Why Work for the Federal Government?
by Barbara Adams
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com
First, the federal government is the country’s largest single employer, with approximately 2.8M employees and 20K jobs posted worldwide on any given day. Even during times of economic hardship, when the news is always talking about federal hiring freezes and pay cuts, the federal government remains a fairly solid place to work. On-line, in the newspapers and on TV we hear about the furloughs, hiring freezes, downsizing and other distressing news taking place regarding federal employment. But, the federal government...
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Where to turn for support when starting a Veteran Owned Business
National Veteran Small Business Coalition
You have decided to leave the military and you are trying to make a decision on your next move. Will you finish your education? Will you look for a job where the skills you learned in the military can be used? Have you thought about starting your own business? You are thinking to yourself, "Wait a minute? Starting my own business in this economy?" Yes, we all heard about the doom and gloom in the current economic environment but that should not stop you from starting your own business...
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How to Successfully Search for Your Perfect Job
by Susan Joyce workcoachcafe.com
A job seeker recently posted his frustration about the current state of job search in a comment here on WorkCoachCafe. He said, "I've applied for 11,437 jobs as of today within the past 14 months of searching. This online stuff doesn't work, but what else can you do?"
How very frustrating for him! But the lack of results is not surprising. Using very strong language, recruiters have told me that when they see an individual applying for every open job, regardless of their fit with the job's requirements they learn quickly to ignore that applicant ...
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First Lady announces certification plan for veteran jobs
by Terri Moon Cronk
WASHINGTON (AFPS) - First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled, in late April, the new Information Technology Training and Certification Partnership to put thousands of service members to work with industry-recognized IT certifications in hand before they leave the military.
The First Lady said a public-private partnership will offer the certification program. This new partnership will provide up to 161,000 service members with the chance to gain the certifications they need for 12 different high-demand, high-paying technology careers...
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Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to Hire Over 800 Veterans as Peer Specialists and Peer Support Apprentices by December 31, 2013.
Make a difference in the lives of your fellow Veterans! VA is hiring over 800 Veterans to work as Peer Specialists and Peer Support Apprentices.
To qualify, you must be a United States Veteran who has recovered or is recovering from a mental health condition. Completion of an approved
peer specialist training program is also required. Click here
for more information and to apply.
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Why Work for the Federal Government?
by Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, MFRW, MMRW, MFCA-T
www.militaryresumewriters.com and www.careerproplus.com
First, the federal government is the country’s largest single employer, with approximately 2.8M employees and 20K jobs posted worldwide on any given day. Even during times of economic hardship, when the news is always talking about federal hiring freezes and pay cuts, the federal government remains a fairly solid place to work.
On-line, in the newspapers and on TV we hear about the furloughs, hiring freezes, downsizing and other distressing news taking place regarding federal employment. But, the federal government needs to be staffed and employees are terminated, quit, transfer and/or receive promotions. Therefore there are thousands of positions open at any given time. Yes, it is discouraging to hear the down side of federal hiring via all media outlets, however if a federal job is something you wish to obtain and you have a veteran’s preference; then you should apply. Jobs are available and posted everyday at www.usajobs.opm.gov.com.
Just like with anything else, you can probably find varying opinions on this subject. For example, you might find people who are somewhat disgruntled with the federal government after losing a job. On the other hand, you may find other people who were being promoted right up to federal ranks, even during economic crises. That all depends on where you work, which government agency you work for, and your own personal circumstances within that organization. There is no one right answer.
Having said all that, the federal government is huge and diverse, and it’s not going anywhere. There are also a number of advantages for veterans who want to work for the federal government. First, you may be eligible for 'Veterans' Preference. This means you get a certain amount of points added to your application when you go through the detailed federal hiring process. How many points you get for Veterans’ Preference depends on whether you separated under honorable conditions, when you served, how long you served, whether you’re in a combat veteran, and whether you have a disability and how much.
For more information on Veterans’ Preference, go to the OPM’s website: http://www.opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp.
Barbara Adams, President and CEO of CareerPro Global (CPG), the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and
www.militaryresumewriters.com, has been a member of the careers community for the
past 20 years. Ms. Adams holds four prestigious industry certifications. CareerPro Global is the only ISO 9001-2008 Certified Career
Service in the industry, as well as one of the fastest-growing Military, Federal, and Civilian Resume-Writing and Careers-Coaching
companies. The team of Certified Professional Federal and Military Resume Writers at CPG assist thousands of clients in applying for
and gaining employment each year. We can help you land your military to civilian job.
