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Here's a glance at this months feature articles

Editors Column ...

How to Prepare for Mid and Senior Level Federal Jobs

As those of you in the professional and technical fields advance in your specialties and seek federal jobs at the mid and senior levels, you will find that your competitiveness will depend increasingly upon your abilities in a new area: how well you can organize and manage people and projects.  The point at which you will face this shift in emphasis from technical skills to management abilities will vary, depending upon your profession and your employer.

For example, a GS-12 electrical engineer may spend 95 percent of his or her time designing electrical systems. However, the designer's supervisor, a GS-13 electrical engineer in charge of the design group, probably will spend 95 percent of his or her time supervising and training subordinates, assessing manpower resources versus workload requirements, preparing budgets, and completing other non-technical but necessary functions

Insights...

Freeze of Pay Adjustments for Federal Civilian Employees

This Months Specials...

KSA Workbook and KSA Sampler only $10 each (a savings of $2.95 per book)

As an individual seeking employment with the Federal government, at some point in the application process, you will be asked to write essay statements, which demonstrate your knowledge, skill or ability to perform in a specific job.  These essay statements (better known as KSAs) come in all shapes and sizes, but they  ALL require the applicant to clearly write (in a narrative format) how well they meet specific job requirements.

Some common KSAs that you may come across could include your "Ability to communicate orally" or your "Ability to communicate in writing."  If applying for a specific occupation, such as an Information Technology Specialist, you may be asked to write about your "Knowledge of a wide range of computer techniques, requirements, methods, sources and procedures, and knowledge of system software." Maybe you're a Human Resources Specialist and need to respond to your "Knowledge of federal position classification sufficient to classify a variety of positions." Or, you're an Administrative Assistant who needs to show your "Ability to plan, organize, and direct office activities to maintain efficient workflow."

No matter what the KSA is that you are asked to address, how well you respond WILL be the difference between getting called in for a job interview or finding your way to the 'not qualified' list.

Since 1992, we have been publishing our popular books, The KSA Workbook and The KSA Sampler, which not only take an applicant through the KSA writing process, but provides dozens of sample KSAs to help you learn how to craft a job-winning KSA. 

The KSA Workbook

KSA Sampler

Life Insurance ... For Civilian Federal Employees

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