Secret Federal Jobs

On the street…

This week’s trends on USAJobs:

With the government is in the ‘hurry-up and hire’ mode, they are looking for help overseas – meaning out of the country.  These hiring agencies include the Defense Commissary Agency (these jobs include clerks, administrative assistance, and customer service positions) and medical fields (no once primary agency, but if you’re looking, these agencies include Army, Air Force, Navy, and Health and Human Services), such as physicians, dentist, RN’s, and support medical staff and technicians.  Some of the positions are for service personnel’s extended family of people stations overseas or someone who has an interest in working overseas with a VISA.  When you are on USAJobs, look for the international icon and locate the country of choice.  Click on your agency of choice (i.e., Health & Human Services, Air Force, Army, or Defense Commissary Agency). There, you will find the overseas postings.  Keep in mind, some positions close within two weeks, while others are continuous announcements.  Usually, continuous announcements are not jobs that I recommend, but in this particular case, these seem to be real jobs that need to be immediately filled.

These overseas positions have expanded the definition for who may apply.  I have located and pasted the long ‘brief’.  Also, keep in mind, these positions are direct hire, so hurry and apply.  Direct hire means you send your resume directly to an overseas site.  This is unique, because, in the past, you would be applying to the Army directly.  Someone from HR in the states would decide if you meet minimum criteria, then off to the hiring manager, etc.  In this case, the decision has been stream-lined.  Those looking at your KSA’s and resume will be the host country, not the in-state staff.  For the job vacancies or postings in the medical field (there are currently 13), each posting has multiple job offerings of up to 40-50 positions for each posting, worldwide (that’s 650 jobs!!).  If you’re interested, the job link can be found here:  http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/Search.aspx?lid=18201&rad_units=miles&brd=3876&pp=25&sort=rv%2c-dtex&jbf785=&vw=b&re=134&FedEmp=N&FedPub=Y&caller=advanced.aspx

Good luck in your job hunt.

Below is the DOD (this is the general acronym for the Department of Defense, including all agencies that hire civil service personnel:  Army, Navy, Air Force) expanded explanation of who may apply.

Source: USAJobs  https://vabselfnom.cpol.army.mil/help/VAB/step5_exp.html

Who May Apply:

Some statements under Who May Apply have additional text that is not displayed on the announcement. These are referred to as Expanded Definitions. Below are the Expanded Definitions for these statements. To conserve space, statements that do not have Expanded Definitions are not listed here.

---

 

Amended
Announcement: Applicants who previously applied for Announcement Number need not reapply.
Please read this announcement carefully because some changes have been made. If we have received your resume from a previous submission, you do not need to resubmit your resume. Resumes previously submitted will be considered along with other resumes received by the closing date on this announcement.

All U.S. citizens and Nationals with allegiance to the United States. Only a United States citizen (including citizens of Guam, Northern Mariana Islands including Siapan,
Rota, Tinian; Puerto Rico; and the Virgin Islands of the United States, including St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John) and nationals from American Samoa and Swains Island may be appointed to this position.

Reinstatement eligibles.
Former Federal employees who attained Career status on a permanent, competitive Federal appointment. If the person was a Career-Conditional, reinstatement eligibility generally applies 3 years after separation unless exception in 5 CFR 315.201(b)(3) apply.

NAF/AAFES
Interchange Agreement eligibles. Currently serving on a NAFI or AAFES position without time limitation or have been involuntarily separated from such appointment without personal cause within the preceding year. Must be or have been serving continuously for at least 1 year in a NAFI or AAFES position. May be appointed only to permanent positions based on this authority.

Veterans and preference eligibles under Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998.

Preference eligibles or veterans who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after substantially completing 3 years active service may apply. If selected, applicant will be required to submit a DD214, Certificate of Discharge.

Veterans eligible as 30% Disabled Veterans.

You must have prior military service with a disability rating of 30% or more. If selected, you will be required to submit a DD Form 214, Certificate of Discharge. When claiming 10-point
preference, you must also submit your SF 15, Application for 10-point Veteran’s Preference and supporting documents as outlined on the reverse side of the SF 15. You can access the SF 15 at http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) eligibles. Public Law 107-288 effected substantive changes to the Veterans Readjustment Act. Under the new law the following  eterans are eligible for a non-competitive VRA appointment: Disabled Veterans; or Veterans who have been awarded a Campaign Badge, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM), or Armed Forces Service Medal (AFEM); or Recently separated veterans. Recently separated veterans are defined as those who have separated from active service within the last three years. There are no time restrictions on appointment of the first two categories of veterans. There are no length of service requirements for all three categories of veterans. Veterans who are serving under the old Veterans Readjustment Appointment who do not meet new eligibility requirements for new VRA appointment may still be converted to career-conditional  ppointments upon completion of the current appointment. The maximum grade level at which appointments may be made is GS-11. Veterans must meet all qualification requirements. Veterans with less than fifteen years of education must receive training or education.

