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Do These 10 Things to Get that Federal Job You Want

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As we get closer to the holidays, everyone gets busy and distracted on personal matters. However, you can take advantage of the slowdown to up your government job search game.

Here are 10 easy things to do that won’t take much time but will pay dividends!

  1. Double-check your USAJOBS Profile. Make sure it is up-to-date in terms of your contact information, your eligibilities, etc. Veterans, this is especially important as you want to ensure that your eligibilities count.
  2. Understand your eligibilities. Do you have veterans’ preference? Do you have status? Are you eligible for reinstatement? Are you Schedule A eligible? A military spouse? Understanding your eligibilities and what they mean will help ensure you apply for jobs for which you are eligible.
  3. Turn on the feature that automatically notifies you when the status of your application changes. Under what was known as “hiring reform,” agencies are supposed to notify via email: A) when your application was received; B) whether you were rated qualified or unqualified; C) whether your application was sent to the hiring manager; and D) when a selection is made. While it is true that agencies don’t always take these steps (or the steps aren’t always taken in a timely manner), you still want to sign up for this feature.
  4. Create a search agent on USAJOBS to automatically send you job postings that meet your criteria.
  5. Make sure your resume is up-to-date so that you’re ready to apply for the job postings which have quick close dates.
  6. Add accomplishments to your resume, at least for your current job. You should include at least one achievement for each year in your current job. If you’ve been in your current job less than one, apply the concept your prior job.
  7. Get rid of jobs on your resume that are more than 10 years old. Employers want to know what you have done recently and be assured that you’re not resting on your laurels. If you were the hiring manager, would you want to pick someone who had not done the job in 20 years or someone who is doing it now?
  8. Apply for jobs for which you are qualified for. This is more than having time-in-grade; you need to have the specialized experience too.
  9. Review the questionnaires associated with each job posting before deciding whether or not to apply. You can review the questionnaires without applying; most postings have a link to view the questionnaire. If you cannot provide the highest and best answer to the vast majority of questions, you may not be rated as best qualified.
  10. Make sure you use key words from the job posting in your resume; make it easy for the HR people to see that you’re qualified.

BONUS: Still not sure you know what to do? There are many free training sessions offered on using USAJOBS and applying for a government job. Bookmark: https://www.usajobs.gov/Notification/Events/ and keep checking!

Writing Your Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ), Part 2/2

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Your ECQs should be well written narratives that provide information about your strategic, executive achievements in the language of the ECQ and its relevant sub-competencies. When writing your ECQ narratives, OPM recommends using the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model.

An ECQ narrative may include one or two examples (not more than two) of relevant experience that matches the ECQ (and sub-competency) definitions. Keep in mind that your ultimate audience is the Qualification Review Board (QRB) (again, no one from your agency may sit on your QRB) so your stories must stand on their own. The QRB is looking for specific challenges, actions and results, rather than expressions of your philosophy or technical expertise.

Here is OPM’s definition of CCAR to use when writing your ECQs (along with some edits):

Challenge. Describe a specific problem that needed to be solved. Remember to think as holistically as possible. The QRB is interested in the large-scale, if you have suitable examples. And, it should be something where you had to get others behind you (this is not about your sole contributions but your leadership of others).

Context. Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., complexity, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale, impossibly short deadlines). Make sure this is at the executive level—not an example where you were asked to implement someone else’s idea. Think about examples where you were the initiator of an idea that had enterprise-wide impact.

Action. Discuss the specific actions YOU took to address a challenge. Use “I” not “we” even if you were part of a team. The QRB wants to see your personal contributions.

Result. Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Metrics always help support your results. If your result was qualitative, how can you show it was substantial? Perhaps a quotation from an award recommendation or performance evaluation, or a comparison to a prior situation.

Before you can begin writing your ECQs, you need to identify your examples. Your examples must be from the past 10 years (the past five years is even better—you don’t want anyone to think your best days are behind you!) and exhibit your strategic thinking, rather than transactional activities. You are limited to two examples per ECQ; each example must be a fully developed CCAR.

