Felipe Pech ⋅ Fort Belvoir, VA Department of the Army ⋅ 3 years experience

Cheryl,

If you meet the criteria for a 5point veteran's preference as listed below, make sure you annotate that on your resume. Most post 9/11 veterans don't realize the impact a 5 point preference can have in securing a federal (GS/GG/etc) position. With a 5 point preference you are limited to a GS 11 (or equivalent) pay grade with experience in lieu of education. If, by chance, you are 30% disabled or can claim a 10 point veteran's preference there is no grade limit. This means you can apply to a GS 15 level position and if you qualify they hiring authority must review your resume. I've included a link at that breaks down the hiring authorities at the bottom of the response. Also, as cliche as it may sound, a referral from a GS 13 or above during the hiring process can play a major role in being considered for employment.

" [Served] For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred during the period beginning September 11, 2001 and ending on a future date prescribed by Presidential proclamation or law"

http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/#5point

Hiring Authorities:
http://www.fedshirevets.gov/JOB/SHAV/INDEX.ASPX

Best of luck,

Felipe

Wayne Heuett ⋅ East Wenatchee, WA Alcoa ⋅ 28 years experience

Cheryl,
I was once in the same position as you. I found sending in applications with the hundreds of others did not work for me. What I did was call the location and get phone numbers of people working there in the field I was qualifed for. I then contacted and talked to the managers directly. I fortunately was highly qualified and was hired. It is difficult to stand out in a crowd of hundreds or thousands wanting a position so it is important to find a way to be noticed.

michael convey ⋅ Camp Hill, PA jh williams Oil company ⋅ 45 years experience

I think your military experience demonstrates the ability to lead and also demonstrates commitment, as such this should be emphasized on your resume,

Resume preparation is extremely important. A job objective should be included and should be customized; depending upon the job you are applying for. The resume should be brief, and give an employer reasons to hire you. Check carefully for spelling and grammatical errors. I know from experience, the first glance of the person reading your resume will be to find reasons not to hire you. Employers receive hundreds of resumes, and the first screening is to disqualify applicants, so be guided accordingly. The actual search should include contacts that you have developed relationships, and work for a company that you would enjoy working for. Many times it is who you know, not what you know. Corporate websites of large companies, such as Chase Manhattan, Exxon-Mobil, Proctor and Gamble, all post current openings. Head hunters in your field of employment can be found by googling them, and are a good source. There are websites like Monster.com, Salesladders.com, headhunters.com, careerbuilder.com, are another source for leads. If you have other questions, feel free to email me at: yanknole@aol.com. Mike Convey

AnnaMaria Bliven ⋅ Blanchardville, WI Army Reserve ⋅ 11 years experience

Hi:

What Laura Michael advised is absolutely true. I did this too and it worked! However, before you go putting resumes in Resumex, what job positions are you interested in? What type of work are you doing as a mil tech? Are you happy doing that job or is there something else you would rather do?
Congrats on now having a family. I know all too well what it feels like to try to balance military and family demands. Perhaps a GS position is what you need but you need to ask yourself what it is YOU ENJOY DOING? If at this stage you want a job with a paycheck, that is understandable, but at some point you may want to begin making yourself a career plan. Then it would make sense to go to school for some education to fill the gaps in your skills; that is after you know what type of career you want and the training you need to qualify for it.

Laura Michael ⋅ Fountain, CO U.S. Air National Guard, Technical Sergeant ⋅ 22 years served

Hi Cheryl, there is no easy answer to your question. However, that said, the best way I found over time and with experience boils down to this - tailor your Resumix to the Job Announcement and/or Position Desciption. That means that if you are applying for more than one job you will need to change your Resumix for each and every job you apply for. Have your basic Resumix saved and then copy and paste all of the "key words and phrases" that legitimately apply to you from the Job Announcement into your Resumix. From there edit your Resumix to the 1st person as the Job Announcement is written in a neutral way. Having enough "key words and phrases" in your application is critical in getting past the screener to the hiring official. Once you get to the hiring official then it is up to you to make a good enough impression to be hired.

I have used this technique for myself and others numerous times over the past 10+ years so I know that it works if you have the patience to really work your Resumix properly.

Happy job hunting!

Judy Tomlinson ⋅ Dallas, TX Energy Future Holdings ⋅ 25 years experience

I'd be happy to take a look at your resume. Send it to tomlinsonjk@aol.com

Sometimes it is just a matter of reworking your resume....in other cases you may need some extra classes to fill in gaps in experience.

Judy Tomlinson