Bidding on open announcements

jamie10584 Senior Member

I just put a bid in for an open announcement that closed a few days ago, and was wondering if anyone knows approximately how long the wait was, to find out if you were accepted or not. TIA.

killswitch Tin Pusher Ohio

Article 42. Section 12.

Within twenty-one (21) days of a request, the following information shall be made available to the employee:

a. whether the employee was considered for the position and, if so, whether he/she was found eligible on the basis of the minimum qualification requirements for the position;

b. whether the employee was one of those in the group from which selection was made; i.e. one of the best qualified candidates available and appeared on the list made available to the selecting official;

c. any record of formal or informal supervisory appraisal of past performance used in considering the employee for the position;

d. who was selected for the position;

e. in what areas, if any, the employee should improve to increase his/her chances for future selection.

jamie10584 Senior Member

Thank you! Ok, so now the application has updated and is says:
"Based on this review, we have determined that you are eligible for further consideration for the position(s) associated with this announcement. Your application is among those being reviewed by the office with announcement. You may or may not be contacted for an interview. Please continue to check back for status updates"
It will be 21 days on Thursday, does that mean they will let me know before then?

RiderVectors Newcomer

You were just notified in that status update. The bidding process can take up to years. Often you will find out if you've been selected and get a ToL within 1-8 months but it depends on the bid, what happens, and how big a hurry the facility is in.

For your information, your best bet is to go visit the facility right now checking out operations and talking to the team and management, spend several hours at the facility showing serious interest and respect. AS SOON AS YOU REALIZE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE AND BEING CONSIDERED. That means that the facility selection committee will be reviewing the bids immediately and you have the unique opportunity to make an impression and be a fresh face in their mind that they can associate with a name.

jamie10584 Senior Member

Im talking about Cpc bids for transfer, not new hire.

MIAvectors Loving Life

Jamie, that simply means that your application was received and you are eligible to be picked up on that bid and your application is in the stack with the others who are eligible.

"Normally" it will be 1-3 months from now before you hear something, but some facilities are looking for a quick turn so hearing something quick isn't out of the question. Taking more than 3 months isn't out of the question either.

Many things happen in the process. Management and/or NATCA will look over the applications and narrow the list down based on how many they plan to pick up. Then calls are made to the facility/Facrep to see about release date possibilities and what kind of person/controller you are. Then selections are made and sent to HR in that region. Then HR has to do the paperwork and make an offer. Its a long process, most of the time is taken up by HR's paperwork process.

UNDgrad06 Senior Analyst Memphis, TN

Everyone gets this that filled out the application successfully and has the minimum quals required.

MikeATC Retired FAA, NATCA Member Nashville TN

I have "NEVER" received anything other than the receipt that my bid was accepted and was being considered, so don't expect anything else. The FAA almost "NEVER" send you any other information about any jobs you bid.

Often what occurs is the manager of the facility that you bid on will call the manager of your current facility and ask if you were selected when could you be released (as well as other questions about you), depending on the answers you may or may not be selected. I've seen managers derail a controllers career by giving release dates of a year or two down the road, so it does happen.

Granted this is illegal for management to do this but they do it anyway, you might have recourse if you discover that the person they selected was less qualified than you but you have to have a source to discover this information.

ajmezz Trusted Contributor Annapolis, MD

It seems there is a lot of movement once you get in and cpc'd. Is it frowned upon if you bid out/switch to different facilities often like it would be in normal jobs outside of the faa? Has anyone ever had the atmosphere/attitude towards them change as a result of bidding to another location after the manager of said facility calls inquiring about a release date, etc?

DE_UND_CTI Trusted Member CHS- Charleston AFB/International

People are constantly moving around the FAA, and a good majority of managers got to where they are by facility hopping. They expect most people to move up and out if you are at a smaller facility. From what I've seen at my facility, bidding up to busier facilities is encouraged. I can't speak for other places.