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Posts Tagged ‘Federal Employment’

Federal Disability Hiring — The Road is Paved with Good Intentions, but We’re Still Waiting for the Numbers

Posted in Federal Resume Writing
by Nicole Schultheis on October 5th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

Federal Disability Hiring — The Road is Paved with Good Intentions, but We’re Still Waiting for the Numbers

By Nicole Schultheis

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Let’s see where we are on this important subject.

On August 18, 2011, President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order* establishing a new, government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce. Reiterating the Federal Government’s commitment to equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, President Obama reminded us of our government’s special obligation to lead by example.

The coordinated effort means that U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director John Berry and Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Jeff Zients are to work together with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien and the President’s Management Council (PMC) to establish a government-wide initiative promoting diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce. Under the Order, by mid-November of this year, a government-wide strategic plan with guidance for agency-specific plans must be in place, setting forth best practices and establishing a method for agencies to report on their progress. By mid-December, federal agencies are to issue their own, specific Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plans, addressing recruitment, hiring, promotion, retention, professional development and training.

The more recent initiative follows on the heels of Executive Order 13548, “Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities,”** issued July 26, 2010, which required agencies to designate senior-level officials to create programs for individuals with disabilities and targeted disabilities, to increase use of the Federal Government’s Schedule A excepted service hiring authority for persons with disabilities, and to increase participation of individuals with disabilities in internships, fellowships, and training and mentoring programs. The “targeted disabilities” are set forth on Standard Form 256, and include total deafness, blindness, missing extremities and paralysis, among others deemed severe. (See last year’s blog entry by Kathryn Troutman on this subject, http://www.resume-place.com/2010/10/its-national-disabilities-employment-awareness-month/.)

As part of the 2010 effort, OPM and OMB were to implement a system for regular reporting. The July 2010 Executive Order directed OPM to “compile and post on its website Government wide statistics on the hiring of individuals with disabilities.” Since then, although OPM has included on its “Federal Employment of People with Disabilities” site, http://www.opm.gov/disability/, a comprehensive list of links to federal agencies’ web pages dealing with disability employment as well as other organizations and publications related to the employment of people with disabilities—and among them appears a link to the US Census Bureau’s data on disability and employment nationally—it would appear neither EEOC nor OPM has published new statistics relating to the federal government’s own disability hiring numbers.

In FY 2009, the Federal Government reported a total work force of 2,811,277 employees, compared to 2,442,643 in FY 2000. The Annual Report on the Federal Work Force for Fiscal Year 2009 provided a 10- year retrospective on federal hiring statistics, compared to the overall civilian workforce. For this period EEOC reported little overall change in the composition of the federal workforce; indeed there was even a slight decline during that decade in targeted disability hiring, from 1.12% to 0.88% of the overall federal workforce. As of 2009, a total of approximately 25,000 persons with targeted disabilities held federal jobs. (Comparables in overall civilian workforce are not available.)

In August 2011, the Office of Disability Employment Policy reported a labor force participation rate of 21.0% for people with disabilities, compared to 69.9% of persons without reported disabilities. No comparable data was released by OPM or EEOC relative to the federal civilian workforce. Although the 2010 and 2011 Executive Orders relating to disability and diversity hiring are expected to significantly enhance opportunities for inclusion of persons with disabilities in the federal workforce, unfortunately it is still too soon to tell what impact these initiatives will have.

Perhaps we’ll know more by next year.

*The full text of “Establishing a Coordinated Government-Wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce,” is posted here.

**The full text of “Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities,” is posted here.

Nicole

Jack of All Trades? One Resume or Several?

Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, KSA Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on August 12th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

Many long-time federal employees struggle with focusing their federal resume when they are seeking new positions or promotions. After 10 or 20 years, a typical federal employee has worn at least 4 to 6 “hats” and can be qualified for several different occupational series. The goal is to be deemed “best qualified” to be referred to a supervisor and invited to interview. The “Jack of All Trades” federal resume approach is not recommended. It’s best to focus each resume toward one or two occupational series and even three series, which are closely related with functional or technical skills. Let’s analyze John’s dilemma in writing and targeting his federal resume.

John is a GS-13 with 20 years of experience who is looking for a new position. He says, “I am the jack of all trades with experience in Human Resources, Budget, Finance, Procurement, Facilities, Asset Management, IT Project Management, Program Analysis, Supervision, Capital Planning and Investment Control to name (my specialties) that come to mind. I understand that each job must be tailored, but with the job market like it is, I think I need to leverage all my experience and consider many types of positions.”

