For federal applications, it is critical that you can demonstrate that you possess the “specialized experience” requirements which are more than time in grade. Image: Shutter_M/Shutterstock.com
By: Nancy SegalThere is a lot of career advice on the internet; that advice ranges from excellent and on point to downright wrong. Let’s review some of the bad advice I see so you can avoid these mistakes:
1. AI can write your resume for you. WRONG. While AI can help you on a variety of fronts, it should not be used to entirely write your resume.
2. Using white font to include keywords so they can’t be seen by a human will help with Applicant Tracking Software (ATS). WRONG. If you’re targeting federal jobs, it is important to understand that USAJOBS is not an ATS (at least not yet); ATS is primarily used by private sector employers. This is a longstanding myth and most of the newer ATS can spot this. This is likely to result in immediate rejection.
3. One resume is enough to get me a job. WRONG. A resume should be tweaked for each position. You may need to add (or delete) key words, change the order of your content including accomplishments, and rework your summary. You also need to ensure you mirror the language of the employer. If, for example, your resume talks about stakeholders but the posting uses the word customers, you need to change your language.
4. Apply to everything tangentially related to your experience OR it doesn’t matter if I don’t have the required qualifications such as education or certain certifications. WRONG. For federal applications, it is critical that you can demonstrate that you possess the “specialized experience” requirements which are more than time in grade. While research is pretty clear that you don’t need every qualification when you apply for the private sector, you do need most of the qualifications. And many job postings have “knock out” questions such as a specific degree or certification. If you don’t have that, it often doesn’t matter if you have the rest of qualifications. In most cases, it’s not about “knowing” you can do the job but proving that you already have.
5. You should “follow your passion.” WRONG. I hear this a lot. Most people need a job so that they can pay their bills. While being passionate about your job can certainly be a plus, I do not see passion as a requirement for doing your job well.
6. Having a LinkedIn Profile is all you need to get a job…recruiters will find you. WRONG There are more than 1 billion people on LinkedIn. Obviously, many people who have profiles are not active. Just being on LinkedIn is not enough. You need to have enough connections (over 500) and you need to be active/engage so that the algorithms can find you. And even that is not enough. There are a lot of people looking for jobs on LinkedIn—and there are plenty of scammers looking to take advantage.
7. A college (or graduate degree) will get you a job. WRONG. Many jobseekers are rightfully proud of their education. That being said, having a degree is not enough—especially for positions about entry level. Most employers are focused on your experience (unless you are strictly entry-level OR the organization
8. Headhunters will find you a job. WRONG. For the most part, headhunters (including search firms and retained recruiters) are hired by companies for certain executive positions to source applicants and screen applicants. While there are independent individuals who individuals can hire to help finds them a job, for most people get jobs by networking and through traditional application processes (depending upon level). Less than 2% of candidates get jobs through headhunters. And for the most part (there are some exceptions at the most senior levels), federal agencies do not use headhunters at all.
The job search, whether federal or corporate, is not easy and unfortunately, many of the shortcuts you might read about online, simply don’t hold true. Putting that advice aside and doing the work needed for a successful job search will serve you well. Like with most things, there are no shortcuts.
Nancy H. Segal is a federal job search expert. Following her own senior-level federal HR career, she founded Solutions for the Workplace LLC to provide a HR management perspective to astute applicants to U.S. government positions.
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