Frequently Asked Questions
About Eligible Lists

Why does the County use eligible lists to fill positions?
Eligible lists are often used to fill categories of positions that become vacant frequently throughout the year. Rather than advertise each vacancy as it occurs, an eligible list allows a department to establish a ready pool of qualified applicants. The department can then fill the position more quickly since it will have immediate access to a qualified pool of applicants. The advantage for applicants is that they do not have to worry about applying over and over again as jobs become vacant. Once an applicant is on an eligible list they will automatically be considered for every vacancy in that job category. Specific vacancies may be advertised on a case-by-case basis only after it is determined that the applicants on the eligible list do not meet the requirements of the position. This is generally rare.

What is the purpose of the 3-month eligible list?
The 3-month, renewable eligible list is used in an effort to keep the eligible lists current. Feedback from department hiring managers indicates that resumes forwarded to them from the traditional eligible lists were often comprised of applicants who were no longer interested in being considered for employment. They had either already found employment, left the area, or were simply no longer interested. With the implementation of Quick Apply (formerly known as self-nomination) we now have the opportunity to allow applicants to easily and quickly renew their eligibility for a given eligible list.

When a department has a vacancy, the resume database will be searched for the best match of skills, education and other appropriate criteria. Generally, such resume searches will be limited to applicants who have applied (or renewed their eligibility) within the last three months. Therefore, while failure to renew your resume after three months will not result in total elimination from the eligible list, it will significantly reduce the likelihood of it being considered for vacant positions.

How is education and experience used to determine "Minimum Qualifications"?
Every advertised position includes a statement of minimum qualifications. Your resume is evaluated to determine whether you meet those qualifications for the requested eligible list(s). In order to meet the minimum qualifications you must have a combination of education and experience equal to the minimum qualifications. This means that qualifying experience may be considered equivalent to required education and vice versa. In some situations education may not be substituted for experience. You must have the required experience in order to be considered qualified. The job announcement will usually state any restrictions on the substitution of education and experience.

What happens if I meet the minimum qualifications?
For eligible lists used to fill jobs with Mental Health, Mental Retardation, or Alcohol & Drug Services, your resume is prescreened to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the job classes that you requested when you applied. If you do meet the minimum qualifications for the job class, your name will be included in the pool of eligible applicants for that job and you will be considered for each vacancy as it occurs.

For eligible lists used to fill Administrative Assistant jobs, your resume is not prescreened to determine if you meet minimum qualifications. Instead, your resume is simply added to the applicant pool for the job class (Admin. Asst. I, II or III). When vacancies occur in those job classes your resume, along with all of the others in the pool, is evaluated to determine (1) if your education and experience match up well with the vacancy and (2) whether you meet the minimum qualifications for the job class.

What does the "Expires" date mean?
The dates shown on the "My Status" page show the date that you last renewed your eligibility for the eligible list and the date that your eligibility will expire on that list. After the "Expires" date, it is unlikely that your resume will be considered for vacant jobs filled from that list.

You can renew your eligibility for another three months at any time. Just use the "Quick Apply" feature and apply to the eligible list again. Be sure that your resume is up-to-date since the resume that currently resides in your AIMS account will be submitted when you renew your eligibility.

Are resumes placed in a rank order on the eligible list?
There is no attempt to rank applicants on this list. The eligible list is simply a pool of applicants from which county departments will consider applicants. Each time there is a vacancy, staff from hiring department will compare specific job criteria against the pool of applicants for the appropriate job category. This is done using a computerized system that has extracted skill and education information from your resume. You are more likely to be considered for a position if your skills and education match closely with the skills required for the particular vacancy. Therefore, it is very important to have a comprehensive resume which describes your work experience in detail. It is also important to renew your eligibility every three months. The resumes of those applicants whose skills most closely match the job criteria are provided to the hiring manager for further consideration. At that time, the hiring manager will determine which applicants will be contacted for an interview.

Please understand that being on an eligible list does not guarantee that you will receive an interview. There are typically several hundred people on each of these eligible lists at any given time. Being on an eligible list simply makes an applicant eligible for consideration.