Employment Program for People with Disabilities eligibles.

Have a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities and has been certified by the State Department of Vocational Services.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) eligibles.

To be eligible for ICTAP consideration, you must be displaced or scheduled to be displaced, through no fault of your own, from a permanent competitive service position, and you must meet the following conditions: (1) This job vacancy must be open to applicants outside of DoD and must be in the same local commuting area as the position you occupied at the time of separation (or proposed separation); (2) You must have a current (or last) performance rating of at least fully successful or equivalent (as applicable); (3) The grade of the vacancy must be
at or below the grade level, and with no more promotion potential than the position from which you are displaced; and (4) you must be rated well-qualified for the position. Well-qualified is defined as meeting all of the minimum qualification standards and eligibility requirements as well as possessing skills that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Under competitive delegated examining, an ICTAP eligible will be considered well-qualified if they attain an eligibility rating of 90 or higher, not including points for veterans preference.

Family member employees eligible under Executive Order 12721.

Worked as an Appropriated Fund Federal employee overseas while a family member of a Uniformed Service Member, civilian employee, or Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) employee  erving overseas. In the overseas assignment, employee must have accumulated 52 weeks of creditable service; received a fully successful or better performance rating; and must have returned to the U.S. from the overseas tour of duty and met time requirements.

Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) eligibles.

Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) eligibles. (1) Reinstatement eligible–Current DCIPS employee who has reinstatement eligibility as a result of personal competitive status; or (2) Personnel Interchange eligible– Currently serving on a DCIPS appointment without time limitation or have been involuntarily separated from such appointment without personal cause within the preceding year. Must be or have been serving continuously for at least one year in a DCIPS position. May be appointed only to permanent positions based on this authority.

Open to applicants who are 16 years old and are at least part-time students.

Applicants must be currently or accepted at an educational institution taking at least a half-time academic or vocational and technical course load. Willing to accept temporary employment.

Applicants may apply under the Outstanding Scholar program if eligible.

Resumes submitted under the Outstanding Scholar Program will be considered for this position. The Outstanding Scholar Program is used as one of several methods for recruiting some entry-level positions throughout the Army. This special hiring authority is restricted to grade levels GS-5 and GS-7 or equivalent. To be eligible you must be a college graduate and have maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.45 or better on a 4.0 scale for all undergraduate course work, or have graduated in the upper 10 percent of your graduating class or major university subdivision. For this program, the GPA is rounded to one decimal place. For example, a GPA of 3.45 rounds up to the required 3.5, while a 3.44 rounds down to the 3.4 GPA. A college degree in any major is qualifying for most of the career fields covered by the Outstanding Scholar Program. However, some positions may require specific courses in subjects related to the job as indicated in the job announcement. Applicants who wish to apply for the Outstanding Scholar Program may apply nine months before completing all the
requirements of the Program, including GPA or class standing. However, the applicants must produce appropriate documentation (e.g., a copy of their college transcript) at the time of appointment. To apply under as an Outstanding Scholar send a resume as explained in the How to Apply instructions for this position. You may be required to submit a copy of your  college transcripts containing sufficient information to compute GPA and/or a letter from the Registrar’s office as proof of your 10% class standing.

Spouses eligible for noncompetitive appointment under Executive Order 13473 are as follows:

• a spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty who has orders specifying a permanent change of station (not for training),
• a spouse of a 100 percent disabled service member injured while on active duty,
• the un-remarried widow or widower of a service member who was killed while performing active duty.

