Capturing a Federal Job—Tips from an Expert

On Monday, Karol Taylor, a career adviser with more than 28 years of federal service, told a standing-room-only crowd at 40Plus of Greater Washington that the federal government is likely to lose more than 60% of its aging workforce by 2019. The government is poised to hire about 273,000 mission-critical workers by 2013.

How do you apply for one of those jobs? Taylor offered many practical tips, including:

• Check out the Partnership for Public Service 2009 Report. It shows the projected number of employees to be hired and by which agencies.
• Federal jobs must be posted for at least three days but not necessarily on USA Jobs. So, be sure to check all the agencies that interest you, not just USA Jobs.
• It takes on average 12 to 15 hours to complete a federal job application.
• Follow directions exactly, or you are wasting your time.
• Before you apply to a job, read these tips offered by USA Jobs.
• Even with the federal government, networking is important. However, you need to get your resume on the desk of the hiring managers and have informational interviews before a job is even posted.
• Be sure to put the same key words in your resume that are used to describe the job and qualification requirements. You need to include them only once. Taylor emphasized that if you do not meet 80% of the qualifications, you should not apply.
• Your goal is to earn at least 95 rating points for your application package. Everything in your resume and application can potentially earn you points.
• Maybe it’s been a while since you were in college, maybe not, but in your application you should list your relevant upper level undergraduate and graduate courses because they earn you points. Also list all the webinars, online courses, seminars, workshops, and other training that relate in some way to the job for which you are applying. Internships and volunteer activities and skills are also relevant to include.
• As with any resume or application, numbers count, so quantify everything you can, using real or approximate data, percentages, frequency rates (daily, weekly, etc.), people (supervised, etc.).
• The two-page standard for resumes doesn’t apply to government applications. They can be 3-5 pages and should cover as much relevant detail as you can supply.
• Remember that what you write will be read initially by human resources personnel, not subject matter experts.
• After applying, wait three weeks before making contact by phone or email with the hiring official to check on your status and how well you scored. Wait another three weeks before calling or writing again.
• The hiring process takes 6 months on average, so don’t hold your breath. Keep looking, networking and applying.

Your Resume Is Never So Good It Can’t Be Improved

Recently, after he sent me his, I sent my resume to a friend who had just been laid off. I gave him some unsolicited feedback on his resume, caught a couple of errors and suggested some formatting changes. He did the same for me. He noticed that my right justified dates were not all the same. He saw a missing word and made other suggestions. Fair game—and very helpful.

My resume has been reviewed many times by HR professionals, recruiters as well as peers. Each time I have emerged with a better document. But, obviously, after the repeated times I had changed, improved, updated and customized my resume over a year’s time, I subjected it to the possibility of new errors or missed details.

And, that’s why I value feedback at any time from anyone.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Tell Congress to Extend COBRA and Unemployment Benefits

A CNN blog reports that “around 1.2 million Americans will run out of benefits after February 28.” A participant in yesterday morning’s 40 Plus of Greater Washington meeting announced that his Hill contacts said Congress has not been hearing a large outcry from the unemployed. Call your congressional representatives and senators today to tell them you want them to support extensions for COBRA and unemployment benefits.

10 R’s to Keep Your Job Search Alive When Winter Interferes

You were going gangbusters at searching for a new job to replace the one you lost through a layoff or other job loss. Then winter hit with full force.

It’s frustrating waiting for roads to clear and the job market to get back into full swing after blizzards and other natural interferences. What can you do in the meantime? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Review your strategy and make adjustments. Are there avenues you haven’t explored yet?
2. Research companies online to find those that might be a good fit and build a plan for getting inside for informational interviews.
3. Read books, blogs and articles by recruiters and other HR experts on conducting an effective job search.
4. Revise or update your resume and online profile.
5. Reconnect with your networking circle, checking in to see how they are doing, share interesting articles and make future plans.
6. Reorganize your files and workspace.
7. Ready your wardrobe in case you are called for an interview.
8. Recharge your energy with some exercise and healthy eating.
9. Reminisce a bit about your past accomplishments and write up some success stories you can discuss in cover letters and at interviews.
10. Rehearse your 30-second elevator speech—or write the one you don’t have and practice it.

