Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Carlos Rodgers AFLCMC/EBF War-Winning Capabilities…On Time, On Cost Career Development, Résumé and Interview Advice

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Carlos RodgersAFLCMC/EBF

War-Winning Capabilities…On Time, On Cost

Career Development,Résumé and Interview

Advice

War-winning Capabilities…On Time, On Cost

Overview

• Career Development

• Résumé Preparation

• Interview Preparation

• Summary

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Overview




• Summary

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Career Development Advice

4 Mentors Provide Valuable Career Advice

• Establish a career goal

• What grade level do you want to attain?

• What kind of jobs do you want to do?

• Seek out a mentor

• Should not be your supervisor

• At career goal level (GS-15, SES, etc.)


Career Development (Cont’d)

• Establish a roadmap for each phase of your career

• Intern/Assistant

• Analyst

• First Level Supervisor

• Second Level Supervisor/Senior Level

• Development game plan for Near-Term (3-5 years) and

Long-Term (5-10 years)

5 Roadmap is Essential for Success


Roadmap for Intern

• Complete training and education requirements

• Focus on day-to-day job performance

• Be aggressive…look for ways to contribute

• Strive to become an expert in one aspect of job jar

• Volunteer for challenging assignments

• Join Toastmasters or other professional organizations to

develop and/or enhance communication skills

• Dress for success…maintain a professional image at all times

6 Complete Training - Be aggressive - Perform


Roadmap for Analysts

• Continue work on training and education requirements

• Build reputation…. develop solid track record

• Focus on process improvement

• Seek solutions for issues/problems in job jar/office

• Leverage volunteer/outside activities to enhance

leadership experience

• Seek opportunities to broaden experience base

• Strive to perform at level above current grade

• Self assess strengths/weaknesses

7 Technical Competence - Leadership Potential


Roadmap for First Level Supervisor

• Fill major squares

• Master’s Degree

• PME (SOS/Air Command and Staff College)

• Level II/III BUS-FM/BUS-CE Cert (Acquisition Corp)

• Other certifications (CDFM, FMS, SCEA, etc.) if not

already completed

• Technical competence…good track record

• Leadership experience

• Supervisory experience/mentoring experience

8 Leadership - Solid Track Record


Roadmap for Senior Level

• Fill major squares

• Master’s Degree

• PME (Air War College)

• Level III BUS-FM/BUS-CE Certification

• Other certifications (CDFM, PM, FMS, SCEA, etc.)

• Significant leadership experience

• Significant accomplishments

• Career depth/breadth…jobs of increasing responsibility

• Assignments at different organizations & locations

• Mentoring experience

9 Significant Leadership & Accomplishments


Career Development Summary

• Seek out help from a mentor

• Establish a roadmap for each phase of your career

• Reference SAF/FM Career Primer (AAC/FM CoP)

10 Take Ownership of Your Career


Overview




• Summary

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Gov’t Résumé

• Typical Categories

• Experience

• Education

• Training/Certifications/Professional Mil Education

• Performance (Appraisals/Evaluations)

• Professional Development/Activities

• Awards & Recognition

• Career objective statement is optional

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• Experience is the most subjective element …so make

sure responsibilities and results are clearly identified

• Format and grammar are very important

• Self assessment of résumé can help determine fitness

for job announcements

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Résumé - Additional Points


Résumé Do’s and Don’ts

• Do

• Use active voice… “Managed $XB program”

• Tailor résumé for each job

• Include timeframe, job title, grade/series and

organization for all work experience entries

• Succinctly describe experience…devote more effort to

recent jobs… résumé should build up to current position

• Weave in results achieved, resources managed,

personnel supervised, etc.

• Include professional outside activities (including

mentoring)

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Résumé Do’s and Don’ts (Cont’d)

• Don’t

• Include long or wordy career objective/summary

statement…you don’t get points for this

• Write in passive or conversational voice… “I worked on

multiple ACAT..”

