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…