Federal Jobs

Questions to Ask Your Interviewers

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Interviews are for both the employer and you, as an applicant. A great way to ensure “fit” is to ask questions during an interview.

Never walk into an interview without specific questions for the interviewers. Even if you work in the unit where you’re interviewing, it is important to demonstrate that you have thought about the position and are interested in the interviewers’ needs and wants, not just your own. Typically, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions toward the end of the interview; you want to be prepared!

You should not ask questions about how you will be trained, when you will get promoted, or whether you can work at home; instead, focus on demonstrating that you are interested in the employer’s needs.

You may want to prepare 5-6 questions; you may not get to ask them all (3 is probably plenty) and it is possible that your interviewers will have answered at least a couple during the process. Here are some questions you could ask; you should prioritize what is most important to you.

• What are the next steps in the process?
• What are your goals for the person who fills this job in their first 90 days? First year?
• What did the person who held this job before do well that you would like to see continued?
• Are there major organizational changes in the works that might change how this position functions? (Or if you know of those changes, you can ask how those changes might affect the position)
• What do expect to be the biggest learning curve for the person who fills this job?
• Since this position has been vacant, what topic or issue of this position has taken up the most time?
• What is a typical day like?
• Describe the organization culture.
• What do you most like about working here?
• Is there anything else I can provide that would be helpful to you in making your decision?

I know I could do the job…if only they’d give me a chance!

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I wish I had a dollar for every time a client made the above comment. While I have no doubt that the comment is true, we are currently in a buyer’s market—where hiring managers have lots of choices to make among candidates. While it is certainly possible for a hiring manager to pick someone based on their potential (especially for jobs above the entry level), in my view, it is unrealistic to expect hiring managers to do this. Let’s think about this for a moment…

Most job postings specify the criteria the hiring organization is looking for—whether through specialized experience and the occupational questionnaires in the federal government, or in a section in a private section posting that says something along the lines of, “The ideal candidate will have…” All applicants should carefully review the qualifications required. If the posting asks for 10 years of experience and you have 6, you are not likely well qualified. Or, if your experience is in a different area all together, while again, you may the basic qualifications (like a degree), you are not likely to have the specialized experience required.

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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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Be Sure To Document Temporary Federal Assignments

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It is not uncommon for federal employees to be detailed to a higher grade or different position and then want to use that detail or temporary assignment as creditable experience when applying for a new position or a promotion, but you must document it properly in order to include in your application.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) assumes that employees gain experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate to their official position description, occupational series, and grade. If you want to be credited for experience outside your official position description, whether at a higher grade or in a different job series, your temporary work must be appropriately documented.

Such documentation could include a SF-52 or SF-50 that documents an official detail or assignment. It could also include a signed letter from the employee’s supervisor.

That letter must state the nature and length of the temporary assignment / detail, whether the duties performed were full- or part-time, and the percentage of time other duties were performed. The documentation should be included in an employee’s Official Personnel Folder (OPF).

Employees should submit the official documentation, along with their resume, when applying for positions where the temporary experience may be needed to support their application.

When applying for a federal job, think like a hiring manager

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Federal government hiring is based on hiring the best qualified, which makes it difficult to justify hiring people without all of the qualifications required and/or those whose experience is quite dated. For a successful job search, you need to be strategic about what you apply for. Do not waste your time applying for “everything;” instead, focus your efforts on those opportunities where you are a perfect (or nearly perfect) match for the stated criteria.

I wish I had a dollar for every time a client who complained: “If only they gave me a chance, I could prove I can do the job!” While I have no doubt that the comment is true, we are currently in a buyer’s market—where hiring managers have lots of choices to make among candidates. While it is certainly possible for a hiring manager to pick someone based on their potential (especially for jobs above the entry level), in my view, it is unrealistic to expect hiring managers to do this. Let’s think about this for a moment…

Most job postings specify the criteria the hiring organization is looking for—whether through specialized experience and the occupational questionnaires in the federal government, or in a section in a private section posting that says something along the lines of, “The ideal candidate will have…” All applicants should carefully review the qualifications required. If the posting asks for 10 years of experience and you have 6, you are not likely well qualified. Or, if your experience is in a different area all together, while again, you may the basic qualifications (like a degree), you are not likely to have the specialized experience required.

In most job sectors, organizations receive hundreds, if not thousands of applications. The first screen is of those who do not meet even most the basic qualifications (like the 10 years’ experience mentioned above). The next screen is for those who are a match for all of the criteria. While you may match half the criteria desired, from a hiring manager’s perspective, why should they pick YOU, when they can have someone who (at least on paper) is a 100% match? And from a fairness perspective, if they considered your application with only half the qualifications, they should also consider everyone else who has only half the qualifications…

A related question I receive is along the lines of, “I did exactly what they’re looking for 15 [or 20 or more] years ago, how come I’m not been called for an interview?” While in this circumstance you may have all of the qualifications, your experience is dated. And again, from a hiring manager’s perspective, would you want to talk to someone who is doing the job now, or someone who hasn’t done it in 15 or more years? Think like a hiring manager next time you apply for a federal job and increase your chances for an interview!

Conduct a Social Media Audit, Part 1

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Nancy Segal is now the weekly career columnist for FEDWeek. This article was originally posted in the FEDWeek Career Forum.

Your online social media profile can positively or negatively impact your job search. While social media is currently more important in private sector employment than federal, do not let the sloppy management of your social media affect your career! This audit will help you evaluate whether your online accounts are helping or hurting your chances of employment.

More than half of employers say they have rejected an applicant because of what they have found on the jobseeker’s social media profiles.

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