Department of Labor Employment Workshop (DOLEW)

1 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 1 Participant Guide Department of Labor Employment Workshop (DOLEW) Revision Date: 11 2019 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 2 Contents Getting Started .. 7 7 Course Overview .. 8 Prerequisites .. 10 High-Quality Civilian Career .. 10 Four Principles of Getting a Job .. 11 Career Transition Journey Map .. 12 Identifying Your Career Goals .. 14 Creating SMART Goals .. 14 SMART Goal Examples .. 15 Activity: Create Your SMART Goal .. 16 Surveying the Job Market .. 18 How Hiring 18 Advertised Vacant Positions .. 19 Talent Hires .. 19 Unadvertised Employment Opportunities .. 20 Additional Options .. 20 Identifying Your Skills .. 24 Inventory Your Skills .. 24 Activity: Create a Skills 24 Transferable Skills.

2 26 Activity: Identify Skills Employers Are Seeking .. 27 The STAR Method .. 29 Putting STAR into Practice .. 29 STAR Statements for Interviews and 30 Activity: Use the STAR Method to Create a Skill Statement .. 31 Translating Military Terminology into Civilian Terms .. 33 Developing Skills .. 35 Developing Your Personal Brand .. 37 What is Personal Branding? .. 37 Creating a Strong Online Presence .. 37 Activity: Check Your Online Presence .. 38 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 3 Using Social Media to Leverage Your Online Presence .. 39 LinkedIn ( ) .. 39 Facebook ( ) .. 40 Twitter ( ) .. 40 Professional 41 Activity: Draft Your Professional Introduction Statement .. 42 Resumes .. 44 Activity: Job Posting Cheat Sheet.

3 46 Building Your Resume Section by Section .. 48 Section 1: Contact Information .. 48 Activity: Create Your Contact Information .. 48 Section 2: Career/Job Objective Statement (Optional) .. 49 Activity: Create Your Objective Statement .. 50 Section 3: Summary of Qualifications .. 50 Activity: Create Your Summary of Qualifications .. 51 Section 4: Experience/Achievements .. 51 Activity: Create Your Achievement Statements .. 59 Section 5: Education &Training .. 60 Activity: Create Your Education & Training .. 61 Section 6: Other Additions .. 61 Cover Letters .. 62 Building Your Personal Brand .. 65 Networking .. 65 Expanding Your Network .. 66 Ask for Referrals from your Current Network .. 66 Volunteering .. 66 Join Professional or Trade Organizations.

4 67 Attend Networking Events .. 67 Attend Job 68 Contact your Local American Job Center .. 70 Contact Your Schools .. 70 Contact Former Co-Workers, Supervisors, and Businesses .. 70 Use Social and Professional Networking Sites .. 71 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 4 Conduct Informational Interviews .. 71 Find a Mentor .. 73 Expand Your Network Online Using LinkedIn .. 74 Activity: Join Groups on LinkedIn .. 75 Activating Your Brand .. 80 Application .. 80 How to Get Your Application to Pass the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) .. 81 Identifying and Preparing Your Professional References .. 81 Getting Permission to Use Someone as a Reference .. 82 Activity: Brainstorm Your References .. 83 Exploring Federal Hiring .. 86 Federal Civil Service.

5 86 Veterans Preference .. 87 Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans .. 87 Finding Federal Jobs .. 88 Understanding the Job Announcement .. 89 Activity: Find a Job through USAJOBS Account .. 90 The Differences Between Federal Resumes and Standard Resumes .. 90 USAJOBS Resume Builder .. 91 Preparing for an Interview .. 93 Types of Interviews .. 93 Phone Screening or Phone Interview: .. 93 Face-to-Face/One-on-One Interview .. 93 Panel or Committee Interview .. 94 Video (Skype)/Teleconference 94 Meal Interview .. 94 Group Interview .. 95 Interview Stages .. 95 Dressing for Success During an Interview .. 98 Common Interview Questions .. 101 Traditional Interview 101 Behavioral Interview Questions .. 103 Hypothetical or Situational Interview Questions.

6 104 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 5 Activity: Practice Answering Questions .. 105 Additional Common Questions for 110 How to Answer Salary Expectations Questions .. 111 Activity: Mock Interview Practice .. 112 Following Up After the Interview .. 113 Evaluating the Interview Continuous Improvement .. 114 Receiving a Job Offer .. 116 Know the Terms of the Offer .. 116 Evaluating Job Offers .. 117 Negotiating a Job Offer .. 121 Negotiation Dos and Don ts .. 121 How to Negotiate .. 122 Activity: Case Study .. 123 Communicating Your Decision .. 126 Accepting the Offer .. 126 Requesting a Delay of the Decision .. 127 Rejecting the Offer .. 127 Summing It Up .. 129 Activity: Initiate the Plan .. 129 Thank You .. 131 Appendix.

7 133 Additional Resources .. 133 Michael Cook s Transition Documents .. 134 Job Postings and Resumes .. 143 Sample Resumes .. 150 Chronological Resume .. 150 Combination Resume .. 156 Federal Resume .. 157 Curriculum Vitae .. 162 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 6 Getting Started 1 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 7 Getting Started Thank you for your service, and congratulations on embarking on the next phase of your career! Welcome to the Department of Labor Employment Workshop (DOLEW). This two-day Workshop is provided by the Department of Labor (DOL) for Service members and is designed to help you further launch your civilian career. Objectives Upon completion of this training, you will have learned how to Identify and develop effective career goals.

8 Market yourself effectively to a future employer. Understand the three different methods of how hiring occurs. Connect your skills and abilities with the needs of an employer. Use the STAR method to write achievement statements and understand how to use them throughout the job search process. Create a professional introduction. Identify strategies to manage your online presence. Recognize the steps to set up an informational interview. Create a draft targeted resume. Strategize how to expand your network. Demonstrate appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills/techniques for an interview. Understand the difference between federal resumes and standard resumes. Identify the relevant factors in evaluating a job offer. Identify the basic do s and don ts in negotiating.

9 DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 8 Course Overview The table below shows a breakdown of each stage, including the focus, topics, and activities that we will cover in each lesson. Focus Topics & Activities 1. Getting Started Objectives Course overview Prerequisites High-quality civilian career Four principles of getting a job Career transition journey map 2. Identifying your career goals Creating SMART Goals 3. Surveying the job market How hiring occurs Additional options 4. Identifying your skills Inventory your skills Use the STAR method to create your skill statements Translating military terminology into civilian terms Developing skills 5. Developing your personal brand Professional introduction Creating a strong online presence Using social media to leverage your online presence Resumes Building your resume section by section Cover letters 6.

10 Building your personal brand Networking Expanding your network 7. Activating your brand Application Identifying and preparing your professional references DOL Employment Workshop Participant Guide 9 Focus Topics & Activities 8. Exploring federal hiring Federal civil service Veterans preference Finding federal jobs The differences between federal resumes and standard resumes USAJOBS resume builder 9. Preparing for interviews Types of interviews Interview stages Dressing for success during an interview Common interview questions Following up after an Interview 10. Receiving a job offer Evaluating a job offer 11. Negotiating for what you want Negotiation do s and don ts How to negotiate 12. Communicating your decision Accept the offer Request a delay of the decision Reject the offer 13.