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Career Professional? Learn about Federal Resumes

Robin Schlinger presents 2-part series – Helping Clients Secure a Federal Job

Robin Schlinger will be presenting on Federal Resumes – “Helping Clients Secure a Federal Job” on CEU One Stop – August 18, 2017 and August 25, 2017. If you want a Federal Resume – contact Robin Schlinger at Robin’s Resumes® today to learn from an industry-leading expert.

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) 2017

An announcement per the Office of Personnel Management: OPM Administrative Law Judge link

“OPM Will Open 2017 Administrative Law Judge Examination – The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced it will open the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Examination to interested applicants in the near future by posting a job opportunity announcement on USAJOBS. Please check the USAJOBS website (external link) regularly as application forms and filing instructions are not available in advance but will be included in the ALJ announcement when it is posted.

By applying for the ALJ examination, applicants are essentially applying to be placed on a register (i.e., a list of eligibles), not for a specific job at a specific agency. In order to be placed on the register, an applicant must meet the qualification requirements, successfully complete all components of the ALJ examination and receive a final numerical rating. (Posted August 4, 2017)”

Robin’s Resumes® has successfully helped folks apply for these jobs in the past – and would be pleased to help you.

Four Ways to Charge Up Your Tired Resume

If you have been sending out your resume for a while without success, it may begin to feel stale to you, let alone hiring managers and recruiters. Maybe it is time to take a fresh look at the contents and give new life to your tired resume.

  1. Make sure your resume emphasizes real accomplishments, not empty clichés (for example, “highly motivated and strategic-minded professional production supervisor”). Accomplishments such as solving your current employer’s production problems or learning new processes or taking post-college courses show motivation. Accomplishments such as increasing sales 20%, lowering costs $20 million, increasing productivity or efficiency 15%, handling mergers and acquisitions, or serving and retaining customers show that you are responsive to the company’s strategy. Be sure to include quantification where possible.
  2. Make sure your resume focuses on the job you want—not the jobs you had in the past. That means looking at your career to emphasize the accomplishments, skills, and education that prepared you for the job you want. Cut back on or remove information that may make you proud but is badly dated (for example, technology that no one uses anymore except if it shows your path for current technologies) or irrelevant.
  3. Make sure your resume uses words that convey interest and progress in your own career. If every bullet point starts with “responsible for” or “performed,” you should consider whether words such as “led,” “reported,” “delivered,” “supported,” “planned,” or “produced” might restore energy to your tired resume. You must be honest about your role but there are countless synonyms for performing work.
  4. Make sure your resume gives you credit for all you have accomplished. If your resume is a bare-bones list of past jobs or tasks, no hiring manager or recruiter will be interested. You must move beyond the thought that “anyone can do what I do.” The true point is that no one except you has had your exact experience. Once you realize what it is that sets you apart from other candidates, your tired resume will truly come to life.

Are you having trouble identifying accomplishments, focusing on the job you want, writing interesting job descriptions, and recognizing your value to an employer? It is time to bring in a professional resume writer who will help you create a resume that gives you pride and makes hiring managers and recruiters take notice. Contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Your Resume Goals in College

Soon many of you will be starting or returning to college. Your first priority is to concentrate on your studies, but one of your other priorities should be looking ahead to when you join the workforce. This day may arrive earlier than you expect if you are working your way through college, taking required or independent internships, or hoping to serve as a teacher’s aide or laboratory assistant.

Regardless of how closely your current work (if any) relates to your future career, you want to start thinking about how you will present yourself as a valuable employee after you graduate college.

In terms of your resume, you should try to build credentials in the following areas:

  • Work Experience: If you can find employment that relates closely to your future career, grab it. However, any work experience is valuable because it shows your discipline, teamwork, and value to a previous employer.
  • Achievements: Keep track of your college achievements, especially completion of a presentation, practicum, thesis, or project related to your field. Also keep note of any awards or scholarships you receive. They help to differentiate you from the crowd of job applicants. Team projects are just as valuable as independent projects.
  • Leadership and Teamwork: Join and participate in a campus organization. Try for a position on a board, committee, or executive council, to hone and demonstrate your leadership skills.
  • Knowledge and Skills: Keep a list of the college courses that relate most directly to your future career. You want to show on your resume that you come with knowledge in your field and have met the educational requirements.
  • References and Referrals: Talk to your professors and your current employers. They are excellent sources of references and may also be excellent sources of referrals—if they know you.

When it is time to write your resume, remember that your college’s career office is focused on creating resumes for on-campus recruiters. In the wider world, those resumes are inadequate at best because they do not account for the hiring procedures at companies (such as the use of electronic Applicant Tracking Systems). Please contact Robin’s Resumes® for help with your resume.

5 Important Soft Skills

“Soft skills” are people skills—they are always in high demand at every level of an organization. You may demonstrate your soft skills at every stage of your job search, from the first time you revise or write your resume to the final interview. What soft skills are companies looking for?

  1. Communication. One way to show that you are a good communicator is to make sure that your resume looks and sounds professional, without spelling and grammatical mistakes. Another way to demonstrate communication skills is through examples of achievements that involved talking across departments, helping customers, or leading a team. Finally, a good communicator will be able to talk comfortably with hiring managers and recruiters. If you feel week in any of these areas, it may be time to hire a professional resume writer, join Toastmasters, or take volunteer positions that will help you hone your communication skills.
  2. Flexibility. The achievements on your resume should show that you accept new ideas, new managers, and new approaches to work. Your ability to survive a merger, take on a new role, or implement a change in process or technology are all examples of your flexibility.
  3. Problem-solving. Almost every company or nonprofit runs into a road block at some time, whether it is lack of resources, high turnover, lack of training, or some other problem. Your achievements should include examples when you were aware of problems and helped solve or surmount them.
  4. Organization. This soft skill is apparent in the way your resume is organized. It is also apparent in the way you organize your job search: Did you research the companies where you are applying? Have you kept accurate records of where you sent your resume? When recruiters and hiring managers interview you, are you ready with relevant questions and information?
  5. Delegation. Your achievements should demonstrate your ability to delegate to increase efficiency and productivity.

Your decision to use a professional resume writer like Robin’s Resumes® shows your ability to recognize great communication, take a flexible approach to your job search, solve problems in your resume, organize your job search, and delegate. We will make sure the achievements on your resume reflect your strong soft skills. Contact us today.