Associated Resume Writers
Federal Employment Services
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Associated Resume Writers Federal Employment Services
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by Paul Maraschiello
My firm has helped thousands of people get promoted and find jobs with the Federal Government. I have come to realize how frustrating this process is for those seeking employment opportunities with the Government and for those who are unfamiliar with the system. It sometimes seems that everything having to do with the Federal Government is vastly different from the same process in the private sector. This observation may very well be correct. The Government does everything differently than private industry. There are reasons for this, and the chief one is that the Government is very, very, very BIG.
To find a Federal job, the first thing you need to do, is to determine if Government employs people like yourself. You will be glad to know that the Government is so large that it employs people in almost every occupational category.
Jobs are grouped according to occupational groups or Series. The professional group is the GS Series.
OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS
Accounting and Budgeting GS-0500
Administrative, Clerical and Office Services GS-0300
Business and Industry GS-1100
Copyright, Patent and Trademark GS-1200
Education GS-1700
Engineering and Architecture GS-0800
Equipment, Facilities and Services GS-1600
Information and Arts GS-1000
Investigation GS-1800
Legal and Kindred GS-0900
Library and Archives GS-1400
Mathematics and Statistics GS-1500
Medical, Hospital, Dental and Public Health GS-0600
Personnel Management and Industrial Relations GS-0200
Physical Sciences GS-1300
Quality Assurance, inspection and Grading GS-1900
Social Science, Psychology and Welfare GS-0100
Supply GS-2000
Transportation GS-2100
Veterinary Medical Science GS-0700
Miscellaneous (not elsewhere classified) GS-0000
There is a separate occupational group for "blue-collar" positions called the WG series.
Each of these GS occupational groups is broken down into the various job titles in that group. For example, Accounting and Budgeting lists Accounting, Accounting Technician, Auditing, etc.
After deciding on one or several job titles, obtain a copy of the official job announcement for those jobs that interest you. Be aware that the Government may categorize a job differently from private industry, so read the actual job announcements to determine what the job actually entales.
BE PREPARED
The next thing you must do to secure a Federal job, is to thoroughly prepare your documentation. I sometimes tell my clients to pretend that the person receiving their Federal resume has recently arrived from the moon and knows nothing about their profession. To get the highest possible score when the resume is evaluated, you must document all your education, training, special skills, and the duties, responsibilities and accomplishments of every job you had in the past ten years. Go back to the beginning of your career if the older experience will help. After all, an accountant with 25 years of experience is more desirable and presumably better than one with only ten years of experience.
I believe it is better to prepare an extensive, thorough resume for Federal use that to prepare a different Federal resume for every application. Given the way Federal resumes are evaluated, this makes sense. Resume and SF-171's are review for experience, level of education and training. Job descriptions are compared against a list of keywords. Every time a keyword is mentioned, the applicant gets one point time the number of years the skill or ability was use. The persons with the highest scores are then referred to a committee for additional consideration. This may be an over simplification of the real Federal evaluation process, but it is not far from the truth. In some agencies, the resumes are reviewed for the keywords electronically by a computer.
Please be aware that the Federal Government views paid and non-paid experience in a similar light. If you have volunteer experience in an area or have a hobby that has developed skills that may interest the Government, present this experience the same way you present paid experience in your Federal resume. Be as thorough as possible describing your experience. Remember, if you do not tell the Government about some skill or particular experience, you'll get no credit for it.
RESEARCH THE CURRENT OPENINGS
If you are reading this article, you are off to a good start in this department. To be successful you need to find and apply for all the jobs for which you are qualified.
I explain to my clients, that a job may be announced officially for as little as two weeks. The announcement might not have been typed up for a few days. By the time it was posted in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) computer, a week could have elapsed, and before anyone on the outside find out about the job, more time could pass. The job in this example will have very few applicants. If you can find out about this job soon enough, your chances of success will be greatly enhanced.
When you see a job listing that interest you, call and have the official job announcements sent to you. This job announcement will contain a lot of information about the duties of the job, qualifications the applicant should possess, and ranking factor questions (sometimes called KSA's) that must be answered, along with other information about the job, application process, and documents required. Too many applicants find a job listing and just send in their resume . . . and wonder why they don't get hired. Without a copy of the job announcement you'll never be aware of the KSA's that MUST BE ADDRESSED SEPARATELY.
Often, the personnel people read the KSA's first, to determine if the SF-171 or resume needs to be evaluated at all. If the KSA's have not been addressed, the application can be disregarded because it is not complete. Answering KSA's is a critical element in all Federal job applications. Answer these questions thoroughly. If it takes a page or two to answer one question fully, write as much as you need to answer that question.
APPLY, APPLY, APPLY
After answering the KSA's, mail in your application package with all the other required forms. Make sure that your resume contains: the announcement number and job title of the job for which you are applying, the name and addresses of all former employers listed on the resume, along with the names of your former supervisors and their phone numbers, salary history and all the other information required on a Federal resume. To ensure that my clients' resumes are complete, I developed a computer program that is of great assistance. If you have not already ordered a copy of this computer software, send me an e-mail and order now. It is only $35.00 and will ensure that you do not get disqualified for failing to supply required data.
Once you mail your application package to the Government, continue to apply for every job you're qualified for, apply, apply, apply again. Persistency pays off.
DON'T GET DISCOURAGED
The Government takes forever to process applications. A delay of 3-4 months is common, even when they really want to hire you. Don't get discouraged if you do not hear from them. This is normal. Remember, they receive applications from all across the country, and lots of folks would love to work for the Government. Because of the size of the Government and the large number of applications, no news can be good news. Just because you do not hear from the Feds after you send in an application, this does not mean they are not interested in you. Everything in the Government can take a lot longer than in private industry. If you are qualified for the jobs for which you have applied, and you have followed my directions, you will be successful . . . eventually.
HELP IS AVAILABLE
If you've been trying to get hired by the Federal Government and have not been successful, don't give up. There is help out there for you. My firm has helped many people find jobs and get promoted in the Government. I personally evaluate the Federal employment potential of every client interested in our services. I provide our clients with counseling, develop an effective Federal resume, prepare answers to KSA's and Ranking Factor Questions, and provide leads and referrals to jobs. I only charge clients for the actual work performed and even offer a money back guarantee to qualified job candidates. We have an excellent success rate with those clients that follow our advice.
If you are interested in my services, you are welcomed to call or contact us by e-mail for a free evaluation and quote. Send me a copy of your SF-171, SF-612 or Federal resume and I will give you an evaluation free of charge.
About the Author
Paul Maraschiello is the president of the largest resume writing company in the Washington, D.C. area and specializes in assisting people find Federal employment. For years Paul was a feature columnist with the Federal Job Digest. His articles can be found in any library. The headquarters of Associated Resume Writers is located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. at: 262 M Cedar Lane, Vienna, VA 22180. The telephone number is (703) 208-9770 and FAX (703) 208-9771.