While many of you may have heard that budget is policy, and some of the budget proposals (if passed) have the potential to impact our benefits, I think it is also important that we look at what the Administration is saying that they want to focus on vis-à-vis the federal workforce.
Federal Job Search
USAJobs Changes Its Login
Are you a USAJOBS user? If so, you need to create a new login.gov account since your existing USAJOBS password won’t work anymore. To save your existing profile and other information, use your existing USAJOBS email address to set up your new account. Do this now, before you get ready to apply.
OPM Asking Agencies to Prioritize Continuous Professional Growth
In its 2018 Federal Workforce Priorities Report OPM has said it wants agencies to provide employees with ample opportunities for continuous professional growth and skill development. Regardless of the extent to which agencies make new opportunities available, it’s a worthy goal and one you should be take seriously.
Yes, assignments might take you outside your comfort zone (that’s a good thing), and yes, those assignments might be collateral to your existing duties. However, they can also be growth opportunities that will enhance your exposure to others in your organization as well as teach you new skills. And to maximize the effectiveness of those opportunities, research has shown that those experiences are most effective when:
- You had one-on-one meetings with your immediate manager to discuss how to apply the development in your specific role.
- You perceived that your manager endorsed and supported this specific opportunity.
- You expected to be recognized or in some other way rewarded for applying what you learned.
Perhaps that list will jog you imagination as to what to look for. Also, don’t forget that volunteer leadership or growth roles can provide the same benefits. Just because it’s not formal training, does not mean that it doesn’t “count” or can’t help you move forward in your career.
In fact, consider this quote from Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger and the Center for Creative Leadership’s The Career Architect Development Planner, a classic book on how to become an effective leader:
“Development generally begins with a realization of current or future need and the motivation to do something about it. This might come from feedback, a mistake, watching other people’s reactions, failing or not being up to a task – in other words, from experience. The odds are that development will be about 70% from on-the-job experiences – working on tasks and problems; about 20% from feedback and working around good and bad examples of the need; and 10% from courses and reading.”
In essence, what this is saying is that adult learners learn best by doing. This does not render formal training ineffective, however, we should not ignore the very real and positive effects of developmental assignments, details, task force assignments, and the like, on our learning.
What’s your behavior “style”? Career assessment tools can help you figure out your next move, Part 2 of 4
Personality-driven career assessments can help you plot your next career move, but exercise caution with them and don’t take anything at face value: they’re merely assistive tools, not prescriptive ones.
Here are some additional personality-driven career assessments. You may want to consult with a certified career counselor for additional assistance.
Carolyn Kalil’s Personality Assessment (True Colors) is a personality system that is modeled as a graphical presentation of both Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter and the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. True Colors differentiates the four personality types as Gold, Blue, Green, and Orange.
This free assessment asks you to choose one of two ways to finish 36 statements. When finished, you will be provided with web-based results in terms of four colors, with one-paragraph descriptions of each. The results can help you define your skills and talents — and possibly direct you to various career paths.
DISC is a needs-motivated, observable behavioral profiling system which measures the energy put into approaching problems and challenges, influencing and coping with people, steadying and facing the environment, and complying and justifying rules and details. DISC measures our underlying emotions, needs, fears, and the primary concerns that drive behavior.
This assessment breaks down four core behavior styles, each represented by a letter:
- Dominance: The “D” style places emphasis on accomplishing results.
- Influence: The “I” style places emphasis on influencing or persuading others.
- Steadiness: The “S” style places emphasis on cooperation.
- Conscientiousness: The “C” style places emphasis on quality and accuracy.
This assessment contains 28 groups of four words or statements. Through self-selection, you choose words that are most like you and words that are least like you, and through those responses, the report reveals your behavioral style and communication preferences. Not only does it describe the real (natural) you, it also identifies your style and preferences as you display them according to your perception of the demands of your environment (your adapted style).
One of the most widely-used assessments by professionals in the career services industry, the DISC Career Management Report provides value to jobseekers who are starting their careers, returning to the workforce, or in transition and unsure about the best career path.
Research conducted by Gallup, Inc. revealed that people are more productive, perform better, and are more engaged when they identify their natural talents and develop them into strengths.
The assessment measures your “talent DNA” based on the order of 34 themes of talent, which are sorted into four domains:
- Strategic Thinking: How you absorb, think about, and analyze information and situations.
- Executing: How you make things happen.
- Influencing: How you influence others.
- Relationship Building: How you build and nurture strong relationships.
Your distinct combination of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes is your personal code — the pattern of talents that make you unique. In fact, Gallup’s research has proven that the odds are 1 in 33 million that someone shares the same “top five” combination of themes as you!
This online assessment, which takes about an hour to complete, asks you to choose from 177 paired statements the one that best describes you. When you complete the CliftonStrengths, you will receive a personalized report, resources, and tools.
