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Federal Career Coach Feature Question: "What's the secret to getting a job on Capitol Hill?"
The FEDERAL CAREER CORNER(TM) is a free bi-monthly e-newsletter sponsored by The Resume Place, Inc., Kathryn K. Troutman, President; Jessica Coffey, Managing Editor, editor@resume-place.com. Sign up now for the mailing list.
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WHAT'S IN THIS NEWSLETTER?
- FEDERAL CAREER COACH FEATURE QUESTION:
What's the secret to getting a job on Capitol Hill?
 RESUME PLACE SUCCESS STORY
- FEDERAL JOB NEWS
- INTERVIEW SAVVY with Jessica Coffey
- SES TIPS from Susan Custard
- CAREER PRO INFO
- UPCOMING WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, & EVENTS
- RESUME PLACE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
- SHARE THE NEWSLETTER WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS
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FEDERAL CAREER COACH FEATURE QUESTION
Federal Career Coach Question:
What's the secret to getting a job on Capitol Hill?
Response:
Your timing couldn't be better for asking this question -- after an election is a great time to look for jobs on Capitol Hill, particularly jobs on the House side. Capitol Hill jobs refer to jobs in one of the 535 Congressional offices (435 in the House and 100 in the Senate), or on one of the 300 committees or subcommittees.
Types of Positions
The jobs you will find available include:
- Receptionist/Staff Assistant: Salary = mid $20s
- Legislative Correspondent: Salary = mid $20s
- Case Worker: Salary = upper $20s – low $30s
- Systems Administrator: Salary = low $30s (House), upper $30s (Senate)
- Legislative Assistant: Salary = upper $30s (House), upper $40s (Senate)
- Scheduler: Salary = low $40s (House), low $50s (Senate)
- Office Manager: Salary = $40s (House), $50s (Senate)
- Press Secretary/Director of Communication: Salary = mid $40s (House), mid $60s (Senate)
- Legislative Director: Salary = low $60s (House), low $90s (Senate)
- Staff Director/Administrative Assistant/Chief of Staff: Salary = $90s (House), $100s (Senate)
For detailed definitions, go to: http://www.conginst.org/orientation/Finding_a_Job/Job%20Descriptions.html and http://www.brubach.com/capitolhilljobguide.htm
Requirements
The requirements for positions on the Hill are a Bachelor's degree for entry-level positions, and a Master's degree if you hope to advance. In addition, it is advantageous to have a thorough understanding of the legislative process, knowledge of committee work or Senator/Congressperson projects, strong written and oral communication skills, and excellent interpersonal skills.
Where to Look for the Jobs
There are several ways to find out about jobs on Capitol Hill, and there are usually positions available because these jobs have a pretty high turnover. The turnover is due to the political nature of the jobs, with elections every two to six years, and the fact that many people use these positions as stepping stones to other political, government, private industry, or non-profit positions.
Although there are positions available, many of them are unadvertised, and the entry-level positions are highly competitive. There are a few ways to get your foot in the door:
- Serve as an Intern (see Eric Yoder’s Washington Post article, "Capitol Hill Internships Can Kick Off Careers")
- Network, Network, Network -- the more people you can talk to who may have connections or information about positions on Capitol Hill, the better your chances are of learning about an opening.
- Contact Your Representative or Senator
There are also websites you can search to see positions that have been posted. Some of the more popular sites are:
So, start doing your research -- make contacts, go on-line, find out what's available and whether you're qualified, and begin applying. The jobs are there, you just need to find them and land one! Good luck!
Sources: http://www.class.csupomona.edu/pls/hilljobs.htm; http://www.sais-jhu.edu/studentservices/career_services/Students_Alumni/Sector_Profiles/Capitol%20Hill.pdf; http://www.brubach.com/capitolhilljobguide.htm
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RESUME PLACE SUCCESS STORY
- Federal Resume Guidebook Does the Trick!
I purchased your Federal Resume Guidebook in October and applied for a new position with an agency that I have worked with for 14 years. Twenty five applied for the same position. Nine candidates were qualified. Four received an interview and one was selected. You guessed it, I landed the job. I guess the other 24 didn't read your book.
