Looking for a job used to be a simple process. You would get your local paper, get to the classifieds section and look for job ads that would match your job profile and needs. While the arrival of the Net a decade ago took the job market to the next level by increasing the number of opportunities available to both job seekers and employers, this also made the job search environment more competitive than ever, most particularly during these months of strong unemployment. As a result it is now necessary to have a precise strategy when it comes to job search.

First, you need to know what you are looking for. Prepare a list of what you’re looking for, whether it’s the type of position, wages, company, benefits or location.

Second use the Internet to look for jobs. They are hundreds of sites that you can go to, from the big ones like Monster and CareerBuilder to job websites that are specialized by field or state. If there are companies you are interested in, you can also check their websites for openings.

Third, prepare your resume. Your resume should not only be based on your profile and skills but also be customized to each job – so make sure to include any important keyword you find in the announcement.

Fourth, prepare a cover letter that will emphasize the skills that you have that relate to the job you are applying to. This is also the opportunity to list points that might not fit in your resume.

Fifth, apply to the jobs, following exactly their application requirements and deadline. It is important as not respecting their requirements might get you disqualified even if you have what they want.

Sixth, prepare for interviewing with these companies by knowing what you will say about yourself and anticipating their questions. This is important as most companies set up the first interview over the phone so you want to be ready when they call you.

Finally, if you do get to interview in person,  make sure to send a thank you letter to show them that you are still interested in the job. As a result you will get more chances to be included in the top candidates for the job.

Applying to a Government job is completely different than applying for any other type of job. When a Federal job opening is posted, they may ask candidates to submit a narrative statement known as a KSA in addition to a resume.

KSA stands for knowledge, skills, and abilities, and should be written in a personal, yet professional style to showcase your particular knowledge, skills and abilities to the hiring manager. There are 4 basic steps to creating the perfect KSA:

1. Review the Job opening. Be sure to pay attention to any details. Also be certain that you understand the announcement before you begin writing your essays otherwise you will not be able to provide the proper information to the hiring manager.

2. Brainstorm. This is the part where you come up with your abilities related to the announcement. Writing good KSA statements requires that you relate ANY experience that you have that is related to the position you seek. This includes actual work experience, certifications acquired, or skills that you got through non-work related activities. Don’t limit yourself to your experience here; as long as it is relevant, the experience doesn’t have to be work related. For example, if the KSA statement asks for management skills, it doesn’t matter if you were a manager previously or if you simply managed your scout posse. Both experiences are relevant and should be included.


3. Break it down. Now that you found all of your skills, you need to analyze them and reflect on how they were used in your jobs. The types of questions you should ask yourself include: use of job skills, supervision (if there was), team player abilities, complexity of your job, rules you follow, etc ... When answering these questions, you simply need to focus on who, what, where, when, why, and how of they come up with what you need. These answers will eventually become your very own KSA.

4. Writing the KSA. When you finally write your KSA statements, you need to be very clear and clear in your statements. You need to showcase, in your writing, how the skills, abilities, and knowledge you have relate to the vacancy announcement. Do not assume that the person reading your KSA will be able to connect the dots; instead, make the connection for them.

During the KSA review, your response will be graded on content, not style, so as long as you are getting your message across, it it is not important what your style is. KSA responses are generally limited to 2/3 of a page; longer responses will not impress recruiters. Avoid complicated sentences and technical jargon. If someone can’t get what you’re writing, they probably won’t hire you, no matter how good you are.

KSA writing can seem complicated and overwhelming. Especially since you need to create a new KSA for every job you apply to. As long as you take your time and follow these steps, you should have no trouble producing a good KSA answer.

One of the most important factors of effective military conversion resume writing is the ability to turn your tasks, achievements and experience into something that civilians can understand. It does not matter how decorated you are as a veteran, if you can't relay those experiences and accomplishments to a private sector employer properly, you are never going to have a successful job hunt. Military to civilian transition resume writing can be difficult, but here are some tips to help you.

In converting your experience to civilian language, here are some examples of what terms you can use in your military to civilian resume.

- "Soldiers" should be called "staff", "employees" and/or "co-workers"

- "Uniforms" and "Weapons", etc. become "supplies"

- "Barracks" and other buildings are simply "facilities"

It is also important to convert your education, medals and accomplishments into civilian language, provided that they are relevant to the position you seek. For example, you would not use your marksmanship or your frontline experience on a civilian resume, so do not worry about this. Also, achievements such as Special Ops Captain can be turned into a simple statement such as Extensive management experience in critical situations.

To explain the courses you have taken and the training you have completed, you can offer broad statements that are understandable to private sector employers. If you took classes in accounting, there is no translation needed, because everyone understands this word. Conversely, if you took classes for officer ranking or for cavalry, you would need to convert this. For example, you could say Leadership classes and training instead of officer training. However, once again, cavalry training is irrelevant to civilian positions, unless you are looking into a law enforcement career.

All in all, converting the military language into terms that are understandable to public sector employers will be one of the most important aspects of your military to civilian resume writing. while you need to make sure that your resume is focused and unique, you cannot do these things without first making sure that it is comprehensible. It does not matter if your resume is the most unique an employer gets; if they cannot get your military jargon, they will not even give it a second chan

- "Soldiers" should be called "staff", "employees" and/or "co-workers"'

- "Uniforms" and "Weapons", etc. become "supplies

- "Barracks" and other buildings are simply "facilities"

It is also important to convert your education, medals and accomplishments into civilian language, provided that they are relevant to the position you seek. For example, you would not use your marksmanship or your frontline experience on a civilian resume, so do not worry about this. Also, achievements such as Special Ops Captain can be turned into a simple statement such as Extensive management experience in critical situations.

