Can You Write Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) by Tomorrow?

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Nearly every day I get a call from someone seeking help to prepare a set of Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) as part of their Senior Executive Service (SES) package. Unfortunately, many people want their ECQs written in 3 days—sometimes less!

When I begin to ask them questions about whether they have a draft, are familiar with CCAR, or have thought about their stories, the answer is often no. To prepare a strong set of ECQs, you should expect to spend a significant amount of time: 1) identifying your examples, 2) writing, and 3) reviewing and editing.

  • Identifying ECQ examples: Before sitting down to write your ECQs, you should identify 10 or more examples / stories to use. Your stories must fit the competencies (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions); be from the past 10 years (5 is better if possible); and be at the executive level. Hosting meetings, arranging for training, implementing someone else’s plan is not typically considered executive. Your examples should demonstrate your strategic thinking and ideally, have enterprise-wide impact.

As you identify your examples, you may find that you have stories that could fit in more than one ECQ. Try to pick the strongest match to the ECQ and that ECQs underlying competencies (for example, the underlying competencies for leading change are: vision, strategic thinking, external awareness, innovation/creativity, flexibility, and resilience).

  • Writing: Once you have your stories identified, you should outline your stories using the required CCAR model. CCAR is the acronym for Challenge-Context-Action-Result. It may even help to write out the parts of the CCAR model and then outline each part of the CCAR with the details. What does CCAR mean and how to use it?

Challenge. Describe a specific problem or goal.

Context. Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).

Action. Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.

Result. Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Once you have your outline, then you can start writing. Be sure to focus on your leadership skills and not your technical expertise (save that for the Technical Qualifications) and don’t forget to include the underlying competencies in your essay. Include as many metrics as possible throughout and make sure you can prove your results; it’s not enough to say things are better—you need to show that they are by using a clear before and after metric. You may want to think about including one action for each underlying competency.

  • Reviewing / Editing: Don’t forget to leave time for this. Your ECQ draft should be 10 pages (2 pages for each ECQ). Have someone who does not understand your work review your ECQs (remember, that ECQ reviewers at the Office of Personnel Management level will not be from your agency or likely familiar with your work). Do a “word search” to make sure you have covered all 28 underlying competencies—and put them in the right ECQ. Check spelling and grammar—don’t rely on spell check. And make sure that you have used “I” rather than “we;” the hiring manager and reviewers want to know what you did.

How long does all of this take? SES applicants should expect to spend 40 to 60 hours (or even more!) of solid work to put together a strong set of ECQs. So no, I am sorry, but I cannot get your ECQ written by tomorrow…or even 3 days.

Tell me about yourself: 5 Strategies for Creating a Strong Brand

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You may have heard about branding yourself and wondered what it has to do with you; after all, you’re a person, not a product. That’s where you’re wrong!

Whether you’re looking for a new job or seeking a promotion—or even wanting to be well regarded at work, branding yourself is essential. Your brand is what makes you stand out from everyone else. What is branding? Branding is about how others see you and how you see yourself. Obviously, you’ll want to control the narrative as much as possible.

How can you go about establishing your brand? Recognize that branding yourself is about understanding yourself, how you are known to others (basically your reputation), and how want to be known. It needs to be authentic to you. It is both your real self and your online self—and those need to match.

Here’s how to get started on identifying and creating your brand:

1. Think about what makes you unique. Where did you grow up? What are your special talents and skills? What do people say about you? What are you known for? What do you care about? Write these things down. This is part of understanding who you are.

2. What does your current employer want / need? What about prospective employers? When employers are considering you for promotion or hiring, they want to know what you offer—in the context of what they need. Is there a match between who you are and what your current / future employers are looking for?

3. Create your value proposition. Sum up your brand in one sentence. It should be easy to say, understand, and remember. This will be the essence of your resume, your LinkedIn, and your answer to “tell me about yourself.” This will not be identical across all platforms but it should be consistent.

4. Communicate your brand and value. How do you communicate to your current and future employers? The obvious ways include your daily interactions, your resume, and your LinkedIn presence. All of these should be consistent and communicate the same message. Almost all employers (and yes, even government employers) will do an online search of applicants. What is your online presence? Does it match what your resume says about you? How you behave on a daily basis? If not, you have work to do. Your message needs to be consistent across the board.

5. Reinforce your brand. It’s not enough to put a brand out there. You have to reinforce it. If you say you’re an expert, prove it. Post articles about your expertise. Comment (appropriately) on others’ posts. Be yourself. And keep it up; you do not want to be static; this is not a “one and done;” you want to manage your brand so that it stays fresh and current.

Creating and maintaining your brand takes time and effort. But taking the time to do it right is time well spent. After all, your brand is yours alone and your career is worth it!

Branding Yourself on LinkedIn

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It’s been over a year since I last wrote about LinkedIn. In that time, LinkedIn has grown even more important—not less. If you are not using LinkedIn to brand yourself to potential employers, you are missing a huge opportunity. And if you haven’t looked at your LinkedIn profile in while, it’s probably past time to do a refresh.

When someone searches for you on LinkedIn, they will see 3 things: Your name, your LinkedIn Headline, and your location. In many cases, hiring managers will make the decision to read your full LinkedIn profile based on just these three things. Consequently, your LinkedIn Headline acts like a newspaper or magazine title. It gives the reader an idea of what your profile will include. Being specific results in a much better headline—but your headline should be more than just your job title. Great headlines attract attention, and the more people who view your LinkedIn profile, the better your chances of connecting with the right person who can lead you to your dream job.

