. NICOLE SCHULTHEIS, Attorney at Law .Certified Federal Job Search Trainer & Resume Writer

Email: nicole@resume-place.com Direct Line: 410.274.6571

Nicole Schultheis leads The Resume Place’s ALJ coaching team and provides consulting and application services for attorneys and other professionals seeking federal jobs. She is also an executive writer and AV-rated lawyer with 25+ years state and federal court experience. Nicole’s articles have been published in The MD Daily Record, MD Bar Journal, MD Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues, and other publications. As an attorney, she has represented both employers and employees in EEO matters, and has prepared and examined expert witnesses of many types. Nicole holds a BS in biology from MIT and a JD from Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Maryland bar.

Nicole Schultheis, Attorney at Law Certified Federal Job Search Trainer

Certified Federal Resume Writer Instructor

GET INSPIRED TO LAND A FEDERAL JOB! Based on book, Ten Steps to a Federal Job™, Second Edition,

by Kathryn Troutman, The Resume Place, Inc. www.resume-place.com.

Fall 2011 Powerpoint for new attorneys

Why Go Federal?

• Job security & career stability • Competitive pay • Public service / mission-oriented • Opportunities: advance, transfer, training • Great benefits

– Health, life, and LT disability insurance – Family and medical leave – 401(k)-type match program – Flexible work schedules and telecommuting – Transit subsidy (in DC metro area) – 10 fed. holidays + 13-26 days leave per year

See Federal Job Search Decision Questions, page 8

Why Go Federal?

• Nation's largest employer apart from USPS. • About 2,000,000 civilian employees. • Professional and related jobs: 1/3 of federal workforce, compared to 1/5 generally • Lawyers: 31.8K or 1.6% total; 2008-2018 projected increase => 8.6% • Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators: 43.5K or 2.2%; 19.5% proj. incr. • Job openings—many Federal workers retiring • But competition up, due to economy.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Career Guide to Industries, 2010-11 Edition

Why Go Federal?

New legislation creates new federal jobs Transportation, Education, Environment,

Afghanistan (USAID, USACE), Treasury, FDIC, SEC, Health and Human Services,

other new initiatives created almost daily in response to changes in the

economic climate

2011-2012 will continue to be HUGE federal job years, despite threats of

freezes and budget woes

Ten Steps to a Federal Job STEP 1: Focus Your Federal Job Search STEP 2: Networking Success STEP 3: Target Your Top Accomplishments STEP 4: Find the Perfect Job Announcement STEP 5: Identify Your Keywords STEP 6: Master the Federal & Electronic Resume STEP 7: Conquer the KSAs and Questionnaires STEP 8: Apply for Jobs STEP 9: Make Sure to Follow Through STEP 10: Interviewing 101

Targeting Your Search

How do you know what to apply for?

See Federal Job Statistics, page 12

Which Agencies to Target?

Choosing 2 or 3 agencies (e.g., Office of Civil Rights, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,

USAID, etc., helps you focus and begin your campaign without being overwhelmed:

— Learn “How to Apply” — Learn agency missions

See how to decide on agencies and list of agencies, pages 23-28

Are you interested in Social Justice?

This is Just a SAMPLING of Groups and Series: GS 0900 - Legal and Kindred, e.g., 0904 Law Clerk; 0905 Attorney; see CFPB Brandeis Fellowship 0904/0905

GS 0100 - Social Science – including 0160 Civil Rights Analysis

GS 0200 - Personnel Management, including 0260 EEO

GS 0300 - General Administrative, including Policy and Program development/management – Applies to all programs serving underserved communities; also see 0360 EEO Compliance

GS 1800 - Inspection, investigation, enforcement, or compliance – e.g. 1801 CPSC Compliance Officer See Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families at http://www.opm.gov/fedclass/gshbkocc.pdf See the list of occupational groups and series, pages 30-36

What Grade Level and Salary Is Right For Your Experience?

