Benefits of Federal Service Your Government, Your Opportunity

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Benefits of Federal Service Your Government,
Your Opportunity
Hosted by The Federally Employed Women and the
F.E.W. Foundation for Education Training
January 25, 2008 Web cast

• July 14-18, 2008 FEW NTP Overview by
• Patricia Wolfe, Federally Employed Women
• Presented by The Department of Energy
• Jeffrey Vargas, Program Manager
• Sean Clayton, Human Capital Specialist
• I

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Federally Employed Womens July
14, 2008 Career Education Fair Federally
Employed Women is again sponsoring a free
Career/Education Fair to provide participants
with essential tools, materials, and guidance for
a better understanding of educational and career
opportunities in the federal government. Do not
miss this opportunity to speak with recruiters,
to make contacts, and learn about available
resources. You can enhance your future. Bring
your resume! Speak with federal agency
representatives about exciting career
opportunities. You wont want to miss this
opportunity on Monday, July 14, 2008 How to Get
a Federal Job Workshop 1000 a.m.- 1200
p.m. Career/Education Fair 1200 -400
p.m. Hilton Anaheim Hotel 777 Convention Way,
Anaheim, CA 92802 (adjacent to the Orange County
Convention Center) Contact Jack Kenner at
jmk_at_few.org or [phone] http//www.fewntp.or
g
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Choose Your DestinyGovernment or Private Sector
Government
Private Sector
Tell your full story application process
Cliffs Notes application process
Equal Access to Opportunity
Luck of the draw
Sell yourself
Convince others to sell you
Extremely competitive
Extremely competitive
Job Stability and Security
Job Stability dictated by marketplace
Less initial pay, more benefits
More initial pay, less benefits
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Choose Your DestinyWhy the Government Needs You
Knowledge Transfer
58 eligible to retire in 7 years
58 eligible to retire in 7 years
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Choose Your DestinyWhy the Government Needs You
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Choose Your DestinyFederal Employee Benefits

• 13-26 Vacation Days Annually
• 13 Sick Days Annually
• 401 (K) Style Retirement Savings Plan
• Signing Bonuses
• Awards
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Annual Salary Increases
• Pay by Locality (http//www.opm.gov/oca/06tables
  /indexGS.asp)

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Choose Your DestinyFederal Employee Benefits

• Health Benefits
• Life Insurance
• Career Development and Training
• Interagency Transfers
• Telecommuting Options
• 40 Hour-Work Week with Alternative Work
  Schedules
• Family-Friendly Programs (i.e child and elder
  care resources)

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Choose Your DestinyFederal Employee Pay
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Mapping Your Course Understanding Student
Programs

• Jobs by Major
• http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI23.asp
• Internship Programs
• All Internships http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI-13.
  asp
• Summer http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI19.asp
• Where the Jobs Are
• www.ourpublicservice.org/usr_doc/FINAL_REPORT.pdf
• Job Search Handbooks by Major/Discipline
  www.ourpublicservice.org/workforusa/workforusa_sho
  w.htm?doc_id195382
• Jobs at the Department of Energy
  https//jobsonline.doe.gov/scripts/qhwebdoe.exe
• Scholarship for Service Program
• http//www.opm.gov/hr/employ/products/recruitment/
  scholarship/scholarshipmain.asp

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Mapping Your Course Understanding Student
Programs

• Student Career Experience Program (co-op
  program)
• http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI14.asp
• Agency Federal Career Intern Programs
• http//www.opm.gov/careerintern/QandAof12-20-00.as
  p
• Outstanding Scholar and Bilingual/Bicultural
• http//www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI22.asp
• Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Program
• Main Site http//www.pmf.opm.gov/
• Program Background http//www.pmf.opm.gov/howover
  .asp

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Building Your BridgesThe Student Temporary
Employment Program

• Must be 16 years old and a US Citizen to apply
• Must be a student
• Primarily summer appointments, but can be made
  all year round
• Not necessary for agencies to advertise jobs
• Appointments are temporary
• No promise of full-time job

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Building Your BridgesThe Student Career
Experience Program

• Must be 16 years old and a US Citizen to apply
• Must be a student
• Appointments based upon degree field
• Not necessary to advertise jobs
• Appointments include leave, health, insurance,
  and retirement benefits
• Possibility of accelerated promotions
• Must work 640 hours under federal appointment
• Eligible for non-competitive conversion
• Conversion must be made within 120 days
• Career appointments occur at any grade

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Building Your BridgesThe Career Intern Program

