Monday, October 2, 2023
Kathryn Troutman taught Ten Steps and the Stars are Lined Up at
ACS, Ft. Huachuca, Summer 2018
Write your Military Spouse “Job Description,” including PCS History
— win a FREE FEDERAL RESUME by Resume Place, Inc. —
worth $940.00 – 2 winners!
Kathryn Troutman, author and publisher of the Stars are Lined Up for Military Spouses on USAJOBS is looking for good job descriptions of Military Spouses who have accompanied their military service member spouse across the country and around the world as they moved through their career.
#MilitarySpouseAppreciationDay #milspouse #MilitaryAppreciationMonth
Submit your competition federal resume draft of
your Volunteer Military Spouse Job
by Oct. 25, 2023, 11:59 pm ET
We are making a case that the Military Spouse career is a “JOB” and should be added to a resume as a “job block”. This is a new idea and a new way for a military spouse to stand out above their competitors who have solid year to year work histories in consistent locations.
Military spouses travel to new military installations every 2 to 4 years in support of their military service member. They do their best to work, go to school, start businesses, and volunteer at the base, but the 16% unemployment statistics show that spouses aren’t being seen for all they bring to the table.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) states that volunteer positions can be used to demonstrate experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for a federal positions. Your KSAs as a Military Spouse could help you land a GS or NAF position on a military base. Your military spouse job could easily demonstrate experience and knowledge with Morale, Welfare and Recreation services on a military base, but you have to write it in your federal resume as a “job block” to get the credit. Maybe you DO have “One Year Specialized Experience” for a federal position based on your Military Spouse “volunteer job”.
Contest Rules:
Must be either a military spouse on current PCS orders or any other military spouse who is authorized for EO13473. One submission per individual. Must submit via email.
Deadline is October 25, 2023; 11:59 pm ET.
Submit Your Draft:
Please submit your military spouse job description entry to [email protected] with “MilSpouse Federal Resume Writing Contest: your name, current base, city state, country” in the subject line. E.g. MilSpouse Federal Resume Contest: Jay Wayne, Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA, USA.
What to Write:
Write a description of your “volunteer job” as a MILITARY SPOUSE. Write about your duties and responsibilities as a military spouse, traveling to new locations, managing your household moves, establishing and maintaining relationships and resources at each location, managing the “homefront” and setting up schools and activities for children… whatever you’re doing in your job as a military spouse. Make a list of your KSAs – knowledge, skills and abilities that you have developed traveling and moving your household and family around the US and the world.
Must include your PCS Military Spouse History, including name of installation, city, state, country and dates (month and year to month and year).
Bonus if you write about:
- a particular challenge or problem while relocating, moving, or getting settled in a new country or state.
- a cross-cultural challenge in a new country. How did you research the culture and acclimate? What was your method?
LENGTH OF DESCRIPTION:
400 to 650 words
THE PRIZE:
Two winners meeting the eligibility requirements will be chosen to be COACHED and to receive an EDITED FEDERAL RESUME that is ready for USAJOBS applications. That’s a $940 value for each winner! Four hours of writing plus two hours of Federal Career Coaching with Kathryn Troutman!
FEDERAL RESUME DESCRIPTION REVIEWERS will be John Gagnon, Ph.D., Emily Troutman, MPP, Rita Chambers, MPP, a few of the Certified Federal Resume Writers here at The Resume Place, Inc. Winners will be selected based on KSAs, accomplishments and duties written for your “Military Spouse Job”.
Ten Steps to a Federal Job
and
The Stars are Lined Up for Military Spouses on USAJOBS.
Two books to help the military land great careers in the US government
Kathryn Troutman is the Founder and President of Resume Place, Inc., a Federal Career Consulting business located in Baltimore, MD. Her firm specializes in writing and designing professional federal resumes, as well as consulting, coaching and education on the federal hiring process. She is the author of many best-selling federal career books, including the Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Ed. See the books at https://resume-place.com/books/
Troutman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable media guest, appearing on Beverly Jones’s Jazzed about Work on NPR’s WOUB, Carol Fishman Cohen’s 3, 2, 1 iRelaunch (Relaunching Your Career), Mark Miller’s Repurpose Your Career, and numerous times on Mike Causey’s Your Turn show on Federal News Network. Her business, The Resume Place, had been featured in The Washington Post. To hear interviews of this top federal jobs expert, click here.