GovernmentExecutive.com

Resume@resume-place.com

As a professional resume writer for 27 years, a trainer, Webmaster and book author, I learn something new everyday from my clients. I have stories to tell, experiences to share and tips to give.

In this column, I plan to tackle the tricky topics of how to get promoted, change jobs, impress your supervisor, find a mentor, create a network, and market and sell yourself in government. I will also include federal employee success stories, and answer your questions.

For instance, you may wonder how to get recognized and hired. There's a simple answer: Pre-market yourself.

A new idea for advancing your career in government is to create a 1- or 2-page resume to use as an introduction. The brief document is often referred to as a networking or marketing resume. Its format includes a short employment history, job titles, a few accomplishments, a short list of expertise, and educational highlights. A potential employer can scan it in under a minute - just enough time to make a good impression and start a conversation.

This would be ideal if you were to meet a senior executive at a meeting or conference. You could pull this short version out of your briefcase and presto!, that person may just want to consider you for a job.

Never forget: It's who you know. This self-marketing process works better than ever in government. A job announcement doesn't exist yet, but people are getting to know your name and getting familiar with your experience.

In government career development, marketing has typically been a secret. But now that offices and agencies are reinventing themselves and employees are too, it's time for everyone to start marketing for name recognition and experience.

If you market your skills with the networking resume, your supervisor will know that you are a self-starter, that you have initiative, know your skills and have self-confidence.

However, don't mistake the networking resume for a "federal resume" that you would use to apply for an announced position. Federal resumes are typically 3 to 7 pages in length, still too long to use for networking.

For help with writing your marketing resume, check my Web site. It's a whole lot easier to write than a federal resume.

Next week's topic: Setting career goals for 1999. Where do you plan to be on the first day of the 21st Century?

Please write me at resume@resume-place.com with comments or ideas for Federal Career Corner. If you have a marketing success story, I'd love to hear it. I look forward to writing every week about career development ideas and tips.

Come back next Tuesday for another conversation at the Federal Career Corner.

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman has been the president of The Resume Place, Inc. for 27 years. Kathryn helps people get promoted and change jobs. She is the pioneer designer of the new "federal resume." She wrote and published the first book on federal resume writing and is a popular resume writing workshop leader in government.