Interview for SGPO with TVA?

[Carmstrong]

I have a few questions for anybody who can answer. I was recently asked to take the EEI after applying for a SGPO position at WB and I passed the test.
So my questions are:

1. I will be graduating from college on May 11th with a major in mathematics and minor in chemistry. The fact that I have not obtained a degree yet concerns me, but I am guaranteed to graduate. Will this and how will it affect my chances of getting an interview?

2. If I am selected for an interview, how long is the usual wait to find out?

3. If I am not selected for an interview, what would better my chances of being selected if I chose to apply again in the future?

[Bradtv]

1. Nothing to worry about.  If you've mentioned such in your resume, they'll presume you are honest that you will obtain said degree.

2. Hard to predict. They won't invite you to interview until they know WHEN they will interview and whom they will invite to interview. 

3. Try and try again.  Get someone to look over your resume.  Expand your search.  Be ready for interviews with STAR type scenarios that portray desirable attributes.  Keep learning about the industry.

[Bleyse]

For what it is worth:

I applied for an SGPO position with TVA in Dec 2006, took the EEI in Feb 2007, interviewed for the position in May 2007, graduated from college in June 2007 and hired in Aug 2007.  Maybe that gives you an idea of the time frame involved, the times can obviously vary on a case by case basis.

Regarding your third question, Bradtv gives some good advice.  I have solid information that a few of the guys that did interview at the same time as me, but were not hired, did get picked up for subsequent SGPO classes.  So don't give up!

Take heart; if you did pass the EEI exam at the nuclear operator level you've already cleared one of the most difficult hurdles.  We lose most applicants at this stage of the process.

Good luck!

[ddickey]

I'm one of five Energy Tech/Nuclear students graduating this May from my school. We all passed the EEI at Nuc level and still our pospects so far are looking bleek. So from my perspective passing the EEI has not helped any of us yet. I keep sending out resumes as I'm determined to get my foot in the door somewhere.

[HydroDave63]

I'm one of five Energy Tech/Nuclear students graduating this May from my school. We all passed the EEI at Nuc level and still our pospects so far are looking bleek. So from my perspective passing the EEI has not helped any of us yet. I keep sending out resumes as I'm determined to get my foot in the door somewhere.

Attention to detail matters. As Bleyse pointed out, the EEI is a hurdle that must be passed. There are others yet to come.

[Bleyse]

I'm one of five Energy Tech/Nuclear students graduating this May from my school. We all passed the EEI at Nuc level and still our pospects so far are looking bleek. So from my perspective passing the EEI has not helped any of us yet. I keep sending out resumes as I'm determined to get my foot in the door somewhere.

I understand that the EEI is administred by some colleges and training programs.  What is different in this case is that the original poster has applied for a job and has been selected from a pool of applicants to be given the EEI by the utility.  The next step in the process for this person is being selected and invited for an interview.

Good luck to you on your job hunt; try not to get frustrated with the process.

[silverbullet02]

If a guy were to pass the EEI with TVA this time and not get selected, would he have to take the test again next time he applied or is it good for a period of time?

[Nuclear NASCAR]

It can vary from utility to utility.  As an example, I took it as a pre-employment test and then transferred out of the power plants.  I had to take it again 14 years later prior to transferring to our nuke plant and was told we only considered the results valid for 7 years.

[ddickey]

I understand that the EEI is administred by some colleges and training programs.  What is different in this case is that the original poster has applied for a job and has been selected from a pool of applicants to be given the EEI by the utility.  The next step in the process for this person is being selected and invited for an interview.

Good luck to you on your job hunt; try not to get frustrated with the process.

Our EEI test was administered by our sponsoring utility but you're correct in that we were not part of an applicant pool.

[Bradtv]

Keep checking each utility for postings.  It would be very fortunate to be picked up immediately out of school, especially for operations as they are hired as needed in batches.  If a utility recently hired a class, it may be up to two years before they look for more non licensed operators.  While decommissioning plants will play a factor, the retirement rate will play a greater role as time goes on (ie more frequent class hiring).