To explain the courses you have taken and the training you have completed, you can offer broad statements that are understandable to private sector employers. If you took classes in accounting, there is no translation needed, because everyone understands this word. Conversely, if you took classes for officer ranking or for cavalry, you would need to convert this. For example, you could say Leadership classes and training instead of officer training. However, once again, cavalry training is irrelevant to civilian positions, unless you are looking into a law enforcement career.

All in all, converting the military language into terms that are understandable to public sector employers will be one of the most important aspects of your military to civilian resume writing. while you need to make sure that your resume is focused and unique, you cannot do these things without first making sure that it is comprehensible. It does not matter if your resume is the most unique an employer gets; if they cannot get your military jargon, they will not even give it a second chance.

If you have questions when you are preparing your military to civilian resume, there are resources that you can use. The military has special classes and offices to help veterans in their transition. In addition, many private sector companies and schools specialize in introducing veterans to public society. As long as you are willing to invest the effort, making the military to civilian transition can be pretty easy. The most important thing is to make sure that your resume is polished and understandable to civilian recruiters who have no military knowledge.

Your cover letter is your chance to make a good first impression with an employer and it is arguably more effective than your resume. Resumes are usually impersonal lists of experiences, education and accomplishments. Your cover letter allows you to tell a compelling story that provides a personal, relatable context for your resume. It allows you to make yourself stand out from the crowd of candidates, it provides you with the chance to convince a recruiter to read your resume and it lets you explain how your experiences match the job to which you are applying to.

Before starting to write a cover letter, you should make sure that you have carefully read the job description. Highlight qualifications and duties that relate to your profile and ensure that, if there are any gaps in your resume, you can explain them with your cover letter.

It is also essential to research the company which you are applying to and, if possible, the hiring manager who will be reviewing your resume. Your cover letter is your first chance to express how your profile matches up with that of the company and make a personal connection with the hiring manager.

Your resume cover letter should be formatted clearly and professionally. Most cover letters are sent electronically. If they are sent as an attachment, you should format them as you would format professional correspondence.  If they are sent in the body of an email, heading elements can be left out, as they may look odd.

Your first paragraph should identify the position you are applying to. More importantly, it should grab the hiring recruiter’s attention and make it clear that you are a serious candidate for the position.

In your middle paragraph, you should emphasize how your skills match the requirements of the position. Include details about the organization you are applying to. This will not only make it clear that you are serious about the job and not sending out a generic letter, but it will also make it easier for you to provide compelling arguments for how you can help the organization in reaching its goals.

The last paragraph should accomplish four main goals. You should direct your readers to your resume, request an interview, indicate a time period during which you will get in touch with them and express your gratitude to them for their time and consideration.

Once your letter is ready, do not forget to proofread it. Grammatical and spelling mistakes should be avoided at all costs. Remove colloquialisms and contractions. Your cover letter should be less than a page in length. Be concise and clear; do not provide too much extraneous information. Also, make sure that your language is precise rather than vague. Tell the reader exactly what experiences you have had that make you well-suited to the position, not just that you have experience.

Ensure that your cover letter looks professional, and, if possible, matches your resume. Use a simple, elegant font. If you are sending a physical letter rather than an electronic one, use the same sort of paper as your resume. If you are sending an electronic document, use the recommended file format.

You may have prepared a cover letter before, but an executive cover letter needs something really special. It cannot be "a standard cover letter" that simply tells a prospective employer you want an interview because these types of jobs are in high demand, because there is a lot of competition, and you're going to have to stand out from the crowd. This means your cover letter have to be absolutely flawless.
 

Don't just send a cover letter that's grammatically incorrect, boring, or otherwise simply "average" to substandard. Would you appear for an interview in old jeans, a dirty T-shirt, and tennis shoes? Why not? Answer that question, and you know why your cover letter - and executive resume writing - have to be flawless as it's your "first impression," the one you present to the recruiter.
 

Why should your letter be different? For one thing, you're not just applying for any old job. Many more people will be reading your letter than would normally happen with "just any old job." They're going to be screening out unsuitable candidates before choosing the very best to interview. This means that several people in the company, from HR to the VP or maybe even the CEO is going to read your cover letter (and your resume), too.
 

Because highly ranked people in the company are going to be reading your cover letter, it has to be unique and be much better than your standard cover letter. Your cover letter has to be much more refined than the average cover letter.
 

However, it doesn't mean using exaggerated, tortuous, flowery, "show off" language that will simply make you look insecure and idiotic. Instead, easy, brief language that gets to the point and then ends rapidly and cleanly is better. Remember that this is going to be the first impression they have of you, so you want it to show your best.
 

You wan to show that you are willing to take responsibility, that you are effective, bright, that you work well with people, and that you're easy to work with. Most importantly, you want to show that you are a problem solver, because that's the reason companies hire executives. You have to solve some sort of business issue that the company is facing, and you have to show them that you can fix it. You do this by showing how you handled other similar situations.

Finally, make sure the people who are going to be reading your letter understand that you have a "can-do" attitude and that you really enjoy the type of work you are applying for. After all, executives spend a lot of time on the job, so you have to show that you're up to it.
 

One last thing. Close your cover letter telling the reader what he or she should do to ease the hiring process. Something like "I look forward to hearing from you so that we can discuss this position in details. Please call me at [number] at your convenience, to set up a time to do so." Then, sign off with "Sincerely," and your name. Voila. That's a cover letter that should certainly get your foot in the door, and show that you're ready for the job.