How can you identify your examples? Think back over the past five to seven years of your career. What do you consider to be your major achievements? What would your supervisor think was most impressive? Look back over your award citations, performance evaluations, and accomplishment reports—you may get some ideas from those documents. Talk to your colleagues; conversations may prompt your memory for good examples. Don’t forget to think about things outside of work that might show your executive level experience.

Other things to keep in mind:

  • You should not repeat examples in multiple ECQs. However, if you have a large complex story, you can use different parts of the story in different ECQs.
  • Even if your example is highly technical, be sure to simplify it in the telling and focus on your leadership of that issue. Your ECQs are not the place to show off your technical prowess; instead, wow the reader with your leadership savvy.
  • For some, it may be easier to identify examples and then match them to the ECQs; for others, trying to identify a specific story for each ECQ might be more effective.
  • The ECQs are not about your philosophy but rather your demonstration of the ECQs and sub-competencies in specific work situations. Do not include statements along the lines of, “I believe…” or use quotations from famous leaders.
  • You should use “I” throughout your ECQs. Even if the example that you are using is from your work as part of a team, the QRB is interested in your personal contributions. And yes, you can take credit for work done by your subordinates (after all, your leader is taking credit for your work, right? That’s just how it works folks.)
  • Do not refer the reader to earlier ECQs or your resume; each ECQ should stand on its own.
  • Sometimes an example can fit more than one ECQ; in that case, be sure to use the example where it best fits the ECQ definition.
  • Spell out acronyms and keep your stories simple—remember KISS.

10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve Your Resume

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Most of us are looking for quick and easy things to improve our resumes without a lot of work or time. Here are 10 things you can do; all totaled, these should take less than 30 minutes:

  1. Is your education listed first? If so, move it to the end unless you have no work experience. Most employers value your work experience more than your education. EXCEPTION: if you are an academic and presenting a formal CV.
  2. Are there tables embedded in your resume? If so, remove them.
  3. Does your resume go back more than 10 years or so? If so, eliminate your earlier work experience; employers want to know what you have done lately.
  4. Do the dates and jobs on your resume match the dates and jobs on your LinkedIn Profile? If not, make them match.
  5. Does your resume include a Hobbies section? A Personal section? Something similar? Delete them; everything on your resume should be focused on your target job.
  6. Does your resume include references? Or the statement, “references available upon request”? If so, delete this; all employers know that you will provide references if asked.
  7. Do you still have your college graduation date? And it was more than 10 years ago? Delete it.
  8. Is your private sector resume more than 2 pages? It shouldn’t be. Likewise, if your federal resume is ONLY 2 pages, more content is needed. A typical federal resume is 4-6 pages.
  9. Do you have an objective statement? If so, get rid of it; your objective is to get the job! Which is implied by applying for it.
  10. Does your resume have typos or grammatical errors? Not sure? Ask someone else to read it and fix them.

BONUS: Does your resume contain key words for the positions you’re targeting? If not, add them. It’s not about knowing that you can do the job but proving that you already have!

Writing A Senior Executive Service (SES) Resume

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While you are probably familiar with writing a resume, writing your SES resume is somewhat different. Not only must your resume include the required information for federal resumes, it must also show your executive-level experience and accomplishments. Typically grade 15 work (and sometimes grade 14, depending on the specific position) meets the basic qualifications requirement; therefore, your resume should focus on your highest-level work—there is no need to focus on earlier work experience – most resumes only go back about 10 years or so. In addition, like with other resumes, your executive resume should include the key words from announcement, as well as the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ), and as many of the sub-competencies as possible, in addition to the key words from technical qualifications.

Before starting to put your resume together, you should carefully review the job posting, especially the technical qualifications (TQs; also known as Professional Technical Qualifications or Mandatory Technical Qualifications). If you cannot provide specific examples of when you demonstrated each of the TQs, you should probably pick another announcement.

