updated 12:57 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 13, 2008 WASHINGTON - Want a top job in the Obama administration ? Only pack rats need apply, preferably those not packing controversy.
A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive — some say invasive — application ever.
The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.
updated 12:57 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 13, 2008 WASHINGTON - Want a top job in the Obama administration ? Only pack rats need apply, preferably those not packing controversy.
A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive — some say invasive — application ever.
The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.
lusciousmile: I thought they only expected that, of people wishing to visit Ireland. Obama's aunt has been living there illegally, think they'll fine him?
I think he is handling his decision making with plenty of thought and investigating everyone well. If he lets someone in with just a hint of a questionable past, conservatives will be all over it!!
I'm not sure how this application/questionnaire truly differs from some in previous administrations. I'd like to have a look at it, actually. I am a government employee and I am about 1000 rungs DOWN the ladder from future cabinet members. Yet, when I applied almost 7 years ago, I filled out a very lengthy (multiple pages) application, had to write a biography, had to write an essay about myself and why I wanted the job and would be well-suited for it, and had to sign a lot of documents. This was just the initial application process....and I am a secretary. Subsequently, when I was offered the position, it was conditional at first, pending my full background check and security clearance, which took months to complete. I just recently had to re-submit a lot of the same information and update previously provided data in order to renew my security clearance. And, yes, it takes a lot of rummaging through old documents and finding former addresses and telephone numbers of friends, relatives, etc. It's extremely lengthy and extremely time-consuming. Some might consider this an invasion of privacy. To those people, I would simply say to avoid such a job, then. I sought this job and wanted it very much and am so glad I was hired. And, I would also ask everyone to consider this.... Many government officials have access to classified information, not just the top dogs. Don't you think that these people (myself included) should have a clean background and our friends and associates are not on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list? Although the clearance process is not fool-proof (case in point, Robert Hansen et al.), as some government agency employees DO occasionally become spies or informants for other nations, it is at least a means by which the truly inappropriate candidates can be weeded out. It's very difficult for people who are not associated with the government to understand such a lengthy application and clearance process, but I am glad it's this way. National security is not just a movie plot; it's a very real necessity. I've personally seen breaches of national security that never made the news, but that could have cost innocent lives in the end, had they not been detected beforehand. And these would-be cabinet members have either filled such forms out many times already and are well used to them, or they will just have to get with the program if they want the job.
shipoker58: I think he is handling his decision making with plenty of thought and investigating everyone well. If he lets someone in with just a hint of a questionable past, conservatives will be all over it!!
I listened to some of the questions....Hell, he can't meet those standards.
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updated 12:57 a.m. ET, Thurs., Nov. 13, 2008
WASHINGTON - Want a top job in the Obama administration ? Only pack rats need apply, preferably those not packing controversy.
A seven-page questionnaire being sent by the office of President-elect Barack Obama to those seeking cabinet and other high-ranking posts may be the most extensive — some say invasive — application ever.
The questionnaire includes 63 requests for personal and professional records, some covering applicants’ spouses and grown children as well, that are forcing job-seekers to rummage from basements to attics, in shoe boxes, diaries and computer archives to document both their achievements and missteps.