What does the hiring freeze mean for you?

As one of his first acts in office, President Donald Trump on January 22 issued a memorandum to freeze federal hiring. This action halts the hiring of new federal employees, applies to executive branch agencies and aims to reduce the size of government. The freeze impacts hiring for civilian federal employees and exempts the military as well as national security and public safety positions deemed essential.

The hiring freeze is not indefinite. The presidential memo directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to recommend a long-term plan in 90 days to reduce the size of government through attrition. The current hiring freeze will expire once this plan is in place, although it is possible the plan could continue a hiring freeze for certain positions until the size of the workforce is reduced.

OMB and OPM recently issued guidance for federal agencies to help clarify how the freeze should be implemented. Several agencies – such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense – also have released their own specific guidance on exemptions. Please note that there may still be uncertainty at some agencies as federal leaders determine how to apply aspects of the hiring freeze to their workforce. Here are answers to some of the top questions you may be getting from students on your campus:

• Should students continue applying for federal jobs?
  • Yes! The freeze will eventually end and at that point applicants will again be considered for and offered positions. This may or may not occur in 90 days, pending the OMB/OPM plan. Many agencies may continue reviewing applications and conducting applicant assessments during the hiring freeze, although they cannot officially make offers until it ends.
• What if an application is currently under review?
  • Students are encouraged to follow up with the HR contact listed on the job opportunity announcement to see where they stand in the process; however, many federal HR employees are waiting for specific agency guidance and may not be able to provide any additional information at this time.
• What if a student has a job offer on the table?
  • Job offers made prior to January 22 with a start date before February 22 will be honored. Offers made prior to January 22 with start dates (confirmed or unconfirmed) after February 22 will be decided on a case-by-case basis and must be reviewed by the agency leader. Students in this situation should reach out to their federal HR point of contact for more information.
• Are certain programs exempted?
  • Agency leaders can exempt positions deemed necessary to national security (including foreign relations) and public safety (including essential activities to the extent that they protect life and property). These exemptions will be decided on a case-by-case basis and students should check with agencies. Students who take unpaid internships may not be impacted by the freeze since they aren’t being brought on as full-time employees, but they should verify that with the agency. A more complete breakdown of relevant exemptions are noted in this article.
• What about the Pathways Programs? Are they still hiring?
  • Pathways Internship and Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) programs are exempted from the freeze – great news for students and PMF finalists! These appointments are still provisional and conversion is not guaranteed, as noted in the OMB/OPM guidance. Pathways Recent Graduate positions are not exempted and are still subject to the hiring freeze.
  • Current employees under the Pathways Programs are still eligible for conversion to full-time positions. For example, a Pathways Intern or Recent Graduate currently serving in government can still be converted while the hiring freeze is in place, since these jobs often begin with a temporary appointment that is later converted to permanent.
• I heard that national security and public safety careers aren't affected. Is that true?
  • Positions related to national security and public safety may be exempted from the freeze and are determined by agency leaders. Students should check with agencies to determine if hiring still is taking place for posted national security and public safety positions. More specifically, federal civilian personnel jobs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency are exempted from the freeze, meaning they are still hiring – good news for students interested in intelligence and cyber careers!
• Some students are now questioning whether they want to go into government. What can I tell them?
  • Our government hires for every skill and background imaginable – from engineers to nurses to zoologists to scientists to computer experts. There is a place in government for talented young people, and their impact serving our country can last for decades to come. Through administration changes and beyond, government will continue to need smart, strong and dedicated people to deliver important services for the American people. After a heated election season, emotions are high on both sides of the aisle, but our democracy is greater than the rhetoric and politics. Now, more than ever, is the time for millennials to join in as public servants.

For more on the Partnership’s view of the hiring freeze, check out our CEO Max Stier’s op-ed in the Washington Post. The Partnership will continue to share updates in our Call to Serve monthly e-newsletter for higher education professionals. We encourage you to subscribe at this link.

Image Source: Partnership for Public Service

Hello and HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Be sure to check out Flat Tuesday's weekly events for the spring semester. 

CSEE Department Distinguished Seminar

Accelerating Technology Disruption: The Cognitive Revolution

Dr. Arvind Krishna
Senior Vice President, Hybrid Cloud and Director, IBM Research

1:00-2:00pm, Friday, 24 February 2017, PAHB 132

Digital disruption is changing the world around us, breaking down traditional barriers to market entry, creating new business models, and leading to new solutions to global challenges. Dr. Arvind Krishna will examine some of the core emerging technologies driving this phenomenon today, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence/cognitive computing. He will also share his perspectives on what it takes to build a successful, high-impact technical career in an era of disruptive innovation.