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FEDERAL JOB NEWS
- Agencies Encouraged To Step Up Recruitment Efforts
"During the 1990s, the federal government reduced its workforce by about 400,000 jobs and, for the most part, stopped hiring. Personnel offices took big cuts, and the number of personnel specialists declined by 20 percent between 1991 and 1998.
Today, agencies are scrambling to develop strategies to bolster recruitment and compete for talent. The federal workforce is graying -- the average age of federal employees was 46.5 in 2001 -- and the nation's labor force is not growing as quickly as in previous decades. If agencies fail to attract the right recruits, they could put their programs and services at risk."
Read Stephen Barr's complete article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23761-2004Nov30.html?referrer=email
- From Federal Times: "DoD To Tally Military Jobs That Can Be Given To Civilians"
By TICHAKORN HILL, November 15, 2004
"Defense Department agencies will use their annual inventory that marks jobs as inherently government or commercial to identify which military positions could be converted to civil service or contractor jobs, a Pentagon official says.
Raymond DuBois, Defense deputy undersecretary for installations and environment, said in an Oct. 25 memo to Defense agencies that inventories next spring will be used to identify military jobs that can be converted to civilian positions in addition to filling various reporting requirements.
'DoD components should continue to identify activities for military-to-civilian conversions,' he said. Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 'considers military conversions a key method for reducing the stress on the military forces and has emphasized the importance of removing military from activities that are not military essential.'
Last year, DoD for the first time used the inventories to identify which military jobs would be given to civilians.
The military services must submit their inventories of commercial and inherently governmental jobs by April and other Defense Department agencies must do so by March. The inventories are required each year of all federal agencies by the 1998 Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act.
DoD would like to convert 320,000 military jobs to civilian positions. It also has plans to conduct public-private competitions of 226,000 positions by Sept. 30, 2009."
- Did You Know?
President Bush has signed a bill to "certify that telecommuting opportunities are made available to 100 percent of the eligible workforce."
Read Stephen Barr's article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18418-2004Nov28.html?referrer=email for more information.
- Language Skills Could Mean Extra Pay
(from FederalDaily, September 27, 2004)
"Knowing a foreign language could earn federal civilian and military employees more money under a provision of the 2005 Defense Authorization Act." Read all of Rick Maze's article at: http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=511839
- Corporate Gray Online - provides free career transition services to the military community, including Corporate Gray Job Fairs, http://209.147.75.100/jobfairs.htm.
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INTERVIEW SAVVY with Jessica Coffey
What to say and how to say it...
How to respond to the question, "Why do you want to work for the federal government?"
I think the key to this response is to have a short general answer, then more specifically mention the position and your qualifications for it. Example:
"I am interested in a position with the Federal Government because I am looking for a job that is challenging and rewarding. (you can add something here that really interests you about the prospect of working for the federal government). A job with the federal government allows me to feel as though I am contributing to the success of something great. Specifically, I am excited to see there is an opportunity with the federal government to put my skills to work in a position as a Computer Analyst. My background in (use keywords here) customer support, system programming, and application development prepares me well for a job requiring (be familiar with the job requirements or use information you have gathered from the interview or from informational interviews you have conducted during your job search) expanding the use of existing applications and integrating two databases to save the agency money."
Bottom line: Answer the question, but always try to find a way to sell yourself.
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SES TIPS from Susan Custard
Questions? - We Get Questions!
As in last month's column, we are continuing to address many of the questions we get in working with clients on executive level applications. As Resume Place writers work with clients applying for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, we get lots of questions – so we thought we would capture some of the most popular, and provide more answers in this month's column! This column, rather than focusing on employment, provides information on the different benefits available to SES appointees.
What benefits are offered?
Senior Executives are covered by the Federal leave system and earn annual and sick leave. Senior Executives are also covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), life insurance, and government health benefits programs.
- Annual Leave - Like all other employees, SES appointees earn 13, 20, or 26 days of annual leave a year, depending on years of service. Annual leave accrues incrementally, i.e., 4, 6, or 8 hours every 2 weeks. SES appointees may carry over up to 90 days of annual leave to the next leave year.
