What's in this edition of the newsletter:

New Military to Federal Career Guide is out!


New USAJOBS Recruitment One Stop Agencies
- www.dol.gov and www.nasa.gov


Dialogue with a Successful Federal Job Interviewer - He got the job!


SES CDP Announcements and Inspiration for Writing your ECQs!

SES Web Seminar with Kathryn coming up and Application (Electronic Resume, KSA and Interview Prep) Writing Web Seminar with Jessica Coffey Coming Up!

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______________________________________________________________________________ HOT TIPS FOR A MEMORABLE FEDERAL JOB INTERVIEW The Behavior-Based Interview and Your Best "Competencies" (Soft Skills) The newest Federal interview formula is the "Behavior-Based Interview." It's not a "Yes/No" Quiz anymore, but questions that lead you to talk. Yes, Talk! ... Behavior-based interviews focus on how your past experiences have prepared you for the position at stake. The philosophy here is that past behavior predicts future performance, so if you are able to effectively demonstrate (through specific examples and stories) how you have done something well in the past that is similar to what is being sought after for the position you are interviewing for, then you will be ranked higher than someone who could not give good examples. Read some important Federal Job Interview Tips that you REALLY NEED TO MEMORIZE AND PRACTICE in order to be successful on your next interview... Also: Certification Training for Career Professionals in Federal Job Search Training and Career Advising! The next class will be starting in April! Help your customers APPLY FOR and LAND Federal Jobs with this outstanding Ten Steps Formula! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT GOVERNMENT JOB? The Art of Searching Two Federal Job Websites... KATHRYN'S TIPS FOR SEARCHING BOTH usajobs.com and avuecentral.com

• usajobs.com – Free Official Government Jobs Website. Because the Resume Builder on this site does NOT serve all of the jobs listed, you need to read the announcements carefully to find out WHERE and HOW to apply. Most agencies have their own Resume Builder systems and databases.
• avuecentral.com – FREE Federal Jobs website. This is a database where you can submit your resume once to the Resume Builder and apply for multiple positions – but ONLY to the agencies that use Avue Central (the agencies with the logo next to their name).

______________________________________________________________________________ 02/10/05 JOB SPOTLIGHT: CDC's 100 Summer Jobs for Students - Apply by 2/25 HOT SUMMER STUDENT JOBS WITH CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC) GREAT SUMMER PAID INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE, GRADUATE AND POST-GRADUATE FULL-TIME STUDENTS The CDC is now hiring 100 students for Summer positions for 2005. Begin your Federal career with a great Summer job! Gain knowledge of the federal hiring process and excellent experience to add to your resume. Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Sign up for our free bi-monthly FEDERAL CAREER CORNER NEWSLETTER Late January 2005 HOW TO STAND OUT WITH YOUR RESUMIX! For the past month, Kathryn Troutman has been training Vendor Pay Accounting Technicians in five DFAS locations throughout the U.S. on how to STAND OUT with their Resumix resumes. How do the employees handle the increased production, new systems, and new employees? Read the entire column here and much more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Early January 2005 DON'T COME UP SHORT IN JOB INTERVIEWS - SELL YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS! Achievements are very important elements in order to land a job interview, to make your federal resume stand out, and write KSAs that are impressive and interesting. Kathryn Shares her own Top Ten Accomplishments to inspire you for a better Federal Resume and Federal Job Interview! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ December 2004 - Final Newsletter of the Year TOP 21 FEDERAL JOB SEARCH TIPS FROM EXPERT FEDERAL JOB SEARCH PROFESSIONALS WORLDWIDE! A MUST TO READ!

