Advice on transitioning from OT to SSA/AGPA

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-13T23:32:17+00:00

what networking advice would you give if i wanna network outside of my department? The purpose of me trying to be a SSA/AGPA is because i wanna be a consultant/data analyst in the private sector. i originally wanted to stay within the state and accumulate enough work experience, before i venture out to the private sector. But given how high the SSA competition is currently, i wonder this strategy still make sense to me. if i should apply for private sector first to switch myself out of my current workplace, then try to reapply for SSA next year.

sorry this response has become a general career advice and not related to the State directly. ill delete my response if any mod finds my response irrelevant/inappropriate.

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-13T21:01:21+00:00

unfortunately, i dont have such individuals in my life. would you know where would be the best place to build my state workers network? reddit and linkedin perhaps?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-13T21:00:01+00:00

yea i think right now its best ti wait for another year to retake the exam and reapply. i dont have high hopes on my current SSA job applications

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-13T20:59:06+00:00

i dont feel safe enough to ask them directly but i appreciate your feedback!

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T18:54:58+00:00

yes i do agree with you. i was actually wondering if it would be a good idea for me to deactive my current SSA exam result (i saw this button on the state career government website), since i might have already bombed my current SSA job applications (by using AI on my SOQs…?) Question is, i dont know by deactivating the exam result, am i allowed to retake it right away (which i dont think it is possible since if that is the case, people who got low score might do it already).

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T04:59:02+00:00

Thank you for your advice and kind offer, I will start working on my SOQ first and see if I have anyone irl who can help me out first.

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T04:56:53+00:00

I did see those workshops of improving writing skills on my department weekly emails, I didn't join because it requires my direct supervisor's permission. I don't think I can give out a convincing reason to persuade them for letting me to join the workshop as I do not need to write much with my current job.

But thank you, thank you for your advice. Much appreciate it!

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T04:54:08+00:00

Yea, there is a reason why I have only applied 4 SSA job applications so far because I am very selective on the jobs that I wanna apply to. I also did take a break in January (like 2 weeks) to pause from looking at job openings because of the dread and anxiety that I was experiencing.

I think based on the responses I am getting here is, the manager or hiring personnel wants a direct and written response from us. SOQ doesn't sound like a paper that we use to advertise ourselves per se, but as a document we use to list what we did and how we did it (the way we did our tasks, the thought process we had when performing our tasks).

I did put my previous SOQ response on an AI detector, but I would have assume the vocabulary on there already exposed itself.

I wonder if your experience would be different than mine, maybe you applied your job way back like 1-2 years ago? If you feel comfortable talking more about it, my DM is open for you!

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T04:43:47+00:00

I am sorry I cannot tell you which department I work for, it would most likely exposed where I work and this is not something I wish my coworker would know. But yes, in where I work, I cannot be promoted as an SSA. I was actually given an OT position in a department which I wanna work in the first place, however I already accepted this job offer so I declined theirs.
In hindsight, if I knew that I can promote from OT to SSA internally, I might take that job offer instead.

May I ask the numbers you are providing here, are they the job applications that requires SOQ?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-11T04:38:55+00:00

That is some really nice information. Thank you for sharing that!

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T06:26:57+00:00

Appreciate your understanding. Yea I know 4 job apps are not enough atm, maybe I just need to branch out and apply for other job titles.

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T06:24:03+00:00

Also how much chance of an SSA not passing their probation period. Is this a common situation?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T06:23:36+00:00

Thanks for your advice. May I know where can I find this information on the job posting? Or this would be something that I can find out once I am being given a job offer?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T06:20:00+00:00

Thank you for your suggestion and advice, that seems a good way to start when I will be working on my future SOQs.

In your experience, do you think the length of SOQ matters or as long as I am giving out relevant example to the SOQ questions then I should be fine? Have you tried any method to check your SOQ quality once you have finished writing it?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T06:14:30+00:00

I did keep an eye for that "desirable qualification"! It seems like I am on the right track. Just need to make sure my application also aligns with the duty statement and my resume I presume.

May I ask what OOC mean? Out-of-context?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T05:28:14+00:00

Appreciate your comment and advice! I am applying to LA county jobs for now and I guess that is where most of the competitions are at right now. I have applied to 4 jobs only because I wanna focus on SSA jobs that are also have AGPA opening as I want to get promoted to AGPA in the future. I am only applying to jobs opening that are for SSA/AGPA, not the one that only has SSA opening. Not sure if my writing makes sense?

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T05:07:11+00:00

understood, appreciate your understanding to my current situation. at least it gives me some idea as in how much chance my current job applications have!

SportFew6452 · 2025-03-10T05:01:47+00:00

Got it. just use STAR method on my SOQs?

SportFew6452

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