- Sick Leave - SES appointees also earn 13 days of sick leave each year (which accumulates without limit in succeeding years). Sick leave also accrues incrementally, i.e., 4 hours every 2 weeks. In certain situations, employees may use sick leave for family care purposes. They may use a total of up to 12 weeks of sick leave each year to care for a family member with a serious health condition. They may also use sick leave for adoption or bereavement.
- Family and Medical Leave - Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), an employee is entitled to a total of 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for: the birth of a child and care of the newborn; the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care; the care of an employee's spouse, son or daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; and an employee's own serious health condition that makes him/her unable to perform the duties of his/her position. An employee may substitute annual leave or sick leave, as appropriate, for unpaid leave under the FMLA.
- Leave and Transfer and Leave Bank Programs - An employee who has a personal or family medical emergency and who has exhausted his/her own leave may receive donated annual leave from other Federal employees through the voluntary leave transfer or leave bank programs. All agencies have a leave transfer program, and they may also choose to establish a leave bank for their employees.
- Other Leave - In addition, employees are entitled to court leave, military leave, leave for bone marrow or organ donation, and other types of leave. Additional information on the Government's leave programs is available at http://www.opm.gov.
- Health Insurance - Federal employees can enroll in coverage for themselves and their families at reasonable rates. They enjoy one of the widest selections of plans in the country. Over 350 plans participate in the health insurance program. Employees can choose among managed fee-for-service plans, health maintenance organizations, and point-of-service plans. There is an annual open season during which employees can change their enrollment. Unlike a growing number of private sector health benefits programs, Federal employees can continue their health insurance coverage into retirement with a full government contribution. Most enrollees pay only one-fourth of the health benefits premium.
- Holidays - Federal employees are entitled to 10 paid holidays each year.
- Pensions - Employees newly hired since 1987 are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement Systems (FERS) which is a 3-tiered plan to provide secure retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for employees and their dependents. In addition to Social Security benefits as a base, FERS offers both an annuity that grows with length of service and a tax deferred savings plan. Employees pay less than 1 percent of salary to qualify for the annuity and are fully vested after 5 years of service and, for disability benefits, after just 18 months.
- Thrift Savings Plan - The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) allows employees to save for retirement. For employees under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), the Government contributes 1 percent of salary to employees who do not contribute and will match up to another 4 percent of savings for employees who do contribute. Because the savings plan is tax deferred, no income tax is due on either the employee's contributions or the government matching funds, or the earnings on those amounts, until retirement. Employees can choose to invest in any of five funds, or to spread investments across the funds. For additional information visit the TSP website at www.tsp.gov.
- Life Insurance - Most full-time and part-time employees are automatically enrolled in basic life insurance equal to their salary, rounded to the next $1,000, plus $2,000. The Government pays one-third of the cost of this group term insurance. Employees do not have to prove insurability; no physical is required. Basic coverage includes double benefits for accidental death and benefits for loss of limb(s) or eyesight. Employees can also purchase optional insurance at their own expense. Optional coverage includes additional insurance on the employee's life as well as coverage for the employee's spouse and eligible children, if any.
- Those younger than 45 receive an additional amount of coverage at no greater cost. The enhancement declines from double the basic amount for those 35 and younger to zero at age 45, when coverage becomes the basic amount.
- Accelerated death benefits are available to terminally ill enrollees so that they can receive life insurance proceeds while they are living.
- Many large organizations are cutting life insurance benefits to retirees. This is untrue in the Federal Government, which allows life insurance to be continued into retirement. It can also be converted to private coverage upon termination, without proof of insurability.
- In addition to offering the life insurance program, agencies can pay up to $10,000 to the personal representatives of employees who die from injuries sustained in the line of duty.
- Liability Insurance - A recently enacted law (P.L. 106.58) requires Federal agencies to reimburse certain employees for up to one half of the cost of professional liability insurance, subject to the availability of appropriations.
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CAREER PRO INFO
Helpful information for federal career advisors and trainers.