© 2010 Cynthia C. Rosso

Climbing Out of Winter’s Job Search Black Hole

Has your job search come to a screeching halt? If suddenly you find yourself in a winter black hole—a void with no new and interesting job listings, no responses to applications, no help from your connections, and a sinking feeling inside—it’s time to step back and assess what’s going on.

Sometimes nature takes control of our destiny. If you live on the east coast, say anywhere from Raleigh to New York, then you know how this winter’s cold, snowy onslaught has affected businesses and the government. The federal government in Washington, DC shut down for nearly a week because of two storms that dropped 3 feet of snow. Networking events were canceled. No one could get anywhere because of ice-bound, clogged streets and a public transit system that couldn’t operate for days. Just about everything got put on hold. Most other parts of the country have been hit by winter’s wrath too. Hey, that’s life…and it doesn’t last forever.

Take heart. Soon winter will stop its assault on your job search progress. Employers and recruiters will be back in full action, posting jobs, interviewing, networking and hiring.

Photo and text © 2010 Cynthia C. Rosso

Posting Your Resume on a Major Job Board—A Shot in the Dark?

Job boards like Monster and its competitors have their detractors. Complaints include:

• They’re too big and not targeted.
• A large part of the jobs are lower-level positions.
• Many jobs they include are already filled.
• Employers will post jobs and then hire from within.
• When you make your resume searchable, you lay yourself open to approaches from scams.

Despite the negative possibilities, you increase your odds by adding another layer to your search when you use a job board.

Here’s a recent real case in point:

After keeping her resume private on one major job board, one professional decided that she had nothing to lose a year after a layoff by opening access to all employers and recruiters and making it searchable.

Predictably, within days she started receiving emails from insurance companies and other “recruiters” offering her a great future if she only contacted them, took a course, or something else suspect. Because these were anonymous emails and obviously not targeted to her personally, she trashed them immediately. For a couple of companies, though, she took the time to check them out on the web—and found several results that associated the word “scam” with them. At that point, she could have changed her settings to block public access to her resume, but she persisted.

One afternoon a week later she received a phone call from a legitimate employer’s recruiter, who had found her through a resume search. The call led to an in-person interview with the recruiter and a planned second interview with the executive team.

The following week she received an email about a temp-to-perm job that called for the skills she offered, asking her to call if interested. The sender signed the email, but forgot to mention that a job board resume search was the source. Our subject called and learned that the job was a real lead offering good pay. The short phone call concluded with plans for follow-up by the recruiting firm and a pitch to the employer.

So, you decide.

Major Online Job Boards—Are They Worth It or Not?

While online job boards, such as Monster or CareerBuilder, should not be your first line of attack in finding a new job, or even your second, they can be one piece of your overall strategy. Major ways to use them include:

• Searching for jobs and applying to them on your own
• Searching for jobs and applying via their own “Apply Now” feature
• Posting your resume so it is searchable by recruiters and employers, or keeping it private to use only for applications
• Setting up job agents so you receive likely matches by email
• Reading advice articles and using other resource tools they offer, such as salary benchmarks
• Letting them broadcast your resume to recruiters

Whether you apply for jobs through the job board’s mechanism or not is your choice, but I recommend researching each company and seeing who may be in your network from the company before submitting an application. Leverage your connections to learn more about the job or the organization. Then write a targeted cover letter to accompany your resume.

Keeping your resume private makes sense if you still have a job. To protect your personal privacy, be sure your posted resume does not include your home address, email or phone number. You can set your account to make all or none of your contact information available to employers and recruiters.

If you are out of work, however, you can increase your chances of being found by making your resume public. It’s a passive strategy, but it occasionally works. Keep in mind that your online resume should have all the relevant key words for your skills and job goals so that recruiter searches will land on your name.

Job agents are great, especially if you have chosen your key words well and set up a database friendly profile. They save you heaps of search time.

I have advocated against using resume broadcasting services, because they are too random, totally untargeted and generally unproductive. Many recruiters and hiring managers absolutely hate and ignore them. Such “robo-resumes” also eliminate the direct, personalized approach you should normally use, including your cover letter.

