California State Civil Service provides a number of ways for employees to develop their careers and move within its system. For example, you may change units within the Board, move to another Board location, change to a different classification at the same level, or even promote to a new position altogether. State civil service has laws, rules, and guidelines for the appointment, transfer, promotion, and relocation of individuals from one position to another. These types of movements require eligibility determination, and you need to consult with the Personnel Management Division.

Prepare for Competition
You are responsible for locating, applying, and competing for vacant positions that interest you. You may be competing against Board employees, other state employees seeking transfers, former state employees seeking to reinstate, and people on examination lists.

When you apply for positions that interest you, you may choose to include a brief cover letter. Indicate the reasons for your interest in the advertised position and how you may be uniquely qualified. A cover letter should also include a phone number where you can be reached to set up an interview. You should also, if requested, submit a state application, STD 678, and you may decide to include a resume.

Education and Other Requirements
Although transfer ability in state civil service is normally based on salary and does not require that you meet the minimum qualifications for the classification to which you are transferring, you must still meet any license, certificate, credential, registration, or certificate of proficiency requirements. The Board has an internal policy that requires anyone who transfers into the Tax Auditor or Business Taxes Representative classifications to meet the college course requirements of the minimum qualifications. If you are selected as a lateral transfer appointment, you must provide your supervisor notification. Your current supervisor may require up to 30 days notification prior to your transfer. In addition, you may be required to use your vacation time to interview when seeking a transfer (check your bargaining unit contract for more information).

Salary Transfer by Range
Under State Personnel Board Rules 430-433, you may transfer from one job class to another if the levels of duties, responsibilities, and salary of the two classes are substantially the same and the classes are not in the same promotional series. "Substantially the same" salary means that the maximum salary of highest-paying class you were permanently appointed to from an eligible list and the maximum salary of the other class are no further apart than two salary steps (10%) minus $1.

You can use the transfer calculator on SPB's website at www.spb.ca.gov/employment/wvpos_index.htm, or you can calculate the maximum salary of a class to which you may transfer using the transfer calculations steps.

The transfer must not constitute a promotion, and the state may establish policy to limit transfers to certain classes. Verification of your last list appointment or specific personal employment history information is maintained by the Personnel Management Division. A promotion is defined as movement to a class with a salary rate of 10% or higher than the maximum of the class you were permanently appointed to from an eligible list. In the example above any class with a maximum salary rate of $3,148 or more is considered a promotion. To learn more, access SPB's website at www.spb.ca.gov.

For more information regarding lateral transfers, contact the Board's Classification Section in the Personnel Management Division.

Transfer of Employment List Eligibility
Under some circumstances, employees who have eligibility on their department's promotional list may be allowed to transfer their eligibility to another agency's promotional list for the same classification. This procedure is used by employees who apply and are selected for appointment in another agency. Transfer of promotional eligibility enables an employee to pursue upward mobility or career development opportunities in a new department without retesting. For specific guidelines and criteria for transferring list eligibility, contact the Board's Examination Section in the Personnel Management Division.

Rotational Assignment
Rotational assignments usually involve the movement of an employee from his or her current job to another job assignment within the same classification. Rotation broadens your experience, allows you to gain additional technical knowledge, and may increase your promotional competitiveness. Rotation can occur within a small unit or between sections, departments, divisions, or field offices. The assignment allows you the opportunity to experience a variety of duties without changing your current classification. Rotation requires prior supervisory and the Personnel Management Division review for approval.

Bridging Classes
A "bridging class" is a job classification that links a lower-salary-level class to a higher-paying one. Bridging classes are designed to provide employees in lower-paying occupations experiences that meet the minimum qualifications for traditional entry technical, professional, and administrative classifications (for example, Management Services Technician or Budget Technician). Bridging classes are an integral part of an upward mobility plan because they provide greater potential for career growth. To be hired into a bridging class, you must successfully compete in a civil service examination and be placed on an eligibility list or be able to transfer. Check with the Board's Classification Section regarding lateral transfer into a bridging class or from a bridging class into other specific classifications.

Upward Mobility Program
Government Code 19400-19406 requires state agencies to have an effective upward mobility program. Upward mobility is the planned development and advancement of employees in lower-paying occupations to entry-level technical, administrative, and professional positions. It is not, as is commonly thought, the promotion of employees up through working journey-level positions to supervisory and managerial positions in the same occupation.

The Board of Equalization is committed to the development and administration of an effective upward mobility program. It can aid in meeting a department's labor needs in jobs where recruitment is becoming increasingly competitive and difficult. In addition, the program can be an incentive to motivate employees in lower-paying occupations to improve their qualifications and become more valuable to the Board. It can also assist the Board's affirmative action efforts by increasing the number of qualified minorities, women, and people with disabilities who are available to hire into the entry positions described above.

One of the goals of the Board's program is to establish the number of expected appointments of employees in lower-paying occupations to positions in higher-paying classifications during the fiscal year. Keep in mind, however, that a limited number of openings are available in any department, division, section, unit, or classification at one time, so not all employees who wish to be part of the program can be accommodated.

Although departments are required to participate actively in upward mobility, including having a functioning, effective program, you must also be motivated enough to seek out opportunities, prepare formal career development plans, take the necessary training, and discuss your career options with your supervisor. You should also consult your bargaining unit agreement for specific provisions relating to upward mobility.

Training and Educational Opportunities
State employment in general and the Board in particular offer a number of training and educational opportunities. In fact, BOE policy requires the development of annual training plans for each employee.