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Where to turn for support when starting a Veteran Owned Business
National Veteran Small Business Coalition
nvsbc.org
You have decided to leave the military and you are trying to make a decision on
your next move. Will you finish your education? Will you look for a job where the
skills you learned in the military can be used? Have you thought about starting
your own business? You are thinking to yourself, "Wait a minute? Starting my own
business in this economy?" Yes, we all heard about the doom and gloom in the current
economic environment but that should not stop you from starting your own business.
As a veteran, you have years of training in taking on tough challenges and exceeding
expectations in service to your country. This is no different.
SBA, SCORE, PTACs
You can be successful in this current economic environment because
you have the courage and commitment to do so. There are some great resources to
help you get started. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has a wealth
of in-depth information from creating a business plan to running a business. The
SBA also provides an online learning center where you can take educational webinars,
view training videos, and participate in small business chat rooms (www.sba.gov/sba-learning-center).
For Veterans, the SBA established the Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative where
potential Veteran business owners may receive up to $500,000 to start a business
(www.sba.gov/content/express-programs). The SBA's resource partner, SCORE (www.score.org),
offers free and confidential business advice for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Another great resource are (is?) the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).
PTACs were created by Congress to help businesses to successfully compete in Federal,
state and local government contracting. PTAC counselors background in the government
contracting can be very valuable for newly established Veteran businesses working
with the Federal government. All of these organizations are active on social media;
you should follow/like their pages to stay up to date with news, changing policies
or general information concerning small businesses.
Professional Networks
Another resource is LinkedIn, the social media website for
professionals. This is a great place to network with other Veteran entrepreneurs.
There are a number of LinkedIn groups specifically for Veteran businesses where
you can read about experiences from other entrepreneurs and ask for advice about
your own business. The Veteran small business community is a very strong, don't
be afraid to ask questions and seek honest advice within these LinkedIn group. If
you do not have a LinkedIn profile, get one to take advantage of this free resource.
A few helpful suggestions for postings: use spell check and people tends to respond
to your more often when adding photo with your profile.
Events and Seminars
Speaking of networking, it is essential for Veteran business
owners to meet with potential clients, business partners, and other Veteran entrepreneurs.
Attending business conferences is the best way to put "a face" with the company
(Hint, Hint: LinkedIn profile photo). Don't attend events just to mark them of your
list. That is a waste of time, money, and resources. Look for the right business
conference that fit your company's needs. Take the time to look through the agenda,
the descriptions of educational sessions, the list guest speakers and list of exhibitors.
One of the preimier Veteran business development conferences is The Veteran Entrepreneur
Training Symposium (VETS) The Veteran Entrepreneur Training Symposium (VETS) in
Reno NV. This conference is designed by Veteran entrepreneurs to assist new and
mid level Veteran businesses on how to do business with the Federal government.
Veteran Business Organizations
Joining a Veteran business organization or group
has tremendous benefits for your company. Most of these are non-profit organizations
that represent your concerns about Veteran business initiatives and contracting
opportunities within the Federal government. It is very important to do your homework:
Review the goals and objectives, look at the leadership of the organization and
see how active and successful they are in supporting veteran companies and the Veteran
business initiates.
Summary
The resources available to you as starting entrepreneur can seem endless,
but also very confusing. Start with the basics and tap the well-established. Build
your network. A strong foothold in the Veteran business community can provide you
much advise and mentorship that official channels might not provide.
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How to Successfully Search for Your Perfect Job
by Susan Joyce
Reprinted with permission; Susan Joyce — www.workcoachcafe.com
A job seeker recently posted his frustration about the current state of job search
in a comment here on WorkCoachCafe. He said, "I've applied for 11,437 jobs as of
today within the past 14 months of searching. This online stuff doesn't work, but
what else can you do?"
How very frustrating for him! But the lack of results is not surprising...
Using very strong language, recruiters have told me that when they see an individual
applying for every open job, regardless of their fit with the job's requirements,
they learn quickly to ignore that applicant as, basically, a spammer. So, all of
those applications are a waste of the job seeker's time, and just make a bad impression
on the employer.
3 Job Search Strategies that Actually Work
Obviously, as this job seeker
and so many others have discovered, a high quantity of applications doesn't accomplish
what they want. This job seeker asked what else you can do. Combine these 3 strategies
for a successful job search for your perfect job:
-
Focus on high-quality applications, NOT a high quantity of applications.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Employers absolutely judge you as
a potential employee by the quality of your approach and documents - and if the
first "work" of yours they see is a poorly-done job application or a slipshod resume
for inappropriate jobs, their interest in you is killed.
-
Be smartly selective.