 

HR feedback

HR resume feedback

I have been helping my friend get a senior executive staff position with the federal government. We completed his resume, all three sections, and sent it off on Friday, August 26. Today, he called the HR contact assigned to the job announcement to double-check everything was received. He would have done it on the day he sent it, but couldn’t.
Calling really paid off, and here’s why:
1) The hiring engine was off-line on Friday. This means the additional computerized job application you have to fill out in addition to USAJobs was not working. His resume was never received (except the faxed portion he sent out of desperation when one section wouldn’t load).
2) The HR gal took pity and gave him her direct phone number at work
3) He got the inside scoop: jobs take a minimum of two days to load from a hiring engine
4) She offered to let him send his resume in a PDF format to her email address if his electronic version didn’t arrive by close of business Tuesday
Lesson to be learned: call the HR representative on every federal job you apply for on the day its due. It may unlock some of the mysteries of your resume status and you might get to pull into the lion’s mouth and pull your opportunity back out. I always call if a resume was not accepted. This is the only time a federal HR person is allowed to be candid about your qualifications. They’ll help, but they don’t have to. A little sugar can go a really long way with this technique.

One Day

How you make your choices today will affect your federal career for the next several years.

Here’s how to make the wisest choice possible: I give you… the decoder ring for what the numbers and letters mean on the job description  (for example, GS-1101  9/11/13,    etc.) 

There are different types of pay scales (pay varies based on location):

GS – general schedule – white color job

GM – general manager – white color job

WS – wage supervisor – blue color

WG – wage grade – blue color

SES – Senior Staff

• SES is not easy to get, so please don’t kid yourself.  It is said that you have to be invited to apply for these types of jobs, if you’re a federal employee.  There are special instructions for these job applications.  If you are trying to get these types of jobs, then you have already held an executive job in the private sector.  Search the internet and find these specific instructions.
• Not following directions, especially on this level, is a HUGE waste of time.  Also, there are very special instructions for these position descriptions.  Many don’t allow you to apply via USAJob due to the space restrictions.  Instead, the instructions that I’ve personally been involved with include (these have aried from each agency): handing the application in person, including several business cards, or include special faxing instructions.

There are several other types of pay scales; if you find one not on the list, use the search feature on USAJobs.

Series numbers:

Series numbers are the basis of the job bank.  These are the actual job descriptions by job type; accountant (0501), biologist (0400), maintenance mechanic (4749), etc.

There are blanket series numbers, for example, Managers – 0301, 1101, 1640, 0343 (there are many more – but include some specific skill sets – nurse manger is series 0610).

Grade numbers:  ***The nugget of this blog***

Grade numbers are very important when choosing a job to apply to.  Grade numbers are placed after the series number in a job announcement.
Grades determine what you get paid and when.  There are easily searchable, so take some time to Google them (http://www.opm.gov/oca/11tables/indexgs.asp).  My advice is to always look for what I call a progressive grade.

For example, a GS-0401-9/11/13.

This job announcement can be very misleading, because the pay can appear to be low.  What this pay actually indicates in this job announcement is the following:  you will be hired at a GS-9 pay scale ($51,630-DC wages).  If you have a bachelors in biochemistry and a masters in public administration, like I do, you would think all your education is for nothing and not apply.  Hold on.  This job is a 9/11/13.  This is very important.
You are hired at a GS-9 level.  After one year, you will be ‘promoted’ to a GS-11 ($62,467 – DC wages).  I put promotion in quotes, because it’s a promotion on paper.  Very little fanfare
will occur, but it’s only provided you pass your one-year probation, and you are excelling in your position.  Now, it gets better.  After the next year, you get to the ‘full potential’ of this position.
The next year, you earn a GS-13 position.  This is the equivalent of middle-management ($89,033-DC wages).

This is a $37,000 increase in two years.  This estimated number does not include a yearly increase (pending Presidential approval), nor  is it an actual gaurentee it will happen.  If you lie on your resume, you will be asked to leave.  If you can’t actually do the job, you will be asked to leave.

Disclosure: Although I am a federal employee, this blog is operated strictly in a personal capacity.  All views conveyed in any format; written, website, and video, including You Tube links do not represent the views of the U.S. government.  I do not and will not represent any client or user of this document, website, or You Tube help before the federal government.

 

The Help – Getting on the BQ list

Listening to your ‘inner coach’

I had a breakthrough when I was struggling through my sixth or seventh draft of my own narrative-federal resume.  It sort of fell along the lines of being my
own worst critique:  I realized I didn’t really understand the job announcement.

My evil, judgmental voice was yelling “I don’t know what I’m applying for” and “there’s no reason to move forward”.  ‘It’s due in five days” and “Why are you
making me write this” and of course “this sucks!”.

My inner coach (brain), being a problem-solver, spit out this advice: “read that job announcement until you understand what you’re applying for”.

