I was recently alerted to the most comprehensive article on the pitfalls of social media sites (such as Twitter and Facebook) when it comes to a job search I have yet to read. The article, entitled “The 10 Worst Social Media Mistakes That Will Prevent You From Landing a Job,” is an in-depth look at common social media mistakes many military job seekers are making through the eyes of potential employers. It even comes complete with external links, resources, and examples. Here are some things you can expect to learn about:

• The dangers of sharing too much information.
• How to customize backgrounds and graphics to make you standout from the crowd.
• Why having too many friends isn’t necessarily a good thing.
• How to create separate social and business accounts and why you should do so.
• When and what to (or what not to) ”update”.
• Why spam, spelling mistakes, and other commonly overlooked issues could hold you back.

The following is an excerpt from the article:

While making one or more of the 10 worst social media mistakes can keep you from landing a job, there are also positive ways to socialize. Because many of us find jobs through friends, a simple “anyone hiring a blank?” update can actually be worth the five seconds it takes to post it. In addition, if there is a company you would really like to work for, be their friend on social media. Not only can you get hiring updates, but it also offers an insight to what excites them, what they are up to, and much more.

You can count on a compelling, professionally written military resume to spark employers’ interest in your value offered. But you can also count on their interest in your social media activities. So before you apply for that dream job, make social media work for and not against you.

KSA statements are commonly found in the 2nd portion of some federal job applications. While your federal military resume outlines your work experience and skills as they relate to the targeted position, KSAs provide narrative examples that demonstrate your performance. Think of KSAs as a pre-interview. KSAs are typically “rated or ranked” using a numerical scoring system. The highest scoring applicants’ federal resumes are forwarded to the hiring manager.

According to Newell and Rosenberg, the “rule of three” could also disappear. The following is an excerpt from the article on this rule:

“The reforms also will eliminate the “rule of three” procedure, in which agencies select hires from among the three top candidates for a position. Berry has said that rule is still in use only because hiring managers feel comfortable with it. A report by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government on a hiring reform forum in Washington last October singled out the rule as an example of a regulation that was intended to prevent favoritism but has not been evaluated for effectiveness.”

This is also good news for military job seekers. To read the full article, click here.

MilitaryResumes.com has been assisting military job seekers with their federal military resumes and federal job search for years. For professional federal military resume writing services and to make the most of your federal job search, please visit www.MilitaryResumes.com.

• Atwater, California
• Dublin, California
• Herlong, California
• Victorville, California
• Tucson, Arizona

A 15-17% recruitment bonus will be paid to selectees who meet the recruitment bonus criteria. For more details on Federal Bureau of Prisons employment opportunities, keyword search www.usajobs.gov for the following announcement number: bop-n-0007-001.

For professional military resume and military-to-federal resume writing services, please contact the experts at Military Resumes.

www.MilitaryResumes.com

As of mid-March, only 921 vets have applied out of the 77,000 the Pentagon estimates are eligible, according to numbers provided to The Associated Press by the Physical Disability Board of Review…

Veterans’ advocates say more outreach is needed….

“Less than 1,000 have applied, to me they really need to do a better effort to get the word out,” said Mike Hayden, deputy director of government relations for the Military Officers’ Association of America. “The success rate tells me there was a definite problem and the Physical Disability Board of Review is out there to correct it.”

The article does a great job of shedding light on the military population’s general lack of awareness when it comes to benefits. But it fails to mention one important point. Aside from added income and health care for families, there are hiring benefits associated with a service-connected disability of 30% or more. The federal government extends special hiring privileges to disabled veterans. For more information on this topic, please read my previous post on veteran’s preference.

So be proactive in applying for benefits to boost not only your financial bottom-line, but your federal military resume and job search as well.

For professional military resume and federal resume writing services, as well as military-to-federal career search advice, please consult the professional military resume writing team at Military Resumes.

By its own admission, the federal hiring process can be tricky. The advertisement for this hiring event asks, “Have you explored opportunities to work for the Federal government, but were overwhelmed by the application process?” Fortunately, there is a team of experts that can help. For professional assistance all of your military resume and federal resume needs, contact Military Resumes.

Amazon, American Eurocopter – an EADS North America Compnay, Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Asplundh Tree Expert Company, BNSF Railway Company, Brighton Cromwell, CACI International, Inc., Capstone Corporation, CenterPoint Energy, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, ComForcare Senior Services, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Con-way Freight, CSX Corporation, Dollar General, G4S Wackenhut, General Dynamics C4 Systems, General Electric, J.M.Waller Associates, Inc., Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS), Northrop Grumman Corporation, Plaza Personnel Ltd., Progress Energy, SAYtr, Schlumberger, Southern Compnay, Sring-Green Lawn Care, Sprint, University of Phoenix, URS, US Training Center, USAA, and Walmart.