______________________________________________________________________________ Early December 2004 WHAT'S THE SECRET TO GETTING A JOB ON CAPITOL HILL? Job listings for Congressional offices (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate), or on one of the 300 committees or subcommittees. How to find them and apply. Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Mid-November 2004 WHAT IS THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE (SES) FEDERAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (CDP)? by Susan Custard, Sr. SES Writer/Consultant Learn how to apply, what it takes to compete and about the program here in our insightful article about the CDP program available to current feds and first time executive applicants from private industry. Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ October 2004 BOOK REVIEW: FOLLOWING YOUR TRUE COLORS TO THE CAREER YOUR LOVE What color is your personality? Orange, Blue, Green or Gold? Does your personality color match your job color? Orange people and jobs are happiest when they have jobs that are creative, challenge and filled with opportunities. Blue people and jobs are happiest when they are using their technical and project management skills. This is a great book and fun to read. Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ SPECIAL EDITION -- ANNOUNCING THE RESUME PLACE'S NEWEST BOOK:

______________________________________________________________________________ Mid-September 2004 How do I know if I'm a good fit for a federal job? This is a great question — it’s definitely in the frequently asked questions category! First, in determining a career path, start with yourself. Look at your personality, interests, values, skills and what motivates you. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the world’s most widely used personality assessment and we recently used an MBTI Step II instrument to assist a client with the same question. The assessment confirmed for her that the type of work she was targeting was a good fit for her strong analytical abilities and her objective decision-making style... Plus, the latest Federal Job News, Acronyms, Federal Career Jargon, Federal Resume and KSA Writing Tips, and much more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Late August 2004 FEDERAL CAREER COACH FEATURE QUESTION TOPIC: Translating Military Rank to Federal Civilian Grade Federal Jobseeker Question: I’m currently an U.S. Navy E-6. What grade would I qualify for in government? Federal Career Coach Response: There are three great resources you can use to determine your job title and grade, and analyze your qualifications for government jobs:

1. Conversion charts
2. OPM's Qualification Standards
3. The Air Force Personnel Center's Classification Standards and Position Description Library.

______________________________________________________________________________ Early August 2004 FEDERAL CAREER COACH FEATURE QUESTION: How to Market Military Skills for Civilian Employment Federal Jobseeker Question: I am preparing to ETS from the military in January 2005. I am looking for some advice as to the best way to take the skills I have developed while in the service and convert them to a new career. Response: I do some consulting work in this area, so here are some suggestions that I hope will help. First, find a mentor, ideally someone in the industry in which you'd like to work. That person can provide a lot of insight into both the hows of your transition, and the whys. The civilian workforce can be culturally very different that that of the military, and you want to have every advantage. Second, buy the best suit you can afford. First impressions are important. Also, don't go to networking events in uniform. (Believe it or not, I've seen people do it.)... Plus, the latest Federal Job News, Q & A, Federal Resume and KSA Writing Tips, and much more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Late July 2004 FEDERAL CAREER COACH FEATURE QUESTION: The Challenge of Answering Multiple Skill KSAs Federal Jobseeker Question: What is the best way to handle "Narrative"-type questions? Here is one that appears to be a combination of KSAs: "Please tell us about your experience leading, analyzing, designing and developing criterion which measure and deal with complex computer systems, automation projects, and technical data processing systems; providing technical consulting services on matters relating to computer hardware/software; and formulating and recommending new or modified existing short- and long-range plans and schedules." Federal Career Coach Response: You are right, this is a challenging KSA with multiple questions in one request. The Federal human resources (HR) reviewers will have to rate you on your answer to this question. We don’t know if they will give points for each component of the question, we don’t know if they want you to respond to each section of the question, and we don’t know if you should answer them separately. Therefore, I will give you my best recommendation, so that you can make it easy to read, understand and get rated and ranked by Federal HR. And, so the supervisor can understand your answer and be impressed with your expertise... Plus, the latest Federal Job News, Interview Tips, SES Info., and much more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Early July 2004 FEATURE ARTICLE: DHS Gets Special Hire Authority -- The Washington Times Washington, DC, Jul. 7 (UPI) -- The White House has given the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) authority to hire badly needed intelligence analysts and other security specialists... Plus, the latest Federal Job News, Q & A, Federal Resume and KSA Writing Tips, and much more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Mid-June 2004 FEATURE ARTICLE: "7 Tips for Surviving Government Outsourcing" - Kathryn K. Troutman, Monster’s Federal Career Coach It's in the headlines of every national paper and on-line news service -- government agencies, and private industry firms alike, are going through major transitions, including reorganization, outsourcing, and privatization. Jobseekers who are applying for their first federal jobs are asking, “Should I go ahead and apply for a federal job, with all of this outsourcing news?” The answer is YES! The changes are occurring because organizations, federal agencies included, are constantly seeking ways to improve, to do business more efficiently and effectively. So instead of becoming gun-shy, now's the time to figure out how to remain competitive and stay ahead in the federal employment game. Plus, the latest Federal Job News, Interview Tips, Career Pro Info, SES Section, and more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ Early June 2004