It was a personal break-through.

If you read the job announcement you’re trying to go for until you understand it (for me, that’s three times), it will do a few things for you.  You’ll have a deep understanding of what they’re looking for.
You’ll decide if you should apply for the job.  You’ll give better examples of what you’re currently doing, or have acheived, to match the job-announcement skill-set.

It makes you a better applicant.  It makes the process go by faster.  It gives you mountains of confidence you never thought you had.

It’s an empowering discovery.

Here’s what I did with it: I’ve applied for two jobs as a non-federal employee.  I was a chemist on a lab bench in California.  We were moving to DC.  I was forced to find a solution to this problem of unemployment or underemployment.

I got two interviews, one when I still lived in
California (they flew me out for the interview).  I received one offer (GS 12-13).  Look it up (DC wages) – it’s ideal – everyone (i.e., federal employees who were GS-12’s and GS-13’s) told me it couldn’t be done.

I advise anyone going through this process to keep looking until they’ve found ‘the one’, and go for it with all their might.  Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it can’t be done.  How do they know?  Are they going to pay your bills?

If you only go for jobs you understand, it will increase your chances in several ways:

1) you end up writing a really good resume and writing to the actual announcement because you own it;

2) you end up having an excellent interview – and enjoying it; and
3) gives you room to turn the tables and interview the interviewer (always the most powerful position in the interview).

***Bonus super power-move***

When you really understand the job you’re applying for, you can then call the HR person listed on the job announcement and ask very specific questions.  I did this once and was actually given another number to call.  It ended up being the hiring manager!  My conversation with him was a wake-up call.  My interpretation of the job was way off.  I got an interview but
could not understand why someone would get paid for fake science (that was my opinion, so I didn’t pursue that job series further).  If the job doesn’t make sense to you when you’re
applying for it, it won’t make sense for the next 20 years (that’s how long a federal career can last).

Go the F_ _ _ to work

 It’s a stolen life if you let possibilities slip through your fingers.  This is a question someone asked me.  It was keeping him from writing a resume that kills:

Is it true that your resume is run through a computer program?

This is a very valid question and I feel it’s important to understand the resume process.  From what I understand, the resume process has levels or tiers of people who read a resume.  HR is the first tier and they do look for some key-words but we’ll get back to that.  If you get past ‘the gate keepers’ in HR, then the resume cycle continues to the technical experts (second tier).

Technical experts are the people who are currently doing the job you want.  They score your resume based on the jobs you’ve held, how you describe your experiences
(in the little stories or narratives you created from the bullets from your one-page resume), and how all that compares with the job you’re applying.

The final tier is management (the decision maker).  The decision maker looks through the details of the resume, how the technical experts scored you, and adds their
opinion.  All the tiers give a resume a score that HR totals.  High scores get called for interviews.  Your resume score is based on how your examples and stories address the job announcement, how well your resume is written, and how you filled in the blanks in the over-all resume you built on USA jobs.  The next step could be a phone interview, a panel interview, or you could be hired based only on your resume.

If you keep in mind that actual people read your narrative resume and that you could be hired from only that, it will give you someone to write to.  People in the federal job-world prefer to be told little stories (not lies, but they do enjoy bragging).  So, give them what they want: a story about your professional history, include interesting stories to narrate how you achieve 53% increase in your sales territory or how your responsibilities were achieve in a typical day.  Bragging to prove the point goes a long way.  No one else will be there to tell your
story.  This is how it’s done.

Don’t put off reading this

How do I write a “Narrative Resume?”

You can build a federal narrative resume using your one-page resume.  Here’s how I’ve had massive success in getting just about everyone I know a federal job.  I take the standard one-page resume and I expand each bullet.  This is probably the opposite process anyone takes when they created the bullet in the first place.  I take the first bullet from the first job description and really read it.
Is it talking about how a sales territory increased by 56% within the first 5 years of employment?  Does it say ‘responsibilities include…’.  Whatever it says, you’ve probably polished this first bullet like a shiny little rock.  It’s compact, and it’s probably only 10 words long.  I create a little story out of each bullet from the one-page resume.
This is a lot easier if you already have a job announcement in mind.

How do I get started?

A great question.  Each job narrative should be a paragraph or two, try not to give them a choppy laundry list and DON’T just copy and paste the job announcement.  I’ve never gotten
good results from bullet after bullet.  I don’t want to read it and I doubt anyone else does, either.  If you are going for a job announcement that doesn’t fit the exact job titles you’ve held in the past, narratives can give you the break you need.  Think ‘transferable job skills’.  That means putting the things you’re already good at to work for you but with a job title
you’ve never held.

