Archive for June, 2010

John Berry, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, is planning to eliminate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) essays during his term in order to make federal applications less cumbersome. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0310/031610p1.htm

Even so, it is still important to demonstrate in your federal job application that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform a job. How do I recommend that you do that? Include the KSAs in your federal resume! In fact, vacancy announcements are already listing KSAs in the qualifications section with the note that the KSAs should be included in the text of the resume.

The best way to make your KSAs stand out in the federal resume is to use our recommended Outline Format for USAJOBS and other online builders. The sample federal resume in this article, which is in USAJOBS format, includes the KSAs found in the vacancy announcement.

Recommend Format for KSAs in the Federal Resume

The Outline Format for your federal resume was first developed in 2000 when Department of Defense agencies introduced the Resumix system. The Resumix system is a keyword system and is still the resume format used today by Army, Navy, and Department of Defense agencies. The Outline Format features keywords that could be the search terms used by the human resources specialists and supervisors.

The KSAs can also be highlighted in the Outline Format by carefully selecting KSA keywords as the paragraph headers, then formatting these headers in ALL CAPS so that the information is very clear to the human resources specialist. The sample federal resume below clearly features the KSAs from Duties; Qualifications; and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements listed in the announcement.

Readability is Key to Success for KSAs in the Federal Resume

Federal resumes posted in USAJOBS are read by federal human resources specialists, not a machine or artificial intelligence system. Being able to easily find the KSAs in the federal resume will make it easier to determine that you are Best Qualified for a certain position. Using a limited amount of ALL CAPS in your USAJOBS or builder resume can help HR and the supervisor see your KSAs and specialized experience.

How to Include KSAs or Qualifications in Your Federal Resume

1. Find the KSAs in the announcement in the Qualifications section.
2. Copy them into a Word file.
3. Copy the KSA into your resume.
4. Match your current resume duties and accomplishments to the KSAs.
5. Create the Outline Format, so that the KSAs stand out for the HR specialist.
6. Write a description of your skills in each KSA area and give a short example if you can. It is important to give an example that demonstrates your past performance for each KSA.
7. Write the KSA information within the Work Experience section of your resume.
8. Emphasize the KSA skills within the last 10 years if you can.
9. Emphasize the KSA skills within the most recent one or two positions if you can.
10. Give example for the KSAs if you can. This will improve your chances of being best qualified.

KSAs in the Resume – Sample Outline Format from USAJOBS

The KSAs for this position are the following:
– TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM SUPPORT to an analytical workforce.
– DATA COLLECTION: Gather, evaluate, and compile variety of data and information to report progress.
– REPORT PRODUCTION AND DATABASE ADMINISTRATION
– CUSTOMER SERVICES AND OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

SARA JACOBS
4567 Dandelion Way
Washington, DC 20009
Mobile: 202-222-2323
Email: smjacobs@verizon.net

WORK EXPERIENCE
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate
8/2009 – Present
Washington, DC US Grade Level: GS-07
Salary: 52,794 USD Per Year
Hours per week: 40
Management and Program Assistant, 0344

TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM SUPPORT to an analytical workforce. As the sole Management Assistant to 10 Analysts, I support higher-level analysts in research and analysis of weapons of mass destruction. Conduct special research projects as assigned or as a team member. Support analysts with administrative tasks and assist in conducting studies concerning research on weapons of mass destruction.

DATA COLLECTION: Gather, evaluate, and compile variety of data and information to report progress. The analysts depend on me to compile and write drafts of final reports to include editing for obvious omissions or errors, as well as compliance with established format. Produce charts and graphics with content provided by analysts and original research.

REPORT PRODUCTION AND DATABASE ADMINISTRATION: I am the quality-control check and proofread reports and other documents for correct information. Coordinate administrative requirements with other Dept. of Homeland Security offices. I maintain the WMD databases, identify trends/patterns, compile reports, and apply data-gathering methods to collect information.

CUSTOMER SERVICES AND OFFICE ADMINISTRATION: I am the primary point of contact for the Directorate Analysts. I also hold primary responsibility for administrative programs and ensure compliance with all procedural requirements.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

+ Updated the WMD database with more than 2 months of data collected by the analysts. Created a spreadsheet with the updated information to summarize data collected, as well as news summaries from major news outlets. Received recognition from my supervisor for attention to detail.

+ Developed a spreadsheet to maintain project status of the Analysts’ research, which was posted for easy access and 24×7 viewing. This resulted in less repetition in research and immediate information on available date. (Contact Supervisor: Yes, Supervisor’s Name: Joette Zimmerman, Supervisor’s Phone: 202-222-2222)

*Sample from the Federal Resume Guidebook & CD-ROM, 4th, Edition, Publisher: JIST, Inc.; Author: Kathryn Troutman

Let me show you I applied for 4 federal jobs in 90 minutes yesterday with 3 browsers and 4 resume versions ready to go.

What you will need:

1. Several resume versions in your USAJOBS Resume builder Account. Each resume should be named for the occupational series the resume represents, i.e., Contract Specialist, Teacher, Background Investigator, Program Analyst, Park Ranger.

