Interviewing

Get Professional Endorsements Before you Need Them

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We have talked about the importance of documenting your experience on your resume and through your cover letter. In addition to documenting your experience through achievements and metrics, another way to demonstrate your expertise and effectiveness is through third party endorsements. There are several ways to approach this:

  • Consider featuring a quotation from a recent performance evaluation or award recommendation on your resume. On a USAJOBS resume, you could call it a Supervisory Endorsement and put it in the Additional Information Section of USAJOBS. Be sure to identify where the quote came from (e.g., Recent Performance Evaluation) and identify the source, either by name or title. Here’s an example:

“Branch Chief Smith is keenly versed on all laws, regulations and policies relevant to the program. He is working diligently to transform the operational paradigm from solely security to a frontline/investigative methodology…and to retool training…He is an expert on the science that distinguishes DHS’s program from all others, particularly in the area of guarding against cross contamination.” 2016 Performance Review.

This concept also works on private sector resumes; if you are creating a private sector resume, you may want to feature the quotation in a text box or something similar.

  • Ask your LinkedIn Connections to prepare a Recommendation for you so when prospective employers look at your LinkedIn Profile, they will see your endorsements. Authentic, genuine Recommendations are powerful. Instead of sending out those presumptuous LinkedIn “Can You Endorse Me?” emails, select a handful of people in your network and write Recommendations for them, without asking for one in return. You will be surprised at how many people will reciprocate. You can also ask people if they would be willing to Recommend you and, if so, whether it would be helpful for you to do the first draft to get them started. If they take you up on your offer to do the first draft, make sure you let them know that they should feel free to edit what you have drafted. When drafting for someone, be specific and detailed. The reader should be able to tell exactly who it was written about. Quantify accomplishments (with percentages, numbers, and dollar amounts) as much as possible.
  • Select and prepare your references. References should be professional, not personal. You will want to select 3-5 individuals to be your preferred references. These individuals may be current or former managers or supervisors, co-workers, peers, or team members, current or former customers of the company, vendors or suppliers, and people you have supervised. The best references can talk about your day-to-day job performance — so choose someone who supervised you or someone who worked with you closely. Select someone who knows your work well. You want someone who has seen you in action and can speak to your abilities. It’s better to have someone who can speak to your skills and accomplishments than a “big name” on your list of professional references. If someone seems hesitant to serve as your reference, ask someone else.

Once you’ve decided who you would like to be your references, always contact these individuals and ask their permission to use them as a reference. Call your references directly (don’t just email them). Not all potential references will be able to provide this kind of stellar recommendation. But some of your references may be hesitant to say no to you directly if you ask.

So you can give them a way to let themselves off the hook, without turning you down directly. Instead of asking, “Will you be a reference for me?” Ask them, “Do you feel you know me well enough to serve as a reference for me?” Or ask, “Will you be a great reference for me? (If the answer is anything less than enthusiastic, you can collect their information, but not list them on your reference list. It’s perfectly fine to ask a reference to support you, but then not use them when applying to certain jobs, or not at all.) Verify each reference’s contact information, including the preferred phone numbers (cell, home, work) to list.

Do NOT ask your references to pre-prepare written recommendations for you; most employers do not value these. Instead, let your references know that they may be contacted over the phone or via email. Immediately send a letter or email thanking them for serving as a reference, and provide a current copy of your resume (or let them know you will be sending them a copy of your resume soon, if it is not yet completed).

Once someone has agreed to be a reference for you, prepare a references page that you can provide to a prospective when asked. Do not put a section on your resume that says, “References Available Upon Request.” This is old fashioned and considered self-evident. Instead, you should have a reference page in the same format, font style, and font size of your resume. If you are using USAJOBS, it is not necessary to fill out the reference section unless the job posting requires that you provide references. Your Reference Page will work for both private sector and federal resume searches.

Using third party endorsements is a great way to differentiate you from other applicants. Each of these approaches add value to your job search.

