Description
You’re interested in applying for Federal Senior Executive Service (SES) position, but where do you start? These positions are executive level spots in the Federal government with titles like Chief Information Officer, Chief Economist and Director, Financial Management. The pay is great and a SES career is extremely prestigious, but how do you navigate the SES application process?
The SES application consists of four to five different parts:
1. The SES Resume
2. Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)
3. Technical Qualifications (TQs) or other Required Factors
4. Managerial Technical Qualifications (MTQs) or Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQs)
5. Cover Letter
Each must contain specific information, including resume buzz words and specific examples of Senior Level management skills. The resume and ECQs are multiple page documents, while the other documents are a page or more each.
Your SES application will require one of the following:
A. Five-Page SES Resume and Separate ECQ/TQ Narratives
B. New Hybrid 5-Page SES ECQ/TQ All-Inclusive Resume
You will need to review the job announcement to determine your development approach. If you are unsure of the requirements, please complete our SES Applicant Questionnaire.
It takes a tremendous amount of time for the first time SES applicant to prepare his or her own responses to these questions, as the learning curve is steep. Using an experienced SES resume writing service is the answer for the busy executive who is ready to jump start their career with the federal government. For a small investment, you can avail of the services of a professional writer who will give you the best chance possible of advancing to the next step in the SES hiring process, the interview.
* If you would like to receive a quote for SES resume development, please complete and submit our SES Applicant Questionnaire.
If you would like to receive a quote for SES resume development, please complete and submit our SES Applicant Questionnaire.
Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)
OPM has identified five executive core qualifications. The ECQs were designed to assess
executive experience and potential–not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual
has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions–not whether they are
the most superior candidate for a particular position. (The latter determination is made by the
employing agency.)
Successful performance in the SES requires competence in each ECQ. The ECQs are
interdependent; successful executives bring all five to bear when providing service to the Nation. They include:
– Leading People
– Leading Change
– Building Coalitions
– Being Results Driven
– Having Business Acumen
Correctly addressing these qualifications is a crucial part of the SES resume. You must show how each qualification is met with competence and demonstrate each with examples from your own experiences. It is imperative that you clearly show how you have demonstrated your skills and abilities in each of these, the essential qualifications for an SES position, with real-life examples. This section of the SES application is often deemed the most important one. If you do not adequately put your experience on paper in this section, your application will be rejected.
Executive Core Qualifications Further Explained:
1. Leading Change
This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside
the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an
organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2. Leading People
This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization’s vision,
mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that
fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive
resolution of conflicts.
3. Results Driven
This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations.
Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying
technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4. Business Acumen
This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources
strategically.
5. Building Coalitions
This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal
agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign
governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
While ECQs are mandatory qualification standards for every SES position, agencies may also identify specific, professional/technical qualifications for the position being filled. The qualification standards for an advertised SES position are listed in the agency’s vacancy announcement.
After two decades of writing 10+-page Senior Executive Service (SES) federal resume applications, there has finally been a change in the SES Resume requirements for *specific agencies.
Our SES Five-Page All-Inclusive federal resumes are packed full of these leadership qualities detailed with challenges, individual and specific actions taken, and—most importantly—qualitative and quantitative results. Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began beta testing the scaled-down Five-Page SES Resume in the beginning of 2009, other federal agencies have adopted this format.
Our Five-Page Hybrid SES Resume includes the five ECQs (Executive Core Qualifications) and TQs (Technical Qualifications), MTQs (Managerial TQs), or DQs (Desirable Qualifications).
This Five-Page SES Package would appear to be much simpler to develop. However, the reality is that a comprehensive federal resume and normally 10 pages of ECQ documentation, and perhaps 2 to 4 pages of TQs, if required, must be pared down and information optimized to showcase the most important facets of your leadership qualifications. Therefore, even though the resulting document is smaller, these requirements make it a more difficult and time-consuming process.
* NOT ALL AGENCIES ARE IMPLEMENTING THE 5 PAGE SES RESUME FORMAT. You must read the announcement thoroughly to understand the requirements.
