RATING GUIDE NO. 100-A

Ability To Work With Others

DESCRIPTION OF JOB ELEMENT

Ability to secure agreement without causing friction, to understand the other person's position, and to resolve conflicts.

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Ability to Work with Others relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated:

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Describe any training or experience in work or outside contacts that applies to your ability to deal tactfully with other people and gain their cooperation in conferences, in work situations, in enforcing rules or policy, in giving instructions, and in settling disputes.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 100-B

Ability To Work As A Member Of A Team

DESCRIPTION OF JOB ELEMENT

Ability to work with others where the work depends on mutual cooperation.

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Ability to Work as a Member of a Team relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated:

4-Point Credit

Able to cooperate in a situation where hazards are constant and extreme caution is an absolute requirement for individual or group safety; few or no safeguards against individual error are present and generally a single error on the part of one member of the crew or team results in fatality. Following are examples which usually meet this level:

- Member of a combat team or gun crew in military service.

- Ammunition or explosives handlers.

- Crew members of a plane, train, submarine, etc.

- A helper operating levers while the blacksmith is working with an ingot under the drophammer.

- Electricians working on the same circuit on opposite sides of a high-voltage switchboard.

- Ironworkers working on a high building.

- Elevator mechanics working at different levels in an elevator shaft.

3-Point Credit

Able to cooperate where joint effort is involved such as carrying furniture down a stair or placing rivets for another worker to hit (Any person who has participated in group athletic activities in school, community, or military sports would usually be at least at this level).

2-Point Credit

Able to cooperate where joint effort for immediate or long-range goals is relatively free from hazards and where individual or group safety is not critical, such as passing tools and giving assistance when requested (Gasoline station attendants would usually be at least at this level).

1-Point Credit

No negative and no positive information.

Zero Credit

Serious indication that competitor is not cooperative as a member of a team.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Check the tasks you have done that indicate your ability to work as a member of a team. Support your checkmarks by giving examples of the work you did. Note the job number or other information to show where you did this work (on which job, military service, sports, etc.).

- Working with other workers in the same line of work to get a job done.

- Working with employees in other trades to get a job done.

- Serving as a project leader.

- Supervising a group of employees.

- Cooperating with others when hazards exist and an error may cause injury.

Give examples of all of the above.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 100-C

Aptitude For Work With Prisoners

DESCRIPTION OF JOB ELEMENT

Aptitude for work with prisoners in the accomplishment of trades and labor functions includes the following:

- Interest in correctional institutional work;

- Ability to effectively communicate and work with persons of diverse backgrounds, education, and levels of intelligence;

- Capacity for using good judgment, e.g., to determine necessary action in unusual circumstances that might arise in correctional institutions;

- Willingness to work with prisoners in confined areas;

- Ability to stimulate interest of prisoners who are reluctant to learn trade work;

- Ability to assist in carrying out plans for correctional treatment and modification of attitudes of prisoners.

- Ability to observe the principles and practices of prison security, e.g., to safeguard shop tools and materials that could be used to harm persons or effect escapes, and to observe and report attitudes and actions indicative of potential security problems.

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Aptitude for Work with Prisoners relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated:

4-Point Credit

Demonstrated outstanding ability to control prisoners and train them in good work habits such as cooperation, industry, following instructions, attention to detail, etc.; thorough knowledge of prison security practices as it applies to the job to be filled.

3-Point Credit

Demonstrated satisfactory ability to control and train prisoners or other day-to-day contacts with prisoners which are not "strong" enough for the 4-Point Credit level; OR strong interest in or familiarity with some phase of correctional administration, penology, criminology, etc., as demonstrated by evidence such as the following: experience in a community crime or delinquency prevention program; recreation work in a police boys club; experience in giving vocational training in a correctional or rehabilitative organization; training or education in correctional work, criminology, sociology, penology, and law.

