Career Planning

Using the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model

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If you are SES aspirational—or even if you’re not, the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) Model should be your friend. Not only is CCAR required for the writing of Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ), it is also useful for interviewing.

Using CCAR allows you to tell your story in an interesting and compelling way. How does CCAR work? When writing your ECQ stories (or responding to interview questions), consider the following:

Challenge.

Describe a specific problem or goal. The more significant the challenges faced and overcome, the more significant the results will appear.

Context.

Talk about the individuals and groups you worked with and/or the environment in which you worked to tackle a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale). This is the background information needed to understand why your accomplishment was significant.

Action.

Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge. Focus on actions that showcase your ability to solve problems in the organization to which you are applying. Be sure to include multiple actions. Some people find it easier to actually list their actions (1, 2, 3, etc.; you can smooth it out when you edit). 

Result.

Give specific examples of the results of your actions. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills. Results can be quantitative (with metrics) and/or qualitative. And of course, they need to demonstrate that you solved the problem.

Here’s what a potential CCAR outline might look like:

Achievement: Ensure 24/7 security requirements were met while complying with mandated furloughs during 2013 Sequestration.

Challenge:

  • Midway through the fiscal year, it became evident that Congress would not provide relief from the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the agency would be forced to comply with guidance requiring furloughs.
  • Available staffing did not permit the simultaneous full furlough and minimum security requirements to provide proper building security.
  • I was required to reduce labor hours by 22% over 7 weeks.

Context:

  • The Budget Control Act of 2011 required significant budget cuts to the agency for fiscal year 2013.
  • Department guidance leading into 2013 directed the agency to plan as if the cuts would not be implemented.
  • I was required to ensure 24/7/365 security for vital assets throughout the Department while still taking my “share” of cuts.

Actions:

  • I created a 5-person team to develop a solution to meet the security requirements and reduce expenditures toward reduction targets. I aimed to find other reductions to try to avoid furloughs.
  • I created a quantitative framework of prioritized staffing to meet security requirements and associated costs. I had my team develop alternatives with risk assessments versus cost. These scenarios demonstrated that the required 7 furlough days presented an unacceptable risk to the agency and its tenants.
  • My business case and risk assessment showed that a 3-day furlough could be sustained within acceptable risk parameters.
  • Simultaneously, I sped the deployment of an automated scheduling tool 4 months ahead of schedule to replace the decades-old, paper-based process so that staffing could be assessed in near real-time. I developed technological solutions that complied with departmental guidance for deploying new software, trained administrative officers, and provided technical support for all shifts of FTEs and contractors.

Results:

  • My 3-day furlough proposal persuaded agency leadership, who adopted it in place of the previous mandates. Politically, this caused less strife than justifying a complete furlough exemption.
  • The prioritized framework I created based on risk assessment has served as the baseline minimum security standard since it was deployed. All staffing changes since then have been assessed within this framework.
  • The lessons learned from the limited deployment of the automated scheduler significantly improved its full deployment later that year with operational lessons learned. The system is still in use by the agency and is being deployed to a wider set of users. Agency leadership views it as the most significant tool for managing staffing hours (which is the single largest agency expense) in the agency’s history.

Once you have an outline, you can “fill in the blanks” and craft your story.

What are Special Hiring Authorities?

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Here are a few special hiring authorities for non-veterans that may help you better compete for your target job:

• Direct Hire Authority: Some entire occupational series qualify for Direct Hire Authority (DHA). The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provides both government-wide and agency-specific direct hiring authority for filling vacancies when there arises a critical hiring need or severe shortage of candidates. Direct hiring authority can be used to fill a variety of types of appointments: permanent, temporary, and limited and term appointments with “not-to-exceed” dates. A few position types eligible for DHA government-wide include: Information Technology Management Specialist (Information Security)—grades 9 and above (job series 2210); diagnostic radiologic technologist (job series 647); medical officer (job series 602); nurse (job series 610); pharmacist (job series 660); and federal acquisitions positions covered under Title 41.

