Baltimore, Maryland – July 31 2012 – This Spring Kathryn and Emily Troutman, expert Federal Career Trainers, travelled to the small island state of Bahrain near the Persian Gulf. Their mission was to provide four-days of special federal-job-search training to 40 sailors in the process of leaving the US Navy.
The effort is all part of a new program Troutman’s firm, the Resume Place, is offering. The program combines one-on-one editing and focusing of federal resumes for exiting US military with training on how to apply to the federal government’s USAJobs site. Many say this long difficult-to-use federal jobs site became even more challenging, not easier, during a recent overhaul.
“The Navy and all the services are downsizing,” said Kathryn Troutman, also known as the Federal Jobs Guru. “It’s a big transition to move from the service to a job outside the military. Without adequate assistance and know-how, many federal resumes for ex-military are not even getting the eligibility score of seventy, which would only be like getting a C in school. Then there is the online application process through USAJobs, which is very complicated.”
Three auditorium presentations at the Naval Air Station, Bahrain will cover Kathryn Troutman’s popular “10 Steps to a Federal Job” course, applying for the Senior Executive Service (SES), and the government’s behavior-based interview style. Then nine small-group two-hour classes will be given. The size of the small classes will be kept to only five sailors each, so every jobseeker can get personalized attention. The classes will include:
- How to set up a USAJobs account online
- How to search USAJobs for announcements of the right positions
- Instruction on how to submit the federal resume to the USAJobs resume builder
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- Information on how to answer the self-assessment questions on the federal questionnaire that comes
with every announcement
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- Background on the additional paperwork separating military must submit to the USAJobs site and how to
do it
- How to track and follow the progress of the application through the USAJobs system
In an earlier leg of the program, certified federal-resume writers at the Resume Place spent four hours on each sailor’s federal resume. With Kathryn Troutman’s input and their specialized knowledge, the writers targeted every resume so it matches the best federal job for that sailor’s skill set based on Office of Personnel Management standards. The Navy’s Fleet and Family Support Program (FFSP) counselors had worked with the sailors previously to get draft resumes created.
“The resumes that most ex-military people write are not focused properly,” noted Kathryn Troutman. “Without the right focus, the resumes will not work. Plus jobseekers often ignore the fact that additional paperwork must be submitted to USAJobs, and this is another major reason applications get rejected. It’s critical that the separating sailors know how to use the application process correctly as well as having completely on-target resumes.”
The sailors participating in this unique program were invited by FFSP.
In addition to the Bahrain sailors, Kathryn Troutman’s team of Certified Federal Resume Writers will provide customized federal-job-search services for 140 more sailors in the near future. There will be 25 sailors each from Rota (Italy), Naples (Spain), Sigonella (Italy) and Souda Bay (Greece). Resumes for these sailors will also be reviewed and focused and training given for the USAJobs website through distance learning.
Parties interested in learning more about federal-job-search training for exiting military or other groups or federal job search certification for career professionals should contact the Resume Place offices in Catonsville, Maryland. Our phone is toll free 888-480-8265 or local 410-744-4324 and email, [email protected].
