The Uniqueness of the Federal Job Search

If there is one thing all federal workers, both former and current, have in common, it is this: they all got their job in the face of that daunting process. Do you want to be in their number?

When officials at the Office of Personnel Management agree that the process needs simplifying, and they agree to do it, many of us have learned to be just a bit cynical.  Remember the written civil service test?  The dreaded SF-171? The next step was the federal resume, creating an industry which supported it, defined it, and for a price, would write you one.

The complication of the federal job search is not an urban myth.  It really is that challenging, with its unique requirements. Just ask an expert.  I did.  She’s Karol Taylor, co-author of Guide to America’s Federal Jobs (Jist, 2009).  Taylor says it is complicated because there is a unique body of regulations for these competitive service jobs, managed by OPM.  If you are serious about applying for one of the thousands of openings in the federal workforce, this is a book you must have.

According to Taylor and her colleague, Janet Ruck, you will need a resume, several essays, and any additional supplemental information the hiring agency may require.  Daunting?  Definitely.  Impossible?  Not at all.

With the help of this wonderful book, you can prepare your application tools effectively and stand a good chance of surviving the screening process.  If you need additional support, or have questions the book doesn’t address about your unique situation, you can reach Karol Taylor ( Karol@tayloryourcareer.com )

I invite any federal employee to share strategies that might help someone’s application stand out from the pack.

The LinkedIn Status Update

If LinkedIn is your new online resume, then I hope you are taking full advantage of the status update box. Think of it as your chance to practice, and update, a professional answer to “what’s new?”

Remembering that anything you change in your LinkedIn profile will be transmitted to your connections, you might think of it as running into any of those people and exchanging chitchat about what is new in your life.  To your colleagues, you might mention a conference you’re planning to attend, an article you just read, a new website, or a professional challenge in your life.

The beauty of LinkedIn is that you can change this box easily, as often as you have something new to say.  If you are going to  a trade show, you can mention it, adding (space permitting!) that you are looking forward to seeing friends there.  If you are taking a course, it would be interesting to see what kind of response you might get by mentioning it.  If you are reading a book in yuor subject area, you might mention it in addition to listing it in the book section of the profile.  If you are considering a career change, you can find a way to showcase your exploration, being mindful that your boss may be reading this (discretion advised!).  Please note that if your status update includes a specific event, you absolutely must change the status update by the next day at the latest.

Status updates that will not enhance your professional reputation are those items about parties, vacations, pets, kids, and your favorite tv shows.  They are fun, but perhaps better suited to another web site.

I always read the status updates of my colleagues.  It’s a great way to stay in touch, and also a path to further communication if it is appropriate.  At this point, I must go an update my status update – I’ve just written a blog post about it!

The lessons of that first job…

Think for a moment about your first job.  It affected you for the rest of your life.  It may have been the most tedious thing you ever did, or it might have been a really productive step into adulthood.

In my case, it was both.  I was a summer clerical worker in a small insurance/real estate office in Tampa.  I liked answering the phone, felt important when I handed out messages to people, prepared bills, made coffee.  My role model had been Della Street from the Perry Mason show, and this job, at $1 an hour, made me feel important.

The downside was the tedium of the real estate contract.  I knew how to type, but oh, those maddening little lines on contracts to fill in!  I never got it right the first time, and I loathed that part of the job.  It was an inspiration to go back to college and prepare to do something – anything – other than typing home sale documents.

And what do young people think about it?  I recently talked with 20-year-old Danny Karbeling, who has spent time in the workforce as a camp counselor and as an assistant in a graphics reproduction business.  Danny has learned a few things:

• managing time by prioritizing,
• meeting very nice people, both as colleagues and as customers,
• getting a paycheck, which ends up not going as far he thought it would,
• just doing the job without waiting for a lot of instruction.

If you have the opportunity to be working with a young person, remember these few points and be that encouraging supervisor or colleague.  You might be creating a positive memory that will last a lifetime.

Resume help? You may be wasting your time!

The statistics that give feedback to a blogger have consistently told me that my postings about sections of resumes have been the biggest lures to my blog.  Now this is good news – I love having readers.  And those sections do prompt many of you to contact me for further assistance.  Thank you.  That tells me this blog is doing part of its job.

But wait!  It also says that many of you readers believe that the perfect resume (whatever that is) is the object of your quest.  And if you arrive at the perfect position description, work history, extra skills, references, or whatever, the next great job is sure to follow.  And I want to say stop.  Stop now.

It’s not that I don’t want you finding me through searching for terms about resumes.  I just wish more people would search for articles and information about expanding their world.  Yes, I’m talking networking.  I almost never note an upswing in readership because of a search for networking, contacts, or informational interviewing.  Come on, people.  You’ve heard it, you’ve read about it, you’ve experienced it in your own life.

