Photo Caption: Stars are Lined Up for Military Spouse class, Army Community Services, Ft. Rucker, Alabama
Mike Kozlowski, Employment Readiness Manager
Bobbi Rossiter, MAS, Program Manager
Ten Steps to a Federal Job®, June 7, 2018
MILITARY SPOUSES WANT FEDERAL CAREERS TOO – just like the transitioning military! For the transitioning military, the US government jobs are the MOST FAVORED. WELL, the spouses want this too. Especially since the US government jobs are the MOST prevalent on every military base in the world. They also want career stability and opportunities for solid positions at various bases as they travel through their spouse’s military careers! AND following their spouses retirement or separation! This is the time to get going with a federal job search, while they are on PCS Orders and their spouse is still Active Duty!
Our new curriculum, Stars are Lined Up for Military Spouses, emphasizes the features and benefits of a federal career and the federal resume.
- Possibility of a federal position at each military base
- Transparent opportunities for promotions and step increase for salary
- Family-friendly, flexibility and GREAT leave policies for family responsibilities
- Training and career development for career growth
- Interesting mission to support warfighter (their spouse) needs! That’s really cool! They will be in the same “business” actually!
MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION MONTH FEDERAL JOB TRAINING:
More than 400 spouses were reached with our easy-to-understand and empowering “GET A FEDERAL JOB CURRICULUM”. I spent Military Spouse Month teaching the STARS are Lined Up for Military Spouses on USAJOBS program at Joint Base Myers-Henderson Hall, VA; Ft. Rucker, AL and 3 webinars.
DOUBLE-HEADER AT ARMY COMMUNITY SERVICES, FT. RUCKER, AL
TEN STEPS TO A FEDERAL JOB AND
STARS ARE LINED UP FOR MILTIARY SPOUSES
The best way to teach federal job search is the combination curriculum. In the morning, Mike Kozlowski, Employment Program Manager and a Certified Ten Steps trainer on Ft. Rucker, provided a 4-hour Ten Steps to a Federal Job® workshop. The Ten Steps walked through the hiring process for 30 transitioning service members and military spouses. In the afternoon I taught a version of the Tips for Military Spouses Seeking Federal Jobs workshop. It was so rewarding to see the light bulbs and “Ah-ha!” moments of the 17 spouses that came back for that session.
OVERALL LESSONS LEARNED BY SPOUSES ABOUT FEDERAL JOB SEARCH:
- Military spouses rely, in large part, on other military spouses to find direction through the maze of resources. That’s both good and bad since so many of the spouses that came through my workshops had gaping holes in their understanding of how federal jobs work, and what they needed to do to navigate their way into these positions.
- 80% of the spouses in attendance had NEVER heard of E.O. 13473. Only 6% knew how to use the EO for federal job search and had managed to do so. The others were just thoroughly confused as to what to do with this preference that they had heard about.
- Understanding the Requirements and Specialized Experience in the USAJOBS announcement. A common theme was that the spouses didn’t know how to use or feature education in the federal resume. My answer was always one of those light-bulb-inducing moments: put your education as a USAJOBS resume “job block” and not just as a mere mention. That’s a game-changing move for the resume. FEATURING education, instead of MENTIONING education.
- LIVE USAJOBS Demonstration on how to find the military spouse federal job announcements! In the Ft. Rucker class, I demonstrated how to find the military spouse “widget” on the “federal employee” announcements. And I explained WHY the “federal employee” announcements were different than the “US Citizen” announcements. We found keywords, KSAs and “One year Specialized Experience” language. ALL important for the federal resume match.
STARS WEBINAR COURSE LESSONS LEARNED:
- Awareness of Military Spouse Preference as an avenue for obtaining federal jobs thanks to E.O. 13473 and the new executive order
- Understanding of the best possible federal resume – the Outline Format resume
- Knowledge of the types of USAJOBS announcements that are good for military spouses
- Encouragement to apply for federal positions because these positions are GREAT for military spouses during their service member’s military career
MOST IMPORTANT TAKE-AWAYS:
- Military Spouse Preference no longer has a two-year limit, even though some government websites haven’t updated that information (including OPM and USAJOBS)
- Military spouses have their own special hiring path for federal jobs, EO 13473.
- There are positions in the government that don’t require more than a high school diploma. The 0301 series was a big hit.
- PRACTICE applying for federal jobs on USAJOBS. It takes practice to get familiar and comfortable with the online application.
- And last, but not least, Military Spouse Preference really does exist!
THE SAMPLE SPOUSE FEDERAL RESUMES.
The Stars are Lined Up has 5 SUCCESSFUL sample military spouse resumes that can be used as inspiration for updating or even creating that federal resume that will help propel you into civil service. The in-person session students received a copy. These samples are from real military spouses. My own resume is in the book as a sample too!. If you don’t have a copy already, grab an e-book version. Kindle is $6.95 on Amazon. Well worth the investment in your career and quality of life for your family!
It’s time to get this book
to write a GREAT federal resume!
The Stars Are Lined Up for Military Spouses®
- 5 samples of federal resumes of military spouses who landed federal jobs! This book is dedicated to helping military spouses navigate the complex federal job application system.
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Publisher’s Bulk Rates for the books are GREAT – the books are FANTASTIC to hand out with samples of the correct federal resume format.
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GET CERTIFIED TO TEACH TEN STEPS TO A FEDERAL JOB AND THE STARS ARE LINED UP FOR MILITARY BASES AT YOUR WORKPLACE!
Get Certified to teach the Two courses; 3 year License and Certification Training
7-part (90 min – Adobe Connect) Webinar Agenda and 3-Day Live Class Agenda
Summer and Fall Classes for 2018 are posted here»
Live classes coming up: U. of California, San Diego; JBPHH, Honolulu, Hawaii; Loyola College, Columbia, MD
Rates for indivduals and groups, and recertification are here»
