Federal Job Search

Having Trouble Getting a Federal Job?

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Getting a federal job is a lengthy and difficult process. Many postings receive hundreds, or even a thousand or more applications. I tell most clients that 9-12 months is the time that it can take to get a federal position; while it can happen sooner, this is a realistic timeframe. Even if you are transitioning from the military, you should not expect to get a federal job immediately.

In my view, getting a federal job takes three things:

  1. Applying for jobs for which you are truly qualified. By this, I mean that you already possess the specialized experience required in the job announcement AND you can provide the highest and best answer to every question on the occupational questionnaire. If, when you review the questionnaire (and I always recommend reviewing the questionnaire before applying), you cannot provide the highest and best answer to each question (or at least 90%), you should pick another announcement.

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I Just Found the “Perfect” Job Announcement: Now What?

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Before you get too excited, take a careful look at the announcement:

  • Are you eligible to apply? Review the “who can apply” section of the announcement to make sure you’re eligible. If you do not meet the criteria outlined and apply anyway, you will be eliminated.
  • When does it close? Do you have time to tweak your resume (you have a resume, right??) to include the key words?
  • Do you meet the specialized experience requirement? Check under the How You Will be Evaluated section and review the specialized experience; this is a must have, not a nice to have.
  • Are there any Selective Placement Factors (SPF) listed? If so, do you have them? Are they clearly articulated in your resume? If you do not have the SPF, you should pick a different announcement; if you do, be sure to tweak your resume to clearly show your possession of the SPF.

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Still Think You Don’t Need LinkedIn?

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Lots of people are not on LinkedIn and when I ask them about it, they “pooh-pooh” me. Be that as it may, LinkedIn has more than 300 million members and two-thirds of them live outside the United States. Although the federal government is not a heavy user of LinkedIn recruitment tools (which is ultimately where LinkedIn makes its money), the Department of the Army has the third largest number of employees of any organization on LinkedIn, after IBM and Hewlett-Packard, according to an August 2014 (more than a year ago!!) report. (see http://www.businessinsider.com/linkedins-plan-for-the-future-2014-8).

Even if your agency is not using LinkedIn for filling positions (which they probably are not), it is still a valuable tool; a way for you to learn what your former colleagues and friends are doing, keep up with trends and learn about different organizations by “following” them, and establish a positive online presence and increase your professional credibility by using some of LinkedIn’s features such as publishing. If you have an interview scheduled, LinkedIn can be a great way to familiarize yourself with panel members. And, of course, if you are meeting with individuals from another agency, or even talking to them over the phone, a quick look at LinkedIn allows you to put a face with a name (assuming they have a picture posted), learn a little more about who you are working with, and ease those sometimes awkward transactions. Finally, even if you are not looking up your colleagues, they may well be looking for you.

So, if you are one of those people who does not “do” social media, you may want to rethink your approach. Look at the site. See who you know who is on it and how they are using it. You do not want to be left behind.

10 Things that Will Improve Your USAJOBS Resume

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I am often asked what the DIY person can do to their resume to make it better. Here are 10 easy-to-implement suggestions: 

  1. Create a Skills Summary or Professional Profile. This is great way to include keywords and summarize who you are and what you bring to the table in a couple of sentences.
  1. Add awards. Give yourself credit.
  1. Get rid of experience that is irrelevant and/or more than 10 years old. Hiring Managers [and Human Resources (HR) people] want to know what you have done lately. And, most likely your experience from 10+ years ago was not at the same level as you are targeting now—so it may not count as qualifying experience. Finally, if you haven’t done something in more than 10 years, even if you are considered qualified, you may not be best If you were the hiring manager, would YOU want to select someone who hasn’t done something in 10 years or someone who is doing it now?

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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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