______________________________________________________________________________ May 2004 FEATURE ARTICLE: NSA IS HIRING 1,500 by Sept. 2004 - Kathryn K. Troutman, Monster’s Federal Career Coach The National Security Agency (NSA) is currently looking for qualified individuals for a wide range of positions. NSA is seeking graduating college seniors, experienced professionals, and high school students in a number of career areas. NSA’s core missions are foreign signals intelligence and information assurance. A great deal of research is also conducted at NSA, and there are positions available in various technical as well as non-technical fields... Plus, the latest Federal employment news and information, Q & A, resume writing tips, interview advice, SES information, upcoming seminars and workshops, and more! Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ April 7, 2004 FEATURE ARTICLE: Hot Jobs in a Cool Economy Take a look at five of the hottest fields in today's federal market --

1. Scientists
2. Logistics & Supply Specialists
3. Investigators
4. IT workers
5. Administrative personnel

______________________________________________________________________________ March 4, 1004 - FEDERAL JOBSEEKERS INFO! WEB CONFERENCE FEDERAL RESUME WRITING WORKSHOPS, FEATURE ARTICLE Recruitment Announcements that Recruit! On February 20th, Kathryn presented a workshop to Federal Human Resources Professionals and Recruiters on the topic of writing better vacancy announcements. Heres a quick list of recommendations that the class came up with that could result in more readable, friendly, and inviting recruitment ads for government agencies: List of Things To Do To Make Federal Vacancy Announcements Recruit Better TOP SCREEN - Recognize that the Top Screen on the www.usajobs.opm.gov website is the most important recruitment information for the jobseeker. Outstanding Federal Jobs and Internships, SES TIPS FROM SUSAN CUSTARD - ECQs Leading People, The Resume Place Success Stories & Jobseeker Quotes Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ February 3, 2004, FEDERAL INTERNSHIP SCAVENGER HUNT DIRECTIONS: Students need to know that there can be two kinds of vacancy announcements for government jobs - some are advertised on www.usajobs.opm.gov and others are advertised on the agency's websites only: Jobs – which are usually permanent with benefits, but can also be temporary; and Internships - which are paid temporary positions (with benefits), usually two years in length, typically offered to recent college graduates. The reason you haven’t found the Internship listings on USAJOBS is because, as The Partnership for Public Service puts it this way, “Federal agencies aren't required to post their student opportunities in one central place, so finding specific internships can get a little tricky.” (Read their entire article here: http://publicservice.monster.com/articles/internships/).
Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ January 20, 2004, TEN STEPS TO A FEDERAL JOB, Part 2,
Read the details in this newsletter! 1. Networking **And now for the final six steps -- 6. Writing your Federal and Electronic Resume 7. Writing Your KSAs and Cover Letter 8. Applying for Federal Jobs! 9. Tracking & Following-up on Applications 10. Interviewing for a Federal Job
Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ January 6, 2004 - SES TIPS FROM SUSAN CUSTARD
One of the advantages to developing an SES application prior to a vacancy is that all SES “KSAs” are the same – and are known as the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs). The ECQs are the same for each SES vacancy, since they are required by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for selection. The ECQs are Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions/Communication. Once you have the ECQs fully developed, you can use them over and over again – you may only need to add responses to technical qualifications required by individual vacancy announcements. Read More..

______________________________________________________________________________ November 28, 2003 - FOUR RESUMES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES!
In today's Federal job market you have to be ready to apply for any type of position for which you would be qualified and that would interest you. Jobs are available everywhere! People are retiring, new jobs are opening up because of Homeland Security, new training programs are being offered, details are available and are important for your career, and competition is around the corner many times. Be ready with multiple resume formats to act quickly to take advantage of opportunities that could come anytime! Here are four resume formats that you could use to manage and grow your Federal career: Read More..

Click here to read Federal Career Corner archives from 2002-2003.