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Editors Column ... An Applicant's Guide to the Federal Hiring Process

Insights ... Breaking the Barrier to Professional Occupations

Spotlight on Jobs ... Joining Federal Service as an Engineer

Career Chat ... Seven Mistakes Job Seekers Make and How to Avoid Them

WAEPA ... WAEPA vs. FEGLI: Rate Comparison

This Month's Specials ... FREE Resume Critique with the purchase of a FedJobs 1-Year Platinum Membership.

An Applicant's Guide to the Federal Hiring Process

With the increased competition for federal jobs it's more important than ever to submit a high quality application package. In this era of reinvented government, that package will consist of either a federal-style resume (paper or electronic), an OF-612 or an SF-171 and your supplemental statements. You may meet all the requirements of a particular job, but if your application package doesn't convey your qualifications, you may not have a chance of getting a job.

To understand the important role your application plays in the selection process, it's helpful to understand how an opening's requirements are determined and how your package is evaluated against them.

Breaking the Barrier to Professional Occupations

For technicians and secretarial/administrative staff in federal service, the most difficult career move can be breaking into a professional position. While many employees in these support positions have, in actuality, been performing the duties of a professional, convincing the selecting official of this is not always and easy task.

If you do not have a four-year college degree (satisfying entry-level requirements for most professional and administrative fields), you must describe experience that will clearly demonstrate your ability to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a professional position. At this point, a strong and complete application package is vital.

There are two major barriers to your transfer from the clerical/technical fields to the professional:

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Anyone who has ever applied for a federal job knows the importance of the federal application package. It is essential to your job search success that your resume package includes specific information so that you get the highest rating and subsequently, a job interview.

Our team of "Federal Career Counselors" are ready to help you create a job-winning application package by conducting an 10-point evaluation of your resume, including:

1) Writing Style;

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3) Focus;

4) Use of Keywords;

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8) Organization of Resume;

9) Length of Resume; and

10) Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling.

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What are KSAs?

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities ... that list of special qualifications and personal attributes that someone has decided you should have in order to fill a particular job. It's not enough that you meet the basic qualifications for the position and have the specialized experience that's required. It's not enough that you have a polished and up-to-date application package that clearly lays out all your experience and expertise. Now you have to put more time and effort into developing a "supplemental statement" or "essay," a set of responses to these additional evaluation factors that may be relevant only to a particular job vacancy. And you have to do it in time to meet the position's application deadline.

When required, KSAs are the single most important aspect of your federal application and our workbook will help you understand and craft job-winning KSAs.

Not sure what a KSA looks like...how long they should be...what writing style is used...

Then take your KSA writing a step further - our KSA Sampler is loaded with over 75 sample KSA responses to help you avoid "writer's block" and prepare clear and concise KSA statements. The library of samplers included in this book are designed to help YOU find the best way to respond with YOUR background to the KSAS YOU personally face. This workbook will help you familiarize yourself with various approaches to responding to KSAs and to focus on what works best for you with your unique set of skills and interests. Review our sample KSAs and identify those that, with the substitution of a few keywords, are similar to KSAs you might encounter when applying for federal jobs.

Joining Federal Service As an Engineer

Engineers have a definite advantage in the federal job search. The demand for engineering professionals in federal service has placed this occupation into the hard-to-fill category, resulting in special salary rates for engineers.

The federal government employs thousands of engineers throughout the United States and overseas. These positions range from GS-5 to GS-15 and into the Senior Executive Service level in more than twenty disciplines and occupational specialties.

Here we have an occupational field in which demand outweighs supply, standard federal pay is supplemented and the promotion potential is good. But before you run out to complete a federal application package, make sure your qualifications can meet some of the most stringent standards in federal employment.

Seven Mistakes Job Seekers Make and How to Avoid Them

As a federal job seeker it's important that you are persistent and diligent in your job search. As many of you already know, there are a lot of rules and procedures to follow when applying for a federal job. In addition to these rules, you also want to avoid the following common mistakes to ensure that your application gets read, accepted, and ranked in order to increase your chances of getting an interview.

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FedJobs Career Chat, Federal Research Service's monthly newsletter on issues that impact your career and your search for a Federal job, is published monthly.

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Federal Research Service, PO Box 1708, Annandale VA 22003

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Copyright 2009