Careers

OPM Asking Agencies to Prioritize Continuous Professional Growth

by

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.

Career Tools for DIYers

by

There are lots of tools out there for people who want to take charge of their own careers. Here are some of my favorites:

Tools to Find Key Words

Wordle: www.wordle.net. Copy and paste job descriptions to create a word cloud

O*Net: www.onetonline.org. Search your occupation to find common keywords

Manage Your Job Search

Jibber Jobber: www.jibberjobber.com. A free online database to help manage your job search

Grammar & Spelling Tools

Grammarly: www.grammarly.com/ Create a free account; Grammarly was launched in 2009 and it instantly eliminates grammatical errors and enhances your writing.

Personal Branding Books

Ditch. Dare. Do!: 3D Personal Branding for Executives by William Arruda and Deb Dib

Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson

Resume Writing Classic

Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer by Susan Britton Whitcomb. This book tells you the how’s and why’s of private sector resume writing.

Tools to Help You Answer the Question: What Do I Want to Do?

What Color is Your Parachute? By Richard Bolles

O*Net Interest Profiler: https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip. This free online assessment measures your interests and shows how they relate to different careers. At the end of the Interest Profiler, you are presented with a list of careers that match your interests and preparation level.

And of course, FEDweek’s handbooks:

The Complete Guide to Completing a Federal Resume, http://www.fedweek.com/store/the-complete-guide-to-writing-a-federal-resume-3rd-ed/

The Complete Guide to Interviewing for a Federal Job, http://www.fedweek.com/store/complete-guide-interviewing-federal-job/

The Complete Guide to Federal Career Transitions, http://www.fedweek.com/store/complete-guide-federal-career-transitions/

Take some time during the holiday season to review these resources and let us know what you think. If you have favorites, please share them. Best to you and your loved ones for the season!

– Nancy

Do These 10 Things to Get that Federal Job You Want

by

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!

Four Steps to Plan Your Career

by

No one cares more about your career than you do. As an employee, you need to be proactive in your career—this includes creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with your supervisor. And, if your supervisor does not offer this opportunity, seize the reins yourself! There are four steps to planning your career: Assess, Explore, Plan, and Take Action.

Planning your career can seem like a difficult task, but with the right approach, you can open up new doors without feeling overwhelmed. No matter where you are in your career – whether you are a long-time federal employee, a new employee, or a Veteran entering the civilian workforce – career planning with this four-phase career development model can help you break things down into manageable steps. Here’s how it works:

Assess
During the Assess phase, you get to ask yourself an important question: What do you really want to do with your career?

You can start this process on your own – it’s as simple as brainstorming about your interests, priorities, and goals. Or, you can get feedback from people who know you well.
As you assess yourself, be sure to focus on your strengths. While it’s important to understand and work on your shortcomings, the biggest career growth can actually come from further developing skills or behaviors in which you already excel. Finally, as part of the Assess phase, you should think about the tradeoffs you are willing to make in your career. For example, if your goal is getting a higher paying job, think about how long a commute you are willing to have in exchange. Considering tradeoffs like this can give you more insight into your actual priorities.

Explore
During the Explore phase, you are looking for opportunities that move you toward your overall career goals. This means researching various career paths on your own or through conversations with others.

A good first step in the Explore phase may be to find a mentor in the career field that interests you who can talk with you about next steps or good developmental opportunities for you to complete.

Another great activity is to shadow someone in the workplace. Job shadowing is when you observe someone for a day to learn more about whether that person’s career field or specific job could be a good fit for you. Express interest to the person you want to shadow and see if he or she has enough time available. Then, work with your supervisor or mentor to set it up.

In the Explore phase, keep in mind that any activity that helps you discover more about a career you may be interested in is worth considering. This includes the activities above but can also be as simple as having lunch with someone who is knowledgeable about another career to get his or her insider’s perspective.

Plan
Now that you understand yourself and the career possibilities in front of you, you are ready to create a plan. Coming up with a solid plan can be easy when you approach the process with an Individual Development Plan (IDP). IDPs provide the structure you need to stay on track.

You can set effective career goals in your plan using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Timebound) method, which will help you think about the concrete steps you will take to achieve your goals. Is there training you need to complete to be eligible for a new position? Or are there experiences you can get in your current position that will qualify you for your next? For instance, if one of your goals is to improve your communication skills, you might plan to gather feedback on your communication skills from your peers and supervisors and then spend time learning about different communication styles. Or, you could take a course to learn about communicating effectively during meetings.

Take Action
Now, you’re ready to put your plan in motion. Depending on the goals you have identified, you may be taking a few hours of training each week, shadowing another employee to see what it takes to succeed in his or her position, or applying for a new job. As you complete your planned steps, don’t forget to gather feedback on your activities from a supervisor or mentor. You should also review and adjust your IDP as you go based on your progress toward your career goals.

By using these four phases for your career planning, you will be well on your way to the career you want. But remember to be flexible – developing your career is a continuous process. As your priorities evolve, you should feel free to bounce back and forth between the four phases, getting what you need from each.

Identifying Your Career Strengths and Interests

by

If you have decided to explore your career options, you may want to consider taking some sort of career self-assessment. Assessments can tell you more about yourself. They can help you better understand your strengths by identifying areas in which you already have skills, abilities and interests.

They can also alert you to areas for which you need to develop your strengths. You can make decisions about your career with more confidence if you understand what you like and don’t like, as well as what you do well (and not so well). It may also help you identify occupations that you are like to find satisfying based on the similarity between your work values and the characteristics of certain jobs.

There are a few things to keep in mind when taking assessments.

• There are many career assessments; you should look at several and see which one(s) feel right to you. Your friend may really like one assessment, while you have a totally different reaction. Don’t be afraid to try several. And taking more than one assessment may give you a more well-rounded opinion.

• There is no “perfect” assessment that is “right” all of the time. You know yourself better than anyone else does—and better than any assessment. If the results don’t feel like you, that’s OK. The purpose of assessments is to help you think about things that you might not have in the past.

• Regardless of what an assessment says or doesn’t say, you are still unique. Assessments categorize—they cannot tell you what is unique or special about YOU.

• Taking the assessment is just the first step. Reviewing the results is not enough. Its also important to think about the results in context. Talk to other people—do they have the same views of you and your strengths as the assessment? Or are the results very different from your and those who know you best? You need to think about what the assessment(s) revealed, and whether you agree.

Using the results of a career assessment can help direct your next steps and move your career transition forward.

O*Net Resource Center has a suite of free self assessment tools here:
https://www.onetcenter.org/IP.html