Hot Jobs and Hot Locations

By Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CMRC, CFRW
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com

The federal government continues to hire at a torrid pace according to a recent study by Aon Consulting and Monster Government Solutions. Why? To replace the baby boomers that are beginning to retire en masse, to fill the ever-increasing need for qualified national security workers and professionals, and employment consideration for our veterans. Of the 600,000 new hires anticipated between now and the end of 2012, nearly half will be considered mission-critical. The total figure to be hired represents about one-third of the overall federal workforce—in other words, there is a huge turnover of talent in progress right now and you could be part of it.

It sounds like a lot of hiring and possibly smacks of wasteful government spending, but in historical terms, even with all the new hiring the federal workforce at the end of 2012 will actually be smaller than what it was in 1967, according to Max Stier, Executive Director of the Partnership for Public Service, from the article in govcentral.monster.com. (Read Article)

Among the biggest growth agencies is the Department of Homeland Security, where over 65,000 openings are forecasted. Another large opportunity will be found with the Department of Veterans Affairs, where over 48,000 jobs will be filled to support a huge increase in the administration of benefits. Anyone having recently dealt with the VA for benefit services can attest to this need.

The study shows other large growth areas, including over 54,000 positions in medical and public health agencies, 52,000 jobs in security and protective services, 31,000 openings in compliance and enforcement, 23,000 opportunities in legal areas, and 17,000 positions in administration and program management.

Hot Jobs

The hottest professions are for attorneys, paralegals, human resource professionals (many mission-critical roles), biological and science experts, border patrol agents, customs officers, food inspectors, compliance staff, tax examiners, accountants, auditors, and engineers. In fact, there are about 2,000 total job types open at any given time. A quick search on www.usajobs.gov will reveal some 30,000 current openings, and it’s a simple process to locate job types or locations with the robust search tools provided.

Lucrative opportunities are found in the Senior Executive Service, the highest career level of government where savvy leaders bring talent and vision to positions reporting to cabinet-level organizations. In addition, retiring or separating military members often search out second careers in the federal government to take advantage of their excellent training and, in almost all cases, their veteran’s preference in the hiring process.

Hot Locations

More than 85% of federal jobs are located outside of Washington, D.C. The states with the highest number of federal employees are: California, Virginia, Texas, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington, and Ohio. Many jobs also feature overseas locations for those seeking a change of scenery or perhaps a bit more excitement in their career.

Huge Interest

With the repressed economy, competition for federal jobs is at an all-time high, meaning that the federal government has a unique chance to hire some of the best talent available at a time when the country needs supremely qualified workers and professionals to steer agencies through tough times. That should not discourage anyone from applying, however. It does take time and patience to properly apply for federal jobs, and most agencies are very methodical about their hiring process—translation: it could take months to hear back on an application and the overall hiring process may seem maddeningly slow, but to their credit most agencies are exceedingly thorough and overtly fair in their evaluations and hiring. If you are a worthy candidate and you properly apply for a vacancy, you stand an excellent chance of being considered for the position.

Hidden Value

Some federal government jobs offer recruitment bonuses to attract the best of the best, with figures of $10,000 to $60,000 not unheard of, as well as repayment of student loans. In most cases, a commitment of several years’ service will be required to secure the bonus or repayment.

Not Rocket Science

Although NASA may actually need rocket scientists, you don’t have to be one in order to get the attention of hiring managers. Above all—and not surprisingly—the ability to speak and write clearly and effectively is consistently in demand. The “new” federal government is looking for visionary leadership, strength of character, and initiative. When applying for a position, these traits must be baked into your application.

Yes, but...

There’s always a "but", isn’t there? The "but" in this case is that applying for a federal job, even for entry-level positions, can seem overly complicated. There are several different application formats and methods depending on the hiring agency, and they all have different requirements for content, text character size, and composition. Many require extensive narrative responses to experience and skill questions. All are screened by computer software that searches for key words and skills, and your application must be geared to both pass the computer screening and be supremely readable and compelling for the hiring or human resources manager. Failing to meet the basic requirements for size, structure, and extras (DD-214, college transcripts, etc.) automatically gets your application the boot. No bending of the rules; no give and take. It’s strict, but like we said before, the process is eminently and ultimately fair.

Where to turn

Many potential applicants choose to employ the professional services of seasoned resume writers with significant experience creating successful federal government resumes and applications. For a modest investment—in many cases, less than the amount of one paycheck over a long and fruitful government career—a truly qualified resume service pays for itself many times over. Many try on their own, and have ultimately sought the resources and insight offered by companies such as CareerPro Global and its team of certified writers. With an ISO 9000 design process, in business since 1986, CareerPro stands alone among the nation’s best resume writing companies, and is ready to help with your federal government resume or military transition resume project.

Automation to Improve Post-9/11 GI Bill Processing

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2010 – With 153,000 veterans enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill this semester, and new automation tools to arrive this month to improve processing procedures, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki declared the program "on track" and headed toward greater efficiency.

Shinseki acknowledged during an interview with American Forces Press Service that the Post-9/11 GI Bill got off to a rocky start after it took effect Aug. 1.

He said he was surprised when many colleges and universities took months to submit the student enrollment certificates VA needed to begin cutting checks to the schools as well as enrollees.

"They must be well-endowed," he said of schools that covered the up-front costs of students' tuition, room and board without seeking prompt reimbursement. "But because I don't have that certificate, I haven't paid them tuition. But neither have I paid kids their monthly living stipend or their books, because they are all tied together."

By the second week of December, the end of the fall semester, VA was still receiving 1,500 to 2,000 certificates of enrollment a day for students who had been attending schools since August, he said. In fact, some are still trickling in to VA.