Additionally, you should carefully check the “how to apply” section of the announcement for any special requirements, such as a transcript, performance evaluation, supervisory endorsement, references, or something similar. You do not want to be applying at 11:59 PM on the closing date and find that you are lacking a critical document! Finally, you should carefully check the announcement to determine any character limits, font sizes, or application requirements (such as no uploaded resumes) before you start writing.

An executive resume typically includes several parts:

  • Executive Qualifications
  • Executive Experience and Achievements
  • Professional Leadership Development
  • Awards and Honors
  • Professional Presentations and/or Publications
  • Relevant Certifications and/or Licenses
  • Education

This is a lot of content; in most instances, your federal executive resume will be five or six pages. While this may sound long, it is important to remember that from a Human Resources (HR) review perspective, if it is not on your resume, you did not do it. So, a traditional two-page resume will rarely get your application in front of the agency Executive Resources Board (ERB).

Many agencies are restricting SES resumes to 5 pages. In these situations, many agencies are considering the resume as the entire application; in this case it is critical that you demonstrate your executive leadership through your resume. This means focusing on the language of the ECQs in addition to your technical qualifications. Do not rely on your resume “passing” because you are already in the agency. Throughout your resume, be sure to include metrics to give your work context (how many people do you lead? What is your budget? Etc.) and accomplishments to demonstrate that you can achieve results.

In addition to the above-mentioned parts, be sure to include all required information such as your title, job series, and grade, name of your supervisor, etc. Check the announcement to see if your Social Security Number is required (or prohibited). You do not want to be disqualified for failing to follow the rules.

Since veterans’ preference is not a consideration in the SES, this is less important in your executive resume. However, if you have military leadership experience at a high level (typically Colonel or above), you may want to include it in your SES resume.

Special Workforce Authorities for Cybersecurity Professionals

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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..

Take Advantage Of Informal Development Opportunities

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Development is about more than just 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.

The following describes some examples of typical formal development programs. Not all agencies offer all of these opportunities.

Tuition Assistance Programs
Agencies may offer employees assistance to attend academic courses that are job related.

Targeted Career Training
In the case of the Career Intern Program, a centralized effort is used to provide effective and consistent training. This training often combines formal coursework with rotations and is based on defined competencies. Such program designs provide professional, technical, and leadership training.

Professional Development
Agencies may establish professional development programs designed to provide technical and general knowledge and experience to career employees. Agencies may also establish leadership development programs to ensure leaders continue to develop and “grow” the knowledge and skill necessary to effectively lead the organization. Such programs usually include well-rounded orientation consisting of formal coursework and on-the-job training assignments throughout the agency. The Senior Executive Service (SES) Candidate Development Program (CDP) is one such example.

Individual Learning Account
An Individual Learning Account (ILA) is a base amount of resources expressed in terms of dollars or hours, or both, set aside for an individual employee to use for his or her learning and development. Accounts may be used to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities directly related to the employee’s official duties. ILAs provide employees with flexible learning opportunities, and put the responsibility for learning in the hands of the learner.

Informal Development Opportunities

Managers can create development opportunities by creating situations for employees to learn informally. This type of development sometimes has a greater impact than more expensive formal training. Examples of informal development include the following:

Job rotations
Employees are appointed to new positions to learn about a different facet of the organization.

Special assignments
Tasks are given to employees to help them explore new areas and learn new skills.

Self-assessment
Employees are asked to analyze their needs and the efficacy of past training.

Coaching and counseling
Managers, team leaders, other employees give assistance and feedback on employee’s performance.

Job Aid/Demonstration
Sometimes a performance problem can be addressed with a quick demonstration or a simple instructional tool.

Mentoring
Senior colleague works with employee to help network, clarify goals, etc.

Learning teams
A team that is formed to address individual or group learning.

Self-development
Employees identify their own development needs and manage their own learning process.