Networking can:

• Keep you current in your field,
• Take you in new directions,
• Get you out of your job search rut,
• Open a secret gate to the hidden job market,
• Provide new perspective,
• Cause you to enter a friendly, supportive new community.

How do you make the switch from obsessing about resumes to becoming an active networker?  Here’s a reminder:  get a copy of Make your Contacts Count by Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon.  This book is chock full of ideas you have not considered about how to make the most of the people you know and how to position yourself to meet new ones. Remember that tired (true) statistic about the hidden job market?  How up to 85% of jobs are found through personal connection?  The perfect resume won’t help you in your search for these opportunities, but the helpful buddy from your neighborhood, volunteer organization, or classroom just might.

I’ll know you have gotten the message when I see more searches for networking and fewer searches for resumes.

Welcome to the blog’hood, Maureen!

A new resource has been added to the blog world, one that is long overdue.  If you are a fan of thecareerclinic.com and/or its weekly Saturday radio show (if not, you should be!), you’ll rejoice that Maureen Anderson has begun to carry her upbeat career messages into the creative field of blogging.

If you blog, you know the constant pressure to be thinking of something new to say, or communicate an old message in a new way.  It is a real commitment to your readers, clients, customers, or other supporters.  And busy people can be forgiven for being loath to take on yet another marketing tool.  But Maureen is an experienced author, and the readers of her blog will be rewarded for taking the effort to read her polished prose and refreshing content.

Run, don’t walk, to thecareerclinic.com and hit the blog button. You’ll see what I mean.

The truth about the truth on resumes

Tonight on the evening news, I learned that there is an increase in the frequency of lies on resumes currently in circulation.  I also learned that 96% of employers are checking facts on resumes of candidates under consideration.

I find this appalling, yet understandable.  Times are tough, unemployment really hurts, the competition is intense, and applicants must be feeling a bit desperate.

It’s wrong to falsify, exaggerate, or claim more responsibility than you have actually done.  It’s also stupid.  Here’s why:

• The internet makes fact-checking easy and quick.  Employers know this.
• Caught in one lie, you will not be trusted.  How could they know when to trust you?
• It’s morally bad.  And people don’t like it.
• It’s a small world.  You can be sure that someone in the targeted workplace actually went to the college from which you claim a degree.  That person can check (and will be asked to do so).
• Someone else belongs to the professional association in which you claim to be active.  That person may discover that you are not listed among the members.
• You will feel burdened, perhaps by guilt, certainly by anxiety that you’ll be discovered.

There is an easy solution out of this mire of guilt and anxiety.  Don’t lie.  Don’t stretch the truth.  Don’t make claims you can’t substantiate.  Don’t claim authorship when you were a lowly fact-checker.  In this small world, someone knows someone who knows the truth.

It is understandably tempting to want to put yourself in a favorable position.  Please remember that the best recipe for a successful candidate  includes a dash of humility, a refreshing pinch of modesty, and a generous helping of team membership.

Ask an Intern: What did you do this summer?

If other interns are like Jackie Witkowski, they are going back to college with stories to tell – beyond their expectations.  Jackie is completing a twelve-weeks’ stint at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and will be heading back to DePaul University in Chicago.

What did Jackie, a twenty-one year old from St. Louis, actually expect?  Well, she expected that she would do whatever she was asked, that maybe she would get involved in a special project, and generally enjoy her first visit to the nation’s capital.

True, she enjoyed herself.  But her 40-hour work week quickly progressed from all-around helper in the Education Department of the museum to, well, running a few things on her own.  Here’s the short version of how her responsibilities rocketed upward:  the already-small department was depleted by job changers, including the Intern Coordinator and the Volunteer Coordinator.

• Suddenly, instead of assisting the intern coordinator, she was organizing other interns in all the departments for training, sharing, and socializing.
• Instead of assisting the volunteer coordinator in continuing education training,  she was herself  coordinating a special tour at the National Gallery of Art for the museum docents.
• Instead of reporting to coordinators, she suddenly reported directly to the Director of Education.

As one of the weekly volunteer docents at this museum. I noticed Jackie early in the summer.  She introduced herself to one and all, asked to sit at the information desk and began to learn the answers to questions posted by visitors.  She remembered names from week to week.  She kept on smiling as her workload shifted in responsibility.

Jackie’s performance did not go unnoticed.  The chairperson of the Department of Education, Deborah Gaston, describes Jackie as a rock star.  Ms. Gaston, who has seen many interns, says you can tell early in the summer who will be capable of increasing responsibility and ownership of projects.  She cites evidence of the high quality of Jackie’s work:

• She wrote enthusiastically, prolifically, and  professionally for the new blog on the museum’s website (http://womeninthearts.wordpress.com).
• She displayed an excellent work ethic.
• She had a fine grasp of the basics of art history, as shown in her blog postings.
• She asked for help when she needed it.
• She continually showed a fine sense of humor, something needed in an art museum in these tight times.