Large online job boards are a mixed bag. Used right they can be an asset, but they should rank low on your priority list of possible strategies. See last Thursday’s post on how job hunting expert Richard Nelson Bolles ranked them against other approaches.

Playing Your Job Hunt Cards Wisely—The Most and Least Successful Strategies

In a September 2009 interview published in “Bottom Line Personal,” Richard Nelson Bolles, author of the seminal job hunter’s guide What Color Is Your Parachute? ranked today’s most and least successful job hunting strategies. His latest assessments are worth noting:

The Least Successful Strategies:

Mailing out unsolicited resumes/submitting or posting resumes online. Odds: 7%
(My note: Not your best use of time, and certainly not a good first line strategy.)

Responding to ads in professional or trade journals. Odds: 7% (Many require relocation.)
(My note: By the time you see the ads, they could be outdated.)

Responding to ads on Internet jobs sites. Odds: 10%

Responding to ads in the local newspapers. Odds: 5% - 24% (Most jobs listed are lower wage positions.)
(My note: If your local paper is like mine, there are so few ads, it’s not worth even looking at them. Even a recent “Mega Jobs” section in a major city paper was only six pages.)

Working with a private employment agency. Odds: 5% - 28% (Your odds increase if you are looking for an administrative position)

The Most Successful Strategies:

Networking for job leads. Odds: 33%
(My note: See earlier One Tomato at a Time posts on networking.)

Knocking on doors unannounced at employers of interest. Odds: 47%
(My note: This is a strategy that might surprise you!)

Calling companies of interest that are listed in the local Yellow Pages. Odds: 69%
(My note: Even more surprising!)

Partnering with other job hunters. Odds: 70%
(My note: Great idea, and it goes hand in hand with networking.)

Taking inventory of yourself then targeting the employers where you ought to be working. Odds: 86%
(My note: Yes. Yes. Yes. See an earlier post on this topic.)

There is no one strategy alone that will get you a job. You need to explore all the appropriate channels for your career path. I believe that networking, including partnering with other job hunters, is an important key to success, along with making sure your campaign is well targeted.

Resources:

Check out Bolles’ latest book The Job Hunter’s Survival Guide: How to Find Hope and Rewarding Work, Even When “There Are No Jobs. (His website: http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/)

General link to Bottom Line, a subscription based service.

Demons, Roadblocks and Pitfalls on the Way to a New Job—Part Two

Last week I covered lethargy, fear, disorganization and email—common trip-ups to people unwillingly ensconced in searching for a new job after losing one to a layoff. But there are many more factors that could sabotage your chances of success, such as how you use your time. For instance:

Household chores—"I’ll just clean the garage before I get started today." "This load of laundry won’t take long."

Avoid letting your time be eaten away by chores just because “you have the time.” You don’t really. Set aside a window of time early in the morning or evening for some household work, but maintain a daily “work schedule” for your job hunting. Besides, you should be getting out and networking, not just staying at home.

Your dog or other pet—“Wag, wag, play with me.” You take out the leash and go for an extra walk, just because you can.

Your pet can be a great source of solace for your spirits, but you need to keep your play time to a minimum during your most productive daytime hours. Toss a ball once in a while, but try to avoid being sucked in by cuteness. Take that extra walk during your lunch break, or stick to the same schedule you would if you were still going off to a job each day.

TV watching—Now I can watch my soaps! Oprah’s on at 4! All day sports...wow!

If you have a favorite show you never got to watch because of your job, either record and watch it later or take your lunch break during the time of the show. And, turn the TV off once it’s over.

Lunch out—Your friend calls and says, “Hey, let’s get together for lunch at __!” The old gang invites you to meet for coffee and chat at a café.

Now that you are not working at a "job," many people will mistakenly think you have all the time in the world for social events during the day. Gauge these carefully in your job hunting strategy. An occasional totally social gathering is fine, if you can afford it. The most productive way to spend your going out dollars, though, is on lunch or coffee with someone who can help further your job search efforts.

Watch for Part Three of this series on demons, roadblocks and pitfalls next week. If you have suggestions for additions to the list (and solutions), please let me know at OneTomatoataTime@gmail.com.