by Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, MFRW, MMRW, MFCA-T
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com

First, the federal government is the country’s largest single employer, with approximately 2.8M employees and 20K jobs posted worldwide on any given day. Even during times of economic hardship, when the news is always talking about federal hiring freezes and pay cuts, the federal government remains a fairly solid place to work.

On-line, in the newspapers and on TV we hear about the furloughs, hiring freezes, downsizing and other distressing news taking place regarding federal employment. But, the federal government needs to be staffed and employees are terminated, quit, transfer and/or receive promotions. Therefore there are thousands of positions open at any given time. Yes, it is discouraging to hear the down side of federal hiring via all media outlets, however if a federal job is something you wish to obtain and you have a veteran’s preference; then you should apply. Jobs are available and posted everyday at www.usajobs.opm.gov.com.

Just like with anything else, you can probably find varying opinions on this subject. For example, you might find people who are somewhat disgruntled with the federal government after losing a job. On the other hand, you may find other people who were being promoted right up to federal ranks, even during economic crises. That all depends on where you work, which government agency you work for, and your own personal circumstances within that organization. There is no one right answer.

Having said all that, the federal government is huge and diverse, and it’s not going anywhere. There are also a number of advantages for veterans who want to work for the federal government. First, you may be eligible for ‘Veterans’ Preference. This means you get a certain amount of points added to your application when you go through the detailed federal hiring process. How many points you get for Veterans’ Preference depends on whether you separated under honorable conditions, when you served, how long you served, whether you’re in a combat veteran, and whether you have a disability and how much.

For more information on Veterans’ Preference, go to the OPM’s website: http://www.opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp.

Barbara Adams, President and CEO of CareerPro Global (CPG), the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com, has been a member of the careers community for the past 20 years. Ms. Adams holds four prestigious industry certifications. CareerPro Global is the only ISO 9001-2008 Certified Career Service in the industry, as well as one of the fastest-growing Military, Federal, and Civilian Resume-Writing and Careers-Coaching companies. The team of Certified Professional Federal and Military Resume Writers at CPG assist thousands of clients in applying for and gaining employment each year. We can help you land your military to civilian job.

Are you a veteran or in the military service? Are you in a position of leadership? This week, I’m going to write about the importance of leaders, or those who inspire to be in leadership, to reflect and plan.

When reflecting and planning, there is power in consistency. Consistency is creating a routine time to reflect and plan every day and being intentional. If you’re in leadership, make it a priority—daily, weekly, and monthly.

What is your leadership plan for growth?

Make a commitment to reflect on what you did well and what you may need to improve upon in your daily leadership goals, and then make a plan.

Below are questions for you to reflect on for your personal and organizational growth in leadership.

Where do you want to be in three months, six months, or one year? What’s your vision? What is the outcome? What are you doing with intention for your personal growth today to get what you want tomorrow? What needs to change on the inside to show up differently on the outside in order to allow yourself and your team to grow in leadership?

As a man or woman in leadership, what are you willing to do to make this happen?

Have you ever heard/overheard a team member say, “Everything that could go wrong, did! This is a typical Monday morning!” Or, “I’m stuck.” Or, “It’s just too hard to change.” How did you respond? How should you, as a leader, respond and lead this team member? Comments like these are clues; the team member is asking for your help! Lead your people to reflect and plan daily as they develop from the inside out. Help them be “bigger” on the inside than the outside. The secret of our success is discovered in our daily agenda.

For more tips on leadership, resumes, or career coaching for executives, veterans, or military personnel, stay tuned! I’d also like to invite you to stop by our website at CareerProGlobal.com.

The number of applications to be accepted will not be limited as in previous years. Instead, all applications received within the specified filing period will be accepted for processing. Individuals who are interested in applying are urged to monitor the USAJOBS web site in the coming weeks.

