Does anyone have any tips on applying for a federal job?

[alarimer]

I am applying for a position in the Federal Career Internship Program. The job announcement includes several KSAs and I am wondering if I should address those KSAs explicitly in my resume? In other words, should I have a section (probably in front of the list of employers) that lists my experience (some from work and some from school) in relationship to each KSA? I am thinking that it would be a good idea. Federal resumes are not quite like the general ones that most industries use. As far as I can tell, I need to also include supervisor's names and numbers.

[mcctatas]

1. Make sure you're a loyal bushie?

:shrug:

[alarimer]

2. I guess I fail on that count

But most of the agencies (at the lower, professional level) do not seem to care about politics.

[XemaSab]

3. Good f'in luck!

:P

[yellowdogintexas]

4. regular civil service, not 'plum' jobs are not supposed to be politically related

but I just found a bunch of 2010 Census jobs on the net.

[alarimer]

5. Well the one I want is with the Fish and Wildlife Service

under the Federal Career Internship Program. I had to go pick up the application in person. Now I have to send a resume, transcripts, etc. I am going to address the KSAs on a separate sheet.

Basically, if you successfully complete the internship (paid, with full benefits), you get a permanent position. So it sounds like the best way in.

[yellowdogintexas]

8. at the risk of sounding stupid: what is KSA? nt

[kick-ass-bob]

10. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

[SeattleGirl]

6. If you are given a questionnaire to complete, and any of the

questions have a "What would you do..." component to them, answer "Ask my supervisor."

I'm only being a tiny bit facetious here. I had applied for several jobs with the city and the county, and that was one of the tips I got.

[bikebloke]

7. I was once offered a government job.

But I was so unimpressed with the interview process and the job, that I turned it down. After merely a one hour interview, I could've run the place with my eyes closed and far more efficiently. Alas, my place would have been that of a lowly drone.

Having grandparents who lived through the Depression, they always advised to get any government job - no matter how dull. Then you'd be safe for life.

[kick-ass-bob]

9. Yes - mention your skills that

hit their KSAs - and hit them hard. They all look for that and it is the way you can get in to the interview. If your skills have anything to do with it, make sure it is in there.

It has been a while since I did my app to the Feds, but I got through the screen by doing that. (Of course, they ran out of money and didn't hire anyone) :/

[Doug.Goodall]

11. Try this place

https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/index.asp

[MrCoffee]

12. Go to this section of usajobs, pronto!

http://career.usajobs.gov/cig/specific.asp

Find the specific series and job title you're applying for. Cut-and-paste the keywords and phrases in "Job Description" and "Tasks and Competencies" into your KSA's


The initial screening process is done by an HR specialist, who knows nothing about the job you're actually applying for beyond what is listed above. They are going to give you a numeric score based on how close your application matches those job-specific requirements, so you should make your application match those as closely as you can.


Literally, cut-and-paste is your friend here.

[haele]

13. You need to figure out what the key words they are looking for are

As a rule, no matter what the helpful hint instructions on how you write your KSAs are, the manager who is going to be looking at your application will be looking for the following -
- Your written communication skills - how quickly and concisely can you get to a point. As an intern, you might be tasked with cleaning up someone else's reports, and some editing skills will always come in handy. Unless you want to stress the subjective, use bullet points as much as possible.
- Key words - use terminology that this department uses - a good resource will be to look up white papers or reports that come out of the agency you are looking to hire on to - as well as the job requirements on the Request for Application (RFA).
Even within agencies, words or terms such as "assessment", "supervise", "manage", "assurance" may be used to define different levels of tasking. (I just ran into that when asking for information on "failure rates" - the way the department I worked for defined "failure" differently than the department that had the data I was looking for defined it...)
- Acronyms - You can use acronyms - but make sure you define the acronym the first time you use it in a section. And if you need to use it in several sections, define it again at the beginning of each section you will use it in. There may be several different people looking at your application, and they may not be reading the same section. The only exception to this rule is when listing employers and common educational acronyms (TRW,LSAT) - you can define the acronym in the section where you list your employers and education, but when you write down your resume portion, you can use the acronym.
- Grammar - Use grammar as it is used in technical writing. Use adjectives and pronouns as little as possible. Again, concise is what they are looking for - can you write in such a way as there can be no confusion as to the point you are making?

Back in the good old days, we used to say that when you applied for any civil service job, the application that weighed the most in poundage got the job. Nowadays, Managers still "weigh" the applications, but no longer look at word count to weigh it - they look for key words, employment history, legal record and education. And they don't want to wade through pages finding the information they need.

Good luck with your internship application.

Haele

[NV Whino]

14. Yeah. Don't.