TIPS & TRICKS FOR USA JOBS. By Junell L. Norris Human Resource Office U.S. Geological Survey

Transcription

1 TIPS & TRICKS FOR USA JOBS By Junell L. Norris Human Resource Office U.S. Geological Survey

2 OVERVIEW Creating a User Account Creating Your Resume Creating Job Search Agents & Saving Jobs Reviewing Application Status Uploading Supporting Documents to Saved Documents Reviewing My Profile Basic Tips & Tricks 2

3 CREATING A USER ACCOUNT Start with an easy to remember address as your log-in name. Your password must have a combination of upper & lower characters, numbers & special characters. Whatever your password, be sure to write it down OR make sure that you can remember it. 3

4 CREATING A USER ACCOUNT There are now drop down menus to assist in accessing the different sections of your user account. 4

5 NEW USER HOME PAGE Upon entering your USA Jobs for the first time since the October 2011 upgrade you will be greeted with this message. 5

6 CREATING YOUR RESUME Decide if you re going to make your Resume Searchable. You can create up to 5 different resumes. You can have 2 uploaded resumes, within the grand total of 5 resumes. Utilize the Resume Builder within USA Jobs it s a simple step-by-step guide to creating a resume. 6

7 SEARCHABLE RESUME Please read this information about searchable resumes. It is very informative, but should not be considered the only way to apply for a Federal positions. Federal positions are advertised on USA Jobs, and in order to be considered for a position, you need to actually apply for the position. 7

8 GETTING STARTED: YOUR PROFILE Basic Information on You the Candidate. USA Jobs will not let you continue if you have left a * - required field empty. 8

9 GETTING STARTED: YOUR PROFILE This section allows you to select your eligibility. If you are a US Citizen? If you are eligible for a Special Hiring Authority? 9

10 GETTING STARTED: YOUR PROFILE In Question #3, if you answer yes to any of the possible answers. A drop down set of additional questions appear. You need to complete this information. 10

11 GETTING STARTED: YOUR PROFILE Demographic Information: You do NOT need to complete this information if you do NOT want to. 11

12 GETTING STARTED: YOUR PROFILE Account Information : User Name and security (including your password). Notification Settings. 12

13 GETTING STARTED: PHOTO You can now insert a photo into your account. It will NOT go forward with any resumes/applications. 13

14 WORK EXPERIENCE ON YOUR RESUME This is your employment history. In the Duties, Accomplishments, and Related Skills field, include Major Duties from your current position description. Awards you have received. Skills you have learned or developed. There is a 5,000 character limit per field. Use the Spell check. Once you save experience, you can continue entering additional work experience. 14

15 EDUCATION ON YOUR RESUME List all of the educational institutions you have attended in the Education Section. Provided that they are accredited institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Report any Relevant Coursework, Licensures, and Certifications. There is a limitation of 2,000 characters in this field. 15

16 OTHER: JOB TRAINING ON YOUR RESUME Job Related training includes all types of training you have participated in. DOI Learn courses USDA Graduate School courses Supervisory Challenge Max of 5,000 character count. 16

17 OTHER: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON YOUR RESUME Additional Language Skills Organizations and/or Affiliations Professional Publications Additional Information 17

18 REFERENCES ON YOUR RESUME Supply at least three (3) references two (2) professional and one (1) personal. You can supply more references if you want to 18

19 PREVIEW & FINISH YOUR RESUME Here is your chance to preview your resume prior to completing the resume builder. If everything looks good then just click finish. 19

20 RESUMES MENU Your Resume Menu within your USA Jobs account will tell you how many resumes you have active, as well as whether or not you have made them searchable. 20

21 CREATING JOB SEARCH AGENTS You can have up to 10 different Search Agents working for you at the same time. You decide how frequently you want reminders from each search agent you create. This saves YOU time! You don t have to log onto USA Jobs every day and search manually through all of the different postings. Search Agents will continue to search until YOU delete them. 21

22 CREATING JOB SEARCH AGENTS Search agents can be as generic or as specific as you want. You can select any combination of the following search criteria: Job Locations Job Categories Occupational Series Agencies Salary Range OR Pay Grade Senior Executive Student Jobs Nationwide Jobs Jobs Open Longer than 30 days Work Schedule Tenure Student Jobs Appointment Term Jobs in Demand You can select how frequently you want to receive alerts. 22

