How to Write Strong Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ)

How to Write Strong Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) How to Write Strong Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) Thinking about what to write for your executive core qualifications (ECQ) sets your nerves on edge. You want to represent your best professional self in your narratives, and the key to doing this is outlining your most significant accomplishments in specific, yet concise detail.What are Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ)?ECQs consist of the followingECQ 1 Leading Change consists of demonstrating creativity and innovation, external awareness, flexibility, resilience, strategic thinking and vision.ECQ 2 Leading People consists of demonstrating conflict management, leveraging diversity, developing others and team building.ECQ 3 Results Driven consists of demonstrating accountability, customer service, decisiveness, entrepreneurship, problem-solving and technical credibility.ECQ 4 Business Acumen consists of demonstrating financial, human capital and technology management.ECQ 5 Building Coalitions consists of demonstrating partnering, political savvy and negotiating.ECQs arent just guidelines, theyre requirements to enter into the Senior Executive Service. They set a voreingestellt of competency necessary for building a corporate culture at the federal level, which is results-driven, serves customers, and constructs teams focused on success, forming coalitions inside and outside a given organization.behauptung are used by various agencies and departments to ascertain leadership development, performance management and selection.You should consider your executive potential and expertise when developing your ECQs as they were designed to measure more than technical proficiency. Your ultimate performance strongly depends on your competencies in these ECQs, and you must demonstrate expertise in all five competencies.Composing and Organizing Your ECQsAs of 2015, the White House released an Executive Order (EO) to reform particular action items, opening up acce ptable materials to shorten the application process. For example, agencies with 20 SES and up were expected to submit plans to rotate SES members for member delivery, talent growth, and collaboration, with a goal of 15% SES member rotation for 120 days at least. ECQs are still relevant and expected, but the process may differ slightly. Here are six tips to help you write strong ECQs and be prepared.1. Use the CCAR MethodOpen your statement with a summary highlighting your executive experience. When tackling each accomplishment, it helps to use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result (CCAR) methodChallenge What is the specific challenge, goal or objective?Context Who did you work with and in what environment to find a solution?Action What specific actions did you take?Result What did you accomplish? Give a specific example or explanation.2. Developing CompetenciesAnalyze how you honed your experience over the course of your career, from personal accomplishments to team-based and organiza tional-based. How did you look for leadership opportunities, seek out mentorship, or submit pieces for publication? What were the results?These considerations are all relevant to your ECQs based on the results you achieved and how. What do others think of you as a leader?As you use the CCAR method, these considerations will inform your competencies as you go about detailing how you lead change, lead people, drive results, and build and leverage technical credibility. Integrating this into a 5- to 10-page document is challenging with 28 competencies to address. Barbara Adams, President and CEO of SESWriters advisesECQs should include the emotional intelligence of how an executive used their strategic vision, resilience, building coalitions, managing conflict, incorporating their actions and behaviors that led to support each of the 28 competencies within the 10 stories required in a set of ECQs. This is the hard part because the executive needs to reveal the way they handle situation s to achieve positive results. Each of the 28 competencies must be addressed in the appropriate ECQ or risk the QRB (Qualifications Review Board) denying ECQ Certification.3.Formatting Your ECQLike your other application materials, the format of your ECQ is vital for holding the attention of the review committee. If your formatting is less than professional or comes off stilted, it reflects on you as a candidate. Consider the following on how to format your ECQEach ECQ should not go over two pagesUse the first-person I point-of-view instead of third-personMake each example easy to read and concise, breaking up paragraphsKeep sentences short and to the pointWhite space helps make your ECQ scannableDont use acronyms, unless citing multiple times, to achieve brevityUse bold and italics to indicate critical detailsTimes New