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Posts Tagged ‘USAJOBS’

USAJOBS 3.0 is Coming = Interruption in Service

Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on September 26th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

During the transition to USAJOBS 3.0, please be aware that:

  • No new announcements will be posted Oct. 1, 2011 to Oct. 12, 2011.
  • No access to USAJOBS will be allowed Oct. 6 to Oct. 12, 2011.

Five billion documents are being reviewed and re-uploaded into a new USAJOBS system in Macon, Georgia by USAStaffing IT specialists. The USAJOBS IT specialists will be downloading, analyzing, and re-uploading over 5 billion documents from jobseekers who have their resumes and documents loaded into USAJOBS 2.0; eliminating your Social Security Numbers; doing something with passwords (you will probably have to reset your password with your same email account after the Oct. 12 reset); and set up parameters for Resume Mining by HR specialists.

There won’t be a totally new look and feel, but there will be some new features that are better for you and for the HR customers who post the positions.

Before the site is down on Oct. 6, you may want to consider downloading and backing up the latest versions of your resumes posted in USAJOBS.

What to do while USAJOBS is down

If you are an active federal jobseeker, what can you be doing while USAJOBS is down for six days, and there are no new announcements for almost two weeks?

Below is a list of suggested activities that will keep your federal job search moving forward and prepare you for when USAJOBS becomes available again:

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New Jobs Posted Now as USPTO Gears Up for an Onslaught
by Nicole Schultheis

Posted in Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on September 22nd, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

by Nicole Schultheis, Attorney-at-Law
US Patent and Trademark Office

On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the “America Invents Act,” overhauling our patent system in order to stimulate our nation’s economic growth. At the same time, he announced new initiatives designed to help entrepreneurs create jobs. See http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/16/president-obama-signs-america-invents-act-overhauling-patent-system-stim. The historic patent reform legislation is intended to speed the patent process so that products can be brought to market faster. Among other things it provides a fast track option for patent processing within 12 months, cutting the average wait time by a factor of 3.

Although the legislation is intended to spur future jobs in the private sector, it is creating jobs in the public sector now. The new law provides additional resources allowing the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to continue to combat a backlog of nearly 700,000 patent applications.

On USAJobs.gov today, there are dozens of jobs posted for USPTO, representing approximately one in five of all jobs posted for the entire Department of Commerce. Posted positions include four for patent judges, two of which are in cutting edge fields (biotechnology and IT). Two are Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, including a new Director of Planning and Budget and a senior level trademark attorney. All posted positions are graded at GS-11 and above, covering broad areas of expertise, among other things, public affairs, security, engineers, economists, educators, and document management specialists.

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USAJOBS 3.0 is Coming October 13, 2011

Posted in Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on September 2nd, 2011 | 1 Comment - Make a comment »

USAJOBS will be shut down Oct. 6-13th for Upgrade!

USAJOBS-3.0If you find the USAJOBS federal job application system frustrating and difficult, there’s some good news coming your way. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is about to give the government jobs website a complete makeover. The newly redone website is set to make its debut on October 13th. Agencies will be closing all announcements by October 6th, so the old system can be taken off line and the new one set up, and all data moved over. OPM is promising a few new changes that job applicants should like.

First, according to OPM associate director of employee services Angela Bailey, OPM will be able to search resumes for specific applicant information. This is a process that currently takes months. The result will be quicker, more efficient, better-targeted recruiting efforts. Agency recruiters will be able to find and use data and information much more quickly.

In addition, the goal is to make the system more user-friendly. Job seekers will only have to enter personal information once. Users will also be able to expect improved search results with details about salaries, grade levels and job categories.

OPM is working on more changes to streamline the federal hiring process, including a skills testing tool, to replace the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) statements that applicants are currently trying to squeeze into their resumes. Stay tuned. It looks like more change is on the way.

10 Big Mistakes Vets Make
Applying to Federal Jobs

Posted in Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, KSA Writing, Vet Federal Resumes
by Kathryn Troutman on August 26th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

Military to Civilian Resumes       Military Transition       Veteran Federal Resumes

Leaving a military career after 5, 10, or 20 years is traumatic. The career transition out of military is difficult no matter what your rank. The good news is that the federal government is basically just “the other side of the desk.” You’re going to take the “hands-on” skills and technical training from your military experience and convert it over to the policy, program, support, and administration side of the work you have been doing – maybe. The first federal resume after military is your most important resume and the most complex because you will translate your skills for a new career, mission, and customer.

Veterans are perfect for federal civil service positions because of their dedication to public service, the nation’s security, specialized expertise, knowledge of certain missions, technical skills and training, leadership, dedication, work ethic, attitude and willingness to learn and start-over. What’s more, these skills allow you to add 5 or 10 preference points to your application score.

However, sometimes transitioning veterans rush through the federal application and make several mistakes when applying for public-sector jobs

TOP 10 MISTAKES

1.) I only apply for jobs on USAJOBS (or CPOL or DONHR or WHS).

If you limit your search to just one agency or website, you are truly restricting yourself.

There are at least five major sites where you can create a profile, set up a resume builder, answer questions, and apply for a federal job:

- www.usajobs.gov – The official government jobs website, includes Air Force civilian positions
- www.cpol.army.mil – The website where all Army jobs are posted and where you would apply for an Army position
- military.com/careers – A commercial site that manages resumes and job postings for federal agencies.
- www.donhr.navy.mil – The website for Navy and USMC civilian positions
- www.whs.mil – Department of Defense civilian jobs are posted here as is the resume builder and application.

2.) I only apply for jobs without KSA narratives.

If you limit your search to applications that do not require KSAs, you will cut out many job opportunities with the Departments of HHS, VA, Interior, Commerce, Justice, Labor, Transportation and others. You will need to learn how to write KSA narratives and questionnaire essays for a successful federal job search. KSAs are just examples that demonstrate you have a certain Knowledge, Skill or Ability. You can use the KSA Builder developed by The Resume Place to write your “stories” that will demonstrate that you do have a certain knowledge, skill, or ability.

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OPM’s USA Staffing System Error Loses Roughly 70,000 Federal Applications

Posted in Federal Job Info, Federal Job Search, Federal Resume Writing, www.USAJOBS.gov
by Kathryn Troutman on August 18th, 2011 | No Comments - Make a comment »

OPMIf you applied for a federal job between late afternoon Sunday, August 7, 2011 and midday Tuesday, August 9, 2011 the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has some bad news for you and 70,000 of your closest friends: Your application is lost in cyberspace and it isn’t coming back. The USA Staffing system was unexpectedly taken offline on August 9th, according to a message first posted on a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) server. The error occurred during routine maintenance, but the only way to fix it was to take it entirely offline and restore it to its pre-glitch form. This means any work done during those two days was erased. Many more people who tried to apply for positions on August 10th found that they couldn’t. The result was a flurry of complaints posted on the USAJobs Facebook page. OPM has apologized for the problem.

The good news is that anyone who applied during that time is getting a second chance. Any position that closed between August 7th and 10th has now had its deadline extended to August 15th. In addition, HHS says anyone whose application was affected by the outage will receive a notice from OPM. That means that if you applied during this time, it’s time to make sure your resume and supporting documents are still organized and together. The government is making sure you can still take that shot at the job you want.

The staff at The Resume Place is committed to helping you locate, apply for, and land government jobs. The Resume Place also provides our clients with expert federal career training and consultation. Contact us today for a free estimate on your federal resume writing project. Visit us at http://www.resume-place.com or give us a call at (888) 480-8265.

The Federal Times published an article regarding the USA Staffing computer glitch.

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