Resume Tips for Federal Jobs

-

Over the last few months, I've had several students and colleagues ask about finding federal positions. I've put this short list of resources, tips, and ideas together. I hope it is helpful.

1.      Federal Resumes are just different—In the corporate world, brevity is key…but not for federal job hunting. The resume is structured differently, is often longer and more detailed, and includes much more than just work experience. Once you accept that, it will be a lot easier.

2.      Keep a master resume—A master resume is a running list of ALL the things you have done. This will better position you to “pick and choose” or highlight various aspects of your work, based on the job description and requirements in the announcement.

3.      Keep a running list of accomplishments—Time passes and we can forget, especially if a job announcement has a short deadline. Keeping a running list will help you recall what you did and what impact it had! This is also helpful for performance evaluation time, and you can provide this to your supervisor to help job their memory too!

4.      Tailor your resume and cover letter—The “one-sized fits all” resume does not apply. Be targeted. Keywords are essential; use the language from the announcement. Make sure they are accurate.

a.      Note: language can make a difference; for example, if you do audits, you probably have done interviews and written summaries of them. While we may call them different things, make sure you “translate” your industry terms to the targeted job announcement terms.

5.      Pay special attention to the vacancy questions—These vacancy questions are critical. You can preview them and tailor your resume accordingly. Make sure you include evidence that you can back-up what your answers to the questions are. Include examples in your resume based on the questions asked. Nearly ever announcement allows you to preview the entire questions before you apply, so you can use that as a guide to your resume writing/updating.

6.      Impact and Results—Quantifying work and results can be very helpful to a hiring manager. This includes highlighting what you did, what you encountered, and how the project/work was received. Showing the positive difference it made is especially important.

7.      Are you on LinkedIn? If not, you need to be. It is great for networking, but many people also post jobs there too.

8.      Do you have a mentor? Or mentors? If not, this is really important too. There are lots of ways to find a mentor, but start with your alumni office or career development center. You can also ask professional contacts, family members, etc.

9.      Don’t be discouraged—this is a numbers game in a way. Apply early and apply often. Be tailored. Keep copies of all the submitted applications and resumes.

10.  Write a knockout cover letter – that can be important too.

11.  Be aware of what is going on in the agency—budgets can be really interesting to see what is planned in the future (they are all posted in narrative form; check their “Congressional Budget Justification”). Look at FEVS scores, news releases, reports, and other information that is publicly available.

12.  Do your research--Review their strategic plan, get to know their website really, really well. Talk with other people who know about it. Get a sense of what it is like to work there.


PHOTO: The United States flag flies above Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, July 21, 2014. (U.S. Air Force photo by Johnny Saldivar) DVIDS - Images - Flag (dvidshub.net)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building Adaptive Organizations: Creating Safe Conflict

-
Image
  In their book on adaptive leadership, the authors raise the concept of “orchestrating conflict” (Heifetz, et al., 2009, p. 149) and the implications of actually increasing the level of discord in an organization. The analogy of a symphony or orchestra—a metaphor being used more and more frequently in the literature—seems quite on point. But how do you ensure the creative conflict level is optimized to ensure good ideas, while not raising the temperature to a boiling point? How does a leader work to increase the collective idea-base (which almost always conflicts) and yet also ensure the psychological and physical safety of all? Establishing rules of engagement is a critical first step. These “ground rules” are essential to ensuring everyone is on the same page, as well as a mechanism to hold people accountable. The leader should not dictate them, but rather should be co-constructed among the group. The expectations or "group norms" should be mutually agreed upon going int...
Read more

Litigation & Civil Recovery: A Viable Fraud Remedy

-
Image
  Occasionally, I post articles that are directly related to fraud examination and investigation. This is one of those articles. Note that this does not constitute legal or accounting advice, but is for information only. Consult applicable laws and licensed counsel. The use of criminal statutes to enforce fraud or recover assets associated with criminal activity is a common avenue toward ensuring justice is served.  But, in reality, and for so many victims, as well as fraud examiners, there is a whole other realm that must be considered—the civil process.  There are a lot of similarities in working a criminal fraud case (since many fraud cases start out as a civil matter).   The investigation is nearly exactly the same as a criminal investigation (and you can never know when one will become the other).  But what is different for investigators to understand is that there are different tools available, and generally you have to work closely with an attorney to obt...
Read more

Developmental Goals and Experiences for Mentoring

-
Image
I have written extensively on the value of mentoring, both as a mentor and a mentee ( here and here for Fraud Magazine and here for the ACFE Blog ). Throughout my career, my journey has been positively influenced by so many wonderful people—both through formal mentoring programs and informal mentors. One question I often get is about how a mentee can gain experience to be able to obtain the requisite knowledge and work history to gain a position in the fraud, investigation, or law enforcement profession. Some are from students who are looking for their first career position after college, while others are transitioning from one industry to another, or rejoining the workforce after having a family or helping older parents. Those who are in the field may be interested in moving into supervisory or leadership positions, which also come with different experiential requirements. This is where a mentoring relationship can be extraordinarily valuable; the mentor can be a sounding board...
Read more