Really, just talk about your experiences.  Include solid details that support the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) questions so people reading your resume will get an understanding of your job and how your skills are similar to those advertised in the announcement.  Make sure you add training you’ve received for this skill.
Percentages are great.  If they are in your bullet format (which they probably are) then they should be here, too.  Just expand on what you already have.  There’s no need to start all over,
but make sure you don’t fib.  Use examples from your industry and from the announcement but write it out like a little story or ‘a day in a life’.

Let’s go back to the one-page resume.  Let’s practice rewriting the bullets into narratives.  I’ll give you a little secret:

People in federal-job world have had their job for 10+ years and have no idea what you do.
The narrative resume is a way for them to understand how great you are, how much you’ve contributed, and how you can contribute at their agency, too.

You should write your job experiences with specific examples that relate back to the job announcement.

Format for KSA’s into a federal resume

Can someone give me an example I can actually use?

Let’s say I have a job announcement for a GS-5 job that requires some effective communication experience (i.e., can communicate effectively with a variety of people include making presentations to groups).  The KSAs ask questions that support the job announcement, by asking for the level of presentation experience the applicant has, usually self-rated 1 through 5.

The applicant here in my example below had a great deal of presentation experience, but it wasn’t included in the original one-page
resume.

Below, the underlined sections are from the KSAs, themselves.

One-page resume bullets looked like this:

Patient Service Technician

• § Delivery and setup of oxygen tanks and durable medical
  equipment.
  • Receiving and
    cleaning all medical equipment.
  • Manage and maintain
    route.

The federal-narrative resum was rewritten to look like this:

• The non-underlined section is an example of level-5 work for that KSA.
• For this KSA, the candidate rated himself a ‘5’ on a scale from 1-5.  This underlined part is the exact wording from that KSA at the ‘level-5’ rating.

I possess over 52 weeks of work experience, equivalent to a GS-4. Daily, I analyze problems, gather data, and create solutions. For example, in my
current position, I plan and organize work and communicate effectively, currently holding a valid Driver’s License. I have extensive experience
making presentations to groups, supporting my demonstrations with key facts, credible evidence and substantiating information. I am considered an
expert and capable of training or assisting others. I receive verbal and written recognition from others for my presentation skills. As a patient
service technician, I commonly enter a patient’s home with no introduction from a doctor. I present detailed instructions for personal home care, medical support,
and long-term at-home health care services. I coordinate activities through training, support, and verbal communication with patients, their families, and
in-home health care providers with different priorities to achieve a common goal. My presentations, customer service, and coordinating activities are
not typically reviewed by a supervisor, but through surveys and verbal communication by my customers on a daily basis.

This example shows some details of the day-to-day activities, some technical abilities, and some transferable skill
sets.  In this case, this applicant does this 100% of the time, as indicated by the word ‘daily’.  The job announcement states the job would require
working in a chaotic environment where control over an emotionally charged situation may be required.

As you can see, this is longer than the three bullets shown above.  This resume got
this candidate on the best qualified list and an interview.

Eyes Wide Open: How to edit for effect

I’m a federal employee, working with other federal employees, strictly in a personal capacity to Get America Working. All views conveyed in any written, video, including You Tube links don’t represent the views of the U.S. Government. I don’t and won’t represent any user of this site before the U.S. Government.

One dramatic difference you can make tonight is to forget about writing your resume in chronological order.  Hiring managers and HR professionals, some are freinds of mine, don’t care if you worked at McDonAlbyWndy’s flipping burgers to put food on the table (good for you, though – I love a ‘do what it takes’attitude!!).

This is that extra juice you were looking for.

Here’s something you can use, right now to put you in the driver’s seat and get you a federal job.

Go and get your federal resume and read along.

Answer this question:  Do I have anything on my resume that does not, without a doubt, define me as the best fit for this job?

If the answer is no, take it out.  Now, if you need it, make it better, so there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they don’t need to look any further.

There are way too many people applying out there.  What will make you stand out is your ability to edit off the stuff you don’t need.  You’re evidence should be rock-solid, but
that doesn’t mean the time-gaps.  What doesn’t absolutely need to be seen, shouldn’t be there.

