Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on October 25th, 2010 | No Comments - Make a comment »
With greater awareness, comes greater opportunity.
Now is a superb time for disabled jobseekers to seek federal jobs
(Baltimore, MD, October 25, 2010) National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month is a salute to the skills and talents disabled individuals have, and also an acknowledgment of the importance of employment to their lives. But perhaps the most significant aspect is the commitment that President Obama has made to elevating the number of disabled people in the federal workforce. According to the National Council on Disability, the percentage of disabled federal workers is low. Figures from 2007 show that they represent less than 1% of Uncle Sam’s employees. Some parties are calling for this number to be kicked up to at least double that amount.
“My administration is committed to ensuring people living with disabilities have fair access to jobs so they can contribute to our economy and realize their dreams,” avowed President Barack Obama in his proclamation for October’s special designation. “Individuals with disabilities are a vital and dynamic part of our Nation.”
To act on this opportunity, jobseekers with disabilities will need to bone up for the effort. They should begin by educating themselves on the federal hiring process, says resume writer Sandra L. Keppley. Books from the Resume Place like Ten Steps to a Federal Job and the Federal Resume Guidebook will be essential. In addition, Keppley says they also need to learn about employment for the disabled in particular.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Federal Resume Writing, Self-Assessment
by Kathryn Troutman on October 23rd, 2010 | 2 Comments - Make a comment »
Why your federal resume has to be super-specialized to get Best Qualified
Competition is growing for the best jobs in the country! In today’s job market, hundreds and thousands of job seekers are sending resumes for federal positions now. It’s well publicized in the media that the federal jobs pay better, and benefits and retirement are better than private industry. These federal positions are the best jobs in the entire US.
So now there is a dramatic increase in applications per position. To compete against more competition, your federal resume has to be “super-specialized” for each position.
One federal resume does NOT fit all federal applications
We are finding at The Resume Place, Inc. that many federal job seekers are using one resume to apply for many positions. This approach is not effective. Each federal resume must be super-specialized to get a score of 90 or above and to get Best Qualified and Referred to a Supervisor. We are hearing from frustrated federal job seekers who are submitting 60, 100, even 200 federal resumes and NOT getting Referred, or if they are Referred, they are not selected for an Interview. These job seekers say they are qualified but are having no luck. One reason could be that their federal resume is NOT super-specialized toward an announcement.
Hot Tip: Don’t overlook the One Year Specialized Experience section of the vacancy announcement
What many people don’t see in the long vacancy announcements is that each job announcement will state that a position requires “One Year Specialized Experience” for all positions. Your resume MUST show that you have this One Year Specialized experience in order to qualify for the position.
Where does an applicant find the Specialized Experience in the vacancy announcement?
Each announcement will state the Specialized Experience needed for the job. The announcement will usually say something like this: “Your resume must demonstrate that you have 52 weeks of specialized experience in this certain field. Your resume should include examples of this and this and this and this.”
Read the rest of this entry »