2-Point Credit

Interested in working in correctional institution. No negative information concerning aptitude for work with prisoners.

Zero Credit

Negative information concerning ability OR expressed disinterest in correctional institution work.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Tell about any rehabilitation work you have done, paid or voluntary, whether with prisoners or not. Give specific details; dates of your dealings with persons as a part of a vocational training program; and experience in rehabilitation activities at a school, social agency, community counseling service, and group interaction programs.

2. Tell about any work experience you have had in a prison, including training or instruction you have taught and your responsibility for counseling prisoners.

3. Describe any other training or education you have had in correctional work, criminology, sociology, penology, and law.

Note: Barely acceptable or potentially satisfactory ability (2 points) is required in Element No. 100-C, Aptitude for Work with Prisoners, to meet the screen-out element for trades and labor leader or supervisory jobs in the Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to appointment, applicants may be required to appear before a panel of specialists in correctional administration for an employment interview. After the details of the work and its environment have been explained, negative interest or other information reflecting adversely on aptitude for work with prisoners will be used as a basis for objection to an applicant on the certificate.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 101

Cleanliness, Neatness And Concern For Sanitation

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Cleanliness, Neatness, and Concern for Sanitation relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated:

4-Point Credit

Has shown more than usual concern for sanitation (for example, by working satisfactorily in a situation demanding especially sanitary conditions, or by presenting evidence of being unusually neat and clean in less demanding situations).

3-Point Credit

Has worked satisfactorily in situations requiring sanitary practices and good personal hygiene e.g., institutions or food processing organizations where good standards are maintained.

2-Point Credit

No derogatory information concerning habits of cleanliness and sanitation practices.

Zero Credit

Cannot be depended upon to follow simple hygienic rules.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Describe any work that you have done where you had to be careful about cleanliness. Tell exactly what you did to make sure you took all necessary steps to maintain cleanliness on the job.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 102

ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE ON IMMEDIATE WORK AMIDST DISTRACTION

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Ability to Concentrate on Immediate Work Amidst Distraction relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated:

4-Point Credit

Superior in coordinating work of several groups when it is frequently necessary to concentrate on immediate work amidst distraction.

3-Point Credit

- Satisfactory in situation described for 4-point credit; OR superior in coordinating work within a group when it is frequently necessary to concentrate on immediate work amidst distraction.

- Satisfactory in concentrating on work amidst distractions; OR satisfactory in coordinating work within a group when it is frequently necessary to concentrate on immediate work amidst distractions.

2-Point Credit

Satisfactory in concentrating on immediate work amidst distractions.

1-Point Credit

No derogatory information.

Zero Credit

Weak in this element. Cannot be depended upon to concentrate upon immediate work amidst distractions.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Describe any activities or work experience that show your ability to focus on your work while other things or distractions are occurring in your environment.

2. Describe any experience that required you to keep a group focused on the immediate tasks during disruptions or distractions.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 103

Ability To Meet Deadline Dates Under Pressure

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Ability to Meet Deadline Dates Under Pressure relates to a personal characteristic. Credit point levels show the degrees to which this characteristic may be demonstrated.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Check the tasks you have done that indicate your ability to meet deadline dates. Support your checks by giving examples of the work you have done while meeting deadlines. For each item below that you check, note the job number or other information to show where you did this.

-_Setting priorities for your own work in order to meet a deadline.

-_Coordinating work with other units in order to meet a deadline.

-_Setting work priorities and determining work assignments for other workers in order to meet a deadline date.

-_Setting up methods and procedures for doing a job in order to meet a deadline date.

-_Supervising a group of workers in order to meet a deadline date.

Give examples of the above.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 104

Ingenuity (Ability To Suggest And Apply New Methods)

DESCRIPTION OF JOB ELEMENT

Ability to devise new methods and specialized devices and to modify equipment.

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Below are levels of performance expected of supervisors and workers in the particular trade, craft, work, etc.