Arvind Krishna is senior vice president, Hybrid Cloud, and director of IBM Research. In this role, he leads the company’s hybrid cloud business, including strategy, product design, offering development, marketing, sales and service. He also helps guide IBM’s overall technical strategy in core and emerging technologies including cognitive computing, quantum computing, cloud platform services, data-driven solutions and blockchain. Previously, Arvind was general manager of IBM Systems and Technology Group’s development and manufacturing organization, responsible for developing and engineering everything from advanced semiconductor materials to leading-edge microprocessors, servers and storage systems.

Earlier in his career, he was general manager of IBM Information Management, which included database, information integration and big data software solutions. Prior to that, he was vice president of strategy for IBM Software. He has held several key technical roles in IBM Software and IBM Research, where he pioneered IBM’s security software business. Arvind has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the recipient of a distinguished alumni award from the University of Illinois, is the co-author of 15 patents, has been the editor of IEEE and ACM journals, and has published extensively in technical conferences and journals.

The post IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Accelerating Technology Disruption: the Cognitive Revolution, 1pm Fri 2/24, UMBC appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Do you love loud music?

Do you find robots particularly intriguing?

Do we have a deal for you!

We are looking for volunteers for the Maryland State FIRST LEGO League tournament to be held on Saturday, February 25th in the RAC. Over seventy teams of kids descend on the RAC to test their bots in a thrilling competition!

We need people to help the setup on the night before both Feb 24th and Feb 25th.

Benefits to you: FREE FOOD! FREE T-SHIRT! A great feeling for volunteering

your time! Did I mention FREE FOOD?

Please go to the following site to register and read what is available:

 ●      FLL: Sat. Feb. 25 - UMBC, Catonsville, MD  FIRST LEGO League MD State Championship Sign Up

 Looking forward to seeing you there!

For questions, please email Ms. Beth Goodman at bethgood_2000@yahoo.com 

Philosophy Department Colloquium

Bayesianism and the Evidence Problem

Lisa Cassell
University of Massachusetts/Amherst

4-6:00pm Wednesday, 15 February 2017, 456 Performing Arts & Humanities

Bayesianism is a theory that gives us norms for how the degrees of belief we have in certain propositions — our “credences” — ought to hang together. For instance, it tells me that if my credence that I will play baseball tomorrow is .3 and my credence that I will play basketball tomorrow is .4, then, if I believe that I will only play one or the other, my credence that I will either play baseball tomorrow or basketball tomorrow is .7. One of Bayesianism’s most attractive features is its updating norm, which gives us a simple and powerful way of revising our beliefs in the light of new evidence. However, Bayesians have an “Evidence Problem”: while their updating norm tells us what to do once we get evidence, it doesn’t tell us what it means to actually have evidence. In this talk, I consider two arguments — one in support of Bayesian’s updating norm and one against it — and show that both of these arguments fail. I go on to consider what these failures teach us about the Evidence Problem. I conclude by considering some different ways of resolving this problem.

The post talk: Bayesianism and the Evidence Problem, 4pm 2/15 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Is your resume REALLY ready to impress recruiters at the UMBC Spring Career Fair on Friday, February 17? The Career Center can help you bring it to life!

Stop by our extended drop-in hours on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 

The Career Center is located in Math/Psych 201.

***Get your resume reviewed by an employer!***
Four local professionals have agreed to assist with Resume Rescue. You will have the opportunity to request a review with an employer from one of the following organizations:

• MWEsolutions
• Allegis Group
• Teach for America
• NSA

National Black History Month 2017 continues through February!

See our attached UMBC calendar of events highlighting what's happening on and off-campus for the remainder of this month!  This calendar is produced by Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity and highlights some of the many events happening this month at UMBC and in the Baltimore/DC Metro Area.  All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.  

If we missed adding your group’s event, just let us know!  Send the details to mosaic@umbc.edu and we’ll be happy to add them on this myUMBC post. (On and off-campus events are welcomed.)

*THIS WEEK'S UPDATES*

Over the last several weeks, various offices and departments across campus have come together to plan a special showing of the movie Hidden Figures on Friday, February 24, 2017 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for free at the CIC. Please encourage faculty, staff, and students in your area to attend the showing. 

I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Film Screening and Conversation

Maurice Wallace, Associate Professor of English and Associate Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia; and Maleda Belilgne, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and English, UMBC

Thursday, February 23, 5:30 p.m., 132 Performing Arts and Humanities Building

The spellbinding 1982 documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine chronicles James Baldwin's return to the American South two decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Directed by Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley, this rare film includes Baldwin's conversations with Sterling Brown, Amiri Baraka, and Chinua Achebe on the meaning of racial progress. Maurice Wallace and Maleda Belilgne will lead a conversation on the film's historical importance and Baldwin's continuing significance today.