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Groundbreaking Certification Program for Professional Federal Job Search Trainers Celebrates 2 Years of Success

(BALTIMORE, MD – October 26, 2004) – Federal Job Search Guru Kathryn Troutman’s highly successful and innovative certification program is celebrating two years of teaching trainers and career counselors how to help people find jobs with the U.S. government. Since the program’s inception, it has trained over 250 career professionals in proven federal job-search techniques. Here are some success stories of career professionals who have received the certification:

• Cathy Knight is a member of Air Force Europe and the only Master Certified Federal Job Search Trainer in Kaiserslautern, Germany. She comments: “I decided the best approach to get the most for our training dollars would be to obtain the skills necessary to teach the course here in Europe.” Knight then went on to train trainers, 17 Department of Defense civilian employees in European Family Centers. These trainers, in turn, each went on to teach classes and assist individuals separating or retiring from the military or seeking federal jobs as military family members. Knight reports: “The trainers have been given very positive comments about the training and the high-quality teaching materials.”
• Kelli Poehls is a career specialist with North Dakota State University (NDSU). She has been utilizing Kathryn Troutman’s Ten Step curriculum at the college. She notes that her workshops have been full and are generating additional traffic to her Career Center. “Faculty members across campus are referring students to the Career Center, and asking me to come to their classes and student organization meetings to talk about federal opportunities… Students appreciate the knowledge base right here on campus.”
• Steve Gallison is Director of the Professional Outplacement Assistance Center (a program of the Maryland Job Service) in Columbia, MD. He has trained over 1,500 jobseekers in Troutman’s Ten Step success formula. He says: “I have personally witnessed widespread enthusiasm for the program. My customers report back that they are getting results.”
• Shirley Caban is a Transition and Relocation Programs Manager for the U.S. Coast Guard. Since completing Troutman’s course, Caban has conducted classes on military bases and at an agency. Caban says: “There are people out there who are determined to get a federal job and they get excited once they understand how the federal system works. Workshop evaluations have been great.” She describes the coursework as a real “eye-opener” for jobseekers.

For a two-year certification, career professionals attend three days of comprehensive training. This classwork is then followed up with some specified writing–including a federal resume–and two pro bono training sessions with jobseekers. Certification is being administered by The Resume Place, Inc., of Baltimore, MD. The course is held at Loyola College in Columbia, MD, and it’s also available on-site for career professionals.

Here’s just a sampling of the course topics packed into the three-day training:

• Troutman’s effective “Ten Steps to a Federal Job” curriculum and PowerPoint which is versatile and can be taught in one hour or as a full-day training program
• Strategies and online training for writing a “paper” and electronic federal resume
• Marketing strategies for program implementation and training programs at the workplace
• Interactive training for gaining participant confidence in the class for writing their best resume
• A full day on Federal HR – what’s new, including internship programs, Veteran’s and Spouse Programs, Excepted and Competitive Service, DOD Personnel System (Pay Banding), and other important Federal HR practices that can help federal jobseekers win jobs and interviews

The principal text for the certification program, Ten Steps to a Federal Job, won three Career Book Awards and the companion Jobseeker Guide and Trainer’s Guide received Honorable Mention by ForeWord Magazine for career training materials. Certified trainers receive their own set of Federal Job Search Resources for advising jobseekers.

Ed Roscoe is Manager of the Navy’s Spouse Employment Assistance Program (SEAP). He notes that the federal hiring system is “very cumbersome at best” because no two HR departments within it seem to work the same way. He has also turned to top federal jobs expert Kathy Troutman for help in training his personnel. “Our employment managers are hungry for this information and training,” said Roscoe.

Kathryn Troutman is the leading Master Trainer in the federal job market. She continues to train career professionals from universities, colleges, community colleges and two-year technical training programs, military bases, federal agencies and human resources departments in government. She is the Founder of The Resume Place, a federal job-search consulting firm and writing service, and a publisher of books on the U.S. government job market.

Why should jobseekers consider working for Uncle Sam?

• An average of 30,000 federal positions are open at any one time.
• The federal government is the largest employer in the U.S. with 1.8 million employees (not including the Postal Service, U.S. Military and Government Contractors)
• Approximately 50% of the current government workforce will be retiring in the next 5 to 7 years.

About The Resume Place
The Resume Place, a writing service and consulting firm specializing in the federal job market, was founded by Kathryn Kraemer Troutman in 1979. Over its three decades, TRP has become the firm people turn to for expertise on federal hiring processes. Its President, Kathryn Troutman, is now a master trainer, popular author and frequent media guest. The Resume Place Press, the firm's publishing division, just released the groundbreaking Student's Federal Career Guide. For other titles and workshops, see the website, www.resume-place.com.