As Jackie returns to her senior year in college, she reflects on the lessons learned during her internship:

• You need to immerse yourself in your work as soon as you arrive – there is no time to lose.
• You need to meet every single person you can and learn as much as you can about the work of the whole organization.
• You can leave your internship with vastly increased confidence in your own ability.
• There are many career paths that lead to your goal, not just the ones that professors tell you about in the classroom.
• You can stay in touch with your new friends and associates, because you’ll be looking for a job very soon.
• You can plan a return visit as soon as possible because it will keep your network alive.

Ms. Witkowski has set a high standard for interns at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.  She is to be congratulated for  recognizing  opportunities and for creating solid accomplishments to carry back to college.  Other interns, please take note!

Time for a Job Change

How do you know when it’s time for a job change?

I am not talking about the obvious – being laid off, being told to start looking.  Those painful situations have the advantage of clarity – you know what you have to do.

For others, the situation is not clear.  I think there is an art to knowing when it is time to take steps.

Signs:

• Your role in staff meetings comes under fire,
• You become identified as a problem when you raise a concern,
• You are not given the tools/authority/assistance/space  you need to do your job.

I know one person whose job included bidding on contracts for continuing education.  He consistently told his superiors that there was increased competition for a major contract, and he needed to come in with a lower cost.  They refused to let him do this.  To no one’s surprise, the contract was awarded to someone else.  I mentioned that yes, it was time to look for another job before people started noticing that this was a highly-paid individual without much to do. The loss of the contract could be blamed on him.  Yes, he started looking, and now has a very responsible job in a major university.

Are you getting an uneasy feeling that nothing is going your way?  I suggest that you take a few steps now:

• Update your resume,
• Set up a few lunch meetings,
• Get on an ad hoc committee to solve an industry-wide problem,
• Get your financial affairs in order for a time of transition.

Yes, tough times make it challenging even to consider leaving a job with a steady salary.  Take the time you need. You will feel better knowing that you are moving in a direction of more respect, more opportunity for success and recognition, more real satisfaction.

If you would like to share some signs that it is time to look for another job, I invite you to post a comment.  This will be of help to other readers.

The Power of your Online Presence

According to a study by CareerBuilder.com, 45% of employers are now searching social networking sites for information about job candidates.  Their searches are almost evenly divided among Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn.  In addition, some are reading blogs and following candidates on Twitter.

What does this mean for you, the job seeker?

The study goes on to summarize a few reasons you might be accepted or rejected based on what you have put out there in cyberspace.  Employers may reject you if:

• You have posted inappropriate, gross, drug-influenced material,
• You communicate poorly (spelling, grammar, overall appearance),
• You lie about your qualifications for the job.

On the other hand, your online presence can work for you if:

• You seem to be a good fit for the company,
• You show creativity,
• Your entries support the qualifications you claim to have.

This is a fascinating study, and I urge you to read the whole story.  You will see that your online identity cannot be ignored in your job search, but rather it can be a real plus to you.  Don’t self-destruct by careless comments or unwarranted bragging.  Ask a friend – call a career counselor – be your own most severe critic.  Clean up that site now!

To read the whole story, go to:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=pr519&sd=8%2f19%2f2009&ed=12%2f31%2f2009&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr519_

To get help in repairing or enhancing your online presence, please contact me through my website:  www.anneheadley.com.

Basic career message with a light touch

If you know someone who needs to brush up on the tools of the job search, yet dreads the process of slogging through all those steps, here’s a suggestion:  pick up a copy of Courting your Career by Shawn Graham. This paperback book draws parallels between courtship and the job search in a way that should be appealing to job seekers, especially the young ones.

• What to include/leave out in your resume?
• Why should you write a cover letter?
• Why fill out these tedious forms?

Well, let’s think about it.  When you are going out on a date, or arranging to meet someone,

• does it matter what you wear?
• why take a shower?
• why did you choose that shirt?

I find this analogy not only fun to think about, but persuasive .  According to Graham, the first characteristic in effective resumes is to be attractive.  Easy to read, lots of white space, not too much detail.  And no typos, no spelling errors, no misplaced apostrophes (my personal campaign).  Easily related to no ketchup stains on the shirt or spinach stuck in the teeth.  We get it!

If you have a recalcitrant job seeker in your life, this just might help.  Congratulations to Shawn Graham, who has combined very basic career information with an easy-to-digest, funny metaphor about the quest for romance.