New Year

New Year, New Opportunities?

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For many of us, the new year represents an opportunity to reflect and make a plan for moving forward. This is a useful exercise whether or not you’re satisfied with your current job / career.

Here are some questions and ideas to help you take advantage of the new year!

  • Think about what you learned and achieved in 2023…what new opportunities did you have? What new training or certifications did you receive? What new skills? List your 5 most significant accomplishments
  • Determine your goals for 2024…Are you looking for a promotion? A new job altogether? A new career? Create a written plan on how you can get there. Putting things in writing will help you hold yourself accountable. What do you need to do to prepare yourself to achieve your goal? Are there specific classes? Work experiences? New technologies? Specific people you need to reach out to? Put it in writing and give yourself a timeframe to accomplish what is needed.
  • Is your resume ready to go? If your resume hasn’t been updated in at least 6 months, add this to your to do list. Make sure your resume is full of accomplishments and numbers—as well as key words for your next job.
  • Review your performance expectations with your boss. Make sure you understand what is expected and how expectations may have changed over 2023.
  • Do you have a system to keep track of your accomplishments and numbers? There is probably nothing more important for your career than taking charge of it. One great way to do that is to track your accomplishments and numbers. You can do it electronically or use a paper file. Note that electronic files on your employer’s computer belong to your employer, not you. So however you decide to track this information, use a personal device or file.
  • How is your network? Do you have a coach or a mentor? If not, consider taking steps to find one. Are you in regular contact with people outside your workgroup? Is your LinkedIn current—and active? Are there people you know who can help take your career to the next level? Are you in touch?

These are just some ideas to help you start 2024 on the right track!

Stay connected by joining our network on LinkedIn for additional tips, resources, and more!

Looking Over 2018 and Making Career Plans for 2019

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2018 has been a busy year for the government; I thought it might be a good time to reflect on some of the career-related matters that have come up; having a larger context for what is going on in the government from a Human Resources (HR) perspective can help you think about the decisions you might want to make for your career next year.

In February, the Administration issued the first-ever Federal Workforce Priorities Report. The report identified six Government-wide priorities and provided what it considered promising practices from agencies.

The priorities were in were grouped around two major initiatives: reshaping the workforce and maximizing employee performance, are as follows:

  • Priority 1: Succession Planning and Knowledge Transfer. Conduct succession planning activities to retain and transfer institutional knowledge, as workforce reshaping efforts are undertaken.
  • Priority 2: Deploying Communication Tools. Adopt tools that allow employees to easily connect, communicate, and collaborate with one another regardless of geographic location.
  • Priority 3: Securing Technological Solutions for Human Capital Analysis. OPM will seek to acquire or develop enterprise technological solutions to assist the Federal human capital community with human capital analysis.
  • Priority 4: Expanding Employee Development Opportunities. Provide employees with ample opportunities for continuous professional growth and skill development.
  • Priority 5: Bolstering Employee Recognition Programs. Administer robust programs to appropriately recognize and reward employees who demonstrate high levels of performance and significantly contribute to achieving organizational goals.
  • Priority 6: Enhancing Productivity through a Focus on Employee Health. Encourage employees to engage in physical fitness activities during time spent commuting and being at work.

During 2018, there were several new initiatives that supported those goals; these include new direct hire appointment authorities, the Open Opportunities initiative, upgrades to USAJOBS, and a new emphasis on coaching. We’ll discuss some of these in more detail in additional articles this month.

New Year’s Resolutions for your Career

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Only one third of federal employees reported being satisfied with the opportunity to get a better job within their organizations on the most recent Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. Are you or should you be looking to make a move in 2018? Regardless, here are some 2018 career resolutions as another year gets underway.

  • Should you be looking for a job? Is your network up-to-date? If you are even only vaguely thinking about looking for a new job, you need to start reaching out to your contacts – and it’s best to do this before you need them or call on them.
  • Does your LinkedIn Profile reflect who you are? Do you have a personalized headline? A picture? A Profile Summary that is key-word rich? Yes, I know I harp on the importance of LinkedIn; it does really matter—especially in seeking private sector employment. Its importance is growing in the federal realm as well.
  • Are you convinced that should stay (or leave) your current position? Is this a thought-out decision or a “knee-jerk” reaction?
  • Is your resume up-to-date? Even if you’re not looking for a job right this minute, you should be prepared with an updated document in case someone asks to see your resume.
  • Does your resume reflect your achievements? And do your achievements reflect the “so what?”—how you added value / made a difference to your employer?
  • Does your resume include metrics to give your work context? Without metrics, readers of your resume don’t know how large your budget is, how many people your teams have, how many customers your support, or how many transactions you process in a month.
  • Does your resume include the key words for the positions you’re thinking about (and currently in)? Applicant Trackign Software (ATS) is rampant in the private sector; most resumes are screened for key words—if you don’t have them, your resume likely won’t be read. If you’re pursuing federal employment, reviewers are resume (humans, not machines) are looking for the key words too.
  • Are your skills up-to-date? If not, what are you doing to close your skills gaps?
  • Is your assessment of your value consistent with those of supervisors and colleagues? Talk to trusted colleagues, carefully review your performance rating, or think about using a 360 feedback tool to get some candid advice about where you excel and where more work might be needed.

