Surviving Mentally After a Layoff

Here are some tips to stay focused:

• Write a list of your goals for the year.

• Make yourself more valuable now and in the future by taking courses or learning new material from the internet and library.

• Keep up with social marketing and blogs in your industry.

• Start exercising regularly

• Read a best seller and keep current with the news so you have something to talk about that isn’t focused on you.

• Build an attractive resume website.

• Call old contacts and tell them about your plans.

• If starting a business find a mentor. Explain your goals and ask them if they will help you define them. Start with SBA’s Score.

• Have lunch with someone new

• Improve your speaking skills by joining Toast Masters

• Develop an elevator speech and go to several networking activities a month

• Earn income as an adjunct teacher through a college or adult education program.

• Develop outside income through freelancing or by teaching a skill.

• Search for a job boards through Google and post your resume

Washington Networking Event - International Folks

Attended a Washington Networking event for international folks. Met MBA graduates from USA and Russia looking for government and international jobs. Talked with Roxan Kerr who recently started RA Kerr, a law firm which targets employment issues, Tonietta Wheatle who founded WHEATLEPEART, an educational business that trains youth in the art of entreprenureship and Shonika Proctor,a blogger-commentator for PBS who talks and writes about young entrepreneurs. Others businesses focus on providing help to grow US firms into international enterprises; serving as international movers,and performing statistical measurement and analysis for industrial psychology project. Ecoprint was represented by Dave Michaels, an outreach coordinator who manages environmental consulting, report writing and printing functions. During the three hour event, bought our own drinks and gobbled down three kinds of thin-crusted, tasty pizza.

How can the Goverment's reorg of www.usajobs.gov help you?

Tips for Understanding the Government’s On-line Revolution

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) plans to present a stream-lined version of www.usajobs.gov as part of a general reorganization which will occur by January 23, 2011 according to OPM. The usajobs.gov site, for example, will display a lot more features than before in close proximity of each other. With the click of a mouse you will be able to see the pay scale, grade and occupation for the job you’re applying for. You can also share your document on LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites. The Remix on-line resume format has been updated and will serve as one uniform resume which contains all the information necessary to apply for all types of government jobs on-line. Although, currently you can store up to five resumes on usajobs.gov.

OPM says you can use keywords to communicate multiple skills and qualifications that you can discover by reading the job announcement. When constructing a resume, they advise putting all your selling points at the top of the page. This sounds a lot like a kind of summary of your work history describing your background, skills and accomplishments. The Government suggests that you highlight your activities by describing them using figures or percentages.

For example, “Produce 10 publications by using lower cost paper reducing costs by 15 percent.”

Since time equals money, OPM suggests that you describe other accomplishments with time as part of the consideration.

For example: “Produce twice monthly payroll or write four 750 word articles for a monthly newsletter consistently meeting 3 pm deadline.”

Another tip is to add figures when you describe how you save money, for example, managing the office supply budget.

“Buy yearly office supplies on sale at Staples saving over $500 dollars.”

Or when describing how many people you manage you could say:

“Manage 450 people in the five offices of OGP, prepare performance appraisals and assist 40 employees implement a plan for personal growth.”

Job seekers interested in grade GS15 jobs have the choice of using the 612 form which can be downloaded from the OPM website and when completed faxed or mailed to the appropriate address at OPM. Applicants must answer ECQ questions that represent three types of qualifications described as cases. For example, A- cases are based on demonstrated executive experience.

B-cases support successful participation in the OPM approved SES Candidate (SESCDP) program. There is a form executives can fill out that leads to eligibility for non-competitive appointments to the SES. On this form, you can document short and long term developmental activities, managerial, or leadership skills developed through reading books, attending webinars/Pod casts and other training which helps deliver broader perspective and deeper knowledge of the agency and Federal government. This form can be downloaded from the OPM website.

C-cases are based on having special or unique qualities that provide evidence of the likelihood of success in the SES.

While completing a resume candidates must address all five ECQ’s for each job or write a general resume and then attach a narrative that contains a discussion of the five Esq.’s statements: The ECQ statements are: Leading Change; Leading People; Results Driven; Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions. For an in depth discussions of the key words related to each ECQ go to http://www.opm.gov where you can download the Guide to Senior Executive Service Qualifications.

Another way to apply for an SES job is to organize a narrative that follows the (CCAR) model which describes skills needed to be successful in a variety of SES positions. The CCAR model describes the context of the challenge, the action you deliver, and the result. You can start with this model as the basic structure of the narrative. Then integrate the Executive Core Qualifications (Esq.’s) along with key words into your statement to describe how throughout your career you have provided strategic leadership and commitment following the goal of one of the cases mentioned earlier such as in case A-- demonstrating executive experience.

Your resume and the narrative can be faxed or mailed to the appropriate personnel office. The entire job announcement and other attachments are found by doing a search on SES jobs by utilizing the usajobs.gov search engine. When the job announcement information is downloaded, you will see listed the personnel specialist assigned to answer your questions and a phone number as well as the address of where to send your application

What Does A Capture Manager Do?