In an article posted on www.fistfuloftalent.com entitled “In Memorium: Obituary of the (Dys)Functional Resume“, Dawn Hrdlica (PHR), an HR manager for MailSouth with over 10 years of HR experience, memorializes the death of the functional resume. According to Hrdlica, a functional format is only suitable for “experience too limiting to be forthright.”

Functional resumes begin with a professional summary that lists primary functional skills, such as project management, maintenance, reorganization, etc. This is followed by skills and significant achievements for each of the primary functional skill sets. Next is a tabular summary of employment (depending on the military resume), followed by education and certifications. Hrdlica’s issues with functional resumes are outlined in the following excerpt:

“Why am I frustrated with functional resumes and professionals who recommend them?

a)    If I see a functional resume, I know you are trying to hide something.  Or someone has advised you to hide something.

b)   They are difficult to read-too much text, no CONTEXT.

c)    They give the recruiter too much power.  Why?  By eliminating important details such as chronological order to your accomplishments, candidates are letting recruiters fill in the blanks for your story.  Never a good idea.

d)   It makes me believe that you are not confident enough with your work history or skills to be confident enough to work for my organization.

e) If you don’t have any work experience-GET SOME.”

In my opinion, there are three problems with functional resumes. First, they do not provide hiring managers with enough information. As a hiring authority, how am I to know if you have three months or three years of “project management” experience? Second, they come across as suspicious. Functional resumes are popular among people with something to hide, such as habitual “job hoppers” and those with large gaps in their employment history. Third, they tend to be heavy on empty phrases like, “exceptional leadership skills.” To a seasoned resume reviewer, this means nothing. A great resume leads the reader, on his or her own, to come up with the very assertions you would like to make. Aim to show not tell – a hard order to fill with a functional resume.

The best format choice for military-experienced job seekers aiming to highlight progressive leadership experience is a reverse chronological resume. This is the format always used by the professional military resume writers at the nation’s leading military resume writing company, www.MilitaryResumes.com. A reverse chronological resume lists employment with the most recent position first. Each entry includes the company, job title, dates, and a job description with an emphasis on accomplishments, and includes an education or certifications section.

In summary, readers want your military resume in a certain format. List your work experiences in reverse chronological order rather than by function performed. If collateral duties and multiple, simultaneous jobs make your reverse chronological timeline somewhat difficult to follow, add a “collateral duties” or “additional experience” section and keep the focus on experience most relevant to your target. While a functional resume may make you feel better about representing your skills, it will not please the reader and you could miss opportunities because your resume ended up in the trash.

The Order also establishes a Veterans Employment Program office within most federal agencies. These offices will be responsible for helping veterans identify employment opportunities within those federal agencies, providing feedback to veterans about their employment application and military resume status, and helping veterans recently employed by these agencies adjust to a civilian workplace culture. Also of note, the Office of Personnel Management will issue a government-wide strategic plan that will focus on creating leadership commitment and an infrastructure in each agency to promote employment success for veterans. The strategic plan will also include marketing strategies aimed at agency hiring managers as well as veterans and transitioning service members.

The initiative’s timeline was not made clear in the press release. But there has never been a better time to explore federal employment opportunities and build your military federal resume. At the end of the fiscal year 2008, there were approximately 480,000 veterans employed by the federal government. It has been and will continue to be the largest employer of veterans. Find your ideal federal career at www.usajobs.gov. For reputable, professional federal military resume writing services, please visit www.MilitaryResumes.com.

In an article entitled, Careers in IT – One GI’s Journey, Capicik uses a true story of one  military job seeker’s transition into the IT career field to illustrate what it takes to be successful.  He makes the following points which, in my opinion, can be applied to any career field:

You don’t always know what career path to pursue. Hopefully these articles will help you with that. Also, if you aren’t happy in your job, you will likely look elsewhere or not be successful in your current position.

Most people face a number of obstacles in becoming successful. Whether it is time, money, motivation, or luck, with the right attitude and persistence there is usually a way.

Utilize your military benefits. If you are active-duty make sure you use as much of the TA money made available to you as possible (currently, that’s $4,500 per year). If you are a veteran, use those GI Bill benefits before they run out.

A career field is full of interesting and diverse paths. In this GI’s case, he successfully went from a military networking setting to a small business IT venture to an investment firm finally to an international power management company.

A degree and certifications are key to providing valid credentials. This GI set himself apart and established worthy credentials to companies that, as he said to me, “didn’t know me from Adam.” His education showed a commitment to standards and achieving hard goals.

View the entire article. Keep up with new articles as they come out at the American Sentinel University blog. And regardless of the career field you are transitioning into, target your military resume by incorporating industry jargon, understanding the needs of potential employers, and communicating how you can best meet those needs.  For professional military resume writing assistance from military resume writers, please visit www.MilitaryResumes.com.