What does that mean to you?  It means:  put the job experience that answer the question (why are you the best fit for this job) and only those jobs.  Remove the rest.  This will put you in the best possible light for consideration.

Once you get an interview, you can fill in all the blanks with unemployment benefits, burger flipping, window washing,
whatever.

So, the bottom line for tonight’s lesson: If you’ve had to work at a fast food restaurant, sold shoes, or oranges on the corner, there is no need to put that in your list of job’s describing
your history.  Unless you want to and it makes you look like a star.

Let’s take some control and remember there is an actual person who reads these things.  Don’t put them to sleep.  Seduce them on paper.

How’s that for taking control?

Reason for this blog

I started this blog to help.  I’ve been helping my family and friends become federal employees for years.  I’ve learned a few things and thought I should put it out there – because there’s a real need for employment at this time.  The labor board shows unemployment statistic, staggering as they are, the underemployed is not well represented. 

To get a federal job, you have to ‘deal’ with the USAJobs website.  That’s overwhelming on its own.  Add to that the alphabet soup you have to swim through…it’s murky.

So, I’ve giving out what I consider the ‘nuggets’ of what I’ve learned. 

If you’ve ever tried to write a federal resume, I’d love to hear from you.  I thought this could be a forum for a group helping to fight a moving dragon.  What I mean is that the federal process is undergoing a change.  It’s not a fast change (let’s face it, it’s the federal government we’re talking about), but there have been some slight changes. 

For example, when my nephew recently applied for a federal job, he went through Monster.com to post his resume, no the traditional USAJobs website.  He said it was a pain; because the system kicked him out several times.  We solved that by loading his transcripts first, then he resume.  For some reason, since the job required education, he had to get that requirement onto Monster before he could upload his resume.

Get your house back

I’ve talked with a lot of people who have either lost or about to lose their homes.  It’s overwhelming, considering how hard they’re working just to keep what they’ve worked so hard to get.  A federal job can offer a person working two or three jobs the income their used to getting from just one.  With a little practice, you can find your trade in the federal job market, a market struggling to find quality tradesmen and women.  It pays real money and is something I think every American deserves to know about.  There are jobs out there, just not with a traditional resume.  If you’ve been struggling, like my friends and family have, give us your worst case.  Let’s see if we can solve some of those problems, here, so you can get back what’s yours.

How I got on the BQ list by talking myself out of applying

The hardest thing to do is to start something you’ve never done before.  Every time I write my own resume, I manage to nap, sweep the floor, sort my socks…

After I’ve created enough anxiety in myself, I then set out to discourage myself from applying.  This habit has created the most helpful key to successful resume writing. Reading the announcement three times.  The whole thing.  No, I did not forget to take my OCD medication.  I find it one of the most helpful pieces of advice I’ve stumbled upon. 

I recently helped someone write a senior executive staff (SES) job that pays loads of money.  The pressure is on for a job like that.  It’s one of those jobs that are ‘invite only’, no kidding.  That thing was full of secret little squirrel stuff.  You couldn’t fax or email but hand deliver, only.  You had to include three business cards and a copy of your transcripts.  We only noticed the three business cards after the second reading.

My nephew applied for a job that required he keep a guard dog in his home.  His new wife and newborn child were pretty surprised.  He is currently on the best qualified list, and has very mixed feelings (I’ll keep you posted). 

Bottom line – read that announcement for that one job of interest.  First off, to talk yourself out of it.  Secondly, once you decide you gotta do it, for the exact information that’s requested.  Lastly, to uncover what your really applying for.

What are KSA’s and do I still need to write them? Hasn’t the process changed?

Disclosure: Although I am a federal employee, this blog is operated strictly in a personal capacity.  All views conveyed in any format;
written, website, and video, including You Tube links do not represent the views of the U.S. government.  I do not and will
not represent any client or user of this blog, website, or You Tube help before the federal government.

First off, KSA’s are short for knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Recently, (10/26/10) I helped my nephew on a job that asked him to answer four KSA’s.  They were called ‘Screening Questions’, but
were still basic knowledge, skills, and abilities questions.  For this announcement, the site took you to a separate web page to
fill in the blanks once you applied for the position.  Each of the four KSA’s had an 8,000 character limit.  In this case, as in all cases, I put
the KSA information into the body of the resume – that is – I put the KSA statements plus a little example, into my most recent job description as much as it applies.  I never lie, but I loves to brag.  Who else is going to talk about how great I am.  My Mom ain’t there.  Put any questions they ask in the KSA as a statement into the body of your resume (your most recent job description).