[Carmstrong]

It has been about 1.5 months since I got the POSS/MASS test results and I have not heard anything about an interview.  So, I am requesting more advice. Should I still keep an eye out for a possible interview request or is this opportunity no longer available?

[Fermi2]

Ok 1.5 weeks. Here is what is happening.

About the time you got your results the plant that posted the position received all the resumes that passed.

They took all those people and placed their names on a 6 page spread sheet.

On those spread sheets they listed the criteria from the job responsibilities and placed weighting values on them. Each item is scored usually on a 1-5 scale.

So Education: Say the minimal requirement was a High School Diploma. That might be a 1 on a 1-5 scale.
HS plus some college might be a 2
An associates degree in a technical discipline would be 3
And on and on.

They might grade you on 15 to 20 different things.

HR does not fill your info in on the spread sheets, normally the plant hiring team does that. They also select the criteria and the weights. The MINIMUM standards will be the criteria listed on the job bid.

After everything is filled in with the scores and weight values (also selected by the hiring team) the spread sheet figures out the final score.

Now say they are hiring 15 people, usually they will interview 3 to 4 people for each position. Say it's 4 people.
The top sixty scores will be submitted to HR to arrange interviews. HR will ensure items like Veterans Preference, Union Recommendation, and The 60 mile rule were applied correctly. I think they look at other things too. If any of these are wrong the whole thing goes back to the plant.

When the 60 people are finally selected Plant Management will give final approval to interview or they may cut the list to say 45.

BTW just so you know the questions you are asked at the interview are scored and weighted in a similar fashion.

Keep in mind the people doing the scoring and weighting also have primary duties at the plant so items like down powers, outages, vacations and such add to the time of the scoring. Heck just figuring out how you want to score stuff takes time.

1.5 months is nothing.

In 2012 I needed to hire 2 people. 38 bid the job. It took me 3 months to get to the point to do my first interview.  Most likely the job you bid had 600 or 700 people pass the POSS. If the guys hiring are anything like me inputting 15 people into the spreadsheets wore them out. It really is exhausting.

[Racer]

Anyone heard any news on this job? I interviewed in June and they said it started in October. How much of a lead do they give you?

[BetaAnt]

Depends, Are you part of the TVA 'Friends and Family Plan'? If not, don't expect a call back.

[Fermi2]

Depends, Are you part of the TVA 'Friends and Family Plan'? If not, don't expect a call back.

Biggest bunch of crap I ever heard.

[HydroDave63]

If the guys hiring are anything like me inputting 15 people into the spreadsheets wore them out. It really is exhausting.

Got just the helper in mind

[Fermi2]

TVA is one of the most ANAL companies I have ever seen on friends and family.

[Racer]

Depends, Are you part of the TVA 'Friends and Family Plan'? If not, don't expect a call back.

All I have is union reccomendation and a decent resume. I hope I get a shot at it.

[saberjk2]

Has anyone heard anything? I've given up hope. Hopefully another class will open up (unlikely) and I can apply on that one. Already passed the POSS. Just need an interview.

[Racer]

Interviews were in late June/early July. As far as I know right now they still haven't hired the class yet. Still waiting myself.

[Fermi2]

They are cutting back over Half a billion dollars in budget this fiscal year and maybe more...

[IRLFAN]

Got just the helper in mind

That does kind of remind of watching Broadzilla type.

[Fermi2]

LOL the ONE FINGER KEYBOARD SLAM!! You remember that eh?

[saberjk2]

I've been worried ever since I heard about TVA being sold. And I've heard about the cutbacks through people on the inside. They are already short staffed on the RP side at Sequoyah this outage. But they don't have any more money to hire. So it doesn't look good for new hires.

[Fermi2]

They aren't being sold near term future though last night I talked with a guy who is certain they are setting up for it.
Most likely outage shortages are not due to plant staff..
My guess is if the interviews were in June/July they will simply decide to post the job again.