HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

Ten Steps to a Federal Job: Navigating the Federal Job System, Writing Federal Resumes, KSAs and Cover Letters with a Mission

by Kathryn K. Troutman

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
572452,572 (1)None
Companion workbook for the popular text, "Ten Steps to a Federal Job." A practical, hands-on guide, Troutman extracted the most popular and results-oriented exercises from her Ten Steps training over the past several years.
None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

Showing 2 of 2
This book is an essential resource for anyone considering a job in any branch of the federal government, from the intelligence services to cabinet agencies like the Departments of State and Defense. It provides practical tips on writing résumés and cover letters, acing interviews, and figuring out which jobs are really right for you. The author has such a reputation for helping people find federal jobs that government officials call her “the federal job search guru!”
  BarnardCareerLibrary | Dec 7, 2007 |
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Terrific Reference for Every Job Seeker, June 16, 2006
Reviewer: J. Coffey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Kathryn -

You may have read so many times before, but your book "Ten Steps to a Federal Job" is a terrific reference for those in need of preparing the ultimate "Proper Resume"... even though it is geared towards the Federal Job Seeker, I used the format to prepare my Private Sector Resume, Job Qualifications Statements (aka KSAs), and cover letter... my new employer (an Engineering Office with clients to the likes of the Army Corps of Engineers and the US Navy) did not need to interview me more than once ... he had everything he needed sitting in one neat and tidy package in front of him during my one and only interview: and I got the job! I will recommend this book to anyone who desires to scribe a real resume!

Thanks again for the book!

JEFFREY J. SMITH ASMP CEI

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
If you want a federal job, get this book!, June 7, 2006
Reviewer: Barbara Jordan (Universe) - See all my reviews
I recently completed my master's at a DC area school. I have spent the past year applying for federal jobs. I started off with the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Program application. Despite a stellar resume by any standard, I was rejected in the first round. I think my lack of understanding of the KSA was the death knell for my PMF application. Although the PMF application does not refer to its required essays as KSA's, that is certainly what they are. If I had had this book before applying for the PMF, I am sure I would have made it to the next stage. And I encourage all PMF applicants to pick up a copy. It will give you an advantage over your competition.

After losing out in the first round of the PMF competition, I was pretty discouraged to say the least. The faculty at my school had driven home the fact that the best way into the federal government for a recent master's recipient was through the PMF program. Since this was no longer an option for me, I set out to find alternate ways into the federal government. I began by filling out applications for any and all positions on usajobs that interested me. However, I was never invited to an interview. I realized I was doing something wrong and did my research and found this wonderful book.

What I learned from this book is that the KSA(s) makes or breaks an application. I truly believe that it is more important than any other step in the application process, including the interview. If you don't know how to write a KSA, you will not get a federal job. Hence, the importance of this book. It clearly explaines the federal job application process. It starts with the basics, so newbies to the federal process understand exactly what to expect. The book provides brief examples of what a federal resume should look like. Finally, it breaksdown the KSA and explains exactly what it should look like. The book even gives sample KSA's so you can model yours around it. I found this extemely helpful.

So did this book work for me? Indeed it did. After reading the book, I applied its principles to an application with a federal agency. It was a position I really wanted, and I spent a great deal of time refining my KSAs. And six months later, I was called for an interview. A month after that I got a conditional offer of employment. I am now awaiting the completion of my background check. If all goes well, I will begin working for the federal government very soon. I feel that I owe a lot to this book. Without it, I would probably still be going around and around on the federal government application wheel.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Ten Steps to a Federal Job, September 1, 2005
Reviewer: Potomacwink "Wink" (Potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews
Extremely helpful and would recommend this to anyone who is writing their OF-612 or resume...along with KSAs!

