USAJOBS

10 Steps to a Successful Job Search

by

Looking for a new job? If so, there are a number of things you should do before you submit your resume.

  1. Conduct informational interviews to learn about different jobs and organizations, and figure out what you want to do.
  2. Research organizations to identify those in your sweet spot—learn about their culture, mission, and values.
  3. Write a job search plan to hold yourself accountable; write down where you want to apply, how many applications you want to send out each day / week, how many people you will contact in your network each week, the time you will commit to networking each day, the resources you will use to help you prepare your career documents, etc.
  4. Once you have identified where you want to work and what you want to do, list your contacts so you can reach out to your network. Not sure you have the right contacts? There is where LinkedIn can help you see who you know who might be able to assist you.
  5. Draft your resume toward your target job(s). Make sure that your resume is appropriate for your career field, includes key words, focuses on the past 10 years, uses numbers to provide context to your work, accomplishments to demonstrate the value you have contributed to your employers, and a strong qualifications summary.
  6. Use your network to apply for positions you hear about, tweaking your resume each time to ensure it fits the specific announcement. If you can identify the hiring manager and find him/her on LinkedIn, read and respond to their posts. It’s OK to apply through job boards but do not make job boards your sole strategy.
  7. While you are waiting for responses, practice your interview skills.
  8. Follow up if you haven’t heard about your applications after 2-3 weeks.
  9. Don’t get discouraged. Job search takes time and in the current environment where many employers are still teleworking and the volume of applicants is high, it may take longer than usual to make the transition you want.
  10. Engage in self-care throughout the process. Job search is high stress. Don’t forget to do all of the things that you know you should: eat right, exercise, take breaks, engage with family and friends—and take time for yourself!

Can You Write Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) by Tomorrow?

by

Nearly every day I get a call from someone seeking help to prepare a set of Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) as part of their Senior Executive Service (SES) package. Unfortunately, many people want their ECQs written in 3 days—sometimes less!

When I begin to ask them questions about whether they have a draft, are familiar with CCAR, or have thought about their stories, the answer is often no. To prepare a strong set of ECQs, you should expect to spend a significant amount of time: 1) identifying your examples, 2) writing, and 3) reviewing and editing.

  • Identifying ECQ examples: Before sitting down to write your ECQs, you should identify 10 or more examples / stories to use. Your stories must fit the competencies (Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions); be from the past 10 years (5 is better if possible); and be at the executive level. Hosting meetings, arranging for training, implementing someone else’s plan is not typically considered executive. Your examples should demonstrate your strategic thinking and ideally, have enterprise-wide impact.

As you identify your examples, you may find that you have stories that could fit in more than one ECQ. Try to pick the strongest match to the ECQ and that ECQs underlying competencies (for example, the underlying competencies for leading change are: vision, strategic thinking, external awareness, innovation/creativity, flexibility, and resilience).

  • Writing: Once you have your stories identified, you should outline your stories using the required CCAR model. CCAR is the acronym for Challenge-Context-Action-Result. It may even help to write out the parts of the CCAR model and then outline each part of the CCAR with the details. What does CCAR mean and how to use it?

Challenge. Describe a specific problem or goal.

Context. Describe the individuals and groups you worked with, and/or the environment in which you worked, to address a particular challenge (e.g., clients, co-workers, members of Congress, shrinking budget, low morale).

Action. Discuss the specific actions you took to address a challenge.

Result. Give specific examples of measures/outcomes that had some impact on the organization. These accomplishments demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of your leadership skills.

Once you have your outline, then you can start writing. Be sure to focus on your leadership skills and not your technical expertise (save that for the Technical Qualifications) and don’t forget to include the underlying competencies in your essay. Include as many metrics as possible throughout and make sure you can prove your results; it’s not enough to say things are better—you need to show that they are by using a clear before and after metric. You may want to think about including one action for each underlying competency.

  • Reviewing / Editing: Don’t forget to leave time for this. Your ECQ draft should be 10 pages (2 pages for each ECQ). Have someone who does not understand your work review your ECQs (remember, that ECQ reviewers at the Office of Personnel Management level will not be from your agency or likely familiar with your work). Do a “word search” to make sure you have covered all 28 underlying competencies—and put them in the right ECQ. Check spelling and grammar—don’t rely on spell check. And make sure that you have used “I” rather than “we;” the hiring manager and reviewers want to know what you did.

