GovernmentExecutive.com

ktroutman@govexec.com

Do you have faith in federal personnel offices? Here's one reader whose faith has been tested:

"I can't speak for the government overall, but in technical fields, letting personnelists who don't understand the terminology make decisions on minimum qualifications is a major cause of hiring problems. As someone who first had to get hired, and now as a supervisor, I face this issue often.

"I have several times been told I didn't meet the minimum qualifications when I knew in fact that I did and the personnelist didn't understand the field well enough to know that. The biggest example from my own experience was the personnelist who told me I did not qualify for a particular job because I didn't know enough math. Thinking she was joking, I proceeded to highlight in my transcripts about twice the minimum number of math courses required by the announcement.

"I was floored when she told me flat out that 'calculus is not math,' nor were differential equations, statistics, nor any other course that, as she explained to me, did not have the word 'math' in the course title!

While she may have known the personnel rules, she obviously did not have the technical understanding to make decisions on who met the 'minimum requirements' for that position. Unfortunately this is not an isolated event. The solution is for personnelists to give applicants the benefit of the doubt and not filter someone out due to a trivial requirement."

I hear stories like this frequently from applicants, who say the first reviewer did not understand the specific technical language in the application for an announcement.

One solution in our harried reader's case would have been to write the following description in the education section of his resume: "B.S., Mathematics, completed 35 credit hours in mathematics, statistics, calculus, differential equations."

I always tell applicants to write their qualifications very clearly so that staffing specialists can understand. In the reader's case, the mathematics courses were listed in his transcripts and not in his resume or SF-171. To be safe, list education requirements and qualifications in the resume so they won't be missed by a personnelist.

Here are three other problem areas I see in federal applications that can keep a personnelist from putting you on the short list for a job. Take notes!

1. Language. The words people use in their applications (SF-171, OF-612, federal resume or electronic resume) do not include the same terminology and language as the vacancy announcement. I have an electronic resume I'm reviewing right now for someone who has submitted his resume for months with no results. I studied the individual's resume for computer security specialist and found that many of the required skills listed in the announcement are not in his application: safeguarding of classified information, evaluating security features, verifying security profiles).

2. Writing. There's either too little or too much. Sometimes it seems the sentences don't end and never make a point. Other times, there's too little copy and not enough information on which to decide if a person is qualified. I'm reviewing another federal resume that is getting no responses. The applicant devoted only eight lines of copy to his most recent position, which he has held since 1991. The rest of the resume describes his experience from 1991 back to 1962.

Thirty-eight years is too many to cover in a resume! Ten to 15 years of details is enough.

3. Likeability, when qualifications are equal. I know you're going to say, "What's that got to do with being qualified?" Well, this could be the answer to the second personnel problem listed above. If a person is found qualified over and over again, the application must not have any pizzazz or interest. You obviously don't stand out.

When all applicants are equal, who stands out? A person who dedicates their extra time to helping kids learn how to save money in a non-profit organization; a person who is a basketball and softball umpire and coach; a person who substitute teaches on their days off (working the compressed workday format). And what about those "soft skills"? Are you flexible, a good listener, able to work under pressure, handle multiple projects?

Does your resume say these things about you? If it doesn't state your special qualifications, don't expect the hiring manager To imagine or recognize these qualifications. Whatever you have to offer, write it down.

Career Tidbits

Last week at my Senior Executive Service Candidate Writing Workshop in Washington, D.C., one participant had a stand-out accomplishment for his application: "Successfully landed an F-4 Phantom Aircraft on a carrier 120 times." Details such as that may help him land a job, too.

. . . For the next few weeks I'll be writing my column from the Marine Corps base in Albany, Ga., where I'm training civilian military employees in electronic resume writing. Training Director Minnie Polite is making sure that all of her employees know how to write the new electronic resume. . . . Send me an e-mail if you want to be on a mailing list for my upcoming Electronic Resume Writing Guidebook and workshops. I'd also like to know more about your problems with and needs for the electronic resume. Have you had success?

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman is the author of four books on resume writing, she is a popular and highly-motivating trainer in government and civilian military organizations, and is an avid Web site producer and communicator. Kathryn's main site, www.resume-place.com, was first published in 1995. Kathryn has been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years and has 3 college-age children. The Career Corner column is dedicated to encouraging readers to take control of their careers and their future.

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