23 CREATING JOB SEARCH AGENTS Be aware of this Applicant Eligibility question/section. [Selecting the wrong answer here will hamper the vacancy announcements you can view and you could miss vacancies you want to apply for.] If you select No, the default answer, then the only vacancies you will be able to view/apply for will be the DEU Delegated Examining Unit vacancies {which are open the any U.S. Citizen.} If you can answer Yes to any of the questions listed in this section, then you need to click the Yes button. Then you will be able to apply for all DEU and MP Merit Promotion vacancy announcements. 23

24 CREATING JOB SEARCH AGENTS This is also set up in your Profile section. If every time you log into USA Jobs prior to doing any search, the system automatically remembers your eligibility. So, no more letters informing you that you are NOT eligible for the position. (which is not the same as qualifications). 24

25 SEARCH UPGRADES USA Jobs upgrades different features periodically. The previous slide details the difference between Public and Status. The new search feature generally defaults to Public, but you can change that to Status instantly. The definition (see slide 23 & 24) is still there - just hidden within the?. You can view a map of the location of the position(s). You can now refine your results to limit the search criteria 25

26 SEARCH UPGRADES Search Options that can make it easier for you to search in the following. Agency Location (radius from city, state or zip code) Occupation Many others 26

27 REVIEWING APPLICATION STATUS Watch Application Status. This feature allows you to track the different applications that you have submitted, it also provides notification settings. 27

28 SAVED JOBS If you are logged into your USA Jobs account, you can save jobs to your account to apply for later 28

29 REVIEWING APPLICATION STATUS Select the Job Title you want to review from within Application Status. You will be able to review the vacancy announcement for that position. If you will not have easy access to your USA Jobs account, print the vacancy announcement out prior to the closing date of the announcement in the event you are contacted for an interview - you can ask insightful questions. 29

30 UPLOADING TO SAVED DOCUMENTS Upload any and all Supporting Documents in My Portfolio. Transcripts DD-214 OF-306 SF-50 SF-15 Not All Department or Agencies have the ability to receive any of the above supporting documents via their USA Jobs account. Read the vacancy announcement - you may need to , fax, and/or mail these documents to the agency listing the vacancy announcement. Limit to 10 documents. No document can be greater than 3 Mb 30

31 YOUR NEW ACCOUNT HOME PAGE This is what your new account home page will look like once you have gone through all of the different sections. 31

32 THE RESOURCE CENTER The Info Center provides advice and special information about working for the Federal Government, including some basic FAQ s. 32

33 2010 HIRING REFORM On May 11, 2010 OPM announced a Comprehensive Recruitment and Hiring Reform. This link provides you with the Memorandum released from John Berry, Director of OPM. This link provides you with all of the information that you may want to review as it relates to the 2010 Hiring Reform and what it means to you! Important Points to keep in mind regarding the 2010 Hiring Reform: Important Points to keep in mind regarding the 2010 Hiring Reform: Eliminate essay style questions as an initial application requirement. Essays may still be used later in the process. Use shorter, plain-language job announcements. Accept resumes from applicants, instead of requiring them to submit complex applications through outdated systems. Allow hiring managers to choose from among a group of best qualified candidates, rather than limiting their choice to just three names, through expanded use of "category ratings." Notify applicants in a timely manner through USAJobs.gov - eliminating the "black hole" that applicants often feel they when they get no response to their application. 33

34 BASIC TIPS & TRICKS Print out the Vacancy Announcement Highlight important items, such as, submission of supporting documents, deadlines, closing date, contact information in the event you have questions. Remember to do the Time Conversion so that you are applying for the position prior to the closing date/time of the announcements {Make sure you are reading the announcement carefully.} Most announcements close at 12:00 Midnight (EST-Eastern Standard Time). So, if you live in Colorado (Western Time) you really only have until 10:00 pm CST to COMPLETE the entire application and submit any required supporting documents that must be submitted by the closing date/time of the vacancy announcement. 34

35 BASIC TIPS & TRICKS Read the Announcement Carefully! Pay attention to how supporting documents can/should be submitted. Go to the Qualifications Section in the vacancy announcement. At the bottom of the page you can preview the vacancy announcement questions, prior to applying for the position. Select the appropriate answer to each question prior to applying Special Note The 2010 Hiring Reform is streamlining the recruitment process, and as such the essay style questions are being eliminated from the initial recruitment (job) announcement. 35