A Capture Manager is a term that’s been tossed around on career job sites lately. If you do a search you’ll be surprised to see lots of openings for Capture Managers. But what exactly does a Capture Manager do to earn them a hundred thousand plus salary?

At first it seems that a Capture Manger is a new name for Proposal Manager in the Federal market place but after investigation, the duties of a Capture Manager are similar but involve a lot more responsibility. For example, a Capture Manager must have experience managing deals from $10 – $100M. They use their big nets to target and capture large federal contracts. They sell products to large agencies or bid on proposals to get work for their company. In the proposal writing area, tasks include coordination of timelines, writing assignments, value proposition creation and ensuring that the sales message is articulated throughout the proposal. Normally, the proposal must demonstrate that the companies solution is superior to other bids. As well having great organizational skills, a Capture Manager must have a strong background in business practices and knowledge of Federal Acquisition (FAR) regulations and a record of winning bids.

Some Capture Managers have a direct sales background or work with a Sales Manager. They may have held positions as Sales Managers selling products to other companies and have worked as business developers finding new customers for products. They develop sales and bidding strategies to win proposals to gain work for the company. In addition, they sell the idea of bidding on a proposal to higher ups in the company as well as managing small proposal teams. In most instances, they write the less technical sections of an RFP and work with technical staff members to answer technical proposal questions. They also review, write and revise proposal content to achieve target messages.

How to write a resume for a Capture Management job.

Every resume should have a summary that describes sales and business development experience. You should mention a figure that shows how you’ve driven revenue growth within competitive markets in sales. Since you will be capturing federal contracts in the market place list the highest awards you’ve won. Your proposal management experience and skills should focus on the types of documents you have written as well as the number of people that you have supervised. Mention your sales and organizational skills, knowledge of business practices and ability to work with a variety of people as well as your ability to handle stress.

List your accomplishments—the number of proposal wins, how you increased the bottom line or saved money for the company.

Next create a section on your resume for computer and software skills.

Under Career Highlights, list your experience chronologically as it relates to your capture management experience, sales management and business development. Mention your writing skills and how you used them to write, evaluate, and revise proposals. Discuss employment during the last ten years; this is as far back as employers want you to go.

Create an Education section listing your degrees and training that pertains to the job you are applying for

Develop an awards or affiliation section and list your recent awards within the past 10 years

Leave references off your resume.

How Much Am I Worth?

The prospect of coming up with an answer at an interview to this question makes most of us queasy. Yet, in this down economy many employers insist that you reveal a salary range during the interview. If you ask for too much you might believe you can ruin the deal or ask for too little and be unable to pay your bills. So what should you to do?

Experts say prepare before the interview to identify your salary range. This can be accomplished by researching your salary on the internet through Google. There are several businesses that ask you questions and for $49.00 will come up with info on what your skills are worth in today’s job market given your background, experience, and education. When using an on-line salary calculator answer the questions truthfully to get the low, the average and above average salary.

After Googling several free online careers and working through the process, I discovered some of them did not have information about a senior technical writer, my specialty or information systems but there was plenty of free information on many occupations. I also noticed that in general the salaries were a few thousand higher than they were last year. I guess to compensate for the decrease in the value of the dollar some employers have raised their salaries. When dealing with headhunter’s who specialize in contract jobs they try to get you to name a rate before they will submit you for the job. Recently four job shops sent me emails for the same job. I talked with one who demoted my rate by $10 dollars per hour. I said no to that offer. I did not give up and when asked by the next recruiter from another company who was selling the same job; my range was $15 dollars more per hour. He said that the beginning of the range that I had quoted him was “Ball Park” and he would bid me at that rate which was actually $16 dollars more an hour than the previous offer.

LET THE EMPLOYER BRING UP THE SALARY

When you’re applying for a permanent job, it is best to let the employer bring up salary before disclosing a salary range. Some of employers will try to get this information from you before inviting you to an interview as a way of screening you out. You can always provide a verbal defensive move, “I will be happy to discuss my current salary when we talk about the issue at the interview.”

When asked about salary at the interview you can ask “Are you offering me the job?”

If the answer is yes, be enthusiastic and appreciative. Mention the range you researched and where the information came from. If they give you a low ball offer say you’d like 24 hours to think it over and mention that your expectations for the salary are higher because of your expenses, experience, former work history and compensation. Market your self by documenting your skills and accomplishments and emphasize the reasons why you should get the offer. This will give you the opportunity to see if the employer is flexible with the salary. Try to get their offer in writing before you make up your mind in case you decide to decline the offer. If you say no, be positive and gracious so you can say goodbye on the best of terms. “

There is more to a job than a salary, so it helps to have a long-term strategy, according to Nancy Rehnquist, a Program Management and Communication expert .
“I once needed a job and got a low offer, but the benefits were very good including money for education and professional development. Instead of asking for a higher salary I asked if they could pay my last class in graduate school. They said they could not do it but ended up increasing their offer so that I could take the class.”