How to determine your grade with education only: GS-4 Two years above high school (or AA Degree) GS-5 Based on Bachelor’s Degree GS-7 One full year of graduate study or Bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement GS-9 Master’s degree or equivalent J.D. goes here GS-11 Ph.D. J.D. is usually NOT equivalent

See more info on federal grade and pay structures, pages 38-41

Networking Other people, especially current and former Federal employees, are the best source of basic information and insider tips. • Who do you know? • Can they hire you now? • If not, how can they help you? • What connections do you need to make?

How to Network • Talk with

– Federal supervisors and employees – Federal contractors – Friends and relatives – Ministers, rabbis, teachers, professors,

classmates • Get on online networking websites, such as

Linkedin.com • Attend federal job fairs LIKE THIS ONE! • Conduct the 1-2 federal networking/application

campaign

What Is A Top Accomplishment?

• Significant accomplishment or tangible result • What did you do that was outstanding or

above average? • Did you achieve something brand new? • Did you help the organization save money? • Did you come up with a new idea that saved

time or led to improved outcomes?

See examples, pages 55 - 64

What Are Your Top Accomplishments? Why are they critical to your success?

Supervisors can be overwhelmed with resumes on their desk. Stand out in a group of 30 or more resumes on the supervisor’s desk.

Come up with 5–10 accomplishments and list them in short and long format

Keep an accomplishments journal.

Where do you use accomplishments in a federal job campaign?

Your accomplishments will be used three times: • Short version in your federal resume • KSAs and essays • Preparing for your interview – practice talking

about those accomplishments in order to get hired! – Your TWO minute talking points.

Finding Vacancy Announcements

• Narrow your search and set up a plan • Read announcements VERY carefully! • Understand the types of job

announcements: – With specific closing dates – With cut-offs or multiple / rolling deadlines – Open Inventory, Standing Registers, Database

Announcements ; Excepted Service (Attorneys)

Federal Job Search Websites USAJOBS

Applicationmanager Avuecentral

Resumix CPOL (Army)

DONHR (Navy) Agency websites Washington Post

Indeed.com YOUR LAW SCHOOL CAREER OFFICE – federal internship

programs not always posted. See list of excepted agencies not using USAJOBS, page 77 See websites and builders used by the major agencies, pages 170 - 171

www.usajobs.gov

Best search criteria: 1. Geographic area preference 2. Salary/grade level – GS9-13

3. Agencies of Interest 4. All jobs in your location

5. Advanced search using job series

Set up an “all search” automatic weekly check and auto search agent emails

Read carefully and follow all the directions! Critical announcement components: • Title of job, grade, salary, and geographic location • Closing Date • Who Can Apply – “All US Citizens” • Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs or

Competencies) • Duties • Qualifications and One Year Specialized Experience • Questionnaires, Core Questions, Vacancy-Specific

Questions or Job-Specific Questions • How to Apply

Interpret your Vacancy Announcement

Why Keywords?

Hiring officials look for keywords in your application to efficiently determine your

qualifications for a position

KSA keywords help you write effective resumes and narratives tailored to the announcement

Where Keywords Are Found

• Vacancy Announcement – Find them in these sections: Duties, Qualifications, Specialized Experience, KSAs, Questionnaires • Core Competencies • Agency Mission

See examples of keyword lists, pages 87 - 91

• Save the vacancy announcement as an html file • Copy these sections into a word processing file:

Duties, Qualifications, Specialized Experience, KSAs, and Questionnaires

• Enlarge font and print • Delete useless words • Underline or highlight skills or knowledge that

are significant to the position

Finding Keywords in the Vacancy Announcement

Core Competencies for Attorneys

• INVESTIGATION/ANALYSIS OF FACTS: gathering evidence; reviewing documents and testimony • LEGAL RESEARCH/ANALYSIS: Computer research, legislative history, policy papers, etc. • WRITING: interpretative and administrative orders, rules, or regulations; contracts, memos, briefs, opinion letters, Congressional testimony • ORAL/INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: negotiating, trials, meeting/advising clients, representing agency in dealings with others • CASE MANAGEMENT: may be an issue.

