Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
With so few jobs being available in the private sector, many of you might be thinking of working for the federal government. Before you begin your job search there are a few things you need to know to make your efforts as successful as possible.
1. A federal job search is not like a private sector job search. Let’s say you’re seeking a banking job in the private sector. You tailor your resume toward that industry and send it to all the banking institutions in your area or in other states if you’re agreeable to relocation. A federal resume doesn’t work that way. You can’t write one resume and send it to various agencies (eg: DOD, FDA, FHA, etc.). Every federal job has a vacancy announcement (job position) with a unique number and requirements for it. Therefore, your federal resume will be submitted to one agency or institution only…not all of them.
2. Federal jobs may require additional documentation. These may be KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities), MTQs (Managerial and Technical Qualification Statements), or ECQs (Executive Core Qualifications). These are essay type questions that you must answer indicating how your background meets the requirements of the position.
3. Federal resumes are formatted for the Resumix system. Unlike formatted Word resumes that go to employers in the private sector, a Resumix resume does not have bolding, italics, special fonts, etc. It is unformatted, looking like an ascii or plain text resume (the kind you send in the body of an email). Some federal resumes may be formatted. It depends upon the job and the agency requirements.
4. Federal resumes may be lengthy – more than 10 pages – or they may have a strict word count.
5. They contain information you would never put in a private sector resume. That would include your Social Security Number, supervisor’s name, contact #, high school information, etc.
The above are just some of the major differences between a federal and private sector resume.
Before you begin your federal job search, it’s important to familiarize yourself with these differences. If you fail to follow guidelines, you will not be considered for the position.
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
All too often, job applicants believe that if they have the perfect resume, employers will scramble to hire them.
Unfortunately, that’s not close to reality for several reasons:
1. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ resume. A resume may be flawless (no errors), detail exactly what you can offer in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities, be organized well and still not gain you the interview. Why? Most likely because another candidate was better qualified or more uniquely qualified for the position. Remember, you’re competing against dozens, perhaps hundreds of other individuals for the same position. Employers can afford to be choosy.
2. You’re sending your perfect resume to a myriad of jobs without bothering to change the document’s focus. Let’s say you’re an accountant, but you also worked in retail management for many years. With your accounting-focused resume, you begin to apply for retail management jobs – just in case. However, none of the hiring managers for those positions call you in for an interview. You’re mystified. Your resume is perfect! Well, not exactly. If the focus of your document is accounting and the hiring manager wants retail management, they won’t care if your resume is perfect or not. You’re not who they’re looking for.
3. You’re overqualified or under-qualified for the position. Again, if you don’t match the qualifications better than anyone else, you won’t be called into interview. It’s an unfortunate truth that you can’t simply send out a thousand resumes to every available job, hoping that some will stick. They won’t. Not in this economy.
4. You’ve failed to target what the employer wants most. Your resume may read well and have a lot of good data about you, but again, it’s not what the hiring manager wants or needs to fill the vacancy.
In today’s job market there is no such thing as a perfect resume or a one-size-fits all document. Each time you apply for a position, you need to tailor your resume to fit specific needs.
If you don’t, it won’t matter how perfect you believe your resume to be.
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
When you’re facing an economy that’s flush with highly-qualified candidates and there are too few jobs to go around, it may seem like an impossible task to capture a hiring manager’s attention.
Being invited to interview may be a dream you don’t believe will happen.
However, companies need employees as much as you need a job. They are interviewing. They are hiring. They are also weeding out candidates that don’t present them with the best possible background for the position.
Knowing what an employer wants isn’t difficult. They want you, the potential employee, to either make their company money or save their company money. Yes, it’s as simple as that.
They want your resume to reflect your knowledge, skills, abilities, in an easy to read and follow format.
They want to know what you achieved – the results of your tasks, not simply your tasks.
A stellar resume that is accomplishment oriented, rather than task oriented, will get you in the ‘to-be-interviewed’ pile. Dovetailing your background to fit perfectly with a company’s needs will place you far ahead of your competitors.
Getting an interview and being awarded the job is doable – all you need to remember is to give employers what they want.
Tuesday, April 12th, 2011
For those who would prefer not to write their own resumes, hiring a resume writer becomes the next challenge.
Do you go with the cheapest? The one with the biggest/flashiest internet ad? The one who guarantees the moon?
Here are a few points to keep in mind when you’re searching for a resume writer:
1. Is the individual certified to write resumes?
This is an important factor. Not all resume writers are created equal. The industry isn’t regulated; therefore, anyone can ‘hang out a shingle’, claiming they’re a resume writing expert.
A true professional will belong to or work for a company that belongs to the Professional Association of Resume Writers (PARW) – the industry’s gold standard. The PARW has a certification program, granting the CPRW (Certified Professional Resume Writer) designation to an individual that passes its rigorous test. Not everyone passes on the first try. The test materials are difficult and comprehensive.
2. Is the individual charging too little or too much?
A lunch at your favorite restaurant shouldn’t cost you more than a professionally written resume. If it does, then the individual doing the work most likely isn’t a seasoned professional. Nor should the service cost as much as a mortgage payment no matter how many years the resume writer has in the field. Check out various sites and you’ll soon determine the average price of a resume. Stick with those companies that most closely match the norm. Not too high; not too low.
3. Is the service a member of the Better Business Bureau or other agencies that keep track of customer satisfaction?
If not, move on to the next company. If a company is a member of the BBB, check out their track record with complaints. Do they resolve them readily?
4. Does the writer or writers have industry experience?
Not only experience in writing resumes, but in the client’s particular industry. Not everyone understands Information Technology or Engineering. If you hire a resume writer who has no idea of the jargon or nuances of your industry, especially if it’s technical, then you’re in trouble.
5. Does the site guarantee the moon?
Something like getting a job in 30 days- guaranteed. Or getting interviews with the resume despite the horrible economy or the fact that industry jobs are being outsourced to foreign countries.
Use common sense when it comes to guarantees. No service can promise every one of its clients that they’ll get a job. That’s just not practical. If they have 20 marketing clients and only two jobs are available, then that means 18 of their clients are going to be turned down. Resumes, no matter how professionally they’re written, can’t guarantee an interview. There are many other factors at work, including whether the individual has the perfect skills for the job. Be wary of too-good-to-be-true guarantees.
6. Great ads don’t make for the best service.
Just because a resume writing company has catchy, intriguing ads or a dynamite site doesn’t mean their service is right for you. As a smart consumer, you still need to determine if their writers have knowledge of your industry, if the service is priced competitively and if they’re a member of an organization like the PARW or BBB.
You’ve chosen your career steps wisely. Now, it’s time to use the same due diligence with the individual or company that will craft your resume.
