Provisional and permanent. The words that shock some new hires, creates feelings of hopelessness in those who haven’t taken a test in years, and fear in those who have been working provisionally for a while and realize they may possibly be in a bind…
I figured let’s start here. Because many people sit down at an interview with me and, when I bring this topic up, we get into the confusion and uncertainty of the city civil service world, causing the candidate to question the whole process and reassess whether this is for them.
I don’t bring this up at the beginning of an interview. I usually run with the initial standard interview questions. Like what animal would you want to be, what your greatest weakness is, or why are manhole covers round… Not really – even this civil servant recognizes the stupidity of questions like these. Or even “where do you see yourself in five years?” The candidate is probably thinking “… in five years I hope to be your boss and brutally overwork you for a stupid question like this, dumbass…”
Then the derailment – “Right now the job is what is called a ‘provisional’ hiring. You will work for us, but you will ultimately have to take a test, pass it, and be in a position where the agency can get to you on the list.”
Or even worse – hearing this after quitting your previous job and getting hired by the city, thinking you’ve got it made, and then find out a test is coming up and you need to take it or your city job may be at risk.
Now, let’s backtrack a bit. This does not apply if you took a test, passed, made the list, were called to an interview for a “probable permanent” position, and were hired. In this case, you did ‘make it’ and just need to live through your probationary period. You can now spend your time providing value and service to the citizens of the Big Apple and not worry about a regular paycheck.
So, why would the city hire provisionally, or “Provisionals” as they are commonly referred to? Well, because the need for someone to do the job is now. Maybe there was a list, but the list was exhausted (no more qualified candidates left). There is no upcoming test for a particular job. Perhaps there were retirements and an agency needs to backfill the positions as soon as possible. There have been instances where a test was given, but it was not “certified” by the city yet (more on that another time). The candidate may have taken the test and “felt pretty good about it” (that she believed she may have passed it) so the agency hired her provisionally with the hopes that she made the list, and can be reached (in a position high enough on the list where your agency can get to you) – or if another agency calls she can move to that agency and become permanent.
Let’s use an example. A title that I’m familiar with – Radio Repair Mechanic. Let’s say I’m the manager of a city radio maintenance facility that uses Radio Repair Mechanics and, due to recent system upgrades and projects, I get some openings for positions. However, there are no active hiring lists from the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS – the agency that develops, administers, generates, calculates, and certifies tests, validates answer keys, and generates hiring lists, among other services). So, without an “active” list – lists generally are active for up to four years – I have no pool of candidates to hire from. So I am authorized to hire “Provisionals”.
However, in the meantime DCAS did have a test for Radio Repair Mechanic, but has not generated a new hiring list of candidates, or just a “list” for short.
The agency “posts” the job, maybe advertises on the job websites, or has it on their own agency website. Sometimes the posting may reflect that “only candidates that took test 1234 should apply”. Maybe not. Maybe someone that’s in need of a job and didn’t take the test will take the job out of desperation and hope that the list is exhausted before a decision is made to “backfill” his position.
So, Human Resources (HR) receives and compiles resumes, results from the job websites, and sets up dates and times for interviews.
The interviews begin. I run through the interviews and several have wisely responded that they would like to be a French Bulldog or Pug (I own one of each) because they are not too big or mean and they are cuddly and warm, or that in five years they see that the job is an exciting platform for growth and how they are thrilled to facilitate the deployment of life saving technology as they continue to thrive in educational endeavors.
Then “the Talk”. “We are filling this job provisionally. Are you familiar with the process?”
To the flowchart – If no, explain what a provisional is (as I did in the above paragraphs). If yes – then “did you take the Radio Repair Mechanic Test 1234?”
This is where some “meat” is. “How do you think you did?” I may ask. “Would you want to accept the job provisionally without knowing if you passed?”
Being familiar with the Radio Repair Mechanic title, I would be comfortable to encourage the candidate to accept the job as a provisional because the qualifications for the job are not easily met by others, the lists are generally low in numbers, the lists of candidates are shared with several different agencies, and the likelihood of getting to keep my candidate is relatively high. And if they didn’t do well on the test (meaning failed), they may not necessarily lose their job because of the low number of candidates.
I do NOT recommend this as a general method – this hypothetical description is only meant to help explain an unfamiliar and somewhat complicated process. Each list is different, each title is different, and each person’s situation is different. Lists for PAA’s, Stockworkers, and other titles are usually large and the risk of a provisional losing their job that did not take and/or pass the test is very high as well as if they didn’t score high enough to be “reached”.
Bottom line – accept a provisional position only AFTER you understand the risks and are willing to work at risk until such time as you pass and are appointed off of a civil service list.
Questions and Comments welcomed below.
Image Courtesy of Gratisography.com. Buy the man a coffee!