So, no, I haven’t seen KSA’s go away, yet.  Has anyone?

Tools of the resume trade

When I’m prepping someone for a resume, I always ask the same four questions:

1) do you have a degree?

2) are you willing to relocate?

3) do you have a good example of a job description?

4) do you know what job you want?

No one every has an answer for the last one. Times are really tough, I know.  Here’s what else I know; federal jobs are staying open for a shorter amount of time.  Not sure why – I think it’s due to ‘federal resume re-vamping’, so the process takes longer.  The decision-making takes the same amount of time, trust me.  My only advice at this point is get ready for the job you want in advance so when that window of opportunity opens, you’re ready.  Here’s what you’ll need:  a formal copy of your job description.  I’ve found mine over the years a variety of places – corporate website, corporate financial papers or reports, googled by job title.  When I helped my nephew for a TSA job in North Carolina, we took his three bullet points of his version of his resume into a one-page, 3,000 character resume by finding his job description on his company’s website.  This is one of the biggest keys to getting what you want; knowing where you’ve been and communicating it as effectively as you can.   Going where the jobs are is another story for another day…

HR friend said…

I have a friend in human resources who just confide in me why people aren’t getting hired fir a federal job.

It’s their resumes.  Some are too long and never highlight relevant experience.  Some are too short and plagiarise the ‘assessment or questionnaires’.  Some add 27 awards to their resume as an attachment.

If you’re too long – get to the point.  Only highlight those skills that are relative to the job you’re applying for.

If you’re too short – add this phrase: ‘for example’ – then give an interesting example, highlighting your experience and how it relates to the job you’re applying.

If you’re adding 27 awards: don’t.  Unless that information is actually loaded into the resume, the selecting official (the next guy after the HR person, selecting you for the job) will never see it.

Now, go re-read your resume and the job announcement, and see if you can go get that federal job.

Have you ever called an HR person for help?  Have you ever called after you were rejected?  I’d love to hear about it.

one good way to ruin a federal resume

I was talking to some friends who happen to be hiring managers – for a variety of federal agencies.  I am a federal worker – doing this as a way to get more people employed.  The unemployment rate breaks my heart.

They had a few grips about resumes in general – but what really stuck out is this:

People do these long and elaborate questionnaires, but forget to include an example of their work.  It pisses hiring managers off.

Bottom line; if you don’t put any evidence in your actual job history using keywords from the KSA (otherwise known as the assessment questions – or whatever they’re calling them), then you can’t get picked for a job.

It’s that simple.

One good way to save yourself from ruin is to use the simple phrase ‘for example’.   I’ll give you an example:

• Let’s say I have a few years under my belt as a driver for a medical supply delivery company.
• Let’s also say that I’m trying to apply for a job as a TSA inspector – that requires public speaking and dealing with crazy-stressed out people.
• I’d do the following:  I answer those assessment questions, and pluck out some examples from my actual life (the key-word phrase ‘speaking to an unreceptive group - and rate how much experience’, ‘considered an expert’ and ‘coordinating activities – and to what level’ were all part of the assessment questions for the job I’m applying for).
• I’d start out with this:
•  I have four years experience, as a blah blah blah.  I have extensive experience making presentations to groups, supporting my demonstrations with key facts.  For example, as a patient service technician, I commonly start patient home-care services, to patients shortly after a hospital stay, not receptive to receiving equipment and education, unaware of the severity of their health status with no introduction from a doctor.  I present detailed, technical instructions for personal home care to patients, shortly after hospital emergency stays and their families.   I coordinate activities to aid in patient transmissions to medical home-care through training, support, and verbal communication with patients and their families.  My presentations, customer service, and coordinating activities are not typically reviewed by a supervisor, but through surveys and verbal communication by my customers, on a daily basis.

You get the idea.  Keep in mind actual human beings read federal resumes.  It’s your job NOT to put them to sleep.  Make it interesting – tell a little story of your hectic day.  Don’t lie but bragging is good.  After all, your mom isn’t writing this thing for you – so brag like she would.  Make it good – make it real – make it to the interview.

I’d love to hear some feedback on how the process is going.

What Obama has done

Well, I found out the reason the job window is so short is that President Obama shortened the federal hiring cycle.

What does that mean to you?

It means, if your already a federal employee, you have, on average, a total of 5 days to get your act together and apply for an opening.

