Federal Jobs

Preparing for the Senior Executive Service (SES): Candidate Development Programs (CDPs)

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2014 saw many agencies announce Candidate Development Programs (CDPs). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), the Bureau of the Mint, and the Social Security Administration (SSA) were among the agencies that did so. CDPs are an excellent opportunity for those interested in considering future SES opportunities.

Agencies use CDPs as a succession planning tool to identify and prepare aspiring senior leaders by developing competencies in each of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)—leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions. While completion of a CDP does not guarantee selection into the SES (nor is it required), graduates of CDPs who have their ECQs certified by an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Review Board (QRB) may be selected for a SES position without further completion.

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Thinking about the Senior Executive Service (SES)

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Before applying for a Senior Executive Service (SES) position, it is important to assess whether you have the qualifications for and genuine interest in becoming a member of the Senior Executive Service. Being a member of the SES involves much more than just meeting time-in-grade requirements.

In order to be eligible for the Senior Executive Service (SES), you must meet time-in-grade requirements and be able to demonstrate your possession of OPM’s five executive core qualifications (ECQs): Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions. Qualifying for the SES is about more than proving your managerial capabilities—it is about true leadership.

Not everyone wants to be a leader—many are comfortable remaining as a manager, and others like being an individual contributor without responsibility for supervising, managing, or leading people. What is the difference between being a manager and a leader?

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Reading a Federal Job Announcement

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When most of us look at a federal job announcement, we tend to focus on the grade of job and not much else. However, if we want to be successful applicants, we need to spend a lot more time focusing on job announcements. Anyone considering applying for a federal job should pay special attention to each of these parts of the job announcement:

  • Who can Apply
  • Qualifications Required / How You Will be Evaluated
  • The Occupational Questionnaire
  • How to Apply

We’ll look at each of these in turn:

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Thank You for Attending My Presentation

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I’m so glad you attended my presentation and welcome to my website. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter in the right sidebar. When you do, you’ll receive monthly articles and updates.

As promised, here’s the link to download a PDF copy of the slide deck for your own personal use:

sftw the federal application process 01-2015

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SES Application & Selection

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First and foremost, a successful SES application will demonstrate that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) which serve as the leadership competencies for all SES positions.

The ECQs are:

  • Leading Change
  • Leading People
  • Results Driven
  • Business Acumen
  • Building Coalitions

In addition to the 5 ECQs, there are 28 sub-competencies to the ECQs including everything from Accountability to Political Savvy. The full set of ECQ definitions and sub-competencies can be viewed here. Most ECQs narratives are 10 pages long (2 pages per ECQ); the Office of Personnel Management has set font and margin size requirements as well as page limits, and recommends a specific rubric for preparing ECQ statements.

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