•How do I get "selected" to support an opportunity? Do prospective customers look at our website and choose? Or, does management pick the next, best qualified person?
There are several ways of getting selected:
1) You follow Opportunities and are selected
2) You may get a call by an Account Manager who searches TOD and finds your profile
3) You could get a recommendation by other associates and/or our leadership team
4) Our clients search TOD and find your profile.
•Do I have a "right to refuse" an opportunity? If so, what are consequences?
There are no consequences, you always have the right to refuse and opportunity. We do ask that once you commit to working a deployment and your TOD resume is confirmed by our client that you fulfill that role.
•If I do have a right to refuse, how many do I get before I get "counseled"?
There are no consequences, you always have the right to refuse and opportunity. We do ask that once you commit to working a deployment and your TOD resume is confirmed by our client that you fulfill that role.
•If chosen, I will need to travel to the customer location (their HQ or work location of the project).
Most likely yes, occasionally some work may be partial remote and/or fully remote.
•How do I handle travel arrangements?
You book your travel through our system and are responsible for submitting your expenses to be fully reimbursed. Anything above 50 miles will usually cover travel & expenses (this information is communicated on TOD and your statement of work). Depending on the agreement we can give out a stipend, reimburse on the actuals or provide a per-diem. Should I consider an apartment? We reimburse on hotels.
•Do I need to be in accordance with Joint Travel Regulations (JTR)?
We comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and JTR regulations – no need to do anything on your end.
•If it is a long term effort (i.e. in excess of some time frame), do I get opportunities to return home to be with my family? IF so, who covers travel costs?
Yes, we provide a home rotation program to Associates traveling extensively. That cover a trip to see family every other weekend.
•What about rental cars during trips?
That is also covered by us or you can select to do Ubers if you don’t want to rent a car.
•What equipment do I need, and who provides (computer, printer, phone, etc.)? Cell phone to communicate with you.
The client may provide you with a computer but at times they may expect you to bring your own laptop (this should be communicated by the Account Manager before sending you out to the client).
•What is the delay in receiving pay? Do I log time, send hours to SMA, the invoice the customer and the customer pays in 30 or 45 days?
We pay out our Associates bimonthly, considering weekly timesheets and expenses are submitted on time.
•In the profile, there is an entry for career level. Does SMA have definitions for this so we are consistent?
You cannot edit this section. That section is automatically updated once we determine our hire decision. We will fill out the career level.
•Under opportunities, I see some postings that have been there a long time. Are they still valid?
When we deployed TOD, we knew that “opening the inner workings” of the opportunity workflow would show that some opportunities take some time to close. But we felt that it was better to show you opportunities that we are pursuing than to “hide” the opportunities until they are completely closed by the Account Managers. This speeds the time it takes to deploy a qualified associate. As long as the opportunity displays in My Opportunities, it is still valid and unfilled.