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
A Very Useful Book, August 3, 2005
Reviewer: TechArtLabs (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews
For those who are interested in obtaing a Federal Government job, this book is a MUST read. This book gives all pertinent information and keeps you organized so that you succeed in getting the job you want. The accompanying CD-ROM is a great time saver.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
An Excellent Resource, February 15, 2005
Reviewer: A Resume Writer (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
As a former federal personnelist and now a professional job searcher and writer/editor of federal style resumes and KSAs, I can tell you that this book is an excellent resource for the federal job seeker. The chapter on writing KSAs alone is worth the price of the book, since this seems to be a major hang-up for those seeking federal employment. The section, "Writing the Unwritable KSA" is invaluable. There are numerous sample resumes, KSAs, and templates in the book and on the accompanying CD-ROM and links to a "document builder" web site. If fact, your resume and KSAs are practically already written for you. All you have to do is fill in information about your own experience.

There are however a few shortcomings: There is scant information on grammar and proper usage. Also, there is no information on writing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions. I find this to be inexplicable since this is a book on federal employment. SES aspirants will have to look elsewhere for help or pay Troutman's company to write their SES packages. Finally, there are only a few examples of resumes or KSAs for GS-13/14/15 level positions. Most of the examples provided are for entry, mid-level, and Wage Grade positions.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
This books make bureacratic job search processes easy!, January 17, 2005
Reviewer: A. Hanson (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
I am a resume coach at North Seattle Community College in Seattle, WA. I want to tell you how helpful this book is in teaching my two-year students to write resumes for hard-to-find jobs. Many of our students are technical and electonics students, jobs that took a very deep dive in the 2001 - 2003 downturn.

Yet, no one thought about applying to the federal government -- Ten Steps to a Federal Job makes the process a real option! By using this book, an IT/Electronics student wrote a federal resume that got him a database development job -- after being out of work and looking diligently for 18 months! I also worked with a deaf student who received special status toward a job as a biologist, categorizing plants for the US Forest Service in Wenatchee. The diversity of jobs available through the government is broad indeed.

As Kathryn's book points out, you don't have to live in Washington D.C. to be a successful candidate! Seattle - like many cities - has many local agencies that are hiring - like the IRS, the EPA, Social Security, NOAH and Immigration. People don't think of the federal government as an employer-- but they hire tons of people. They hire technical people, and even ones with gray hair! And I personnally have seen people win, using the principles laid out in Kathryn Troutman's book.

By using the simple processes and writing tips -- and the great examples on the CD -- you can find appropriate jobs and write a winning application packet. Kathryn Troutman is the absolute authority on this subject--she teaches classes to federal employees at federal agencies all the time--And by working with her book, I can now write a resume that gets jobs for students, disabled workers, boomers and techies.

The government is hiring, here and abroad. And in ten steps, you can be a contender for a federal job.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Author Is A Pro!, December 31, 2004
Reviewer: Ronaldo L. Dalisay (Elmhurst, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This book provides excellent information on applying for a federal job and how to fill out the all important and sometimes make or break KSAs. If I had read this book earlier, I most certainly would have been selected for an interview instead of those that really didn't deserve to be promoted. I recommend buying a used book over a new one to save on costs.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)



5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Great Book! Makes federal job system user friendly, December 23, 2004
Reviewer: Carolyn Kalil (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
How do I get a federal job? This was a question I could not answer for my clients before reading Kathryn Troutman's book Ten Steps to a Federal Job. I see many unemployed people who have lost their jobs as a result of layoffs and downsizing. Now I refer them to this comprehensive book that has simplified the search into 10 easy steps that anyone can understand and use as a guide to land the right federal job. Kathryn doesn't miss a beat with her explaination of the world of government jobs and its terminology to her great examples and templates for creating your own federal resume, KSAs and cover letter, and more. I especially found the chapter on core competencies helpful for clients to match their own natural talents with required job skills. This is a book that I highly recommend to anyone seeking more stable and predictable employment to utilize their unique talents. Carolyn Kalil, author of Follow Your True Colors To The Work You Love
This review has been flagged by multiple users as abuse of the terms of service and is no longer displayed (show).
  Fortyplus | Feb 19, 2007 |
Showing 2 of 2
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Companion workbook for the popular text, "Ten Steps to a Federal Job." A practical, hands-on guide, Troutman extracted the most popular and results-oriented exercises from her Ten Steps training over the past several years.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (1)
0.5
1 2
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 202,660,529 books! | Top bar: Always visible