How to Applyto

U.S. Federal JobsMarch 12, 2010

Paul Binkley, DirectorCareer Development ServicesTrachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public AdministrationThe George Washington Universitywww.linkedin/in/paulcareers -- http://tspppa.gwu.eduSpecial Thanks to the Partnership for Public Service & Kathryn Troutman

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Agenda

• Why, Where, What of Federal Opportunities• Types of Opportunities• How Find Opportunities• New & Improved USAJobs (?).• Applying to Federal Opportunities• Applying to Excepted Service Positions• Summaries and Web Addresses

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UpcomingDC Event

For more information contact:James Dittbrenner at jimditt@verizon.net

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Why Federal Government?

• Number and Variety of positions• Salary and Benefits• Quality of Life• They are Hiring

– 270,000 by September 2012• 85% of all jobs outside of DC

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Salary Table—New York Areawww.opm.gov/oca/10tables/html/ny.asp

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Salary Table—DC Area www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/html/dcb.asp

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Where to Find Federal Opportunities

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What to Expect

• Long job announcements, confusing instructions• Long waits• Frustration

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3 Types of Opportunities• Competitive Examination (USAJobs)• Student Programs (STEP, SCEP)• Professional Fellowships (PMF, ELP, AFP, etc.)

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Competitive Examination

• Traditional hiring method— “Rate & Ranking”• Vacancies posted on USAJobs—Most posted at

www.avuecentral.com• Eligibility: Open to all or those with “Status”• Qualified applicants are ranked to identify “best-

qualified”• Applicants’ qualifications assessed with KSAs• Ranking affected by Veterans’ Preference, other hiring

authorities

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Student Programs

• Internships• Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP)• Student Career Experience Program (SCEP)• Excepted service appointment• Not all positions require citizenship• Not required to be posted on USAJobs or StudentJobs.gov

For more information go to www.opm.gov/employ/students/

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Student Programswww.studentjobs.gov

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Student Programswww.opm.gov/employ/students

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Excepted Service Hiring(Honors Fellowship, Emerging Leaders Program, etc.)

• Federal Career Internship Program (FCIP)– Other hiring authorities (DHA, Vets, Disabled)

• Hiring protocol preferred by agencies• Created to bring in future managers—has been abused• Lots of changes coming

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02,0004,0006,0008,000

10,00012,00014,00016,00018,000

FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007

Fiscal Year

Num

ber

of N

ew H

ires

FCIPPMFPSCEPSEEP*

Source: OPM, Report on Agencies’ Use of Hiring Flexibilities (http://www.opm.gov/publications/special/hflex2008.pdf)

New Hires (FY 2007)

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• Your Interests—Focus on those that interest you the most• Alumni, Faculty, Students• Partnership for Public Service

– www.makingthedifference.org– www.bestplacestowork.org– www.wherethejobsare.org

• USAJobs, AvueCentral.com• http://watt.house.gov/SupportingFiles/documents/Internship_Opportunities_

09.pdf• AmericaJob.com (federal, state, local)• FedJobs.com• www.fedworld.gov (Dept. of Commerce information site)• www.resume-place.com• www.govloop.com• members.cox.net/govdocs/govspeak.html

How to Find Opportunities

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New & Improved USAJobs(?)

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New & Improved USAJobs (?)

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Analyze and Decide

• Read through the entire position• What is your time worth?

– Pay attention to specific requirements of job– Do you have the skills, abilities, education the position

demands– Do not apply for every position

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Analyze and Decide

• Department of Education position– 23 “All Grade Questions” specific to this position, including:1. Prepares budget and financial reports containing statistical data.2. Monitors the use and rate of expenditure of budgeted funds.3. Accesses automated financial systems to review financial

activities of a program or unit.7. Develops plans for expenditure of program or S&E funds.11. Develops cost-benefit analysis of proposed budgetary and

program actions.

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Analyze & Decide: Tips• Continuous openings• Relocation Expenses• Applying more than once to a position• Positions with short application periods

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Important tips for writing a federal resume• “Outline” or “Modified Chronological” type• KEY WORDS, KEY WORDS, KEY WORDS

– Include as much information that is relevant– Make the information easy to find

• Importance of dates• Achievements/Accomplishments• Use your online USAJobs resume as a guide for

structure/layout

Applying: Federal Resumes

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Applying: Federal Resumes Online

MAKINGTHEDIFFERENCE.ORGMAKINGTHEDIFFERENCE.ORG

Sections:• Candidate information• Work experience• Education• References• Affiliations• Desired locations

28MAKINGTHEDIFFERENCE.ORGMAKINGTHEDIFFERENCE.ORG

Program CoordinatorOversee three mentoring programs in limited resource communitiesRecruit, train and manage 25 adult mentors and 30 youth

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Applying: Outline Format

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Applying: Assessments

Applicants will be assessed for federal opportunities using one of the following methods:

Application Questionnaire

Essays (sometimes called KSAs)

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Apply - Sample questionnaire

Serve as a primary point of contact for a specific subject matter.

