Are you making these mistakes in your job search? Chances are, you’re making at least one or
two — if not more! Go through this checklist and mark which mistakes you’re currently making
— and then follow the suggestions to learn how to stop making that mistake!
Career Planning
Job Search after 50
According to the Partnership for Public Service, only 7 percent of federal workers are millennials, compared to 23 percent of private sector workers. Nonetheless, many people looking for a second career in the federal government after age 50, are concerned about whether their age will be seen as a hindrance.
10 Reasons You Were Not Referred To The Hiring Manager
One constant theme I hear from resume clients is that they know that they are well qualified for a job but did not get referred to the hiring manager and they don’t understand why.
Here are 10 reasons why you could be well qualified but did not get referred:
- Your resume does not reflect your qualifications for the specific position. For maximum effectiveness, your resume needs to be tweaked for each job. Make sure that your resume mirrors the language of the announcement and questionnaire. For example, if your resume talks about “cybersecurity” and the job posting uses the term “information security,” you should change your resume to include the words “information security.”
- You did not submit all required information. Perhaps you forgot to include your transcript (for positions requiring them) or neglected to include your DD214. Without all of the required documents, your application may not have received full consideration or the highest rating.
- You did not give yourself enough credit on the occupational questionnaire. If you did not rate yourself highly on the questionnaire, it is unlikely that your application will be scored at a level to be referred to the hiring manager.
- You have time-in-grade but do not meet the specialized experience requirements. Without the requisite specialized experience, it is unlikely that your application will be considered best qualified and referred. Be sure to spell out your possession of the specialized experience requirement in your resume.
- Your resume is acronym-laden and full of technical language so Human Resources (HR) reviewers have a hard time telling whether you are qualified or not. Remember, the first audience for your resume is HR; if they don’t understand your resume, it will be hard for you to be referred. And, just because you are applying in your own agency, doesn’t mean that they understand the technical work that you do.
- Your resume is too short; you are not likely to achieve success with a 1-2-page resume; a typical federal resume is 4-6 pages. From a federal HR perspective, if it’s not on your resume, you did not do it. HR Specialists are not allowed to make assumptions or draw conclusions about your experience—you need to be specific.
- Your resume is too long. If your resume is 10, 12 or even more pages (and you are not a scientist with multiple professional publications, etc.), your resume has far too much content and it is likely that a lot of that content is irrelevant to the job you’re applying for. Make good use of your “resume real estate;” everything on your resume should be focused on the job you’re applying for. Everything else should be eliminated. And there’s no need for your resume to go back 15, 20, or 30 years.
- Your most relevant experience is not current. While you will certainly be rated qualified if your relevant experience was a long time ago, it’s going to be hard to be rated best qualified when there are likely applicants who are currently engaged in relevant work.
- Your resume is missing relevant accomplishments. If your resume is a list of duties and does not include any accomplishments, it’s like saying, “I do this, I do that, trust me, I do it well…” The strongest resumes include relevant accomplishments.
- Your resume is missing metrics. Without metrics, readers of your resume do not know if the budget you manage is $1, $100, $100,000, or $1,000,000. Your resume should include metrics so that reviewers of your resume understand the full scope of your work.
- BONUS REASON: You are not applying appropriately. If you have status, you should apply as a status applicant; if you do not have status, you should be applying under delegated examining or all citizens announcements. If you are eligible for specialized appointment authorities, make sure your USAJOBS Profile appropriately supports your eligibility and your resume clearly shows that eligibility.
If you are not putting your best foot forward with each and every application, you are doing yourself and your career a disservice. If you are applying for jobs for which you are fully qualified; responding to the questionnaire appropriately; using a targeted, federal-style resume; and following all instructions in the job posting, you should consistently get referred to the hiring manager.
Special Workforce Authorities for Cybersecurity Professionals
In July 2016, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) jointly issued the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Strategy to address the need to employ a Federal civilian cybersecurity workforce with the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to enhance the security of the Federal digital infrastructure and improve the ability to detect and response to cyber incidents when they do occur. The Strategy presents new approaches and government wide actions to identify, expand, recruit, develop, retain, and sustain a capable and competent workforce to address complex and ever-evolving cyber threats.