• Must be 16 years old and a US Citizen to apply
• Program for graduates
• Not necessary for agencies to advertise jobs
• Job offer at request of any hiring manager
• Must serve a two-year, full-time appointment
• Requires development/training plan
• Appointments made at the GS-5, 7, or 9 only
• Appointments include benefits
• Eligible for non-competitive conversion

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Mapping Your CourseHow to Conduct Your Federal
Job Search
http//jobs.doe.gov/jobs/students
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Mapping Your CourseHow to Conduct Your Federal
Job Search
http//jobs.doe.gov/jobs/cip
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Building Your BridgesCreating Relationships
when Researching Your Government Job

• Do your research
• Be patient, be open
• Its always about people
• The key FOLLOW-UP
• Consider informational interview
• Use email extensively

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Jumping into the Drivers SeatBuilding an
Effective Government Resume

• A federal resume includes
• Job Information
• Personal Information
• Education
• Work Experience
• Other Qualifications

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Jumping into the Drivers SeatBuilding an
Effective Government Resume

• (Form OF-612)

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Jumping into the Drivers SeatBuilding an
Effective Government Resume and KSAs

• (Form OF-612)

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Resumesthey begins with you

• Gather information about yourself.
• Your employment background
• Your accomplishments (concrete evidence that
  proves your knowledge, skills, and abilities).
• Did you resolve a long-standing problem?
• Did you discover a new and better approach for
  getting things done?
• What was solved, created, changed for the better
  or improved because you were there?
• Did you take on any extra responsibilities above
  and beyond your job description?
• What have you been recognized for in the past
  (commended/cited/awarded?
• Your training and education
• Special assignments, details and work you have
  done in teams.
• Publications, products, or research where you
  served as a contributor - whether as part of a
  team or independently.
• Presentations and briefings

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Jumping into the Drivers SeatBuilding an
Effective Government Resume

• Use position descriptions as a guide, DO NOT COPY
  THEM
• Focus most on relevance to the position you are
  applying for
• Use varied language and action verbs to describe
  your skills and experience (http//www.quintcareer
  s.com/action_verbs.html)
• Use the Situation/Task, Action, Result approach
  to explain job experience

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Jumping into the Drivers SeatBuilding an
Effective Government Resume

• Sample Resume Header Text

• Jane Smith Management Analyst Home Phone
• SS 123-45-6789 Vacancy
  2000-A-B11 Work Phone
• Citizenship USA Grade 11/12 Email
• EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
•  
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA),
  Farm Service Agency (FSA), Office of Civil
  Rights, 1200 Duke St., Alexandria,VA 20002
• Supervisor Deborah Jones, 703-401-7500, Hours
  Worked 40/week, Salary 51,682
• Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist, GS- 11
  October 2000 Present
•  
• Data Research, Investigation, and Analysis
•  
• Produce the annual agency Affirmative
  Employment Plan and Accomplishment Report for
  submission to the Equal Employment Opportunity
  Commission through combining statistical
  workforce analyses with qualitative evidence to
  provide management solutions to correct any
  inefficiencies resulting in improved equal
  employment ratings for the following year.

Green Task Black Action Red Result
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Jumping into the Drivers SeatWriting Effective
Government KSAs
KSA
Other Qualifications
Knowledge
Ability
Skill
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Am I Completing a Federal Job Essay Question?

• If you are asked on a federal application to
  answer any of the following, you are completing a
  job essay question
• Evaluation Factors,
• Rating Factors,
• Quality Ranking Factors,
• Knowledge, Abilities, skills and Other
  Characteristics, or
• Job Elements.

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Quick Answers to Essay Questions

• How long should my answers be?
• Generally 1 -2 pages (8,000 characters).
• Should I just cut and paste information from my
  resume into my essay?
• No, your answers must be in a narrative format
  (telling a story), bullets by themselves will not
  due you have to give your reader a context for
  your accomplishments and remember they are also
  judging your writing ability..

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Quick look atKnowledge

• Knowledge The foundation upon which abilities
  and skills can be built.
• Examples include knowledge of
• Federal Regulations and DirectivesOperational
  systems and proceduresBudget and accounting
  principalsEngineering practicesEnvironmental
  Compliance LawAdministrative practices

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Quick look atSkills

• Skills The observable demonstration of
  proficiency to do a task.
• Examples include
• Computer software proficiencySecond language
  proficiency

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Quick look atAbilities

• Ability The capacity to perform a job function.
• Examples include the ability to
• Organize and plan work (observed at work)Analyze
  situations, programs and problemsCommunicate
  orally and in writingCoach and mentor others

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Example of KSA Questions

• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in
  writing
• Skill in workforce planning and scheduling.
• Knowledge of economic growth technical areas.
• Ability to manage projects in a multi-cultural
  team environment.
• Knowledge of security concepts, principles,
  practices, andprocedures.
• Knowledge of security screening or other related
  security processes.
• Ability to apply agency procedures and
  requirements.
• Ability prioritizing and executing tasks in a
  high-pressure environment.
• Ability to manage and integrate diverse program
  requirements.