BE READY TO NEGOTIATE

Refuse to be intimidated and act with self confidence according to Sandy Bloomberg, a Senior Windows engineer for the government.
“It all depends on what you bring to the table—if you are confident in your skills and capable of talking about it through verbal communication, resume and references than negotiating a salary is a must. Role play and do your homework!

Whether you will negotiate for a better salary depends on your state of mind. For example, one of the first things you learn when playing QB in high school and college is to take what the defense gives you,” according to GM Ralph Medlow.

“If there are eight guys in the box and they are inviting you to pass you’ll likely win yardage, if you run you’ll be thrown for a loss. When you’re in a position to negotiate without fear – you will play hardball. If you have been unemployed you’ll probably take the offer without negotiations.”.

Do You Need Keywords?

How Relevant are Keywords When Applying for a Job?

 It’s very important to add key words to your resume in a summary and include them in a description of your job history while writing down the duties at each job, according to Patrick Larkin, a recruiter at Superior Technical Resources, Inc. An average recruiter has to deal with the problem of selecting the right candidates to bid on jobs everyday. Sometimes a job candidate will leave out keywords in their resume listing only that they have experience but not describing what kind.
.
“ Just the other day I received resume information from an Administrator who failed to include any information about her 16 year career besides listing her job titles and dates. Employers want to know what you did at each job.” says Larkin.

Today’s recruiting businesses subscribe to database services that captures resumes from top search engines such as Career Builder, Dice, Monster and HotJobs and others. When you submit your resume on-line at these job sites it goes into a database where it’s reformatted according to job description, location, and contact information and sent electronically to different recruiting clients.

Recruiters have software which allow them to perform searches on these databases. The process involves entering criteria.

“Sometimes I enter up to five keywords to describe a job because no one thinks of the same exact keywords for every position.” added Larkin.

Other areas that should be included in the job history are technical skills and competencies.

The search results save thousands of hours for recruiters when they are trying to indentify the perfect candidate for a job. The recruiter reviews the results and calls or contacts the candidates whose background best matches the job description through email. At this point, the job seeker is encouraged to send a copy of their resume to the recruiter who will follows up with a telephone interview. If the candidate has the right experience, location and salary range their information is sent to an employer who decides which prospects they’d like to interview.

Looking for Job Leads as a Lobbyist

Tonight I attended a networking event for lobbyists or public relations professionals sponsored by Washington Network Group (Wing) (http://www.washingtonnetworkgroup.com/). There was a crowd of 90 well-dressed people who slowly meandered into a private room located at Bar Louie near Gallery Place and shared the hors oeuvres. The event partner was the American League of Lobbyists, founded in 1979 to enhance the professionalism, competence and ethical standards of lobbyists. The president of the group said he’d like young people to email their resumes to the American League of Lobbyists because the association has members who know of lobbying jobs. Employers who are looking for more experienced folks would like to see candidates who have a legislative background as an analyst and have run a Congressional Office.

I met an attractive woman in her mid-forties who said she was lobbying on her own for the environment. She’d been looking for a job for more than six months – her expertise was health care related—she was also selling insurance. She’d moved to the District two years before from Virginia and seemed discouraged. She said that it’s been very hard to find a new job—she’d been laid off and blamed her situation on age discrimination.

Another man who previously worked for the health care industry talked about his trade negotiations and policy experience. He had several master degrees and an MBA and was also was working on a doctorate in finance. He was getting flack from potential employers who apparently didn’t like the idea he was working on his Doctorate and so he wanted to leave it off his resume. One employer said that they were afraid to hire him because he would be too distracted working on his thesis.

One man started his own company called StrategiConneX International,LLC during the last two months working with groups who were devising strategies to grow their business and focused on helping POW’s. He makes connections for clients by introducing them to the right military contact where they can get funding. Starting his own company with partners has brought in some business with more jobs in the pipe line, he said.

Several people had their own businesses. One man had a software company that was intertwined with Congress providing data analysis to support a data warehouse for Congress. Another person who was looking for lobbyists in the Healthcare field gave me his card. A lot of people were attending the event for the first time such as a Business Development Officer Roumen Boudin from Eagle Bank.

A young man who was seeking a job as an energy lobbyist said he’d been looking for a year for work and had volunteered on the Hill for a Senator and for the Republican party as well as a few other organizations but still did not get a job, He had sent out 130 resumes received 10 phone interviews and nothing happened. He was very passionate about saving energy and was in a fight to gain more experience.

There were about eight women at the event, one had her own business in education and training, another had a graphics and publishing enterprise, and then there were two selling insurance. Bill Stokes an executive search consultant and a board member for WING, mentioned a man who has a digital IT business verifying negative things that are being said about job candidates and through his programming expertise is able to manipulate Google so that the negative feedback is buried and appears as search comment 500. He can’t get totally rid on negative events or comments but is able to bury it. For example, my friend who sued two companies she worked for and received a nice settlement has had a difficult time since then landing another job. At the previous company she worked for for eight years as a manager she was involved in a sexual harassment suit. It took her four years to get her present contract which is half her pay and will expire in February. She could use this firm.