JCMS spiral a rolls to fleet

All Hands, May, 2005 by Katie Suich

Sailors across the Navy began using the latest in a series of Job Advertising and Selection System Career Management System (JCMS) 'Spirals,' or upgrades, recently.

The spirals bring additional functions and capabilities to Sailors' fingertips with a single click of a mouse.

New roles, such as Command and Career policy Administrators (CPA), were introduced to provide key career management personnel critical information concerning not only the individual Sailor, but also the billet the Sailor fills. Commands can now see multiple applicant profile summaries in order to compare and rate applicants.

"CPAs, such as Rating Assignment Officers, establish and monitor qualification weights reflected in the indicator lights displayed to Sailors," said ABCM(AW) Bill Place, Enlisted Assignments leading chief petty officer at Navy Personnel Command in Millington.

The indicator light system compares three critical areas utilized during a normal negotiation window for Sailors: skills, preferences and permanent change of station (PCS) costs.

"When a Sailor logs onto the system and applies for jobs, the system takes a snapshot [of the three areas, helping] to decide on the best matches for that Sailor," continued Place. "Job skills are already in the system, and each job already has the desired skill set requirements attached. When a Sailor pulls up their JCMS homepage, it will show the Navy's first five jobs, the first five jobs matching the Sailor's preferences and the first five jobs with incentives. Each Sailor has a fight indicator to help determine best matches based on their resume of skills," he said.

"Commands have access to see the status of their jobs and are able to anonymously view an applicant's pay grade, rate, NECs (Navy Enlisted Classification Code), school and platform history," said OSCM (SW/AW) Pat Lumley, PERS-4 senior enlisted advisor at Navy Personnel Command. "This access allows commands a real-time capability to track command manning and view potential gains."

Sailors receive alerts throughout the negotiation process to keep them abreast of their current status and the status of any jobs they have applied for.

"The first time they log into JCMS upon entering their nine-month negotiation window, they are required to fill out their duty preference sheet to ensure the system captures the latest choices of the Sailor," said Lumley. "It is very important for Sailors to ensure their duty preference sheets are updated with the most accurate information, as one of the primary indicator lights extracts dam to formulate an indicator," he said.

Sailors who have a Five Vector Model will be able to look at how a specific job would affect their career if they were selected for it. Being able to see how various jobs impact their careers gives Sailors insight before applying for a job.

To access JCMS, log on to www.nko.naw.mil or www.npc.navy.mil.

More information on JCMS is available at www.npc.navy.mil or call 1-866-U-ASK-NPC.

Story by JOCS(SW) Katie Suich, who is assigned to the public affairs office, Navy Personnel Command.