If you are from the private sector (general public), then you have 10 days to apply.

I’ve been told, even with this new shortened window, there have been three times the normal number of people applying.  Really qualified people, no less.

What does this mean to you?
It means, if your serious about getting a federal job, you should get ready.  Be honest with yourslef and read the reasume you have. Read it with a fresh pair of eyes and ask yourself if it’s the best you can do.   Did you hit the main points of the job description?  Did you give a breif story, using key phrases from the KSA’s or questionnairs to be considered by the next layer of hiring officials (your peers).  In other words, do you look good on paper?  Good enough to be considered for the next level.

Here’s three quick tips to find out if your anywhere near your mark:

1)  have you ever made the best qualified list?

2)  have you ever received feedback (of any kind) from an HR repesentative?  In other words, when you go to look on your status, have you actaully met the minimum critieria?  If not, have you called the number on the job description to find out your weaknesses and did you act on them?

3)  do you feel that your applying for jobs you can actually get?

If you’ve answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, chances are, you either aren’t qualified or you aren’t priving your qualified.

What is your feedback from the federal process?

unemployment help

Do this to Get a job

I just spoke with a fellow federal worker who was applying.  I offered a hand.  She looked right into my eyes when I asked about her KSA responses: “there are no more KSA’s”. 

 

I just saw some last night and the night before.  I know they are there and I know where to find them.  She hadn’t completely finished applying.  That was the difference.  Until you get to the point where you’re brought over to a new hiring engine (monster.com or some agency engine), you don’t see the KSA’s.  Some agencies only put the KSA on this next level of the application.  No one is calling them KSA’s which is misleading and in my opinion, only adding to the unemployment rate in our country.

 

This technique uncovers those KSA questions.  Put them into your resume and you will be ahead of your ignorant competition – your competition isn’t dumb, they just don’t know what you’re about to learn.  Read on!

 

I coined a term on the spot for my dumb co-worker: ‘the double-apply’ technique.   It sounds taxing, but honestly, no one understands this and it is the type of thing that will get you on a best qualified list and a job offer. 

 

Here’s the philosophy of this technique:

1)      The job closes on a certain day at 11:59.

2)      Until that closing time, you can re-apply.

3)      The last application is the only one that’s accepted – not the 5th to 10th drafts you put in.  Only the last one.  (this is one of the keys!)

4)      The only way to get the KSA’s is to complete this second level (this new ‘hiring engine’ that USAJobs re-directed to during the application process).

5)      They are not called KSA’s.  No one will call them KSA’s.  Hiring managers will, but no one ever talks to them.  Hiring managers are looking for your KSA answers.  I suggest you give them what they want.

6)      KSA’s are now called ‘questionnaires’.

7)      To uncover them, you have to go through the entire job application process. 

 

Here’s how to do this:
Go through the entire job application.  Once you get to the new hiring engine, take it one page at a time.

 

First, answer all the questions on that page.  Second, open a word document.  Third, copy the entire screen from the hiring engine, make sure to get all the pertinent questions and answers on that page (I use the word command ‘control a’ to highlight everything on that page, then ‘control c’ to copy everything on that page or you could use ‘edit’ and use the drag down menu and hit select all then use the drag down menu for copy all).  Now, go to your word document and paste the entire page.  If you’re so inclined, print the page from the hiring engine and get it over with.  

In order to get to the next page, you’ll find, you have to answer every question first.  So, hit next and do this for the rest of the application, for every page.  Keep in mind; you have to answer these questions to be able to see the next page.  Just put anything, because you’re going to re-apply (thus, the ‘re-applying technique’).  You’re only doing this, to get to the questionnaire (KSA’s). 

Now that you have these questions, answer them – and on top of that, create some solid examples of how you accomplished each bragging point.  Sounds just like a KSA, doesn’t it?

I am currently creating a video on this subject because the system is flawed.  No one is helping anyone out and it’s pissing me off! 

A video would be better, because this is easier to show then to explain this technique.  Please look for the You Tube URL soon on this blog.

Nancy G. Brinker Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom (via The Power of Pink)

I don’t know anyone who has not been touched by someone with breast cancer. Let’s all hug a survior, today

On August 12th in Washington D.C., President Barack Obama presented Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Nancy Brinker was past due to receive this award for building Susan G. Komen and taking the world by storm. Brinker is currently founding chair for the organization and Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nation … Read More

via The Power of Pink