Tell me about Yourself—They Don’t Really Mean It

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Most of us dread the standard “ice-breaker” question, Tell me about yourself. As someone who has interviewed applicants for more than 30 years, I have rarely heard this question answered well. More often than not, applicants launch into their biography — starting with where they were born! Trust me, I (and most interviewers) don’t care. In addition, this kind of biographical response can lead you to share information that I would rather not know: how many children you have, that you have a spouse (or don’t), etc. It is illegal for me to take these things into consideration and once you tell me, it’s hard for me to forget them. So please do not share this kind of information.

Instead, I want to know who you are and what you bring to the table, in the context of the job I’m interviewing you for. Look at that last phrase again: in the context of the job I’m interviewing you for.

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What do You Know about the Senior Executive Service (SES)?

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The Senior Executive Service (SES) is the highest civilian service in the government. Membership in the SES demands leadership, professional integrity, a broad perspective, and a commitment to the highest ideals of public service.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) administers the SES program which was created by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Applying for the SES is a multi-level process that requires demonstration of a candidate’s executive core qualifications or ECQs.

The ECQs were identified after extensive research into the leadership attributes of successful executives across the government and private sectors. ECQs include leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions. These competencies are used to test potential candidates on the needed leadership qualifications to be an executive in today’s civil service.

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Do I Really Need a LinkedIn Profile?

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As many of you know, LinkedIn is a social networking site targeted toward professionals. In just over 10 years, LinkedIn has grown to more than 300 million members in 200 countries; LinkedIn is available in 20 languages!

If you are searching for a position in the private sector, you definitely need a strong LinkedIn Profile. Recruiters use LinkedIn to search for potential applicants—thousands of recruiters from thousands of companies use LinkedIn as their ONLY source for candidates so as a job seeker, you are missing potential opportunities if you do not have a good profile. Even if you are targeting organizations who do not use LinkedIn to recruit, many hiring managers are looking at your LinkedIn Profile before deciding whether to interview you.

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Preparing for the Senior Executive Service (SES): Candidate Development Programs (CDPs)

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2014 saw many agencies announce Candidate Development Programs (CDPs). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), the Bureau of the Mint, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) were among the agencies that did so. CDPs are an excellent opportunity for those interested in considering future SES opportunities.

Agencies use CDPs as a succession planning tool to identify and prepare aspiring senior leaders by developing competencies in each of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)—leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions. While completion of a CDP does not guarantee selection into the SES (nor is it required), graduates of CDPs who have their ECQs certified by an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Review Board (QRB) may be selected for a SES position without further completion.

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Thinking about the Senior Executive Service (SES)

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Before applying for a Senior Executive Service (SES) position, it is important to assess whether you have the qualifications for and genuine interest in becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service. Being a member of the SES involves much more than just meeting time-in-grade requirements.

In order to be eligible for the Senior Executive Service (SES), you must meet time-in-grade requirements and be able to demonstrate your possession of OPM’s five executive core qualifications (ECQs): Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions. Qualifying for the SES is about more than proving your managerial capabilities—it is about true leadership.

Not everyone wants to be a leader—many are comfortable remaining as a manager, and others like being an individual contributor without responsibility for supervising, managing, or leading people. What is the difference between being a manager and a leader?

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Transitioning from the Military? Now What?

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For many active duty military personnel, retiring from the military means leaving the only life and job they have ever known; transitioning from the military to civilian life can be difficult on multiple levels. Whether you are looking for private sector or federal work, you should expect the job search to take some time. While it is possible that you will go from terminal leave to employed without missing a beat, the more likely scenario is a period of job search. There are several ways you can minimize the difficulties of transition:

  • Think about your accomplishments. What successes have you had in the military? Review your OERs, FITReps, performance reviews, and award citations from the past 7-10 years. Write down the accomplishments your supervisors have noted and some of the ways YOU made a different to your unit. And, as you reread these documents, write down any notable remarks made by your supervisors that speak to your leadership and/or technical skills.
  • Understand your veterans’ preference eligibilities. There are multiple kinds of veterans’ preference including Veterans’ Recruitment Act (VRA), Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), 5-point preference, 10-point preference, and preference for those with a 30% or more compensable disability. As a transitioning military member, you may be eligible for multiple kinds of preference or consideration. It is your responsibility to know your preference, include all eligibilities in your USAJOBS Profile (if you are applying for federal positions), and appropriately use your preference and/or eligibilities when applying for positions. Additional information about veterans’ preference and veterans’ eligibilities can be found at www.fedshirevets.gov and http://www.dol.gov/vets/. You should also note that many state and local governments provide extra “credit” to military veterans and many private sector companies have programs specifically designed for returning / transitioning veterans.
  • Translate your experience. Most people outside of the military do not understand the difference between a brigade and a battalion, or a Captain and a Corporal, let alone the alphabet soup that makes up most of military language. When drafting your resume, preparing your LinkedIn Profile, and interviewing, be sure to translate your military-speak to civilian language. Even if you are applying to work for the Department of Defense (DoD), many of the Human Resources people who will review your resume first, have not spent time on active duty. So, instead of stating, “Commanded a battalion…”, say “Led, managed, and directed a team of 500, including more than 20 subordinate supervisors.” Not sure if you’ve translated enough? Give your resume or LinkedIn Profile to a friend who has never been in the military and see what they have to say.
  • Be realistic. It is not unusual for military members to have much more responsibility on active duty than they are given credit for in civilian jobs. If you are leaving the military as an E-5, 6, or 7, you may not get a grade 14 or 15 position. If you are an O-4, you will not likely qualify for a Senior Executive Service (SES) position. Competition for all jobs is stiff and many of the people applying have many of the same skills and experience you do. Many federal postings receive hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications—and half of those are from applicants who have preference. Private sector postings also receive hundreds of applications—especially those on job boards. It is likely that you will need to apply for more than one position, whether you are seeking federal or private sector employment. Focus on positions where you already have the experience and skills the organization is seeking.
  • Prepare a targeted resume. Whether you are seeking federal or private sector employment, your resume should use the key words of the job posting, be appropriate for the kind of position you are targeting (federal resumes are much longer than private sector ones, and require certain kinds of information and detail you would never put on a private sector resume), and demonstrate specific, quantifiable results.
  • Create LinkedIn Profile. Your profile should be friendly and approachable (again, think civilian language and no acronyms), include a civilian picture, use key words from the positions you are seeking (so the computer algorithms can find you), and demonstrate that you can achieve results. This is particularly important for those of you seeking private sector employment as 80% of companies use LI to search for applicants.

These are just a few of steps you’ll want to take as you prepare to transition from the military to civilian life.