Over the past month, I've trained employees at five Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) locations. DFAS is growing tremendously due to the increased accounting services needed by Department of Defense affiliates. The accounting agency has been coping with a new automated system for invoice and vendor paying processes; expanding affiliates, including the National Guard, Reserves and other military organizations; and restructuring for increased efficiency of operations. These developments have brought greater opportunities for job change and advancement for current DFAS employees, particularly the Vendor Pay Accounting Technicians.

 

Every day, current Accounting Technicians have the opportunity to apply for promotions through jobs being posted on www.usajobs.com and www.dfas.mil. There’s a catch, however… To be considered from among thousands of applicants, an Accounting Technician must stand out using a Resumix resume.

 

Let's look at how this can be accomplished. If you're dealing with Resumix for any position, pay close attention. There are strategies you can discover within this example. Accounting Technicians – this approach especially applies to you!

 

1.     Customer service stories – Accounting Technicians should include customer service stories that will demonstrate their knowledge of electronic database systems, invoicing processes, historical research, problem-solving and follow-up. Did you help vendors get paid faster – resulting in customer discounts? Find invoices that were missing? Help customers prepare invoices accurately the first time? TIP: Include the actual customer name, dollars paid, dollars saved, and time you spent on the project!

 

2.     Performance – Write about your performance, production, efficiency and time-management skills. Note how you remained productive despite an increased workload, the huge volume of invoices, increased customers needing to be served, and overtime. Write about your production, quotas and efficiency. Include numbers, percentages and dollars if possible.

 

3.     Teamwork – Describe your role as a team member, including your area of expertise on the team, cross-training in other jobs and systems, brainstorming to resolve complex customer problems, consulting with other team members, etc.

 

4.     Learning new systems – If you were selected to be on a team for a new accounting system, describe the system and what you are learning.

 

5.     Training new hires and other employees – Write about how you train or inform other employees who are working with the new systems, invoices, policies and procedures.

 

Accounting Technicians can also write about the basics of their job. The first step in writing this description is to analyze the position descriptions or vacancy announcements for Accounting Technician positions in Federal agencies.

 

Managers are looking for employees who STAND OUT. They want workers who communicate, problem-solve, research issues and have a customer-focus, in addition to handling the basic accounting responsibilities.

 

Summary: An outstanding, high-performing federal employee should have a Resumix resume that covers technical and specialized skills, as well as interpersonal, problem-solving and customer-service skills. RESULTS: An outstanding Resumix resume written for jobs for which you are well-qualified. By highlighting your strengths in your Resumix resume the right way, you'll get more job interviews and improve the likelihood of your success!

 

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Send your Resumix draft to sarah@resume-place.com for an estimate for writing a better Resumix! FREE ESTIMATES for critiques, edits and writing for one week only. Offer good until February 4, 2005. (Estimates are usually $45.)

Subject Line: Free Estimate for Resumix Request, Your Name

 

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Write Kathryn@resume-place.com

 

·        Resumix Training for Federal Jobseekers 

 

Resume Place Web Seminar, "Take Charge of Your Federal Career" - http://www.resume-place.com/workshops/webconfprograms.html, Wednesdays, February 9 - March 2, 2005

 

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