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Posts Tagged ‘Federal Employment’

Is your Federal Resume Super-Specialized?

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.”

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KSAs in the Federal Resume

Posted in Federal Resume Writing, KSA Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on June 17th, 2010 | 4 Comments - Make a comment »

John Berry, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, is planning to eliminate the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) essays during his term in order to make federal applications less cumbersome. (http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0310/031610p1.htm)

Even so, it is still important to demonstrate in your federal job application that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform a job. How do I recommend that you do that? Include the KSAs in your federal resume! In fact, vacancy announcements are already listing KSAs in the qualifications section with the note that the KSAs should be included in the text of the resume.

The best way to make your KSAs stand out in the federal resume is to use our recommended Outline Format Resume for USAJOBS and other online builders. The sample federal resume in this article, which is in USAJOBS format, includes the KSAs found in the vacancy announcement.

Recommend Format for KSAs in the Federal Resume

The Outline Format for your federal resume was first developed in 2000 when Department of Defense agencies introduced the Resumix system. The Resumix system is a keyword system and is still the resume format used today by Army, Navy, and Department of Defense agencies. The Outline Format features keywords that could be the search terms used by the human resources specialists and supervisors.

The KSAs can also be highlighted in the Outline Format by carefully selecting KSA keywords as the paragraph headers, then formatting these headers in ALL CAPS so that the information is very clear to the human resources specialist. The sample federal resume below clearly features the KSAs from Duties; Qualifications; and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements listed in the announcement.

Readability is Key to Success for KSAs in the Federal Resume

Federal resumes posted in USAJOBS are read by federal human resources specialists, not a machine or artificial intelligence system. Being able to easily find the KSAs in the federal resume will make it easier to determine that you are Best Qualified for a certain position. Using a limited amount of ALL CAPS in your USAJOBS or builder resume can help HR and the supervisor see your KSAs and specialized experience.

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Recipe for Applying for Federal Jobs Fast

Posted in Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on June 7th, 2010 | 2 Comments - Make a comment »

Let me show you how I applied for 4 federal jobs in 90 minutes yesterday with 3 browsers and 4 resume versions ready to go.

What you will need:

1. Several resume versions in your USAJOBS Resume builder Account. Each resume should be named for the occupational series the resume represents, i.e., Contract Specialist, Teacher, Background Investigator, Program Analyst, Park Ranger.

2. Several vacancy announcements matching your qualifications.

3. Three browser windows opened simultaneously with the following webpages: – USAJOBS announcement page – USAJOBS resume builder page – Questionnaire page for that particular announcement (open in Firefox)

4. Any necessary documents (such as transcripts) in PDF format to upload. Or have ready to fax if needed with official fax cover sheet.

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Resume Writing — 2010’s Number One Obsession

Posted in Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on March 26th, 2010 | 3 Comments - Make a comment »

Resume writing and applying for jobs is now an obsession for millions of jobseekers. The resume has never been more important as unemployment has hit 10%. There are, on average, 1.78 to 10 people for every job in America, depending on your location. Out of necessity and fierce competition, resume writing has reached an all-time frenzy.

Why it is easy to become obsessed with resume writing

In today’s job hunting environment, it takes sometimes hundreds of applications before you land a job. If you are one of those who have applied the average number of times it takes to get a job these days, then you have written a small encyclopedia before you achieve success. Particularly in the case of applying for federal jobs, just think of all the different resumes you have to prepare:

Basic Federal Resume in USAJOBS Format

First we start off with your basic federal resume, which should be two to four pages in length.

Tailored USAJOBS Federal Resume with Keywords

For each and every job opening you apply to, you modify your resume by picking up keywords from the announcement in order to create a resume that specifically addresses that particular job opening. If you apply to 200 jobs, you will have 200 tailored federal resumes.

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It’s Tax Time – RP Federal Resume Writing Services May Be Deductible!

Posted in Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on February 19th, 2010 | No Comments - Make a comment »

Make Your Job Search Dollars Go Further!

Good news! Your job search expenses may be tax deductible. It is time to find out whether the money you spend on federal career consulting, federal resume writing, travel and expenses supporting the job search, USAJOBS uploads, Ten Steps to a Federal job books and training are in fact tax deductible.

Here are the top six things the IRS wants you to know about deducting costs related to your job search, and my comments about them.

1. IRS: “You can deduct certain expenses you have in looking for a new job in your present occupation, even if you do not get a new job. You cannot deduct these expenses if: …You are looking for a job in a new occupation.” (IRS Publication 529, Job Search Expenses)

My comment: The federal government is NOT a new occupation, it is a new employer. If you are looking for a federal job related to your previous position, you may be able to deduct your expenses. The key is whether you are looking for positions requiring some of the same transferable skills from your past position to your new position. For instance, management/leadership skills are the same from private industry to federal government … accounting skills are the same … research and analysis skills are the same … customer services is the same.

2. IRS: “You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay in looking for a new job in your present occupation.”

My comment: The Resume Place, Inc. is considered an “employment and outplacement agency,” so any fees you incur enlisting our help with your federal job search would meet this criteria. Qualifying fees include our federal resume services, federal career consulting services, federal career training, and books.

3. IRS: “You can deduct amounts you spend for preparing and mailing copies of a résumé to prospective employers if you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.”

My comment: Remember to save your receipts for portfolios, envelopes, stamps, faxing, rented computer time, or any other expenses related to writing and sending your resume.

4. IRS: “If you travel to an area and, while there, you look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend in looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.”

My comment: If you drive to The Resume Place, Inc. or attend our Ten Steps One Day class in Gaithersburg, MD, the expenses to get there and back are considered tax deductible.

5. IRS: “You cannot deduct job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one.”

My comment: The IRS did not define how long a “substantial break” is, but even if you have been out of work for awhile, you may still be able to deduct the expenses. Please check with your accountant.

6. IRS: “You cannot deduct job search expenses if you are looking for a job for the first time.”

For more information about job search expenses, see:

IRS Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions » This publication is available on the IRS Web site, IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

About.com article: Job Search Tax Deduction Tips by Alison Doyle »

Article: Potential Tax Write-Offs for Job Search Expenses by Karin Combs »

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