The new year should be an opportunity for self-reflection and forward movement. What do you want in 2018?

12 Easy Things to do to Get Your LinkedIn Ready for the New Year

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While things are slowing down at work, you can use your time to get your LinkedIn Profile ready for 2018! Here are 12 simple ideas you can use to freshen up your LinkedIn profile, and to take advantage of LinkedIn’s latest changes.

  1. Profile images are now displayed in a circle. Check that yours looks good and adjust it, if necessary. Use the LinkedIn Photo Editor function to zoom, crop, and/or straighten — and, if desired, apply filters.
  2. Create a new background image for your profile page. The size should be 1536 x 768 pixels – Canva.com has templates that you can use.
  3. Double-check your privacy settings. Go to “Privacy & Settings,” then click on “Privacy” and check each setting.
  4. Re-populate any information that may have been removed with the change to the “new look” — for example, putting your contact information at the bottom of the Summary section, or adding information to the “Volunteer Experience” section.
  5. Check the first 2-3 sentences of your Summary. Are they attention-getting? Would they entice someone to read further?
  6. Review your Work Experience section. Do you want to re-arrange what is showing up as your current position?
  7. Get familiar with where you can find your “Groups” now — either bookmark http://www.linkedin.com/Groups or explore the “Work” tab on the main navigation menu.
  8. Try the “new look” LinkedIn search function on the main navigation menu. Type in a person’s name, company, or Group and explore the filter functions.
  9. Visit the Notification area and update your connections. It’s much easier to manage now.
  10. Familiarize yourself with the Messaging function. Respond to messages with a personal response, instead of a “canned” reply.
  11. Proofread your entire LinkedIn profile carefully!!
  12. Make a point of visiting LinkedIn and using your account on a regular basis.

BONUS: Take a minute right now and backup your LinkedIn Profile (both “Save to PDF” and creating a full data archive). You want to make sure you have a copy of all your hard work!

Make New Years Resolutions for your Career that Stick

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Tis the season for resolutions.

While you have likely made your personal resolutions by now, the New Year is also the perfect time to make your career resolutions. Most resolutions fall by the wayside before the end of January—primarily because our resolutions were unrealistic, ill-defined, or taken over by “life.”

One way to make your resolutions stick is to write them down, break them into achievable steps, and track you progress.

Here are easy resolutions to make 2017 your best career year ever!

1. Track your achievements. Get into the habit of writing down your achievements monthly. Not only can these achievements be used for your resume, they can also be used to provide input to your annual performance evaluation. All of your achievements should answer the question “so what” and demonstrate how you added value to your organization.

2. Identify your career goal, and create a personal plan for getting there. Do you have a specific job you want to move to? Or, are you simply interested in moving from the job you now have? The more focused you are on where you want to go; the easier it will be for you to get there. Investigate opportunities within your organization, focusing on the skills required, the working conditions and the satisfaction you will receive. Sometimes the best move is a lateral one; not all development comes from moving upward.

3. Improve your qualifications. Assess the qualifications needed to meet your short- and long-term career goals. Do you need to refresh your skills? Upgrade your knowledge? Obtain a certification or degree? Improve your currency by reading articles and books in your field? Not only do you need to identify what you need, you need to be willing to commit the personal resources (both time and financial) to achieve the qualifications you desire.

4. Update your resume. You should always keep your resume updated—you never know when opportunity might come knocking. Your resume should be focused on the past 10 years or so, include metrics to give your work context and accomplishments to demonstrate you can achieve results. Remove outdated information and information that does not support your career goals.

5. Broaden your brand. All of us have a brand, whether we think so or not. You can broaden your brand by establishing a more active presence on LinkedIn, publishing a professional article or two, or speaking at a professional conference. All of these things provide wider exposure for you and your expertise.

6. Maintain a positive attitude. Change is ongoing and ever-present. Greet change with a positive attitude. If you visualize your success, you will be more likely to achieve it than if you don’t.

Make the above your career resolutions and follow through. If you do so, you’ll be setting yourself up for a great 2017!