Kathryn Troutman, Federal Career Coach®, Author and Publisher
April 27, 2022

Work For Warriors Hawaii
serves Hawaii National Guard, Reservists, Veterans, and their families with career opportunities by preparing and connecting with employment services, business partner connections, and career opportunities in a range of backgrounds and experience.

Kathryn traveled to Los Alamitos, California to teach a two-hour version of Ten Steps to a Federal Job® to about 50 of the Employment Counselors for Work for Warriors. This organization provides employment coaching and assistance to National Guard and Reservists US-wide. The attendees were from 14 states in the US. This conference was to share metrics, marketing, employment strategies, employer development, Covid-19 employment challenges, and start up the new year with new ideas and energy.

Kathryn was invited by Deb Nakashima, M.Ed., Program Manager for Work for Warriors Hawaii. The employment staff in Hawaii have been certified by Kathryn Troutman for many years because of the large number of DOD employers in the State of Hawaii. The largest employer (except for hospitality and tourism) in Hawaii is the US Government. So, Deb and 2 of her staff, Mishan Reyes, Employment Coordinator, and Sheryl Dodge, Employment Coordinator – Employer Relationships traveled to California to collaborate with their colleagues.

Top Ten Lessons Learned in Two Hours from the
Ten Steps to a Federal Job® by Kathryn Troutman

WOW, what a lot of great information everyone said!

1.   The Federal Resume is on average 5 pages; the private sector resume is on average 2 pages. 12 point type, one inch margins

2.   Print Resume vs. USAJOBS Upload Resume – We had a great discussion about this. Kathryn prefers the print resume because the typefont can be bigger (the USAJOBS Builder typefont when printed is 7 point type). Also because of the flexibility of information on the resume. The builder puts education, certification, licenses, languages and other information at the end. The paper resume can have education and certifications at the top of the resume before Work History. For the sample resume in this article, Education should be listed at the top, because it is required for the position.

3.   Use the Outline Format for your federal resume work experience section. Feature the keywords from the job announcement in ALL CAPS to start each paragraph in the Work History. This format is easy to read for the Human Resources person to see the qualifications of the applicant.

4.   Create two separate sections for the Work History: 1. CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT and 2. MILITARY OR NATIONAL GUARD OR AIR NATIONAL GUARD EXPERIENCE. Don’t combine them. Write in reverse chronological order.

5.   Veterans Preference is applied to the US Citizen job announcements in USAJOBS.gov. But the veteran can apply to “competitive” positions also due to Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

6.   National Guard and Reservists should add their deployments to their resume, including their job title, location, city, state, country, month and year to month and year, hours per week. Description of the deployment, challenges, accomplishments, technology and results. Be specific.

7.   How to find a USAJOBS announcement that will match your qualifications and experience. https://www.usajobs.gov/job/644911500

Summary
THIS IS A NATIONAL GUARD TITLE 32 EXCEPTED SERVICE POSITION.
This National Guard position is for a HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST (MILITARY), Position Description Number D1622000and is part of the HI 154 FSS, National Guard.

Location
154^th Force Support Squadron, Hawaii Air National Guard, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii

Conditions of Employment

• NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERSHIP IS REQUIRED. If you are not sure you are eligible for military membership, please contact a National Guard recruiter prior to applying for this position.
• This is an excepted service position that requires membership in a compatible military assignment in the employing state’s National Guard, required prior to the effective date of placement.

Qualifications
If your resume does not include a narrative description of how you meet the SPECIALIZED experience and EDUCATION requirements, you may lose consideration for this position. Ensure that the Questionnaire is completed on Application Manager.

8.   Find the keywords for your Outline Format Federal resume in this section:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Experiences that prepared the applicant to perform the duties of the position. The applicant’s educational-degree study program or military or civilian academic courses may substitute for some specialized experience. An applicant must demonstrate the specialized experience competencies (skills, knowledge, abilities and behaviors) to qualify for a position identified by its position grade and career level.

Must have at least one year of specialized experiences at the GS-07 level or the equivalent which provided a basic working knowledge of National Guard missions, organizations, and personnel programs. Must have a basic knowledge and experiences of personnel programs gained in a classroom or as an on-the-job trainee. Have knowledge-based competency of human resources business elements and can discuss terminology, concepts, principles, and issues related to this competency. Experienced in using references and resource materials and experienced in program functions such as, maintaining personnel records, counseling, or classification and assignments. Experiences may include performing personnel functions associated with preparing and maintaining position descriptions and manual records, personnel classification or usage, quality force management, managing personnel records and researching record data. Experienced in operating a computer and using varied computer programs.

KEYWORDS FOR THE OUTLINE FORMAT FEDERAL RESUME
KNOWLEDGE OF PERSONNEL PROGRAMS
HUMAN RESOURCES SERVICES
KNOWLEDGE OF REFERENCES AND RESOURCE MATERIALS
PERSONNEL RECORDS RESARCH AND MANAGEMENT
COUNSELING AND MENTORING
COMPUTER SKILLS

9.   Negotiate a Higher Step, if you are offered a position in government. See a sample Superior Qualifications letter in the Jobseeker’s Guide 8th and 9th.

May be eligible for Superior Qualification step increase based on initial appointee qualifications and special need of the agency. (If you are currently a full-time technician within the DOD, Hawaii National Guard agency, this does not apply)

Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be offered. Authorization for payment will be granted only after determination is made that payment is in the best interest of the Hawaii National Guard and approved by The Adjutant General, Hawaii, and National Guard Bureau.

10.   Summary of the two-hour Ten Steps class: The federal resume and federal job application process is complex, but it does work with knowledge, effort and coaching / teaching by an Employment Counselor. The federal positions are stable and excellent for an entire career. Learning the method to write the resume, match the job announcement and apply correctly is a learning experience. Once you learn it and follow the Ten Steps method, you can get Best Qualified, Referred, Interviewed and Selected for a Federal Civil Service position and/or Title 32 Dual Status Federal Career.

More information on successful/compliant federal resume writing, more tips and tricks for announcement analysis, interpretation, questionnaire review, core competencies, education tips, and organization of the federal resumes … and most important … how to get Best Qualified for any announcement in USAJOBS is covered in Kathryn’s Certified Federal Job Search Trainer / Certified Federal Career Coach program. 3-year certification course, 24 CEUs, Hosted live classes or open enrollment virtual classes.

Read the agenda
The class can be taught live (hosted classes by an agency or military installation) or virtual.

READ THE TEN STEPS CERTIFICATION AGENDA

Open virtual class dates:

OPEN VIRTUAL CLASS DATES, 2022

Virtual course rates:

OPEN VIRTUAL COURSE RATES

Live Hosted Class Agenda: 2 days Ten Steps to a Federal Job and Federal Resume Coaching Strategies curriculum live; 4 hours webinar for HR Day, Charles Clark covering Veterans Preference, Hiring Authorities, Merit Principles and Human resources recruiting topics. Request quote.