• Digital Services Experts: In mid-2015, OPM authorized excepted service appointments at the GS-11 to GS-15 levels for candidates with expertise in “modern digital product design, software engineering, product management, creating and maintaining flexible infrastructure, and designing and implementing agile governance structures,” as stated by the then OPM Director. If your work falls into this category, you may be eligible for this specialized hiring authority. Twenty-five agencies and a number of programs may use this authority. As you engage in career networking, be sure to mention your eligibility for this appointment; not all HR personnel and hiring managers may know about this.

• CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) is a unique program designed to broaden and strengthen the cadre of federal information assurance professionals that protect the government’s critical information technology infrastructure. SFS scholarships typically fully fund full-time student costs such as tuition and education-related fees, as long as you attend a participating institution. Funded by National Science Foundation grants, students receive stipends of $22,500 for undergraduate work and $34,000 for graduate programs. Visit https://www.sfs.opm.gov/ for more information.

• Former AmeriCorps and Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV): Agencies may appoint former AmeriCorps and PCV non-competitively within 12 months of their separation from volunteer service. The 12-month period can be extended in certain circumstances such as military service, higher education, or other activities at the agency’s discretion.

• Schedule A for People with Disabilities. Qualified individuals with disabilities can be appointed to federal jobs non-competitively through a process known as Schedule A. In order to be eligible for Schedule A, you must meet the qualifications for your target (i.e., have the required competencies and relevant experience to perform the job) and provide “proof of a disability” documentation. “Proof of a disability” is a letter stating that you have an intellectual disability, severe physical disability, or psychiatric disability. This letter is obtained from your doctor, a licensed medical professional, a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any federal, state, or local agency that issues or provides disability benefits.

• Military spouse. This hiring authority is for: a military spouse who is relocating with their service-member spouse as a result of permanent change of station (PCS) orders; a spouse who is 100% disabled due to active duty service; or the spouse of a service member killed while on active duty. This appointment is authorized under Executive Order 13473. Military spouse appointments are non-competitive and may be made to competitive service (status) jobs. Because these are noncompetitive appointments, veterans’ preference is not considered for positions filled under this authority.

• Emergency Hiring Authority to support recovery from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Agencies have been authorized to make Excepted Service hiring appointments on a temporary basis for up to one year, to work on recovery and relief; these appointments can be extended in one-year increments.

The authorities above do not represent the full range of specialized hiring authorities, nor does it include the nuances of these eligibilities. Just being eligible for any of the above hiring authorities does not guarantee you a job. It does, however, provide you with some additional tools to use in your search. If applicable, ensure you include these eligibilities in your resume, mention them during networking, and include them when you complete your USAJOBS profile. Additional information special hiring authorities is located at www.opm.gov.

10 Questions to Help Decide if It’s Time to Leave a Job

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All of us fantasize about leaving our jobs at some point. Before doing anything rash, it’s a good idea to think why you want to make a change. Here are 10 things to think about before deciding to call it quits:

  1. Is it really our job that’s the problem or something else? There are ways to improve your relationships and/or situation at work that do not require you to up and leave.
  2. Are you required to do something you can no longer do? For example, traveling 3 weeks out of 4 might have been fine when you were younger, but it’s wearing on you now
  3. Can you see yourself still doing your job for the next several years? Or does it fill you with dread?
  4. Is the job making you physically ill? Are you being bullied? Harassed? Something else? Yes, you could stay and fight but there is definitely a psychic cost to that.
  5. Are you overwhelmed all the time? Can you no longer handle the responsibilities or volume of work expected? Is this a temporary situation or one likely to go on for the foreseeable future? No job is worth making yourself sick over.
  6. Are you appreciated by your bosses and/or peers at least some of the time? Do you like the people you work with? Or is your work thankless? This is not just about money…thank you’s are nice too!
  7. Are you staying in the job because you’re afraid to change? If so you may want to discuss this with someone you trust.
  8. Are your skills being used? If not, is there the potential for your skills to be used at some point? Is that possibility enough?
  9. Is there new leadership or a new boss? Are you aligned with their vision? Have you given it time to actually decide?
  10. Do you have a Plan B? If you need to work, do you have another job? Are your career documents up to date? Its always better to look for a new job when you have one.

