“Be Prepared” is the motto of the Boy Scouts of America. It should also be the motto of the federal job seeker.
A recent Merit Systems Protection Board survey found that over half, 52 percent to be exact, of federal job announcements were open for two weeks or less. I have seen jobs that are open for as little as four days. Therefore, if you were checking once a week, you would miss out on a few jobs altogether and would have a week or less to apply for many other positions.
However, if you are not prepared to apply for a job, even an early notification may not be enough to make you competitive. Far too many job applicants wait until the last minute to apply and then submit a generic resume or application form and hastily thrown together KSAs (knowledge, skills and abilities). A better solution would be to have job specific resumes, applications and KSAs already prepared.
If you are interested in advancing or moving within the federal government, you probably have a very good idea of the type of position you are interested in. If that is the case, there is no reason to wait until the last minute to prepare your paperwork. Find an announcement for the position in which you are interested and prepare paperwork for it. Most announcements will list similar qualifications and duties. The KSAs will also be similar, if not identical.
When working on your paperwork, be sure to include the keywords that you have identified in the application. This way, your documents will be focused on the particular job you are applying for. Also, emphasize your accomplishments and results, as well as your duties and responsibilities.
There is a saying that success is where preparation and opportunity meet. By controlling the preparation, you will be at a great advantage when opportunity presents itself over those many job applicants who do not.
** John Grobe, President of Federal Career Experts, is the contributing editor of FEDweek’s The Federal Employees Career Transition Handbook and an expert in employment and job search issues. He provides career advising services to individual employees. John can be reached at (708) 771-2445 or johngrob@ripco.com. **