Most Difficult

-Able to effectively adapt shop equipment and practices to unique complex fabrication problems, as in planning fabrication of testing equipment and prototype models needed for research and development.

-Able to make necessary adjustments to sequences of operations, as in development work like modification or repair of experimental devices; devise and manufacture specialized equipment and adapt standard equipment in order to complete an assigned task; and work without fully developed guides, solving problems and contributing to design completion.

Common

Able to contribute ideas, based on practical knowledge and trade "know-how", to the solution of problems. Able to make simple adaptations of old devices, or techniques to new situations (for example, able to adapt pumps and distributing equipment to local conditions). Able to see need for adaptation.

Less Difficult

Able to put new ideas into practice (when ideas are outlined) on basis of practical trade knowledge.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Check each item listed below which applies to your experience and training. Support each check, as indicated in the item.

- Have put new ideas into practice when fully explained. List one or two such ideas.

- Have learned new techniques. List courses taken, other than those given elsewhere in this questionnaire; technical meetings attended; outside study done; technical publications read; hobbies pursued. Include also any evidence indicating that you learn new techniques fast.

- Have contributed ideas for getting a task done. List one or two such ideas.

- Have suggested modifications in shop equipment and procedures to solve problems. List suggestions made.

- Have adapted shop equipment, procedures, and sequences of operation to unique or complex problems, such as fabrication of testing equipment, prototype models, experimental equipment, etc. List adaptations made, commendations received, if any.

- Have contributed to design modification. List contributions made; patents, if any.

- Am familiar with projection principles used in drafting. Show your training not already listed elsewhere, and any use you made of the principles.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 105

  Ability To Work In A Scientific Environment

DESCRIPTION OF JOB ELEMENT

Ability to assist in scientific work; following instructions without deviation; reporting deviations from expected results; keeping and reporting accurately data and records.

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Most Difficult

Able to understand requirements for working under experimental conditions; able to use care and judgment in following scientific instructions without deviation; reporting deviation from normal expectancy no matter how trivial; keeping records; interested in working on new and non-routine problems.

Common

Able to understand need to keep and report accurate data and records. Willing to work under variable, unusual or unpleasant conditions requiring care and accuracy. Willing to acquire new techniques or to adapt old procedures or methods for experimental work.

Less Difficult

- Able to keep and report accurate data and records. Able to follow new techniques, under supervision.

- Able to carry out exact procedures which involve simple decisions.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Are you able to perform tasks such as those assigned by scientists or other people supervising scientific work? If so, describe some of the tasks that you have performed.

2. Tell about any work or training which required you to follow special instructions with care and accuracy, or without change.

3. Describe any work or training where you had to report data or results, keep records of unusual events, be accurate or neat in performing tasks; and/or where you worked on new or non-routine problems, etc.

4. Mention any work or training in schools, laboratories, hospitals, field stations, etc.

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RATING GUIDE NO. 106

Ability To Keep Records And Make Reports

LEVELS OF ABILITY

Most Difficult

- Able to prepare and maintain a complicated set of records.

- Able to collect data from a number of sources. Able to train others in record keeping or reporting procedures. Able to prepare and maintain a complete set of records such as those required for a small business or farm.

Common

Able to keep records on one's own initiative, subject to occasional inspection.

Less Difficult

- Able to keep records under close supervision and subject to frequent inspection.

- Able to make oral and written reports based on the records.

- Able to determine which of several possible simple record keeping tasks should be done and to do the pertinent ones.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Tell about your ability to read, to keep records, and to make written or oral reports.

2. What kind of figuring have you done on jobs, in school, etc.

3. Describe any experience with taking inventories; preparing time, attendance, or similar records; making records and reports of weights, volume, measures, etc., that you have done.

4. Give examples of the kinds of written or oral reports you have made or records you have kept.

5. What kind of information did you put in your records or reports? How often do you keep the records?

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Page Updated 11 July 2000