"We learned a lot. We learned we had to talk to 6,500 schools and say, 'We have got to do better,'" Shinseki said. "We needed to work with them and explain to them that 'Whether you think it is important or not, the veteran doesn't get paid until you send us this certificate of enrollment.' So for the veteran's sake, we need to do better."

Shinseki credited the VA staff with stepping up to the plate, contacting schools directly to solicit those enrollment certificates, then going into overdrive to manually process thousands of certificates a day. He convened a late-night meeting in November, bringing together the education directors from VA's regional offices to come up with ways to further speed up the processing.

"We took out steps that were redundant," he said. "In the process, we have simplified and reengineered the business process. ... We have worked the bugs out of an imperfect system."

By the end of the fall semester, he said, all 173,000 enrollees were being paid through this new process.

As of Feb. 1, 131,000 of the 153,000 students enrolled in the system were being paid, and VA was "knocking down" the remaining certificates at the rate of about 7,000 a day, he noted.

"So I feel pretty good about how this is going," Shinseki said. "Our numbers are up and our payments are up, and we still don’t have an automated tool."

The first of those new tools is set to come online this month, with more capabilities to follow in July, November and December. By the year's end, Shinseki said, the system will be fully automated.

"I think we are on a good track," he said. "Now, when automation comes, we are going to have a tremendous gain."

Shinseki said he's counting on lessons learned implementing the Post-9/11 GI Bill to carry over as VA tackles its major challenge this year: reducing the disability claims backlog.

Shinseki called the Post 9/11 GI Bill a generous investment in the future of veterans who have served the country in uniform since 9/11.

"I feel good about the GI Bill. That is an accomplishment," he said. "I think that, long-term, this is going to be a huge return for the country. And it is a huge step for [veterans] and their lives."

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides veterans seeking an undergraduate degree a full ride at any state institution at the highest in-state tuition rate, by state, along with a semester stipend for books and a monthly living stipend.

For the first time in history, servicemembers enrolled in the Post-9/11 GI Bill program can transfer unused educational benefits to their spouses or children.

The living stipend does not extend to active-duty servicemembers receiving Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

Navy Tuition Assistance Transactions Shift to 100% WebTA

By Susan Lawson, Center for Personal and Professional Development Public Affairs

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- All Navy Tuition Assistance (TA) transactions will soon shift to an entirely online process accessible through the Navy College Program Web site's WebTA portal. Sailors applying for tuition assistance will be required to use WebTA to process all applications beginning April 15.

"WebTA allows Sailors to complete all steps in the tuition assistance and education planning process online," said Mary Redd-Clary, the Navy's Voluntary Education (VOLED) program director. "In the past, Sailors could start the TA application process, but were then required to circulate a printed copy for review and approval through the chain of command. Now, Sailors and Marines can complete the entire process virtually, and the final step is the paper-based submission, in person or via fax, to one of the Navy's 52 Navy College Offices (NCO) for delivery to the school," said Redd-Clary.

The WebTA application must be approved by the commanding officer or authorized command delegate. "We recommend developing an internal command review process, as that process will ensure all management controls for Sailors TA requirements are met. These requirements, such as completion of warfare qualifications, should all be reviewed prior to the commanding officer's final approval," said Redd-Clary.

In addition to TA application processing through WebTA, the NCP site includes tools required for Sailors to develop an interactive education plan with direct support from NCO counselors. The site also provides Sailors and counselors access to Sailor/Marine Ace Registry Transcript (SMART) records.

Sailors can also search degree plans based on their ratings. These degree plans are offered through partner schools from the Navy College Program Distance Learning Partnership (NCPDLP).

"WebTA also offers commands an opportunity to provide more timely and interactive support of their Sailors as they work to identify their professional and academic pursuits," said Redd-Clary.

For more information about the Navy College Program, visit https://www.navycollege.navy.mil/. For more news from Center for Personal and Professional Development, visit www.navy.mil/local/voledpao/.

Army donates computers to educate children on unexploded ordnance

Joseph Bonfiglio

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii (April 9, 2010) -- Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, other veterans and officials from the Army visited students on the Waianae Coast April 1, to see first-hand how they are using computers donated by the Army to increase their safety and knowledge about unexploded ordnance.

Ka Waihona Principal Alvin Parker thanked Sen. Inouye and the Army and took the visiting party to a social studies class where the students were studying the Holocaust using their new computers. According to Sen. Inouye, these two events brought together the local community and the Army community in the concept of Ohana and Laulima. (Ohana means family and Laulima means working together.)

"This morning I looked at two projects, the result of Ohana and Laulima," Inouye said. "This is where the military, the Corps of Engineers, the community, the Hawaiian organizations, all got together and this is the result. We have students here who will be able to compete with the finest in the land."

The background of the program is that in fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii received $850,000 to implement a UXO Safety Awareness Program for 11 Leeward Oahu Schools and two Big Island Schools. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, in turn supports the garrison and the local community by providing safety awareness and helping to educate children who could be exposed to UXO. In order to best do this, the District contracted Native Hawaiian Veterans, to launch a public safety/outreach program for Oahu and the Big Island.

The unexploded ordnance safety awareness training computer program has a primary audience of students from kindergarten to 12th grade and has put 370 new laptop computers into DOE and charter schools between September 2009 and February 2010. The interactive UXO Safety Awareness materials installed on the laptop computers provide short UXO Safety questions and answers called "Fun Facts" as part of the computer log-in process. So far, 58 different "Fun Facts" screens have been added into the system. The Fun Facts are drawn randomly from a central Web site each time a student turns on the computer and starts the log-in process.