The updated ALJ Examination involves a full review of applicant qualifications, including specific legal experience and bar status, and a multi-part assessment of relevant competencies, including online and in-person assessments. Applicants who pass the preliminary qualification screening and proceed past an online assessment process will then be scheduled to participate in an in-person assessment process in the Washington, DC, area. Those who successfully complete the examination in its entirety will receive a final numerical rating (including points for veterans’ preference, as applicable). The names of eligible candidates will be used by OPM to establish a new ALJ register, which, in turn, will be used to issue certificates to agencies as hiring needs for ALJs arise.

The current register, based on administrations of the existing ALJ examination since 2007, will expire when the new register is established. Candidates on the current register must reapply during the open period for the new job opportunity announcement, and successfully compete under the new examination, if they wish to continue to be considered for employment as an ALJ, without interruption.

Generally speaking, an SES application consists of a resume, the five ECQs, and several TQs. We’ve also seen positions without TQs, or with up to six or seven TQs. Further, we’ve seen the full spectrum of formatting and length restrictions that various federal agencies decide to impose on applicants’ ECQs, TQs, and resumes.

At the end of the day, you need to make sure you address the specific requirements in the job announcement. Along those lines, leveraging experience from helping more than 3,000 people do this, we give you five fundamental tips for developing an effective SES application package. If you follow these, then you are positioning yourself for success. As 2013 progresses, we will share even more specific tips, best practices, and tactics.

1. Limit your resume to five pages. Here’s the deal. A few years ago, we were still developing 8-, 10-, and yes, even 12-page comprehensive resume presentations for SES clients. After all, these are often folks with decades of experience. Throughout the past three years or so, and concurrently with federal hiring reform, we’ve seen a definite trend toward shorter SES resumes.

2. Tailor your resume for each position or type of position. People often ask if they need a different SES resume for every position for which they apply. Well, the answer is yes… and no. To a certain extent, your work history is what it is, in terms of start dates, major duties, and overall chronology. And if you are applying for very similar jobs, you might very well be able to use the same resume. But many of you have a diverse set of skills, experience, and assignments. As a result, you may qualify for SES positions with varying requirements. In those cases, we encourage you to “tweak” your resume to ensure you showcase your relevant experience. Don’t leave it up to them to assume. Make it very clear that you have the exact or very similar experiences to the ones they outline in the job announcement.

3. Use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) format in all ECQs and TQs. For the ECQs, this is fundamental. It seems so simple, but we’ve seen lots of people write their own ECQs, ignore this guidance, and get rejected. Maybe there were more problems with the narratives, but the boards definitely expect examples to be presented in the logical CCAR format. Additionally, people tend to forget that this is a great approach to ANY type of narrative presentation—like your TQs.

4. Make sure that your resume complements the ECQs and TQs. We recommend that you complete the resume last. Not only should you tailor your five-page resume as mentioned in points 1 and 2 above, but you should include the fantastic accomplishments you described in the narratives in your resume, as well. A good way to do that is to review your ECQs and TQs, and rewrite some of the key actions and results into bullet points, again using a CCAR format, so that whenever possible, the bullets have a problem, action, and results.

5. Ask for meaningful feedback. We consider ourselves the best SES writing team in the world, and we send ALL of our work through our staff proofreaders. The point here is that whether you hire a professional to write, edit, or critique your work, or you ask a colleague (an SES maybe) to review it, or you have your awesome niece who is an English major to check it out, get a fresh set of eyes on it, and then take the constructive feedback to make the presentation more succinct and error-free. Don’t ask people who are going to tell you what you want to hear and “yes” you… ask those who will actually give you meaningful and objective feedback.

Barbara Adams is the President and CEO of CareerPro Global, Inc. (CPG). She has been on the leading edge of SES application development for decades. Committed to providing world-class service, she has also built an SES writing team that has assisted more than 2,500 clients develop their application materials. Ms. Adams has been featured on T.V. and the radio, and as a presenter at numerous career conferences. CPG recently sent a team to instruct senior officials at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in best practices for developing their SES application materials. She is the co-author of the new book, Roadmap to the Senior Executive Service: How to Find SES Jobs, Determine Your Qualifications, and Develop Your SES Application.