How long does all of this take? SES applicants should expect to spend 40 to 60 hours (or even more!) of solid work to put together a strong set of ECQs. So no, I am sorry, but I cannot get your ECQ written by tomorrow…or even 3 days.

Branding Yourself on LinkedIn

by

It’s been over a year since I last wrote about LinkedIn. In that time, LinkedIn has grown even more important—not less. If you are not using LinkedIn to brand yourself to potential employers, you are missing a huge opportunity. And if you haven’t looked at your LinkedIn profile in while, it’s probably past time to do a refresh.

When someone searches for you on LinkedIn, they will see 3 things: Your name, your LinkedIn Headline, and your location. In many cases, hiring managers will make the decision to read your full LinkedIn profile based on just these three things. Consequently, your LinkedIn Headline acts like a newspaper or magazine title. It gives the reader an idea of what your profile will include. Being specific results in a much better headline—but your headline should be more than just your job title. Great headlines attract attention, and the more people who view your LinkedIn profile, the better your chances of connecting with the right person who can lead you to your dream job.

Keywords also play an important part for you in being found by people who don’t know you on LinkedIn — this is particularly true for jobseekers who are hoping for contacts from prospective employers and recruiters. Keywords are a list of words and phrases that are related to your work — they are the words that a prospective employer would search for when trying to find someone like you. LinkedIn Headlines are searchable fields using the “People Search” function when someone is looking for particular skills, interests, qualifications, or credentials.

You can also incorporate keywords throughout your LinkedIn profile, including:

  • Your LinkedIn Headline
  • Current and former work experience
  • LinkedIn summary section
  • Specialties or Skills section

The keywords that you select for your profile must fit two criteria:

  • They must speak to what makes you unique and what you want to be known for.
  • They must align with what employers value — that is, what they want.

Choose your words carefully. When possible, incorporate in keywords — nouns or phrases that can be picked up through online searches and are prominently used in applicant tracking systems.

Although you can create different targeted versions of your résumé to target different types of positions, you’re limited to one LinkedIn profile—so make it count. Be specific and single out the training, experience, and/or results that set you apart. Someone who is reading your profile should be able to recognize YOU in it; if what you wrote could apply to anyone with your job title, go back to the drawing board. You don’t have to come up with anything earth-shattering – but remember that differentiating yourself will help you be found.

A couple of key things that will help you stand out on LinkedIn:

  • Write your Summary in the first person (after all, you’re talking about yourself).
  • Profiles with pictures attract 50-70% more inquiries than profiles without pictures. Have a good headshot of yourself. At a minimum, your photo should include your head and shoulders, not just your face. And remember, no extra arms over your shoulder!

Consider publishing on LinkedIn and commenting on others’ posts to increase your profile and demonstrate your expertise. Offer your opinion and expertise on key issues, dissect obscure (but job-related) topics, and link to other articles and blogs of interest.

Don’t forget to customize your LinkedIn URL (see: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/87/customizing-your-public-profile-url?lang=en) and include the link on your resume!

How to Find Key Words to Use in Your Resume

by

While USAJOBS is not a traditional Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) system like most of the private sector uses, key words are still important. Whether you are applying for a position in the private, nonprofit, or government sectors, being able to identify and use key words is an essential skill. And it’s important not just to identify those key words, but also to use them in your resume.

Read more

Are You Ready to be a Government Leader?

by

The penultimate leadership opportunity in the career federal service is the Senior Executive Service (SES). While we all know people who are in the SES that perhaps shouldn’t be, ideally, the SES represents the best of the best the government has to offer.

Read more

What Can You Do to Be Ready for 2019?

by

No matter what your individual politics, I think we can all agree that the shutdown is at best disappointing and at worst, a real threat to individuals, families, and the reputation of government employees, the vast majority of whom are committed to their work, their agencies, and the public. As I traveled during this holiday season, I went out of my way to thank the government employees I saw (TSA Officers, among others) to thank them for working without pay.

Read more