Validating Your Experience—Third Party Endorsements

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We have talked about the importance of documenting your experience on your resume and through your cover letter. In addition to documenting your experience through achievements and metrics, another way to demonstrate your expertise and effectiveness is through third party endorsements. There are several ways to approach this:

  • Consider featuring a quotation from a recent performance evaluation or award recommendation on your resume. On a USAJOBS resume, you could call it a Supervisory Endorsement and put it in the Additional Information Section of USAJOBS. Be sure to identify where the quote came from (e.g., Recent Performance Evaluation) and identify the source, either by name or title. Here’s an example:

“Branch Chief Smith is keenly versed on all laws, regulations and policies relevant to the program. He is working diligently to transform the operational paradigm from solely security to a frontline/investigative methodology…and to retool training…He is an expert on the science that distinguishes DHS’s program from all others, particularly in the area of guarding against cross contamination.” 2016 Performance Review.

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Special Interview Considerations: Phone and other Remote Interviews

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While the traditional face-to-face interview is still the most common, many agencies and companies are conducting first interviews (or sometimes, the only interview) remotely, using the telephone, Skype, video-teleconferencing (VTC) or another medium. Preparation, including researching the organization, drafting your CCAR examples, composing questions to ask the employer, etc., are applicable to both in-person and remote interviews, however, remote interviews present some special challenges.

Telephone interviews are particularly challenging since you cannot see the people with whom you are interviewing. If contacted for a phone interview, I encourage you to ask if the interview can be conducted using Skype, FaceTime, VTC, or something similar where you can see the interviewers. While still not as personal as face-to-face interviews, being on camera can help everyone stay more focused on the interview itself.

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They’ve Finished Asking Questions, Now What?

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Earlier articles focused on the basics of interview preparation—how to calm your nerves, what to wear,  how to present yourself professionally, preparing CCAR stories, and planning transportation.  This article discusses what happens once the interview panel has stopped talking.

A good interview is not a one-way street. While interviewers are determining whether you are a good match for the job, you should use the interview as an opportunity to learn whether or not the job is a good fit for YOU. One way to do that is to be prepared with questions for the panel.

During most interviews, you will be given an opportunity to ask questions of the panel. Never say that you don’t have any questions! You should always have 3 to 5 well-prepared questions to ask. Your questions should not be about you (how much training will I get? Will I have the opportunity for promotion? Etc.); instead, they should show your interest in meeting the employer’s needs, not yours.

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Don’t Wing it: Preparing for an In-person Federal Interview, Part 2

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In part 1 of this article, we discussed the basics of interview preparation—how to calm your nerves, what to wear, presenting yourself as professional, and planning transportation. Now, let’s focus on the harder part of interview prep.

In the federal government, almost all job interviews are structured. Each interviewee is asked the same questions in the same order, and all questions are job related, consistent with the Uniform Guidelines for Employee Selection. While follow up questions may be asked for additional clarification, in most instances, questions are identical for each candidate and the candidate may feel that the interview is rigid and inflexible.

This consistency is critical from the federal government’s standpoint in order to minimize the opportunity and risk of legal challenges to the process. Notes are typically taken during the interview and interviews are evaluated often using predetermined measures. Although interviewing in the federal government can be quite structured, there are some steps you should take to prepare.

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Don’t Wing it: Preparing for an In-person Federal Interview, Part 1

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Most government managers rely heavily on interviews when assessing candidate suitability for an employment relationship. A recent Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) study showed that over two-thirds of federal managers reported they use the information gathered during an interview to a “great extent” when making employment selections.

Due to the heavy reliance on interviewing during the candidate assessment process, it is important to spend the time preparing to do it right. Interviewing is not the time to wing it! Most of the information in part 1 of this article is equally applicable to preparing for interviews in the private sector.

Many people are nervous about interviewing while others believe that “if I can just get an interview, I can get the job.” Whichever camp you’re in, the first thing to do, in preparing for an interview, is to think about the worst thing that could happen and then calm yourself and your fears. Whether your concerns are about whether you can answer the questions, that you might start laughing or coughing uncontrollably, or that the interviewer might be rude, identify your fear and plan to address it. Thinking about a potential response to each of your concerns will make you feel better.

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