See examples of Core Competency keywords, pages 93 - 101

Master the Federal and Electronic Resume

• Federal resume is about 3–5 pages, twice as long as the private industry resume, and uses different language

• Write your resume using the Outline Format

• Adapt to create both your USAJOBS/online resumes and paper resumes

Creating Your Basic Resume Basic sections of a federal resume: • Job Information and Personal Data • Federal Job “Compliance” Information • Work Experience (include awards here) • Education • Job-Related Training • Additional Information / Other

Qualifications and Skills • Profile Statement

See explanations of these sections, pages 114 - 119

Federal Resume Builder

Free resource by The Resume Place!

http://www.resume-place.com/fedres_builder/federal_one/

What is the Outline Format?

• Developed by Kathryn Troutman in 2000 in The Electronic Federal Resume Guidebook

• Headings include keywords from the vacancy announcement

• Headings are in ALL CAPS for easy reading • Each paragraph in the Work Experience blocks

represent a skill set • Paragraphs are 8–10 lines in length at most • Separate Duties from Accomplishments • To update, just edit and change the HEADLINES with

new keywords

1. List keywords under each job you have held. 2. Identify which apply for each job and

provide descriptions of applicable duties and responsibilities (Pro bono lawyering & other volunteer jobs count too)

3. Edit categories into Outline Format headers 4. Fill in outline, and for each job also provide

summaries of your accomplishments

Create Your Federal Resume in the Outline Format

See how this is done, pages 107 - 112

Outline Format Tips

No special formatting No bold, italics, bullets, underlines

Flush left, ragged right Small paragraphs (6-8 lines) Use ALL CAPS to highlight

See more federal resume writing facts and tips, pages 112 - 113

KSAs Are Important

KSAs are Rated and Ranked through questionnaire answers, narratives,

and your resume.

You must prove your qualifying experience as well as the listed KSAs

See a sample KSA rating scale, page 163

KSA Narratives (if required) • Give one good example per KSA • Use different example if you can for each KSA • Typical length is half to two-thirds of a page • Pack in the information; edit carefully • Write in the first person “I” • Spell out acronyms the first time • Quantify your results and accomplishments • Use examples from all parts of your life

CCAR: Storytelling style • Context – What was the situation? • Challenge – What were the challenges? • Actions – What were your actions? • Results – What were the results?

Write KSAs Using the Context-Challenge-Action-Results

Formula

Use our free KSA Builder using CCAR format: http://www.resume-place.com/ksa_builder/template

Apply for Jobs

Federal applications are submitted in dozens of different ways!

Read “How to Apply” Instructions CAREFULLY

Know the deadline

Remember to SAVE copy of Announcement

See important facts about deadlines, page 186

• Read instructions for each builder

• Observe character count limits

• Write resume in Word and copy/paste into builder

• Use low/no formatting

• Proofread carefully

• Periodically save to avoid losing information

Online Resume Builders

See other application pitfalls to avoid, page 173

• Store up to 5 versions of your resume in the database

• Putting resume in USAJOBS does not mean you are considered for positions, you MUST click “Apply Online” to start an actual application

• Supply ALL required documents—e.g., transcripts & writing samples, answer questions, submit narratives, and add a COVER LETTER if permitted

How to Apply: USAJOBS

See how to use USA Staffing, AvueCentral, CHART, and CPOL, pages 174 - 178

Make Sure to Follow Through

Follow status of your application

Possible scenarios: • Selection is still in progress • Position is FILLED • Closing date is EXTENDED • Position is CANCELLED

See how federal job applications are processed, page 187

Nail the Interview and Get Hired! • Demeanor: Eye contact, professionalism, clear speaking, smile, have enthusiasm, demonstrate interest

• Substance: Talking Points (KSA-based; also plan thoughtful questions to ask interviewer(s).

• Preparation: Study federal interviewing techniques; learn about Structured Interviews and Behavioral Interviews. Prepare answers to common questions in advance.

See more about nonverbal communication during an interview, page 216