Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
By David Jensen, CPRW, CARW, CEIP
Government jobs are plentiful even in a down economy. They are also good career-oriented positions with advancement opportunities. Landing a government job is a complex process, but it is well worth the effort if you desire to work in the public sector. Many private-industry job applicants use a standard resume thinking it is the same or just as effective as a Federal resume when applying for a government job. This is not the case. There is certain information that needs to appear on a Federal resume that you would not include on a private-sector resume. The human resource professionals need to see certain information in your application materials in order for you to be considered for further review as an applicant.
Federal Résumés Require More Personal Information
The information you need to provide for a government application (often called a vacancy announcement) includes your full name, complete mailing address, social security number, and your country of citizenship. Vacancy announcements contain a list of what to include in your résumé. If you leave any information out such as your social security number, you might not be considered for the job.
Federal Résumés Need to Align with the Job Announcement
With a standard resume, you might use a qualifications summary to outline your skills and experience that relate to the job you are applying for. With a federal résumé, you use an objective statement that needs to include the job title and department, the position’s grade level (the job’s level of difficulty), and the job announcement reference number. Following the objective statement you include a list of your qualifications that apply to the requirements listed in the job description.
Adhere to all Application Guidelines
Each vacancy announcement includes a “How to Apply” section that tells exactly what application process you need to follow and what information you need to include. It is critical that you provide information for every category in this section because most résumés are electronically scanned before a hiring manager reviews them. The required information often includes your past supervisor’s name and phone number and if that person can be contacted. This section often asks for your highest employment grade level whether you are a veteran or a civilian employee. You won’t be able to provide this information if you are transitioning from the private sector so you could enter N/A. Do not leave any categories blank.
Standard resumes are commonly one-to-two pages. Federal résumés can range from two-to-six pages and must comply with the guidelines required by the government personnel offices. Federal employment can be a good career opportunity if you are prepared and willing to produce a Federal résumé package that promotes you as the “best qualified” candidate for your selected government position.
To request David Jensen for your federal resume product, simply select his name in the drop-down menu of the ’select your editor’ field.
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
by Jeri Hurd Dutcher, ResumeEdge.com Editor, CPRW, CEIP, CPCC
My client has been invited to interview for a network technician job. He’s not quite done with his CCNA, so that’s a wonderful thing. The catch is it’s about 70 minutes from his home where his wife owns a business. He lives in a place where winters mean blizzards and bad roads. Can he afford to commute or rent a studio apartment to reduce driving time and in case of storms?
He needs to find three pieces of information to be prepared to negotiate:
1. His personal wants and requirements.
2. The range the company will pay.
3. The average salary paid in the geographical area where he plans to work.
First, he gets out the household budget and figures out the minimum he will accept. This process should also define and prioritize the benefits he needs and wants and what he is willing to negotiate away.
Second, if there is no salary range listed on the job posting, he calls the company’s HR Department and asks what the salary range is for the job. If they say there is none, or it depends on experience, he asks what the current employee in that position earns. If that is not forthcoming, as well, he networks his way to someone else in the company who may know or can find out.
Third, he determines what the average salary is in the company’s geographic area. The best place to look for that is www.Indeed.com. On the main page, he clicks the salaries link in the upper left corner of the screen. He fills in the search fields and scrolls down to see the average salary, national salary trend, and average salaries of jobs with related titles (with links back to those jobs).
Other places to search include:
• http://online.onetcenter.org/
• Compensation.BLR.com (offers free trial)
• Salary.com
• www.payscale.com
• Library Resources
Research companies and job search specialists are also available to complete research. They often require completion of a form or a phone interview to define the desired position.
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Today I’d like to introduce a new service that will be implemented shortly at ResumeEdge.com. Our mission has always been to assist jobseekers in whatever way possible, so they attain their dream jobs. To that end, we will be adding JobInterviewEdge.
What is JobInterviewEdge?
It’s a job interview coaching service that will prepare you for the daunting job interview process by providing computer-based interviewing skills training and a personalized mock interview with a certified interview professional.
Personal coaching will be conducted by our editors who have been awarded CEIP (Certified Employment Interview Professional) certification through the PARW/CC (Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches) and those who have reached certification through ResumeEdge.com. The standards are high, the training intense. Each certified editor is an expert in interview counseling and will shepherd their clients through the arduous interview process.
The Personal Coaching element will include:
1. Job Interview Preparation Sheet to provide your coach with information to prepare your mock job interview
2. Consultation with your coach to review your job interview preparation sheet
3. “Mock” job interview by telephone with your certified coach
4. Immediate Telephone Critique of the mock job interview with your coach
5. Formal Written Critique of your mock interview delivered within 24 hours
Each mock interview is recorded, providing you with an opportunity to play it back and review it at a later date.
In upcoming blogs, I will detail the service offerings and the intricacies of an interview.
To make this service truly valuable, we want to hear your thoughts on what else you’d like to see and how we can improve on what’s provided.
No Comments yet; your thoughts are welcome.
Category: Executive, Federal / KSA / Government, Job Interview, Job Search, Professional, Tips | Tags: Tags: CEIP, certified writers, challenging job markets, coaching service, computer-based interviewing skills training, interview techniques, job interview preparation, JobInterviewEdge, mock interviews, new service, PARW/CC,
