Yearly Archives: 2009

Given the Obama administration’s launch of a new program to boost veteran hiring at federal agencies, here are some tips to help members of the military and veterans make the transition: * Surf these Web sites: the Veteran’s Employment Resource Center at USAJobs.gov; the intelligence community’s careers page at intelligence.gov; the CIA’s careers page for military transitioners at www.cia.gov; the Homeland Security Department’s veterans outreach page at www.dhs.gov; Defense Department opportunities for veterans at www.dodvets.com and www.godefense.com; and the Defense Logistics Agency’s information for prospective employees at www.hr.dla.mil. * Explore all options. Most agencies — including those in the Defense,…

Employers want to recruit new hires who will solve their problems — not create new ones. Here are five ways to prove to employers that you’re a problem-solver — not a problem. 1. Strategize your current projects. Long before you start looking for a new job, identify projects on your current job that are likely to produce tangible results. These might be reports, Web sites, training or new procedures that are likely to improve your office’s operations in concrete ways by, for example, cutting costs, increasing productivity or improving efficiency. Then, ask your boss if you can lead those projects.…

During your next job interview, you will almost certainly be asked some of those standard, clichéd questions that have been asked in interviews almost since the Spanish Inquisition. Some guidance to help you ace them: Q: Tell me about yourself. Unimpressive answer: A biographical filibuster that rambles on about your entire career and includes personal information that is irrelevant to your target job. Save that spiel for your retirement party. Impressive answer: A concise, logical summary of your relevant credentials — even if they’re covered in your resume. Emphasize recent (over ancient) successes, show your fire-in-the-belly, and conclude by describing…

Fellowships for experienced professionals are short-term assignments in various specialties that feature training, lectures and networking events. Fellows gain eye-opening experiences, expand their talents, and collect grist for their résumés and Rolodexes — all of which may enhance their effectiveness or help them land promotions. Some federal organizations run fellowships that exclusively recruit current feds, and some private organizations run fellowships that recruit from all sectors. Some tips from hiring managers on how to craft winning fellowship applications: *Make deadlines. Fellowship applicants are often rejected because they miss deadlines or submit applications that were “obviously dashed off on a last-minute…

Most online job application systems don’t accept cover letters. But if Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry gets his way, agencies will eliminate knowledge, skills and abilities essays (KSAs) and base their applications solely on cover letters and résumés. So if your next job application requires a cover letter, design it to quickly introduce yourself, convey your enthusiasm for your target opening and agency, concisely review your best educational and professional qualifications, and showcase your communication skills. As one hiring manager advises, “You will probably beat 95 percent of your competition just by submitting an error-free cover letter that…

One way to impress interviewers is to provide them with a portfolio of documents that validate your success and your reputation. Such a sales pitch, incorporating proof of success, is more convincing than uncorroborated promises of future productivity. Providing hard copies of your documents, rather than electronic versions, allows your interviewers to make a decision about you immediately after your interview — without the task of downloading electronic documents. A portfolio of tangible, eye-catching work will help you stand out from the pack. For example, I recently helped a GS-14 Web master prepare an interview portfolio that included printouts of…

Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry plans to ask agencies to stop requiring job seekers to fill out those reviled knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) essays and to rely instead on applicant résumés to decide if someone is qualified and warrants a second look. Some tips on crafting winning résumés: *Tailor your résumé to your target job. Just as you give more attention to mail that is addressed to you personally than to junk mail that is addressed to the entire world, hiring managers give more attention to résumés that address their specific needs than to résumés that are…

Contrary to popular belief, USAJobs.gov does not list all federal job opportunities. Some of the types of openings and opportunities you might miss if you restrict your job search to USAJobs: *Openings in the excepted service. While agencies generally are required to advertise competitive service openings and fill them through open competitions, agencies in the excepted service may fill their openings through their own relatively flexible procedures, which do not necessarily involve posting openings on USAJobs. These agencies include the State Department, CIA and other intelligence agencies, Government Accountability Office and the Federal Reserve Board. How to find openings in excepted…

If you’re a fed who has a book inside you, you’re in good company. Since I published my own book, “How to Land a Top-Paying Federal Job,” many feds have asked me how they can get their books published. My advice: *Get motivated. You will probably spend several years pursuing a book contract and then writing and promoting your book. You will be able to maintain your fire in the belly through this protracted, time-consuming process only if you’re inspired by solid intellectual reasons for writing a book. Such reasons may, for example, include your desire to educate a large…

The next time you moderate a panel of speakers or introduce a speaker at an event, use your stint as the master-of-ceremonies as an opportunity to showcase your communication and management skills. Here is a checklist to help you do so: *Collect the bio or résumé of each speaker. Peruse books, articles or Web sites published by each of them. *Prepare a brief welcome that underscores the importance of the event’s topic and its relevance to current events. Your welcome should also preview the event agenda and mention the time allotted for each agenda item. *Call the speakers. You’ll need to remind…

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