Roman, 12-point font is best - a classic typeface such as Helvetica is also acceptableNumber each pageDont use attachments - reviewers shouldnt need to dig to find your experienceLeave off attachments of awards and certificatesThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers examples in Word and PDF documents of ECQs for the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. The examples anzeigegert an excellent use of headers to identify competencies, breaking up paragraphs, utilizing white space and bullet points and addressing ECQs with brevity.4. Use Proper ToneYou dont want to get chatty in your ECQ, nor do you want to be too formal. Do not use slang. Be professional with a friendly tone.Do not use passive verb forms. Passive language is associated with formality from youth, but the reviewers will see many ECQs. Hold their attention. Choose active verbs and combine them with the first person point-of-view.Bad The restructuring of our team personnel eliminated the need for extra supervisors and was named this candidates best contribution to the company because it saved a lot of money and made workers feel more satisfied with their jo b.This example is lengthy, vague, and fails to use the I point-of-view.Better I reorganized five teams of personnel into one and eliminated the need to hire three additional supervisors, ultimately saving the company $150,000 and boosting performance by 18 percent.This improved example uses specific data points to illustrate the candidates accomplishment and how they achieved it from their point-of-view. Its also concise and to the point.5. Dont DeviateIts easy to get carried away when youre in the flow of writing. Dont focus too heavily on technical and managerial abilities only to find out you left out your leadership experience.Make leadership your number one focus and dont deviate once on topic. Here are additional tips to considerDemonstrate relevant experience across every ECQ.Use the Challenge-Context-Action-Result model.Each job experience listed should detail specific accomplishments.Dont skip over fundamental and relevant competencies within your ECQ narratives.Dont combin e ECQs. Brevity is beneficial, but not at the price of your reviewers confusion.Always focus on education, experience, and training within the last 10 years, since some reviewers think experience over 10 years old is irrelevant.ECQs should never reference other applications materials, such as see resume.Switch up your types of examples, such as saving the company money or establishing new, effective policies.Dont create a grocery shopping list out of your ECQs that have no context or details.Detail your vision for the company, not your personal take.Non-federal experiences are relevant if they support a particular ECQ, such as professional organizations, volunteer work, and nonprofits positions.Only highlight awards and items of recognition as linked with the related ECQ.You may include formal training and education if it enhanced your skill-set in any give ECQ.Give examples and details of special assignments.While you dont want to overpower your leadership information, adding in sp ecial qualifications can enhance and support your ECQs, including languages, public speaking engagements, publications, membership in relevant societies or professional organizations.Always show and dont tell when it comes to results. Illustrate and quantify measurable achievements, such as in cost savings, efficiency or productivity. Dont be vague.6.Leave Out Unnecessary Characteristics and AffiliationsReserve personal beliefs, commitments and philosophies for personal conversations. Commitments to political causes may be relevant if you can show the bottom line and how it relates to a specific ECQ, such as political appointee experience.Never identify your national origin, sex, race, religion, marital status, age, sexual orientation or disability status. These are non-merit factors and dont hold relevance.Writing about yourself as a professional through executive core qualifications will open your eyes to your leadership skills and experience, building your confidence and sense of authority. You are applying because you know you have what it takes.Now, its time to demonstrate that on paper. Show, dont tell - with concise, relevant and measurable details, using the proper format and tone. Be dynamic and friendly, but dont express yourself too casually or formally. Show them what you can do.RelatedHow to Write a Federal ResumeMillennial career expert Sarah Landrum is the founder of Punched Clocks, a career blog focused on helping you find happiness in life and at work. For more advice from Sarah, subscribe to her newsletter and follow her on social media SarahLandrum.HAVE TWO MINUTES?Learn how Jobscan can optimize your resume for the tech used by most recruiters.How to Scan a Resume with Jobscan (208)Explore the Resume Match Report (223)???Full text tutorialGet your own report