36 IMPLICATIONS OF 2010 HIRING REFORM If you are going to use your own upload resume. Make sure that your resume contains complete information, such as: Month(s)/Year(s) of employment This is important when HR is determining whether or not you have the 1 year of specialized experience (if that is part of the qualification requirements). Full/Part Time employment This is important when HR is determining whether or not you have the 1 year of specialized experience (if that is part of the qualification requirements), as the part time hours can reduce the total number of months/years of employment. Complete description of work Be thorough in your description of job duties for each position on your resume. HR can NOT guess or assume or give you the benefit of doubt that you have the knowledge/skill/ability to do the job that is being advertised. In reviewing the basic qualifications and the job description if you do NOT have similar types of duties, which make use of similar knowledge/skill/ability then you will not be considered for the position. Honesty Be honest on your resume if an offer is made, and then later it is determined that you embellished your work history (month(s)/year(s), full/part-time, job description); you could see the offer of employment rescinded. 36

37 OCTOBER 2011 UPDATES The new and improved USAJOBS, the Federal employment search portal, is planned for implementation in October The new USAJOBS has been developed by the federal government through extensive collaboration efforts between the executive departments and agencies. A Hiring Reform initiative, the new USAJOBS has an increased capacity to provide job seekers, hiring managers, and human resource professionals with information to improve the recruitment and hiring process. Some of the improvements: The new and improved USAJOBS will have stronger security requirements than the current USAJOBS, and will require you establish a new password following the transition. The easiest way to establish that password in October will be through responding to your established security questions. The new and improved USAJOBS has changed how it filters search results and presents them to job seekers - meaning your search results will be more relevant to you based on your account profile (if you're logged in), keyword used, location, work schedule or whatever search criteria you decide to use. In addition, we're making it easier to get general employment information through what is currently the Info Center. There's more to come on the replacement to Info Center in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. 37

38 OCTOBER 2011 UPDATES CONTINUED Some of the improvements Continued : Have you ever applied for a job only to find you were not eligible to even be considered? The new and improved USAJOBS has tried to make it easier for job seekers and potential applicants to identify those Job Opportunity Announcements that they are eligible to apply for by enhancing the applicant's account profile. The new USAJOBS, which has been developed by the government through extensive collaboration across agencies, has several increased security enhancements planned. One of which is no longer collecting Social Security Numbers (SSNs). If you currently have saved searches in USAJOBS? In the new USAJOBS the search function has been improved resulting in more relevant and refined search results. Following the transition to the new USAJOBS, current saved searches will no longer be active. So, in October when you login to the new USAJOBS for the first time and establish your new password, take a moment to also create a new saved search (or two or three) so the more relevant results can be ed directly to you. 38

39 OCTOBER 2011 UPDATES CONTINUED Some of the improvements Continued : Wondering what's going to happen to your uploaded documents in the current USAJOBS? During the USAJOBS transition, which is scheduled the Columbus holiday weekend, nearly 5 billion rows of data (to include your documents) will be extracted, scanned for viruses, validated, and subjected to integrity testing before it is loaded into the new USAJOBS. To ensure your documents complete the transfer, USAJOBS recommends the following: 1) Ensure your current uploaded documents are not corrupt. Corrupt and/or contaminated documents that cannot be repaired or cleaned during the transition, will be quarantined and not imported into the new USAJOBS. 2) Establish three secret questions prior to the transition to ensure your current account and its associated documents can be linked once your identity is validated when logging into USAJOBS for the first time following the transition. 3) Ensure that you can still access the account associated with your USAJOBS profile. Without the secret questions, seekers will need to establish a password for the new USJAOBS via that account. Once the seeker's identity is validated, the current account and any associated documents will be linked to the new profile. 39

40 OCTOBER 2011 UPDATES CONTINUED Some of the improvements Continued : Transition to the new USAJOBS, USAJOBS 3.0 is on its way! If you are you awaiting response or assistance for an open Help Ticket submitted to the current USAJOBS? With the pending implementation of USAJOBS 3.0, there may not be an opportunity for your ticket to be addressed before the transition begins. However, the new and improved USAJOBS 3.0 also has an improved Info Center, in fact now it will be called the Resource Center. It is your single source for information on federal employment, eligibility requirements, how to apply for jobs, site help and so much more. So, before you submit a new Help Ticket request, visit the Resource Center for help first! 40

41 CONCLUSION Utilizing these basic tips & tricks will help ensure that your resume is ready for any and all vacancy announcements that you plan to apply for. Don t hesitate to contact USA Jobs Service Support Desk (help desk) via the Contact Us link at the USA Jobs website.. 41

42 QUESTIONS 42