In today’s competitive market, looking for a new job can often be an overwhelming and stressful situation – especially in niche markets like Capital Planning, Portfolio Management, Earned Value Management and Enterprise Architecture. In the Federal marketplace, the supply for these qualified subject matter experts does not meet the demand. This is a very small community where knowledge, skills, experience, credibility and past performance are critical. The emerging Capital Planning Professional Certification will become a competitive differentiator. Strong references and connections are the keys to succeeding in your search and putting your resume forward to companies eager to hire the right candidates.

We are here to help you make your career search successful and connective with the CPIC Community! To help you prepare, CPICJobs.com offers the following valuable tips.

Examine Your Current Skill & Expertise Level

With the limited supply of qualified individuals in a niche marketplace, unique opportunities and challenges arise. Subject Matter Expertise and knowledge comes from a combination of quality training and hands-on experience. Employers care less for an understanding of “theory” and pay more for hands-on experience, a willingness to “get the job done” and showing problem-solving capabilities. Strong past performance is an interview differentiator – demonstrating success in ways such as improving business cases either by scores or remediating weak areas with investments mean the difference between an interview and a bona-fide offer with a prospective employer.

Aim Purposefully In Your Career Search

When it comes to your career, do you know what you want to achieve within the next five to ten years?

Potential employers are always impressed by job candidates who know what their career goals are and can clearly communicate how they plan to achieve them in their next position. Are you looking to move beyond Exhibit 300 writing? Do you want to obtain a certification – such as CGEIT, PMP, PRINCE2, CPP or FAC-P/PM? Do you want to move from an agency-level to a Department-level Capital Planning office? Do you want to work more with budget, earned value or enterprise architecture efforts? By asking yourself where you want to work, what type of environment you are looking for and how your career goals align with the position you are applying for, you’ll be able to give your goals clarity. Some candidates are well suited to large companies, others are more suited to agencies or small businesses – be sure you explore and familiarize yourself with an environment where your skills and your talents fit best.

Seek Out Referrals

Most companies hire a high percentage of employee referrals, so this is a great way to get noticed. Don’t know anyone at your desired company of choice? Don’t be afraid to reach out to your network, connect with the CPIC community- such as the CPIC Conference and the Federal CPIC Forum- and ask!

Making the effort to seek out referrals is well worth the work it entails—a 2007 survey conducted by CareerXroads found that employee referrals are the No. 1 external source of hiring, accounting for nearly 30 percent of new talent. Twenty percent of the survey respondents said one out of two employee referrals result in a hire.

Clearly, networking really does work. Establishing contacts within the Forum and within the larger CPIC and PfM community might help you generate information and job leads is the key to getting that all-important referral. Formal networking at business socials and meetings is also another great way to seek referrals from people who share your same career interests and goals – The Federal CPIC Forum has a Networking & Recruiting Special Interest Group.

Apply for the Right Position

Recruiters often see candidates apply for multiple positions despite not being qualified for any of them. This is a turnoff for recruiters, as they want to know the candidate took the time to read a job description and has genuine interest in the opportunity.

Dr. Katharine Hansen, creative director and associate publisher of Quintessential Careers, warns that job seekers should never submit their resume indiscriminately. “If you think you’re covering all bases by responding to zillions of job postings, think again,” she cautions. “Some job seekers think that even if they’re not qualified, the employer will realize how much they have to offer and match them up with other company job openings…the chance of such a match occurring is beyond remote, so don’t waste the employer’s time or your own.”

If you don’t see a fit at the company where you’d like to work, simply create a profile and post your information. Recruiters almost always check their internal databases before looking elsewhere. Although this process may be slower, in the end you’ll be more likely to join the right organization for you. CPICjobs.com offers a resume posting service free of charge, and we have connections with quite a few recruiters who would love to find you!

Remain Up to Date

Posting your resume to CPICjobs.com is an essential activity when you are pursuing an opening in the current job market.

When recruiters have a hot position available, they usually look for the most-recently updated profiles on their job boards. As a rule of thumb, many recruiters only search for profiles that have been updated within the last 30 days, so keeping your profile updated while searching for a new position is key.

Many recruiters suggest weekly updates of your information, however, it’s important that you don’t let your updating activities take up a huge amount of your time. It’s also a good idea to look into how long your resume stays active on your favorite the boards—that way you can be efficient and know how often you need to update your information before it expires.

Create a Winning Resume

With a little bit of effort, you can create a resume that makes you stand out as a superior candidate for the job you’re seeking. Your resume should present you in the best possible way and convince the potential employer that you have what it takes to be successful in your desired position. Resumes can be created in a multitude of ways, but it’s important to remember these basics:

◦   Write clearly and concisely.

◦   Specify certain agencies, investments and projects carefully.

◦   Describe the work you do on a regular basis.

◦   Use keywords throughout.

◦   List education, certifications, clearances and work history with dates.

◦   Limit yourself to a few pages if you can, highlighting your most recent positions and current skills.

Be sure you emphasize key “search” words that may help a recruiter find you when searching resumes. Specific words like “Portfolio Management” and “Exhibit 300”, “Capital Planning” and specific certifications such as “PMP”, “PRINCE2”, “Federal Acquisition Certification” and similar phrases are specific to our industry. Also emphasize any experience you have with specific Capital Planning tools and software solutions relevant to our field. “ProSight”, “eCPIC”, “Clarity”, “Worklenz” and other relevant tools will help recruiters identify you as having relevant experience.

Don’t forget to get your resume listed on our site today!

Consultants and employers, are you interested in contributing valuable job tips to CPICJobs.com? If you’d like your articles to be considered for our website, we encourage you to contact us today at cjinfo@federalconcierge.com

Thursday, October 15th, 2009.