Pick 20, 50, even 100 employers where you think you could
be happy working. And choose 1 or 2 job titles to target (3 at the most). Then,
focus on those jobs with those employers. Learn as much as you can about these employers
(check the employer websites, LinkedIn Company Profiles, employee LinkedIn Profiles,
results in Google/Bing searches, etc.).
-
Stand out with the quality of your approach and documents, like a top employee.
Demonstrate the quality of your work product, from your networking to resume submission
and interview preparation. This requires your "A Game" - in all aspects from initial
contact and resume customized for each employer through final negotiations for the
job offer.
-
Pay attention to your online reputation, the new critical necessity.
Most job seekers underestimate the impact of their online reputation and lack appropriate
visibility.
With more than 80% of employers checking out applicants with an Internet search
on Google or Bing before inviting them in for an interview, smart job seekers make
sure that those search results show employers good information about them - information
that supports the application and also demonstrates that the job seeker understands
how to operate successfully in today's online world. LinkedIn is currently the best
method of managing a positive online image for yourself.
-
Invisibility is very bad!
I know so many job seekers who are proud that if you
do a search on their name on Google you find nothing. Wrong! Invisibility makes
you look out-of-date (or clueless).
-
Too much casual visibility is also bad!
On the other hand, if you have been publicly-sharing
crazy party photos or complaining about being hung-over, you also have a problem.
Clean up your act - remove all of that bad visibility that you can, and build up
positive visibility for yourself. Read the You Are Being Watched! And Judged! post
for more information.
-
Develop a set of profiles that supports your job search.
Manage positive visibility
for yourself to establish your online reputation or to push the bad stuff off the
first page of search results - the LinkedIn Profile is an excellent start. If you
have negative visibility to replace or bury, read the Reputation Management (or
Recovery) post for additional places to establish profiles.
Worrying about our online visibility is a new issue for many of us. But, think
how the Internet has dramatically changed the way we shop, get our news, and do
many other things. It has had a similar major impact on recruiting and job search.
Ignore these changes, and your job search will be much longer than it needs to be.
-
Network your way into your new job.
You've read/heard this advice a thousand times, because it is the way the vast majority
of job seekers land jobs. In comparison with the pre-Internet era, networking is
thousands of times easier to do now.
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First Lady announces certification plan for veteran jobs
by Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPS) — First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled, in late April, the new
Information Technology Training and Certification Partnership to put thousands of
service members to work with industry-recognized IT certifications in hand before
they leave the military.
The First Lady said a public-private partnership will offer the certification program.
"This new partnership will provide up to 161,000 service members with the chance
to gain the certifications they need for 12 different high-demand, high-paying technology
careers ...from IT security analysts to computer programmers to quality assurance
engineers," she noted.
The program is expected to garner more than 1.8 million jobs by 2020, with salaries
of more than $81,000, a White House fact sheet indicated.
"More than 1 million service members will be hanging up their uniforms and transitioning
to civilian life ... on top of the hundreds of thousands of veterans and military
spouses already out there looking for work," the first lady said.
Obama said that too often, men and women in uniform come home to find that the training
and experience they've received in the military doesn't count toward civilian employment,
"or they discover that the credits they've earned in military courses don't transfer
when they enroll in college, so they're turned away from jobs that they're more
than qualified to do."
Obama called military members highly skilled, hard-working and dedicated people.
The new credentialing initiative is in line with President Barack Obama's partnerships
with the manufacturing sector for service members to gain high-demand advanced manufacturing
certifications. It also ties in with the recently developed DOD Military Credentialing
and Licensing Task Force, and the first lady's February challenge to governors to
take executive or legislative action for service members to get the credentials
they need to transition to the civilian labor market by the end of 2015.
"In recent months, we've seen leaders across this country starting to solve this
problem," Obama said of veteran unemployment. "We have seen dozens of governors
and state legislators passing laws that clear away all the red tape so that veterans
and military spouses can get the licenses they need for the jobs they're qualified
for."
Obama emphasized that changing laws is just the beginning, noting that "even the
best laws in the world won't make a difference until companies are actually making
those job offers, schools are accepting those credits, and our veterans and military
spouses are actually collecting those paychecks that they need to take care of their
families."
Industry leaders that will help support the initiative are Cisco Systems, Microsoft
Corp., Oracle, CompTIA NetApp, Hewlett-Packard, Futures, Global Knowledge, Gogo
Training and SANS Institute and Global Information assurance Certification, according
to White House officials.
"We are not going to stop until all our veterans and military families have good
jobs ... jobs they deserve ... jobs that they've earned, jobs that will help them
build their careers and create a better future for their children," Obama said.
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