• Combine or merge jobs and responsibilities

• Provide excessive detail on job responsibilities or copy

position description

• Use font less than “11” or 1/2 inch margins

• Use statement “See my career brief”

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Résumé – Experience Examples

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Oct 2007– Present: Chief, Financial Mgmt, GS-501-13, 201 Space Systems Group, Avatar Systems Wing, Transformer Command, Selfridge AFB, MI. Manage portfolio of ACAT I and ACAT II weapon programs valued at over $5B. Advise Group Commander and squadron commanders through all phases of the acquisition life cycle. Successfully led Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) study on the JEDI X program. Direct workload, evaluate performance, initiate personnel actions, and promote employee training/development programs for 10 personnel.

Oct 2004 – Oct 2007: Budget Analyst, GS-501-12, 55 Star War Systems Group, Space Force Systems Wing, Milky Way Center, Dream Land Command, Selfridge AFB, MI. • Managed $50M flying hour program and $20M communications budget. • Developed pricing model to forecast flying hour costs across 7 a/c types. • Accomplishments/Results: Pricing model adopted as standard across command. Won DLM/FM Quarterly Award in 2009.

ResponsibilityScopeResults

Highlight Responsibilities, Scope, Results

Bullet Format

Paragraph Format


Résumé Summary

• Use as tool to enhance career brief/personnel record

• Include or amplify job responsibility and scope

• Identify mission impact of performance

• Highlight awards and community involvement

17 Résumé Enhances Career Brief


Overview




• Summary

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Gov’t Interview Preparation

• Understand Force Development framework -- what

type of job are you applying for?

• Strategic

• Operational

• Tactical

• Assess type of experience you possess in the

applicable categories

• Think about how to translate your capabilities and

potential for level of job

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GS -12

GS-13/14

GS-14/15

Preparation begins with understanding What type of Job you are applying for


An Approach for Gov’t Interview Preparation

• Conduct a career inventory of your work experiences in

the following areas:

• Leadership

• Technical Competence

• Significant Challenge

• Process Improvement

• Personnel Management/Conflict Management

• Teamwork (ability to work with teams)

• Communication (oral and written)

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Gov’t Interview Preparation (Cont’d)

• Capture 2-3 examples of work experiences in the 7

categories and frame as follows:

• What was the issue or situation?

• What did you do?

• What was the result?

• Rehearse each experience until you can run through

them in 2-3 minutes

• If you cannot succinctly cover…throw it out

• Focus on near term experiences vs. distant past

• Check relevancy (tactical, operational, strategic)21


Gov’t Interview Preparation (Cont’d)

• Career inventory should also help you prepare for a

general career experience (breadth/depth)

• Practice using general questions covering 7 major work

experience areas

• Goal is to go into interview confident of work history and

accomplishments

Career Inventory Helps Build Confidence 22


Gov’t Interview Do’s and Don’ts

• Do

• Conduct a career inventory to ensure you have a fresh

perspective on your accomplishments

• Read questions carefully…cover all the elements of the

question

• Anticipate general areas such as experience but try to avoid

preparing for specific questions

• Provide multiple examples of your experiences

• Practice for time management purposes (~25-30 min)

• Keep interview professional at all times….no joking about job

or answers

• Wrap up interview with anything you believe is relevant that

has been missed or not provided

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Gov’t Interview Do’s and Don’ts (Cont’d)

• Don’t

• Over use FM or functional specific acronyms

• Refer to your résumé when answering a question….the only

thing that counts is what you say in the interview

• Refer to other individuals as references ….normally this is

meaningless to the panel

• Identify deficiencies in experience...“ I don’t have acquisition

experience” ....just provide your best answers to questions

• Talk about team accomplishments without indicating what

you did or contributed

• Appear as if you are reading from a script

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Final Thoughts - General Career Advice

• Be aggressive and take calculated risks

• Accept Feedback

• Get out of your comfort zone at least once in your career

• Perform!….find a way to add value to your team & organization

• Don’t compare yourself to others…just work to be the best person you can be

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Summary

• Career development is a must for advancement

• Résumé is a tool to highlight your record

• Interview prep requires a focused approach

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Documents

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Carlos Rodgers AFLCMC/EBF War-Winning Capabilities…On Time, On Cost Career Development, Résumé and Interview Advice