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Ten Rules for Writing Winning KSAs

• Give at least one fantastic example per KSA.
• Use different examples in each KSA statement in
  your set (dont repeat answers).
• Use a consistent length and format
• Pack in the information
• Write in the first person
• Spell out all acronyms
• Quantify your results/accomplishments
• Draw materials for your KSA from all parts of
  your life
• Use a consistent style in the format your KSA
  (if you are submitting a paper version of your
  KSA).
• PROOF READ your KSA before submission

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Use the CCAR Approach

• CCAR - Context, Challenge, Action, Result
• Context - Describes the specific problem you had
  to address (what did you have to solve, resolve,
  respond to, handle, etc).
• Challenges - Describes the factors that
  contributed to a particular challenge such as
  budget cuts, new legislation, institutional
  reform, new goals from upper management, etc.
• Action - Describes the steps you took to solve
  the problem. Stay away from the ordinary, PUT
  YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD and be extraordinary in
  your response (dig deep, find your best).
• Result Outcomes of your actions (Did you make a
  difference? What was the difference you made
  highlight THE BEST).

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KSA Example

• Mechanical Engineer GS-830-9 Announcement No
  NHTSA 04-67Factor II - Skill in applying
  engineering concepts and theories to the solution
  of engineering problems.
• Earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in
  mechanical engineering has given me a firm
  foundation of the engineering principles
  necessary to solve challenging problems. As a
  senior engineering major I often tutored freshmen
  in introductory level engineering classes such as
  Dynamic Analysis and Fluid Mechanics. For my
  thesis project at the University of Michigan I
  designed a remote-controllable Geiger counter
  that could be used by the military to detect
  radiation sources that are too hazardous for
  personnel to approach. The project gave me the
  opportunity to solidify my knowledge of physical,
  chemical, and mathematical concepts as they apply
  to the real world. Since graduating in 1998 I
  have worked as a Mechanical Engineer at InTech.
  In my position as a Junior Engineer in I was
  noted for creating exceptional quality technical
  drawings in support of the design team. I was
  promoted to the position of Senior Engineer in
  2001 in which I was responsible for creating
  finite element models of experimental designs for
  the purposes of structural analysis. The models
  helped to validate design concepts before they
  were prototyped and therefore saved the company
  the expense of creating a working model of a
  design that failed to work properly. My current
  position of Engineering Supervisor enables me to
  oversee the design and construction of advanced
  weaponry systems for the U.S. Air Force. I must
  integrate the efforts of electrical, chemical,
  aeronautical, and mechanical engineers to produce
  a high quality product in a timely manner. InTech
  has recognized my aptitude as a mechanical
  engineer by honoring me with two Excellence
  Awards in the last four years.

Black Context Blue - Challenge Green
Action Red Result
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The KSA Workbook The KSA Sampler
Federal Research Service, Inc. ? [phone]
www.fedjobs.com
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Embarking on Your DestinationHow to Conduct
Your Federal Job Search
www.usajobs.opm.gov
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Embarking on Your DestinationHow to Conduct
Your Federal Job Search
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Embarking on Your DestinationHow to Conduct
Your Federal Job Search
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Mapping Your CourseHow to Conduct Your Federal
Job Search
www.studentjobs.gov
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Other Good Resources...
Author Kathryn Kraemer Troutman
www.amazon.com
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Your Next Steps

• Research
• Decide
• Act
• Follow up
• Thank Someone, Help Someone

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Last Thoughts...
QUAT
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Last Thoughts...

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Sean Clayton Human Capital Consultant Department
of Energy 202-586-8472
sean.clayton_at_hq.doe.gov
www.energy.gov
Jack Kenner FEW Foundation Education
Training JMK_at_few.org 1-888-822-3227 http//www.fe
w.org
Jeffrey Vargas Program Manager Department of
Energy National Nuclear Security
Administration 202-586-3039 jeffrey.vargas_at_nnsa.d
oe.gov www.energy.gov