Our final article will discuss interest, rather than personality-based assessments.
Career Assessment Tools Can Help You Figure Out Your Next Move
Dissatisfied with Your Career, But Not Sure What to Do Next? Many of us have vague ideas about changing careers but aren’t exactly sure what it is we want to do. If you are in a quandary about what to next, you may want to consider taking a career assessment.
Career assessments are tools that are designed to help individuals understand how a variety of personal attributes (i.e., values, interests, motivations, behavioral styles, aptitudes, and skills) impact their potential success and satisfaction with different career options and work environments.
Assessments of some (or all) of these attributes are often used by individuals or organizations — such as university career services centers, career counselors, outplacement firms, HR staff, executive coaches, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and guidance counselors — to help individuals make more informed career decisions.
Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential Assessment (MAPP)
The MAPP career assessment is perhaps one of the most widely used tools for finding a career that fits with your interests. It consists of 71 questions regarding your “likes” and “dislikes” and takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
*Future articles will explore these tools in greater depth so stay tuned.
These decisions may be on the front-end — as in, “What are some suitable career options I should pursue?” — but they are also beneficial for helping experienced professionals assess why they are feeling unfulfilled in their current occupations or worse yet, totally “burned out.”
Additionally, some individuals are “thrust” into exploring careers because the career path they were on is no longer viable, either because of industry, economic, or life changes.
Find a match
Career assessments can help you learn about occupations that are a good match for you, identify skills you bring to a job and/or decide where you need training, consider careers you may not have thought about before, and even help you write a more personal, focused résumé.
In short, a career assessment can help you make the best career decisions to grow both personally and professionally.
However, there are some drawbacks. Although the results of an assessment may provide some enlightenment and options, it may not address your particular issues and needs.
Additionally, some of the best assessment tools require the help of a qualified professional to ensure you interpret and apply the results correctly (lest you find yourself on a path to working in another occupation you don’t like). Also, keep in mind that many of the assessments are based on your view of yourself and we are often unaware of our own strengths, weaknesses, and ingrained misperceptions.
Whether completed online or in print (paper and pencil), the majority of assessments are administered in the form of a questionnaire. You may be asked to choose from a group of options, select from terms that are most like you or least like you, or rate activities as those you most enjoy/least enjoy.
Each assessment is scored against characteristics of various occupations — the skills/abilities, interests, values, and motivations required to effectively perform and enjoy the occupation.
Assessment results are not randomly matched to occupations. The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System, a United States government system of classifying occupations, is used by U.S. federal government agencies collecting occupational data. This system enables comparison of occupations across data sets. The SOC covers all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit and reflects the current occupational structure in the United States.
On the other side of the equation are the tools themselves, which are drawn from research studies, collected data, and theories developed by psychologists. Several well-known and popular assessments are modifications based on these studies. Our next several articles will explore these tools in more depth.
New Year’s Resolutions for your Career
Only one third of federal employees reported being satisfied with the opportunity to get a better job within their organizations on the most recent Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Are you or should you be looking to make a move in 2018? Regardless, here are some 2018 career resolutions as another year gets underway.
- Should you be looking for a job? Is your network up-to-date? If you are even only vaguely thinking about looking for a new job, you need to start reaching out to your contacts – and it’s best to do this before you need them or call on them.
- Does your LinkedIn Profile reflect who you are? Do you have a personalized headline? A picture? A Profile Summary that is key-word rich? Yes, I know I harp on the importance of LinkedIn; it does really matter—especially in seeking private sector employment. Its importance is growing in the federal realm as well.
- Are you convinced that should stay (or leave) your current position? Is this a thought-out decision or a “knee-jerk” reaction?
- Is your resume up-to-date? Even if you’re not looking for a job right this minute, you should be prepared with an updated document in case someone asks to see your resume.
- Does your resume reflect your achievements? And do your achievements reflect the “so what?”—how you added value / made a difference to your employer?
- Does your resume include metrics to give your work context? Without metrics, readers of your resume don’t know how large your budget is, how many people your teams have, how many customers your support, or how many transactions you process in a month.
- Does your resume include the key words for the positions you’re thinking about (and currently in)? Applicant Trackign Software (ATS) is rampant in the private sector; most resumes are screened for key words—if you don’t have them, your resume likely won’t be read. If you’re pursuing federal employment, reviewers are resume (humans, not machines) are looking for the key words too.
- Are your skills up-to-date? If not, what are you doing to close your skills gaps?
- Is your assessment of your value consistent with those of supervisors and colleagues? Talk to trusted colleagues, carefully review your performance rating, or think about using a 360 feedback tool to get some candid advice about where you excel and where more work might be needed.
The new year should be an opportunity for self-reflection and forward movement. What do you want in 2018?