Keywords also play an important part for you in being found by people who don’t know you on LinkedIn — this is particularly true for jobseekers who are hoping for contacts from prospective employers and recruiters. Keywords are a list of words and phrases that are related to your work — they are the words that a prospective employer would search for when trying to find someone like you. LinkedIn Headlines are searchable fields using the “People Search” function when someone is looking for particular skills, interests, qualifications, or credentials.

You can also incorporate keywords throughout your LinkedIn profile, including:

  • Your LinkedIn Headline
  • Current and former work experience
  • LinkedIn summary section
  • Specialties or Skills section

The keywords that you select for your profile must fit two criteria:

  • They must speak to what makes you unique and what you want to be known for.
  • They must align with what employers value — that is, what they want.

Choose your words carefully. When possible, incorporate in keywords — nouns or phrases that can be picked up through online searches and are prominently used in applicant tracking systems.

Although you can create different targeted versions of your résumé to target different types of positions, you’re limited to one LinkedIn profile—so make it count. Be specific and single out the training, experience, and/or results that set you apart. Someone who is reading your profile should be able to recognize YOU in it; if what you wrote could apply to anyone with your job title, go back to the drawing board. You don’t have to come up with anything earth-shattering – but remember that differentiating yourself will help you be found.

A couple of key things that will help you stand out on LinkedIn:

  • Write your Summary in the first person (after all, you’re talking about yourself).
  • Profiles with pictures attract 50-70% more inquiries than profiles without pictures. Have a good headshot of yourself. At a minimum, your photo should include your head and shoulders, not just your face. And remember, no extra arms over your shoulder!

Consider publishing on LinkedIn and commenting on others’ posts to increase your profile and demonstrate your expertise. Offer your opinion and expertise on key issues, dissect obscure (but job-related) topics, and link to other articles and blogs of interest.

Don’t forget to customize your LinkedIn URL (see: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/87/customizing-your-public-profile-url?lang=en) and include the link on your resume!

You’ve Been Hired, Now What?

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The job search is daunting — at times, it can feel hopeless, frustrating, and downright exhausting. And when you do land the job, challenges arise that the best of us need help to navigate.

Career books are a great source to turn to, no matter what stage of your career you’re in — whether you’re decades in at your organization or are looking to start a new career path altogether.

Here are 10 of the best career books to help you think about your career in a new way and get ahead:

1. The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels: By Michael D. Watkins
If you’re in a transitional period of your career, this is for you. Watkins focuses on the challenges of moving into a new role and knowing how to navigate the first three months of a new job. This book serves as your guide to every aspect of your transition scenario.
2. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: By Cal Newport
This is an eye-opening book that discuses the notion that you should follow your passion in your career, rather than what you’re innately good at. Newport sets out to discover how people end up loving what they do — he can change the way you think about your career and how you go about creating a career you love.
3. Second-Act Careers: By Nancy Collamer
This is for those who are at retirement age, but aren’t quite ready to live their lives work-free. Collamer looks at this period of life as an opportunity to pursue a new passion while continuing to make an income. Read this book before you embark on your golden years.
4. The Pathfinder: By Nicholas Lore
This book is a considered a classic for a reason. For everyone from college graduates to someone considering a mid-life career change, this book can help you choose a new career — or look at your current one through a completely new lens.
5. How to Win Friends and Influence People: By Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie’s book will teach you how to make people like you — an essential part of climbing the ladder of success in both your professional and personal life. You’ll learn how to win people to your way of thinking and how to get what you want in your career.
6. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: By Stephen R. Covey
This book encourages internal changes that can completely change how you operate day-to-day. As people have claimed it as one of the most powerful books they’ve ever read, this can be beneficial for anyone on any career path.
7. The Third Door: By Alex Banayan
From Bill Gates to Lady Gaga to Larry King, this book has incredible one-on-one interviews with some of the world’s most successful people, with invaluable information on how they got there.
8. Crushing It: By Gary Vaynerchuk
Nowadays, more and more people are rejecting a traditional, corporate career path to try their hand at entrepreneurship. This book explores the lives of people who have made it on their own, and how creating a personal brand is vital to success.
9. Willpower Doesn’t Work: By Benjamin Hardy
Benjamin Hardy presents a unique argument against willpower and for altering your surroundings to achieve the success you’re seeking. This book will give you guidance on how to make the biggest decisions of your life, and how to invest in yourself to upgrade your life and happiness.
10. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing: By Daniel H. Pink
It’s a common belief that timing is everything, but how do we act on that notion without leaving it up to fate? Pink dives into the science of timing, and how to take the guesswork out of the “when” aspect of decisions.

BONUS: If federal is your interest, please check out my books, published by FEDweek: The Complete Guide to Writing a Federal Resume, The Complete Guide to Interviewing for a Federal Job, and Making a Federal Career Transition.

Handbooks and guides here: FW books

Should My Job Search Be Taking This Long?

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Starting out a new job search is a huge step in any career — whether you’re trying to switch to a new industry completely, or are searching for a new opportunity in a field you’re already established in. There’s no set standard of time that a job search can take, which can leave room for a lot of frustration and bewilderment — like a never-ending uphill battle — especially if you’ve already been on the hunt for a while. So, if you’re looking for a new position, career, or industry, it is important to have realistic expectations on how long it will take.

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How to Find Key Words to Use in Your Resume

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While USAJOBS is not a traditional Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) system like most of the private sector uses, key words are still important. Whether you are applying for a position in the private, nonprofit, or government sectors, being able to identify and use key words is an essential skill. And it’s important not just to identify those key words, but also to use them in your resume.

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