A “Fully Staffed” department in government is the nebulous goal that always seems to be just out of reach. There are 3 main reasons you can’t get fully staffed: 1. Your numbers are built on a fantasy and government doesn’t live in a fantasy. 2. Your hiring managers refuse to over-hire. 3. Your department actually […]
Resume writing is like building a puzzle. You need to collect and describe all the little pieces that make you special (i.e. your skills and experience), and then you need to combine them together in a document that will adequately sell you to a prospective employer. The hardest part about writing a professional resume is […]
As local governments have down-sized staffing and dramatically reduced services to survive the Great Recession and other economic challenges in recent years, we’ve often been told that we’ll just have to do more with less. Yet, at the very same time that government agencies are shrinking, technology has exploded, with new applications, tools and services […]
In August of 2002, I was somewhat unsure of the direction I was going to take my career, and my life. I had recently graduated from the University of New Hampshire with my MPA. I had also just completed my work study program with the Social Security Administration. Not sure what local government had to […]
Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. – Oscar Wilde Do you associate managing with more-is-less, I’m doomed, and it’s-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it? Does thinking about all your managing duties make you queasy? Take heart! And a Pepto-Bismol while you’re at it. All is not lost. With my modern approach to management, you can shine, even thrive, while […]
I still remember the day that my sister-in-law taught me how to use the Internet. I learned about Google and Yahoo and how easy it was to find people, places and things. As recruiters, we used to have to dial hundreds of phone numbers to find candidates to fill jobs, but now, all we have […]
There is an invisible line in the Public Service. And what makes that invisible line? Decision makers. If you are around the decision makers, buddies with them, influencing them, and maybe even making decisions with them, then you are on the right side of that line! And the payout of being on the right side […]
I am a 40 year public servant, having spent the vast majority of that time (37 years) as a non-elected civil service employee. For 24 years I was an assistant general manager or general manager of medium-sized to large-sized public safety organizations in the City of Inglewood (Police Officer to Deputy Police Chief), City of […]
One of the biggest mistakes federal job candidates make is failing to sell themselves through accomplishments. Some candidates believe that listing accomplishments is only done on résumés in the corporate world. Not true! Actually, a résumé for a position in the federal government must show your qualifications to warrant that you meet eligibility requirements. (In […]
For generations the hallmark of government employment has been rock-steady job security. Career public sector employees often cite job security, together with generous retirement and fringe benefit packages, as factors which initially attracted them to their jobs and serve as a powerful retention force. However, the Great Recession has seen venerability turn to vulnerability. Government […]
Featured Locations
