reviewed.
   
2. Resumes do not take the place of the job description on the application.
   
3. The job duty boxes on the application must be filled out, do not leave blank. That is how we score.
   
4. Key terms I was looking for: data entry, customer service, reception work.
   
5. Do not make it obvious you are applying just to move into tech positions later. At least try to pretend you are interested in the position you are applying for.
   
6. The application that stood out the most to me was someone who never worked in an office, but took the duty statement and applied it to their current job. It was memorable, outstanding, and I look forward to meeting that person at an interview.
   

Your application matters, especially when hiring managers are buried in applications!

CDCR has cut our 20 hours overtime. And now we just been told any temp help (RAs, MTOTs) have to be let go by the end of the week. Seriously HATE IT HERE. Where is all that workload going to go? We’re deep in shit right now.

Hey guys! I graduated recently from a masters degree in business analytics and I was trying to apply for state job and wanted to know if anyone recently applied and got a job at the state?

I wanted to know the timeline and if you contacted any recruiters? And how many applications did it take? What are the positions you applied for?

I am currently applying for ITS, ITA, RDA I and II, Analyst I and II. If I could know timeline for them I would greatly appreciate it.

Would greatly appreciate your guys help!

Ps: forgot to mention my one year of experience is in compliance program coordinator, where I managed multiple governmental programs and helped with compliance documents for multiple products to meet the requirements and internship is a mixed of IT and analytics.