- Client Tip #7:
Teach your client how to do an effective search, write a resume, or respond to KSA/ECQ questions. It is very easy to provide them with answers, but it is so much better to give them the tools for coming up with those answers themselves so next time they can be more successful on their own. Teach them formulas like CCAR (Context, Challenge, Action, Result), walk them through the "Ten Steps to a Federal Job", and encourage them to use resume and KSA builders like the ones offered through The Resume Place (check out The resume Place's KSA Builder at http://www.tenstepsforstudents.org/pages/builder_ksa.htm. By doing the work for them, you give them a great product that will work this time, but by teaching them how to do it themselves you will prepare them for future searches for different jobs, perhaps in other industries.
- Become a Certified Federal Job Search Trainer!
Participate in a first-rate training program that teaches you how to help your clients find federal jobs. For more information about our upcoming certification classes, go to: http://www.resume-place.com/workshops/certification.html
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UPCOMING WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, & EVENTS
- Learn More About Federal Resume and KSA Writing Basics, Where to Find Federal Jobs, and How to Analyze Announcements
The Resume Place will offer a FREE hour-long teleclass on Wednesday, January 12th, at 12 noon, EST. It's a great time to ask all of your federal career questions. Sign up now.
- Attend The Resume Place's Four-Part Workshop Series:
"Take Control of Your Federal Career"
*** Sign Up Today For Our January 2005 Classes! ***
- Course 1: Vacancy Announcement Search & Key Word Analysis - January 6, 2005
- Course 2: Federal Resumes That Compete – The Newest Techniques in Federal Resume Writing - January 13, 2005
- Course 3: Writing your KSAs with the CCAR - Your Best Stories! - January 20, 2005
- Course 4: Electronic Resume Writing Strategies – Keywords, Accomplishments & Standing Out! - January 27, 2005
Click here to find out more!
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THE RESUME PLACE PRODUCTS & SERVICES @ http://www.resume-place.com/shop/
"Student's Federal Career Guidebook & CD-ROM, Ten Steps to Top Jobs and Internships in Government" -- Authors: Kathryn Troutman and daughter Emily Troutman
There is no other book on the market that combines an explanation of the federal hiring system, instructions for how to apply, internships to get your foot in the door, and electronic and paper examples of federal resumes and applications. Order now at http://www.resume-place.com/shop/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=70&category_id=3dca2a3d3f09419baf8a8a35013014a5
Federal Resume or KSA Critiques
Have you written your Federal resume or KSAs, and would like professional comments so you can improve your documents? Then The Resume Place's Critique Service is just for you! Fees for critiques of your resume and/or KSAs range from $75 - $300. For more details, go to http://www.resume-place.com/services/critiques.html.
Interview Training
Get ready for your next interview with general interview prep materials, position-specific questions to practice with, a telephone mock interview, plus a critique and Q & A session. Work with an expert Interview Coach to learn strategies that will help you Win the Job! www.resume-place.com/shop/?page=shop/browse&category_id=8ff6b75552eeed41fffc4ab8099a1f6f__________________________________________________________________________
SHARE THE NEWSLETTER WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND COWORKERS
Please share our newsletter with friends, customers, and co-workers!
Simply copy and paste the text between the stars below and send the e-mail! The entire newsletter can be read on-line! Suggested Subject Line: From your name - The Federal Career Corner Newsletter, Early December 2004
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FEDERAL CAREER CORNER™, Volume 2, No. 17, Early December 2004
The latest Federal Job Search news from The Resume Place, Inc. and Kathryn Troutman, Publisher
Featuring: "What's the secret to getting a job on Capitol Hill?", Federal Job News, Interview Tips, SES Info., and much more!
Read the entire online newsletter here:
www.resume-place.com/newsletter?vol_2_issue_17.html
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FEDERAL CAREER CORNER NEWSLETTER
Please write to us with websites, success stories, job search tips, article ideas, and questions that we can use in the Federal Career Corner Newsletter. Send your ideas to Jessica Coffey, Managing Editor, at editor@resume-place.com.
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THE MAILING LIST
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