A. I have not had education, training or experience in performing this task.

B. I have had education or training in performing the task, but have not yet performed it on the job.

C. I have performed this task on the job. My work on this task was monitored closely by a supervisor or senior employee to ensure compliance with proper procedures.

D. I have performed this task as a regular part of my job. I have performed it independently and normally without review by a supervisor or senior employee.

E. I am considered an expert in performing this task. I have supervised performance of this task or am normally the person who is consulted by other workers to assist them in this task because of my expertise.

Serve as a primary point of contact for a specific subject matter.

A. I have not had education, training or experience in performing this task.

B. I have had education or training in performing the task, but have not yet performed it on the job.

C. I have performed this task on the job. My work on this task was monitored closely by a supervisor or senior employee to ensure compliance with proper procedures.

D. I have performed this task as a regular part of my job. I have performed it independently and normally without review by a supervisor or senior employee.

E. I am considered an expert in performing this task. I have supervised performance of this task or am normally the person who is consulted by other workers to assist them in this task because of my expertise.

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Department of Education position

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Applying: What is a KSA?

• KSA: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities under “Qualifications and Evaluation”

Specifically address each KSA in your application, providing examples of how your experience prepares you for this role

Specifically address each KSA in your application, providing examples of how your experience prepares you for this role

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• ContextDescribe the specific problem you had to address. What did you have to solve, resolve, respond to, handle, etc.?

• ChallengesDescribe the factors that contributed to a particular challenge such as budget cuts, new legislation, institutional reform, new goals from upper management, etc.

• ActionDescribe the steps you took to solve the problem. Stay away from the ordinary — be extraordinary in your response!

• ResultDescribe the outcomes of your actions — use %, #s, grades. What was the difference you made — highlight THE BEST.

Applying: Writing KSAs

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Applying: Writing KSAsKSA response example: Ability to communicate in writing• Context- As the Newsletter Editor in my living-learning community, I

was responsible for writing articles and editing all submissions published in our monthly newsletter.

• Challenges- Our community wanted to use the newsletter as a means for reaching out to alumni of the program with the goal of increasing their involvement in the community. Before I started as Editor, we had never had a submission from an alum.

• Action- I decided to focus the first newsletter of the year entirely on accomplishments of our alumni, with a message throughout encouraging alumni to submit articles and pictures.

• Result- Over the course of the academic year when I was Newsletter Editor, we received an average of 5 alumni submissions per newsletter. Additionally, alumni and program participants rated the quality of the newsletter higher than any other year.

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• Address key words/phrases mentioned in the position description

• Tie personal experiences to each KSA • Use illustrative examples • Focus on outcomes to which you directly contributed• Use plain language, without acronyms• Review answers to ensure they are succinct, easy to

read and grammatically correct• Save for other applications

Applying: KSA Summary Tips

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• Application deadlines are often very short• USAJobs not used• Non-federal resume• Moves quickly

Applying: Excepted Service

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What happensafter you submit your application

• Rating on 100 point scale

• Veteran’s preference added

• “Cert” list of interviewees

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Summary• Plan ahead

Allow plenty of time to thoroughly complete your application• Increase your chances of being hired

– Research potential opportunities – Consider various employment avenues– Search on job Web sites and specific agencies– Follow the application directions carefully

• Select carefullyAlways consider using a tailored application for each vacancy you apply

• Prepare for a waitDon’t assume you have been rejected if you do not hear back within weeks of submitting your application

• Follow-up with an agencyContact the identified representative to learn the status of an application or find out more about a job

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• www.USAJobs.gov• www.avuecentral.com• www.resume-place.com• www.opm.gov/oca/10tables• www.studentjobs.gov• www.opm.gov/employ/

students• www.opm.gov/fedclass• www.makingthedifference.

org

• www.bestplacestowork.org• www.wherethejobsare.org• www.americajob.com• www.fedjobs.com• www.fedworld.gov• www.govloop.com• http://members.cox.net/govd

ocs/govspeak.html

Related Websites