Job-Hunt Intelligence - Land a Federal Job, Great LinkedIn Headline, Tricky Interview Questions

Published: Tue, 01/30/18

Job-Hunt®

Intelligence
For Smarter Job Search

By Camille Carboneau Roberts

If your federal resume is not producing results—scoring “best qualified” ratings, interview opportunities, and job offers, what can you do to change the results? First, do not give up! Read this article and make the necessary changes described below and revitalize your process to make you more competitive in the federal job market. It will be worth your time and effort.

The 3 Most Common Mistakes

I received this email from a job seeker, “I have used my federal resume to apply for at least 35 different federal jobs, and I have not been rated as qualified for any of them. What am I doing wrong?”

After a thorough review of her account on USAJOBS.gov, I noticed this job seeker could have been well-qualified for many of those opportunities, but she was making some very common mistakes.

Mistake # 1. Using a cookie-cutter resume or template.

Submitting the same resume for every opportunity may have been the simplest thing for her to do, but by using her cookie-cutter resume, this job seeker repeatedly made this same mistake and wasted all her time and effort.

She did NOT customize her resume for the unique requirements of each job announcement.

The resume you use to apply for a job must incorporate the keywords into keyword phrases and qualifications that are in the job announcement.

The keywords can be found throughout the announcement, but the critical keywords are found in these two sections of the announcements: (1) Job Duties and (2) Qualifications and Evaluations. These can change from job announcement to job announcement—even if the job titles are the same! So read them carefully.

For example, I have taken the keywords from two different job announcements currently listed on www.USAJOBS.gov for the same job title.

READ MORE

 
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By Susan P. Joyce

I've seen too many job seekers waste a golden opportunity by using the LinkedIn default Professional Headline (job title at employer name). Or, if unemployed, they label themselves on LinkedIn as "Unemployed" or "(fill-in-the-blank) Professional" in their Headline. Major wasted opportunity!

After your name and photo, your LinkedIn Professional Headline is possibly the most valuable real estate in your LinkedIn Profile.

  • The Professional Headline is the tagline, immediately following your name, at the top of your LinkedIn Profile.
  • The Professional Headline also accompanies your name and photo in your LinkedIn Group activities, Updates, and other LinkedIn visibility.
  • The Professional Headline has significant weight in the internal LinkedIn search algorithm, so the right keywords in your Headline make you more visible in a LinkedIn search.
  • The default LinkedIn Professional Headline is your current job title and employer.

Your LinkedIn Professional Headline is one of the most visible spots on LinkedIn for you to combine personal marketing and personal SEO (search engine optimization), leveraging the best keywords for your career.

Use the Best Terms for You to Be Found in Search

Recruiters and employers search LinkedIn relentlessly, looking for qualified job candidates. They search on terms like the job titles, required skills and knowledge, schools and colleges, degrees and certifications, leading employers, industry/profession terminology, and other "details" that are used to describe the people who are successful in the job being filled.

Using the right keywords (the search terms used to find qualified candidates) will increase the probability that your Profile will appear in a recruiter's search for someone with those skills.

 
 Recommended Reading...
  1. Answering the Interview Question: Why Do You Want to Leave Your Job by Beth Colley
This question can make the most seasoned interviewee squirm. If there is anything that is dissatisfying about your current position, this is where you might unwittingly share that information and unintentionally emit a negative vibe -- a very bad impression to make. When answering this question, it’s easy to think about all of the things you dislike about your current job, but don't go there. Instead, look forward in your response.
  1. Answering the Interview Question: Tell Me About Yourself by Laura DeCarlo
While this is often among the first questions asked at the start of the interview, the goal of the interview is not to become best friends. The goal is to determine if you are a good fit for their job. Like the "Why should we hire you?" question, this is an opportunity to market yourself, presenting yourself as the solution (right candidate) for their problem (a job to fill). So, tell them the things that emphasize how your accomplishments and experience make you an ideal candidate for the job you are seeking.
 
 FREE Job-Hunt Guide

Successful Interviewing: What Candidates Need to Know

By recruiter Jeff Lipschultz

Insight from a recruiter on how to be successful in your next job interview.

 
 

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