Find Your Federal Job Fit

Objectives

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Implement a basic model for reading and analyzing a federal job opportunity announcement,

• Understand the importance of specialized experience for qualifying for a federal job, and

• Leave with a clear idea of how to find their best federal job fit.

Reminder: You don’t need an account on USAJOBS.gov to

complete a federal job search

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USAJOBS: Home Page/ Basic Search

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Search term: 0343

Location: DC

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Refine your search further by using the filters on the left

Using the U.S. Department of State as a filter

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USAJOBS: Advanced Search

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Advanced Search Tutorial

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https://help.usajobs.gov/images/0/07/Advanced%20Search%20Tutorial.pdf

Advanced Search Tutorial

Series Search

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Who May Apply? U.S. Citizens

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Who May Apply? Federal Employees

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The Anatomy of a Federal Job Opportunity

Announcement 12

Are you eligible to apply?

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Are you eligible to apply?

Are you qualified to apply? 1. Education requirement? 2. Experience requirement? 3. Combination of the two allowed?

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Do you meet the conditions of employment?

(Add these as appropriate, but your main focus should be on specialized experience)

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Your résumé must support the rating you give yourself on the questionnaire – your résumé is a

stand-alone document.

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These things MUST be documented in your résumé.

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Did you follow the application submission instructions explicitly?

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS Listed on the EdHires Site:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/appendix.html

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USAJOBS “My Account”

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My Account

Open an account

– Create a Profile

Build a résumé (up to 5)

Upload up to 2 résumés (Word docs)

–Create saved searches (up to 10)

–Save jobs (up to 25)

–Save documents (up to 10)

–Track application status

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Using the Federal Résumé Builder

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Some Screen-out factors

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• Received by closing date – and time?

• Outside the Area of Consideration

• Incomplete/missing documentation, ie. Transcripts

• Not enough time in grade

• Lack required education, licenses, or certificates

• Failure to follow How to Apply instructions

Standard Rating/ Ranking Points

90 - 100 points = Exceptional experience for the position for which the applicant is being considered. Typically assigned to applicants at the "A" quality level 80 - 89 points = Good experience for the position for which the applicant is being considered. Assigned to applicants at the "C" quality level 70 - 79 points = Minimally qualifying experience for the position for which the applicant is being considered. Typically equated with minimum qualification, "E" quality level

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Classification Standards

http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/#url=Standards

Functional Guides

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http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/#url=Functional-Guides

Ranking Factors

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http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/classifying-general-schedule-positions/functional-guides/gsadmn.pdf

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Using the USAJOBS.gov Résumé Builder

to Highlight Your Skills

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Sample Federal Résumé

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Tips for Addressing Your Skills and Accomplishments

• Use the specialized experience information reflected in the Qualifications section of

the vacancy announcement

• Describe your experience with concrete words rather than vague descriptions. For

example, say "managed a team of software engineers" not "responsible for

managing, training....”

• Use words and phrases that define the level and complexity of your experience and

skills:

• write up to 10 complex technical documents per year;

• prepare 1-2 complex policy statements annually;

• prepare 2-3 routine correspondence documents per week;

• speak before groups of 100 or more on an annual basis;

• manage and provide oversight for multifaceted $?M dollar projects;

• work with groups or 6-12 members to build consensus; etc.

• Use modifiers to define the frequency at which you perform tasks, i.e., occasionally;

regularly; once or twice a year; monthly; weekly; daily, etc.

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Tips for Addressing Your Skills and Accomplishments,

continued

• Carefully review the Evaluations section. Determine if it reflects any competencies that will be reviewed.

• My suggestion is to copy and paste each competency to a Word document. Write a 5-7 sentence paragraph addressing each competency. You can use first person for these.

• Follow the CCAR method; Context, Challenge, Action, Results:

1. Identify the Skill (Challenge);

2. Describe the Circumstances(Context); 3. Cite an Example (Action);

4. Reinforce with Measurable data (Results);

5. State the Results (Results).

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Tips for Addressing Your Skills and Accomplishments,

continued

• Review the duties section to determine if you already have some of the skills/ competencies included there.

• The skills listed in the duties section are categorized as general experience. If you have the specialized experience required for the position, you have already demonstrated the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills listed in the duties section.

• Addressing duties is much less important than addressing specialized experience, but can be included in your federal resume as appropriate.

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TP3 Method (from Derrick Dortch)

• T – Target the right federal

position for your skills.

• P – Prepare the right package that

sells your skills.

• P – Persistence. Keep trying.

• P – Patience.

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Fun Stuff: Social Networking for Federal Jobs

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There really IS an app for that! http://apps.usa.gov/usajobs.shtml

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https://www.facebook.com/USAJOBS

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RSS Feeds/Email saved searches from your job search

You Tube

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Feedback Counts!

Your feedback helps ASTD continue to provide top-notch educational programs that help you stay on top of a changing profession. Evaluation forms for this session are available via the mobile app and at the following link: www.astdconference.org/attendees.

Contact information:

• http://www.tayloryourcareer.com

• http://karoltaylor.wordpress.com/

• http://www.linkedin.com/in/tayloryourcareer/

• https://www.facebook.com/tayloryourcareer

• https://www.facebook.com/fedjobfit

• @Federal_Job_Fit

• @KarolTaylor