By Barbara Adams, MFCA-T, MMRW, MFRW, CPRW, CEIP
www.militaryresumewriters and www.careerproplus.com

Just because you hear rumors that the federal government is not hiring doesn’t mean that is true for all agencies.  There are numerous specialized Intel positions popping up that are mission critical and seem to be in abundance. This month I found several non-traditional jobs posted on USAJOBS.gov that I thought would be helpful to bring to your attention.  The federal government is hiring and they will continue to hire.  With 2.8M employees they will always need great candidates.

If you need help finding federal jobs that you will qualify for you can call one of our Master Federal Career Advisors at 800-471-9201 and they will be glad to assist you.

The following positions are specifically for those with military experience and Intel backgrounds.

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/335346100
Job Title: PRINCIPAL ADVISOR, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL MARITIME INTELLIGENCE-INTEGRATION OFFICE
Department: Department of the Navy
Agency: Naval Intelligence Command
Job Announcement Number: NW30132-00-8225624F540990-S
SALARY RANGE:$119,554.00 to $165,300.00 / Per Year

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/334691500
Job Title: Deputy Director and Financial Management Chief, Program Control Office
Department: Department of Defense
Agency: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Hiring Organization: Financial Management Dir
Job Announcement Number: HQ NGA DISES 2013-3
SALARY RANGE: $119,554.00 to $165,300.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD: Friday, December 28, 2012 to Tuesday, January 29, 2013
SERIES GRADE: IE-0340-01

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/335132200
Job Title: INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS SPECIALIST, GS-0132-12
Department: Department Of Homeland Security
Agency: U.S. Coast Guard
Job Announcement Number: 12-1935-SE-DB-D-R1
SALARY RANGE: $68,809.00 to $89,450.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 to Tuesday, January 22, 2013
SERIES GRADE: GS-0132-12

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/335246100
Job Title: Supervisory Intelligence Specialist
Department: Department of the Navy
Agency: Naval Intelligence Command
Job Announcement Number: NE30132-14-8216004F507885
SALARY RANGE: $105,211.00 to $136,771.00 / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD: Thursday, January 10, 2013 to Thursday, January 24, 2013
Series Grade: GS-0132-14

“Dear Peggi,

“Thanks goes out in a very large part to the wonderful resume that you prepared for me, I got a new job!!!!!! I got a job as an Assistant Management Analyst with promotion potential to a Management Analyst.  The job is a big promotion for me and actually goes two grades higher than the job that I have now.

“The resume that you did for me was geared towards a Management Analyst position.  I got the job within my agency and it was the very first job I applied for since you did the resume for me.  In fact the resume was so good that the folks that interviewed me commented on how well it was written and one of them even said they were going to use some ideas for their resume as well.

“Thanks again,

“ E. R., Federal Reserve Board of Governors”

Related Pages:

• Federal Job Resumes
• SES Application (Senior Executive Service)
• Army CPOL
• Civilian Resumes
• Military Cover Letter
• Professional Military Resumes
• USAJobs Resume

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/07/25/transitioning-our-service-members

Select the links below to find out more about the Pathways Program and how it may be of assistance to you or a family member and to receive Program updates.

• http://www.opm.gov/HiringReform/Pathways/
• http://www.usajobs.gov/studentsandgrads/

“On March 30th, AVIATOR was updated to be fully integrated with USAJOBS in order to make applying for future jobs easier. Because of this change, this site has significantly changed. When directly logging into the site with your username and password, you will only be able to check the status of your applications submitted prior to March 30th. You may no longer start new applications this way or access your profile information.

“To apply for a new position or to update an existing application on an open announcement, go to USAJOBS, set up an account (or login to an existing account) to create resumes and upload documents, find the job you wish to apply for and begin your application. Your information from USAJOBS will automatically be sent to the FAA.”

Applicants who applied for positions previously through AVIATOR will have until October 1st, 2012, to access their information. After this date, the site will be disabled, so it’s important you retrieve whatever data you need before then.