Individual Development Plan and Performance Appraisal Summary
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is Form STD 637, available on the Internet and through eBOE. The purpose of the IDP is to identify an employee's developmental and career objectives and to determine what training and experience are needed to achieve those objectives. The performance objectives listed on the IDP should be the result of a mutual effort by the employee and the supervisor. Performance objectives may relate to your present job, to promotions, or to job changes.

The IDP is also an instrument to help divisions develop their Annual Training Plan, so it may be completed separately from the Performance Appraisal Summary. However, you should receive both parts of the form every year. See your supervisor if he or she has not completed an annual IDP with you.

Career Ladders
Career ladders are charts showing typical promotional paths and possible transfers that may occur as a person progresses through various classifications. Career ladders provide an employee a picture of possible progression without providing specifics on the number of job opportunities available.

The Board's ladders reflect most job classifications at the Board and show the possible progression through each classification series. The minimum and maximum salary steps for each classification, effective April 1, 2002, are shown in parentheses. Although the salaries change through the collective bargaining process, the salary relationships between the classes usually remain the same.

The Board's career ladder chart is available through the Personnel Management Division. Salary schedules are updated regularly on eBOE under the Careers button.

Training
State civil service training activities are designated as either "in service" or "out service" training. For Annual Training Plan purposes, the Board defines these types of training as follows:

In service--all Board-administered training courses offered by Training Section staff, Audit/Compliance staff, or other internal BOE staff, and so on. There are generally no direct costs for these classes. When conferences are planned and conducted to meet specific training objectives, they are considered training and should be added to your IDP.

Out service--all training offered by a source other than the Board, including DPA, the State Training Center, SPB, the Health and Human Services Data Center, and training that is conducted for the state through state colleges or university systems, and private consultants or firms. There is generally a direct cost for enrollment or tuition.

For information on both in-service and out-service training, contact your unit or district training coordinator or the Board's Training Section. The Training Section has college catalogs and class schedules for Sacramento-area colleges, as well as information on other training opportunities.
The Board may assist employees with the cost of career-related, upward-mobility, or job-related training. Your bargaining unit's labor contract, your supervisor, or your unit training coordinator can offer more specific information. As mentioned previously, your training needs should be identified during the Annual Training Plan process.

Training and Development Assignments
A Training and Development (T&D) assignment is a temporary appointment to a position with job responsibilities that differ from those of your current position while retaining your current classification and salary. A T&D assignment can last from a few months to a maximum of two years and is a formal agreement between the employee, the current supervisor, and the T&D supervisor.

A T&D assignment is the result of a cooperative effort between management and an employee that provides maximum benefit and minimum risk to both parties. These assignments are recommended for employees who are interested in increasing their effectiveness and enhancing their career development. T&D assignments are also a mechanism for movement of clerical and technical employees into professional-level positions by providing opportunities to meet minimum experience and education qualifications.

Requests for T&D assignments are considered for most advertised vacant positions. Most of the assignments are made through a competitive process to provide the opportunity for all those employees who are interested and who qualify to compete for such assignments. If you are interested in a T&D assignment, review job opportunity bulletins for vacancies in classifications that you are most interested in.

In addition, you may inform your supervisor of your interest and identify it as part of your annual IDP process. There are personnel rules and criteria that must be met in determining the appropriateness of a T&D assignment. For this reason, all proposed T&D assignments must have prior approval from the appropriate department's deputy director-level management and the Board's Classification Section.

A T&D assignment cannot be made to a classification within the same promotional series and should not be to a classification with a maximum salary more than three salary steps above or below the maximum salary of the employee's current classification. For instance, a Staff Services Analyst (SSA) to an Associate Governmental Program Analyst (AGPA) is within the promotional path and would not be allowed. Further, a Tax Technician II might want to be a Business Tax Representative (BTR) but doesn't have the required education courses. A T&D assignment would allow the Tax Tech to get experience at the BTR level while taking the necessary coursework.

At the end of the T&D assignment, in order to be appointed to the higher classification, you may be required to compete successfully in an examination for the class. When a T&D assignment is completed, the employee either returns to the former position or may be permanently transferred, if eligible, or appointed as a result of an exam to a comparable classification in the unit or district where the T&D was completed. The employee or any of the other parties who sign the T&D agreement can terminate a T&D assignment with 30 days' written notice.

Leaves of Absence
State employees may be granted an unpaid leave of absence for up to one year to attend college or other formal training, subject to operational needs. The employee does not receive pay, benefits, reimbursement, or service credits while on a leave of absence. However, employees who wish to continue their health benefits coverage while on leave should complete Form HBD-21, Health Benefits Plan Direct Payment Authorization. For more information, contact your unit attendance coordinator.

Upon return from an approved leave of absence, you have the right to be reinstated into the same classification you were in prior to your leave or into a comparable classification, that is, one into which you could have laterally transferred. You may not be able to return to the same position you had before you started your leave.

Job Sharing
Job sharing is an innovative personnel management tool that employees can use to pursue educational opportunities while maintaining a partial income. For example, if the job duties of a position can be divided in such a way that more than one person can do them on a less-than-full-time basis and with prior supervisory and management approval, the position may be used for job sharing. Another alternative you may wish to consider is a part-time or intermittent position that may allow some time for both school and a job.

Probationary Period
Once you are appointed to a new or different classification, you must satisfactorily complete a probationary period of six to twelve months to obtain permanent status. During this time you may receive training related to your position and receive regular evaluations tracking how well you are doing on the job. Most employees successfully pass the probationary period and become permanent staff. However, if you are not successful in completing the required probationary period and you had permanent civil service status in another class, you have the right to return to your former classification (not necessarily your former job). If you have had no prior permanent civil service status, you will be separated from state service. Additional information regarding probationary periods and return rights may be obtained from the Board's Classification Section.