10 Big Mistakes Vets Make Applying to Fed Jobs
Kathryn Troutman, Military.com
December 18, 2008
Leaving
a military career after five, 10, or 20 years is traumatic. Whether you’re enlisted or an officer, the career transition
out of military is difficult. The good news is that the federal government is basically just “the other side of the
desk.” You’re going to take the “hands-on” skills and technical training from your military experience
and convert it over to the policy, program, support, administration side of the work you have been doing – maybe. The
first federal resume after military is your most important resume and the most complex because you will translate your skills
for a new career, new mission and customer.
Veterans are perfect for federal civil service positions because of their dedication
to public service, the nation’s security, specialized expertise, knowledge of certain missions, technical skills and
training, leadership, dedication, work ethic, attitude and willingness to learn and start-over. What’s more, these skills
allow you to add 5 or 10 points preference points to your application score.
However, sometimes veterans rush through the fed application and make several mistakes.
This article is a compilation of the top 10 mistakes veterans and transitioning servicemembers make when applying for
public-sector jobs.
Mistake 1: I only apply for
jobs on USAJOBS (or CPOL or DONHR or WHS).
If you limit your search to just one agency
or website, you are limiting your job search. There are at least five major
sites where you can create a profile, set up a resume builder, answer questions, and apply for a federal job.
Mistake 2: I only apply for jobs without KSA narratives.
If you limit your search to applications that do not require KSAs, you will cut out many job opportunities with the
Departments of HHS, VA, Interior, Commerce, Justice, Labor, Transportation and others. You will need to learn how to write
KSA narratives and questionnaire essays for a successful federal job search. KSAs are just examples that demonstrate you have
a certain Knowledge, Skill or Ability. You can use the KSA Builder developed by this author to write your “stories”
that will demonstrate that you do have a certain knowledge, skill or ability.
Mistake 3: I have never written a resume, I don’t know how to get started.
It’s time to find the position descriptions, old SF-171s, evaluations, NSPS self-assessments, training documents
and build your federal resume. The author of this article has developed a free federal resume builder where you can build
your work experience, education, training, accomplishments, certifications and other information.
Mistake
4: Service before self. That’s what we are taught. I’m not used to bragging, so I usually don’t select
the highest level in the questionnaires (or go on and on about accomplishments).
When you read the selection of self-assessment answers, be very careful to think about all of the experience you
have. An EPA federal human resources specialist said this about the questionnaires and your choices: “Give yourself
all of the credit that you can in selecting the answers in a Questionnaire.” The questionnaires are scored like an examination,
so your skills at the highest level will be important to get referred for a position.
Mistake
5: My job was totally unique and I can’t write about all that I did in the last five years, etc.
This is a challenge because there is a unique military language with your own acronyms. But, you can write about
the skills that you have, including instruction, planning, leading a team, mentoring, personnel operations, administrative
operations, problem-solving, negotiations, advocacy, interpersonal skills and technical skills. The military-to-federal resume
requires a translation of skills to the new agency. Your past mission may not match, but the skills CAN match. And you can
prove one-year specialized experience, as long as that one year doesn’t require special mission knowledge. In other
words, if you change from military to transportation, the transportation announcement may require experience in transportation.
Mistake
6: I have used the resume I developed from TAP class and it’s not getting me referred and I’m qualified
for these positions.
The private-industry resume is shorter than a typical federal
resume. The bullet style, one-line description resume won’t be as effective for a federal resume. The recommended format
is the outline format. This features your top skills that are transferrable to the new position. You could write your description
in five or six small paragraphs with headings such as: trainer / instructor; team leader and supervisor; emergency operations
planner; interpersonal skills and liaison; administrative operations. These five skills are the most transferrable.
After you create the outline of your duties with five or six sentences to describe each, you can add two or three accomplishments
that will include your outstanding services in your operation.
Mistake 7: I didn’t know I had to
tweak and edit my resume for each announcement.
With the Army website, you
could apply to 10 jobs in one day very easily because this system is a Resume Only application with a Self-Nomination online
form. But you really should slow down and read the announcement carefully to find the keywords for your resume. The Army,
Navy and DoD builders still use Resumix as their resume automation system. The HR specialist will look for keywords in your
resume. If you haven’t edited each resume with keywords, your resume may not get referred. You can apply quickly,
but why bother if you don’t edit and tweak the resume to make sure the keywords are included?
Mistake 8: I have accomplishments imbedded in the duties section.
Military personnel will write one huge “block of information” for their duties and include the accomplishments
somewhere in the middle of the paragraph. This type of content will be difficult to read and difficult for the busy human
resources specialists who want to find the best qualified applicants. There is a difference between a regular duty and
an accomplishment. They are both important on the federal resume. But the accomplishments are critical if you are to stand
out as the most qualified candidate.
If you have been in a job for two or five years or more, then you have probably
been involved with special projects, problem-solving, new programs, new initiatives, new computer programs to improve efficiency,
and staff changes. Accomplishments might include your assignment to a task of managing a special operations, situation or
program, implementing new processes and achieving a result. These accomplishment should be written separately from the duties,
so that it is clear you have performed more than your position description and you... are worthy of a promotion. Also, that you’re a federal employee who can resolve problems, take
care of customers very well, and achieve and exceed support to the mission.
Mistake
9: I didn’t realize that my five or 10 point preference really made a big difference.
Yes, most military personnel will have five point preference for service within the last three years. Military
personnel with disabilities may have 10 point preference for their application. Your five or 10 point preference
can give you an advantage over a candidate that does not have preference points.
Mistake
10: I can’t take personal credit for the work of my team, so what should I write?
The “team mentality” of federal employees and supervisors is not going to get you hired. It’s time
to take credit for your contributions as a leader. Before you apply, ask yourself the following questions: Would the project
have been successful without you? Did you set the agenda? Establish priorities? Assign tasks? Solve the problems as they occurred?
Brief senior executives on status? Manage resources throughout? Create reports and analyze progress? Lead the team members
to meet deadlines and review the quality of their work? Did you “babysit” the group on occasion? Then you
need to take credit for leadership, innovation, new ideas, methodologies, policies, procedures, project management strategies
that YOU developed and implemented. You are the leader of the team, program, project or group. Write about your leadership
and the outcome of the group you lead.
The government has on average 100,000 jobs
everyday posted on the main website: USAJOBS.GOV. Consider these positions seriously. They are worth your time and patience.
There are good books on federal resume writing and federal job search strategies. Samples of federal resumes and KSAs can
help you master the federal job search process and result in a career that can change your life.