Here are some things you might want to know:
- CyberCorps®: Scholarship For Service (SFS) is a unique program designed to increase and strengthen the cadre of federal information assurance professionals that protect the government’s critical information infrastructure. This program provides scholarships that may fully fund the typical costs incurred by full-time students while attending a participating institution, including tuition and education and related fees. Additionally, participants receive stipends of $22,500 for undergraduate students and $34,000 for graduate students. The scholarships are funded through grants awarded by the National Science Foundation. See https://www.sfs.opm.gov/ for more information.
- Special pay rates are available for entry- and developmental-level computer engineers, computer science specialists, and Information Technology (IT) Management Specialists. These are rates which are higher than the published GS salary tables.
- Other incentives, including recruitment and relocation incentives, student loan repayment, and advanced leave accrual, may be available for hard-to-fill positions in cybersecurity.
- Critical Pay may be available for highly technical and/or scientific positions; see: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-administration/fact-sheets/critical-position-pay/
- There is government-wide direct hire authority for Information Technology Management (Information Security / Cybersecurity for GS-2210-9 through GS-2210-15; there are also agency-specific excepted service hiring authorities for the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Veterans Administration (VA) for IT security and related positions.
- There is a temporary authority to use excepted service hiring for digital services staff to support the President’s Management Agenda’s Smarter Information Technology (IT) Delivery Initiative. These appointments are not to exceed September 30, 2017.
None of the above is a guarantee, of course. But, if you are a committed Cybersecurity expert, knowing the federal hiring options can help you navigate the federal hiring process and network your way to success. And be sure to look at: www.cybercareers.gov, your updated source for everything cyber..
Had Enough? Leave Your Job The Right Way
Most of us have seen the YouTube videos or read about people who have quit their jobs in a very public way. While this approach may be momentarily attractive, it is never a good idea. You owe it to your future career to resign professionally and with grace.
Here are a number of things to help you leave your job the right way:
Make sure you have your new job locked down first. Before telling your supervisor; this includes a written offer with all details, including start date, agreed to.
Don’t quit in a fit. Be sure you are resigning for the right reasons — e.g. you have found a better opportunity — and not because you’re mad about something. The better opportunity could be a better commute, more money, growth opportunities, or whatever. The key thing is to know why you are leaving and make sure the reason is sound and the decision is well-considered.
Prepare to give at least two weeks’ notice. While rarely required, two weeks is considered the minimum notice as a professional courtesy. If you are leaving a private sector job, realize that once you give notice, you may be asked to leave immediately.
Put together a status report of all pending projects, meetings, deadlines and the like. Make sure that nothing is forgotten. You may want to offer suggestions on who could take over specific duties.
Draft a professional resignation letter. Your letter should be short and sweet. Thank your supervisor for the opportunities he or she provided and mention how much you learned working for the organization. Be sure to include future contact information and the effective date of your resignation. This is not the opportunity to provide snark or make nasty comments about your supervisor or your organization.
Give your resignation letter to your supervisor in a face-to-face meeting if possible. Regardless, your supervisor should be told before any of your colleagues. If you are in the private sector, you may want to prepare for a potential counter-offer. The government offers retention bonuses as well (if you present a bonafide offer from a nonfederal organization) but they are not common.
Once you have announced your resignation to your supervisor and colleagues, clean up your workspace and remove personal items. This is a courtesy not only to your employer but also the person who will occupy your space after your departure.
Be professional and work hard every day until your departure. It is important to leave your organization on a positive note. The best way to do that is to complete your pending work and leave clear instructions with your supervisor on anything left unfinished so that the transition can be as smooth as possible. You want to ensure a positive reference and leave to door open for a possible return.
Development is About More than Training
Most agencies offer both formal and informal development opportunities. The formal type of development encompasses traditional training programs, while informal development occurs during every day work. Do not neglect the multiple informal opportunities most of us have to improve ourselves at work. And, in these times of increasing budget pressures, it may be easier to take advantage of informal, rather than formal opportunities.