2. Several vacancy announcements matching your qualifications.

3. Three browser windows opened simultaneously with the following webpages:
– USAJOBS announcement page
– USAJOBS resume builder page
– Questionnaire page for that particular announcement (open in Firefox)

4. Any necessary documents (such as transcripts) in PDF format to upload. Or have ready to fax if needed with official fax cover sheet.

Directions

Step 1: Review Vacancy Announcements (Browser 1 / USAJOBS)

After you have found some possible job announcements, analyze each announcement. Read the grade level; location; job title; determine if this is right for you. Go to the Qualifications tab and read Specialized Experience. If this sounds right for you. then to go next step. Look at the duties and specialized experience and make a list of at least 5-10 keywords to add into one of your resume versions.

For this particular job search, I analyzed a number of announcements and narrowed them down to these four:

• Teacher, USDA, Forest Service, Job Corps, GS 9, Permanent, Full-time, Avuecentral.com, selected 3 states
• Training Coordinator, USDA, Forest Service, Job Corps, GS 7, 6 month seasonal, Avuecentral.com, selected 3 states
• Background Investigator, OPM, GS 7, full-time permanent, USAJOBS and applicationmanager.gov, selected 2 states
• Contract Specialist, HHS, Program Service Center, Rockville, MD, USAJOBS and Quickhire questionnaire

Step 2: Get Your Resumes Ready (Browser 2 /Your USAJOBS Resume Builder page)

Keep this page up on a separate browser ALL the time.

Select a resume for each announcement. Edit the resumes by adding keywords from the announcements, review them to make sure that all information is up to date, and RENAME the resumes so that each reflects the position.

If you don’t have a resume for a particular announcement, DUPLICATE one of the others, and follow the steps above.

Step 3: Hit Apply Now (Browser 1 / USAJOBS Announcement)

Now that your resume is ready, you can go back to the vacancy announcement and hit the APPLY NOW button. You will see a BRIDGE page that will TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE. On this bridge page, you will probably be asked to select a resume from your USAJOBS Resume Builder page. Select the newly named resume and the application will take you to a new page.

Step 4: Answer the Questionnaire (Browser 3 / Questionnaire)

NOTE about the third browser: When you go to the questionnaire page, you will move away from your original USAJOBS announcement. Open a new browser with the announcement in USAJOBS again, so you don’t forget what you are applying for. When you read the questions, you might wonder about the context of the question. You can go back to the annoucnement and read the Duties or Qualifications or Mission again to try to understand the questions.

The questionnaire page could be applicationmanager.gov, avuecentral.com, quickhire.com, or monster.com. The government agencies uses a variety of questionnaires for their assessment questions. Start the questionnaire usually with the tabs on the left. Answer the questions. Most of the questions do NOT require essays now, so they are easier than before. Read them carefully. They could have trick questions. I answered 87 questions yesterday for Background Investigator and right in the middle there were two questions about being a fireman and ambulance driver working in emergency planning work. Good thing I was awake and reading carefully. The questions were easy.

Avuecentral.com: I wanted to use my USAJOBS resume instead of completing the entire avuecentral builder. But the builder insisted that I complete the Avuecentral builder. I had to put at least two relevant Work History experiences in the builder and at least one education section, so I did that. Then I uploaded the USAJOBS resume for the entire application. I also uploaded the transcript which was over at USAJOBS. I took it out of my USAJOBS account and put it into the avuecentral account.

Summary

I applied to four applications in 90 minutes. All of them had questionnaires with no essays or KSAs. I was prepared, however. I had 4 resumes in the USAJOBS builder, each named carefully, and transcript was already in USAJOBS. I found four good announcements that were GS 7/9. I really found five, but one of the announcements turned out to require a qualification that my client didn’t have – a Master’s degree or other post graduate degree. I didn’t see it until I was in screen 2 in a questionnaire. But I had only wasted 10 minutes restructuring the resume with 5 keywords and renaming it.

The reason this was fast was because I was organized with my browsers. I had the USAJOBS Resume Builder page up and ready for analysis, adding keywords and renaming. I knew I was going to some kind of questionnaire system, so I was prepared with the right resume version. When I was turned over to the questionnaire page, I went back to a NEW browser and opened up the USAJOBS announcement again (you can’t go BACK from the questionnaire, and you might need to refer to the announcement again). So, those are my three browsers that helped me stay efficient and focused with my applications.

We’ll see what happens with the applications this week. The next step will be to go back to USAJOBS, applicationmanager.gov, and avuecentral.com in one week (next Monday) and see if they have scored any of the applications and if there are any notices in the application tracking page. That will be interesting.

Good luck with your speedy federal job applications with three browsers.

HOT TIPS

Be sure to check off Temp, Term, Permanent, Seasonal – whatever types of positions you can accept. Temp and Term positions could be changed into a permanent one after hire.

Cover letter: You can add a cover letter by browsing and uploading; or adding into ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

Review your resumes frequently to update them.