Posted in ECQs, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing
by Kathryn Troutman on May 16th, 2011 | 2 Comments - Make a comment »
Kathryn Troutman and The Resume Place are excited to be offering a new two-day SES Application Writing Workshop at the Federal Career Training Institute in Catonsville, MD. Click here to learn more about this class!
The ability to Lead Change is a critical and exceptional executive competency. Leading Change is the first Executive Core Qualification (ECQ) that is required to write and prove in order to apply for a Senior Executive Service Application. The official definition also requires that the Leading Change examples include 6 leadership competencies:
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. External Awareness
3. Flexibility
4. Resilience
5. Strategic Thinking
6. Vision
Leading Change Tips from former US Mint Director, Phillip Diehl
A tip from Phillip Diehl for leading change in government agencies is that “employees have been through every change management slogan of the month and have witnessed management that have used those programs to mask other agendas. Their response to authentic change agents will range between skeptical to cynical. They’ve earned the right.”
“During change, workers need to know that their work has value to a customer whether internal or external.” Phillip Diehl, former Director, US Mint, 1994-2000. In the classic Leading Change Fast Company article, Mint Condition, Anna Muoio wrote that “Philip Diehl knows how to make change — deep-seated, far-reaching, this-feels-like-a-different-place kind of change.”
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Posted in Federal Resume Writing, KSA Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on May 16th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »
Federal Hiring Reform, which is to be implemented by Nov. 8, 2011, includes a directive that human capital officers should “eliminate all requirements of separate narratives from initial applications.” Most federal vacancy announcements are compliant and do not require separate written narratives for Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) in initial applications. However, most vacancy announcements are still including KSAs for open positions and advising that you include accomplishments in your resume that demonstrate your KSAs. These mini-KSA narratives, or “KSA accomplishments,” demonstrate that you are best qualified for a certain position.
The big challenge of adding KSA accomplishments into your USAJOBS federal resume is space. Each work experience section in the USAJOBS Resume Builder allows 3,000 characters, including spaces. You have to decide how much space will be dedicated to your keywords, duties and responsibilities, and how much will be dedicated to your KSA accomplishments. How do you describe an impressive KSA accomplishment when you may have been in your position for 5 to 10 years? Last week, during a federal resume writing class I recommended that applicants write 1,500 characters about their job responsibilities and 1,500 characters on their KSA accomplishments, or any combination that will add up to 3,000 characters. But, both duties and KSA accomplishments are critical to get best qualified for a position.
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Posted in ECQs, Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, Interviewing, KSA Writing, Self-Assessment, Vet Federal Resumes, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on April 21st, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »
This week I have been teaching “Federal Job Search – By the Numbers” to hundreds of current and former military personnel who are about to be separated or retired and would like to land the best government jobs in America.
My book and curriculum, Ten Steps to a Federal Job™, is a favorite because of the 10 steps “campaign process” for this highly complex job search method. The curriculum is utilized in hundreds of military bases worldwide because it is easy to teach, learn, and follow.
I created the “Numbers Federal Job Search Strategy” curriculum when my daughter, Emily, and I were teaching senior NASA Engineers how to write Senior Executive Service applications. We had two days to get two ECQs written. We examined the numbers – 5 ECQs, 28 Leadership Competencies, 10 pages, 2 pages, and set time-lines for each and every writing step. In two days, the engineers had written at least two ECQs and were actually having a great time with their production and ideas.
Which numbers are your favorites? I have underlined my typical training numbers.
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Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on February 16th, 2011 | 1 Comment - Make a comment »
As a Federal Career Consultant and Federal Resume Writer, I am consulting with many federal job applicants who have submitted 100 to 400 job applications for federal jobs on USAJOBS by uploading their private industry resume.
If you want to get Best Qualified for a federal position and hopefully get referred to a supervisor, you have to write a very specific style, content and format federal resume.
Applying for a government job – as doing any business with the government – is complicated. Of course, the federal resume is NOT the same as the 2 page resume that a person uses for private industry job searches.
Kathryn Troutman is a Federal Career Consultant, Author, Government Trainer and Industry leader in the Federal Resume Writing and Federal Career Consulting industry.
Kathryn is seeing more and more first-time federal job applicants and reviewing their resumes to troubleshoot their lack of success in their federal job searches. Many jobseekers are applying as many as 400 times with no interviews or referrals to a supervisor.
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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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