If any of the above apply to you, its time to think about your next steps; you need to update your career documents and start networking! Begin to think about what you want in your next job or career. Write it down and hold yourself accountable. Make sure that you moving toward something better and not just running away from your current situation.

Career Challenges, Opportunities Contribute to Employee Wellness

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OPM’s Federal Workforce Priorities Report for 2018 identifies employee health as an area it wants agencies to focus on to boost productivity at the organizational level.

However, physical health is just one aspect of the broader concept of wellness that helps drive success for both individuals and their agencies. Equally important is mental exercise. Lifelong learning – career development and engagement, in other words – challenging your brain, is an important part of staying “healthy.”

A 2012 study from Aon Hewitt notes that career opportunities are key to employee engagement. And, with 70% of US workers unengaged, seeing career development as a part of wellness is a must.

How do you know if your brain is challenged? Do you see your work as personally rewarding? Are you satisfied with the work that you do—do you feel like you are making a difference / contribution? If so, great! If not, then perhaps you can start to think about developing your career (and your brain).

There are many ways to develop without formal training or coursework, such as cross-training or “shadowing” with a co-worker to learn a new procedure, process, or system; coaching or mentoring; and self-analysis of values and interests so that when a learning opportunity presents itself, you’ll know if it’s something you want to pursue. Additionally, if your work doesn’t provide the volume of learning experiences you crave, consider volunteer work as a great way to learn, network, and keep yourself challenged.

You may also want to talk to your supervisor about creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP). Just doing something can help you start to feel better and more engaged. There are no regulatory requirements mandating employees complete IDPs within the Federal Government, although many employee and leadership development programs require IDPs. Completing IDPs is considered good management practice, and many agencies have developed their own IDP planning process and forms.

While there is no one “correct” form for recording your development plan, an effective plan should include, at minimum, the following key elements:

  • Profile – name, position title, office, grade/pay band
  • Career goals – short-term and long-term goals with estimated and actual completion dates
  • Development objectives – linked to work unit mission/goals/objectives and your development needs and objectives
  • Training and development opportunities – activities you will pursue with estimated and actual completion dates. These activities may include formal classroom training, web-based training, rotational assignments, shadowing assignments, on-the-job training, self-study programs, and professional conferences/seminars
  • Signatures – both you and your supervisor should sign and date
  • A way to track your progress. Its not enough to just have a piece of paper (or electronic form). You should track your progress on meeting your goals.

While not a panacea for all ills, knowing where you are going and how you can get there will go a long way to meeting your personal wellness goals.

OPM Asking Agencies to Prioritize Continuous Professional Growth

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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.

Pro Tip: Don’t Copy Language from your Resume into LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is great for networking and job search but there are certain features you want to be careful with or avoid all together. One of the ones you want to avoid is actually controlled by a setting within Microsoft Office 356, allowing language from your LinkedIn profile to be used in Microsoft Word’s Resume Assistant feature – that is, for other MS Office users to access language from your LinkedIn profile.

Resume Assistant is available to Microsoft 365 users who are Office Insiders, and allows you to see work experience examples and skills descriptions from public LinkedIn Profiles. This means that the hard work you have done to create your unique profile may show up in Resume Assistant and become parts of other jobseekers’ resumes. In other words, Resume Assistant provides content from LinkedIn users to help you develop your resume. You will not be able to identify the names of the people whose content you are seeing. Resume Assistant It will also show you potential jobs that meet your criteria.

While this might not bother you if you’re trying to create a resume, if you are job hunting and have spent time, effort, and perhaps money to develop your resume, you may not want other people stealing / using that content for free. And if the content is used often enough, your content might become boilerplate language for other resumes.

Bottom line: Be aware that LinkedIn now has a feature where your profile can be extracted into a Word document by other LinkedIn users.

Here is how to make sure this setting is turned off:

  • Go to your “Settings” section.
  • Click on “Privacy.”
  • You will see the option for “Microsoft Word.” Click on that.
  • Make sure the setting is then changed to “No.”

Further, you should never copy and paste your resume into your LinkedIn profile where that language could be copied. Let lots of people see your LinkedIn profile, but only give your resume to people you target.