It is important to understand that some resume writing strategies are better than others. John has two options. He can write one resume covering all of the different accomplishments and skills he possesses or create at least four or more different resumes that each feature a certain skill set and add accomplishments for each skill set tailored to the specific job he is apply for, while leaving out irrelevant and old experience. Remember, human resources specialists and supervisors will review your last 10 years of experience, so make sure you only analyze, write and present the specialized areas of expertise for these recent positions.

In John’s example, I would recommend four different resumes.

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Are These Federal Jobs Worth the Money?

Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on January 19th, 2011 | 1 Comment - Make a comment »

Some federal jobs are amazing in terms of the challenging duties and responsibilities. Many government positions hardly seem real because of their complexity. Most private industry jobs do not have the same depth and scope of responsibility that impacts entire American public’s safety and security.

Real people do these jobs. Talk about a hard day at work. The federal jobs described below–and many more not listed here–deal with some of the most complex topics and problems in America!

What I want to know is this: are these jobs worth the money, or any amount of money, that the employee receives for the headaches, frustrations, difficult negotiations, etc., that will no doubt be part of these positions?

Take, for example, the State Department Analyst who is responsible for promoting communication and cooperation among the various government agencies and private sector organizations supporting the U.S. mission in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This employee is the ultimate negotiator and must demonstrate optimum patience, negotiation skills, flexibility and ability to navigate complex international and homeland security issues.

Is this job worth $51,630.00 – $81,204.00 a year?

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Top Ten Job Search Resolutions for 2011

Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on December 27th, 2010 | 3 Comments - Make a comment »

accomplishments photo

As we count down to 2011, here are my Top Ten federal job search resolutions to help you get a quick jump start back into your federal job search as soon as the holiday festivities are over.

10. Get inspired! Read a book about an expertise that you have.

Find a book on a topic of interest, such as leadership, management, teamwork or supervision. If the book is inspiring, you might feel more energetic and proud of your past accomplishments – which will translate into a good mood and higher confidence. Looking for a federal job? Here’s a great list of Federal Leadership Books!

Sometimes, job interviewers will ask you what you are reading now. You better get ready for this one. Books on leadership, history, or a topic that supports your non-profit or volunteer work would be perfect for the interview (not political books).

9. Be systematic with your online job search strategies.

Keep a list of your favorite webpages, and check them every day, or, at a minimum, once a week, for positions that could be of interest.

You can waste time at the computer if you don’t have a clear list of sites that you visit regularly and search strategies that work. Limit your time on searching for jobs, so that you can move AWAY from the computer and be productive in other ways.

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Federal Hiring Reform Hype Misleading and Confusing; So-Called Reform Adds More Confusion to Federal Hiring Process

Posted in Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on November 24th, 2010 | 1 Comment - Make a comment »

November 1 was the deadline for federal hiring reform. Finally the government has adopted a commonsense, efficient, applicant-friendly hiring system! “If only that were true,” laments federal jobs expert Kathryn Troutman of The Resume Place. Seems the changes are slow to take hold and jobseekers will need help more than ever. Bye Bye KSAs Hiring Reform Cake

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) November 24, 2010 — Earlier in November, federal jobs expert Kathryn Troutman and her staff of federal job application consultants gathered around a cake decorated with the words: “Bye Bye KSAs!” They had come to The Resume Place to celebrate the start date for federal hiring reform. Suddenly, applying for a federal job just got easier. The government had finally adopted a commonsense, efficient, applicant-friendly hiring system that called for resumes and cover letters and scotches the dreaded KSAs, a lengthy set of demanding essays intended to show “Knowledge, Skills and Abilities.” Finally, sanity has come to the federal application system.

Bye Bye KSAs, Not So Fast! “If only that were true,” laments Troutman.

With over 80,000 federal employees retiring or otherwise leaving the federal government each year, thousands of mission critical and management positions must be filled with the best and brightest Americans. Federal application practices, however, have many times deterred the “best qualified applicants” from seeking federal work. President Obama’s May 11 memorandum therefore called on Executive Departments and Agencies to overhaul the way they recruit and hire highly qualified employees. By the November 1 deadline, however, only three out of 240 federal agencies were ready for hiring reforms.

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