Cracking the Federal Job Code

I vividly remember submitting my first application for a federal job in the spring of 1997. It was a big year for the world; we lost Princess Diana and Mother Teresa in one weekend. O. J. Simpson was on trial, and twenty-one-year-old Tiger Woods won the Masters. Steve Jobs returned to run Apple Computers, and Microsoft was named the world’s wealthiest company ($261 billion). The world was quickly changing, and so was my career.

Listening to a playlist of Lenny Kravitz and the Spice Girls, it took me two weeks to compose six essays describing my knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and another weekend to tweak my federal résumé to perfection. I don’t mean to imply that I worked on my application nonstop twenty-four hours a day, but somewhere between the opening of Titanic and the release of the first Harry Potter book, I found myself writing and editing KSA essays into the wee hours of the morning. I felt great about my twenty-one-page application because I had worked so incredibly hard on it and because I truly felt that I was the perfect candidate for the federal position. That dream job was listed at the GS-13 level, but I refused to sell myself short. I figured that if the Pathfinder could land on Mars that year, then I could certainly land a federal job. Plus, I had earned my master’s degree just two short years earlier while working full-time; wouldn’t that gain me a little credit?

The hard work paid off! I got hired! Yes, even though I had absolutely no clue what I was doing or what the federal HR staff would be looking for in my application, I got the job. Looking back on it now, when the HR specialist made me a federal job offer, I had no idea that I had overcome a monumental challenge. At age twenty six, I had landed a GS-13 federal job at the US Department of Health and Human Services! Fortunately for me, it all worked in my favor. I’ll call it luck coupled with many prayers!

I spent the next seven years working in various HR positions, which involved staffing, recruitment, and career development. I moved to the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and I led agency-wide and government-wide HR projects and programs. In my close to a decade of experience as an insider federal HR specialist, I learned much about the federal application process and its nuances. There are volumes upon volumes of information and regulations related to the complex federal hiring process and how to make hiring selections. (As I said above, with my inexperience at the time, I am frankly astonished that I got hired!)

After resigning my GS-15 position at OPM to care for my three girls, I was approached by several individuals who were seeking federal employment. They were experienced in their fields, and I knew they would make great public servants. The challenge they faced was navigating the complex, convoluted cobweb of the federal hiring process. I quickly became aware that there was not enough information available to federal job seekers, and the information that was shared was not easily understood—and none of it was from an insider’s perspective.

My experience applying for several federal positions, coupled with the indepth knowledge I gained while managing HR projects and programs in various organizations, has proven to be invaluable. Using this knowledge, I began to help individuals prepare federal application packages based on what I knew the federal HR professionals wanted and needed to see in federal applications. Word spread quickly that I was teaching those outside of the government how to navigate the federal application process—and they were getting it! I was invited to teach seminars at local one-stop career centers on how to crack the code of the federal hiring process. This led to invitations from military bases, colleges and universities, other local one-stop career centers, associations, and county venues. To date, I have delivered my message to thousands of individuals and organizations, resulting in an impressive track record of success. Individuals are getting interviews and job offers and making significant contributions to federal government operations.

This book is a compilation of the most important things you need to know about federal applications and hiring. It highlights what you need to know in order to create an extremely competitive federal application package. I have taken my signature seminar, which has helped thousands of federal job seekers, and created this book to guide you through the process of identifying the best jobs for your background, writing your federal résumé, and applying for federal jobs. Additionally, I have included a section on federal interviewing because the process is incredibly competitive; if you interview, you want the job—not an invitation to go back to square one and start applying again.

My desire is that this information will be instrumental in your success as you apply for your dream positions within the federal government. Good luck in cracking the code to your federal job search!