How to Find the Thing That Gives You Joy

How to Find the Thing That Gives You Joy How to Find the Thing That Gives You Joy Article by Emma JohnsonListen.That is the best business advice Ive heard and heeded in my lifetime. Listen to the spark that lights inside of you. Follow that spark and nurture it. Listen to your market, whetherthats your clients, thepeople you mentor, those you serve through volunteer work, or members of your community. Your market will tell you what works and what doesnt. You will find that your spark aligns with what your market tells you. Effectively serving your market will fan that spark, which makes you more effective and more powerful. Its a feedback loop that is one part tactical, one part magical.I often meet people who are stuck. They areunsure of how to find a job or hobby or service project that really lights their spark. Here is my advice to them - and to youActDont take time off to think about your path or stay put until lightning strikes. Get out there. Try new things. Be active. Meet and spend time with new people. Travel. Explore. Work - work really hard. As famed chef Julia Child said, You must have discipline to have fun.ServeAll of the science is with me on this Humans are happiest when they serve others. At every juncture of your passion-finding journey, ask yourself How are my time, energy, focus, skills, and talents best used for the greater good?Have FunNever feel guilty for spending time on something that gives you joy.What Others Have to Say on Finding JoyMatt Schulz, Founder of TalkingInClass.orgI have long been aware of the dire credit and debt problems Americans face, thanks to my work in personal-finance media for a decade. However, when I spoke with my sons fifth-grade class about credit, it really ignited my passion for making a difference in financial literacy. I welches blown away by these 10-year-olds interest in the topic and the thoughtful questions they asked. I realized that with my connections to the personal finance community, I have a powerful Rolodex of influential, money-savvy people who could have similar experiences to mine in classrooms in their communities. They could have real impacts on the futures of kids who rarely get the basic tools they need to make smart financial decisions. That inspired me to launch TalkingInClass.org, an organization dedicated to recruiting personal finance experts to volunteer in classrooms across the U.S. in order to make a real difference in childhood financial literacy. When I recruit my colleagues for this effort, I see the same passion I felt when I spoke to that first class.Jodi Ashbrook, Speaker, Author, Traveling Yoga Instructor, Entrepreneur, and Life CoachAt 24, my life had become a string of negative thought patterns and why-am-I-even-here? moments. I tried to find comfort in food, which led to an 80-pound weight gain. I found myself disconnected from all of my relationships and in debt up to my ears. A few months after a suicide attempt, I faced death again from two blood clots in my lungs. I made a commitment to no longer live my life in fear, to say yes to risks and opportunities, and to follow my passion - no matter how scared I might be. Through teaching yoga and my coaching practice, I have found that helping others, as opposed to focusing on my own problems, gives me the greatest joy. Since making that commitment, I have launched my first business, become a yoga instructor and studio owner, and begun living a mobile life committed to wellness advocacy and personal growth. Today, I am free.Meredith Cohen, Occupational TherapistAfter college, I worked in one of the nations largest advertising agencies as a senior media planner until my father was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease. I knew there wasnt much medicine could do to stop the disease, but we could improvemy fathers quality of life. This led me to research and find strong evidence for a connection between Tai Chi, yoga, and boxing on the one hand and an improved sense of balance, s trength, and confidence for those living with Parkinsons on the other. I also looked at my quality of life and mysatisfaction with my career. This was the catalyst that called me to do something more meaningful with my professional life. I contacted a friend at Massachusetts General Hospital who set me up to shadow nurses and physical and occupational therapists. I immediately fell in love with the art of occupational therapy. I gave my two weeks notice at the advertising agency and started the arduous process of beginning a new career. In the past several years as an occupational therapist, Ive received multiple awards, become an advanced clinician, and created multiple programs specifically for Parkinsons disease and other neurological conditions. It was a scary process, but each day when I help make someones life better, I know it was all worth it.Versions of this article originally appeared in the December 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine and on SUCCESS.com.Emma Johnson is an awar d-winning business journalist and founder of the worlds largest community of single moms, WealthySingleMommy.com. She is also host of the podcast Like a Mother, a popular public speaker, and author of The Kickass Single Mom Be Financially Independent, Discover Your Sexiest Self, and Raise Fabulous, Happy Children (Penguin, Oct. 2017).

The Power of Body Language in a Job Interview

The Power of Body Language in a Job InterviewThe Power of Body Language in a Job InterviewIf you asked a person on the street to rank their most uncomfortable, high pressure, stressful life experiences chances are that one or more job interviews would score at the top of the list. A great job can make all the difference in financial, personal and professional happiness. Its no wonder then that so many interviewees let a case of the nerves get to them in the interview room. And while many job-seekers prepare mentally with lists of questions, facts, and figures, far fewer realize the importance of physical preparation as well.When youre sitting across the table from a hiring manager who holds your career in their decision making hands, its easy for many candidates to let their body language get the best of them. Slouching can show a lack of confidence while things like shrugging or crossing your arms can unintentionally have you come across as combative. Neither trait is going to score you bonus points when it comes to interviewing success. With that in mind, weve prepared a handy list of common physical interactions and actions you may encounter during an interview, along with some handy dos and donts for coming out ahead in the body language game.Handy Handshake Tips The universal polite meet and greet gesture isnt the time to test out your grip strength. Keep handshakes firm, but not crushing, and be sure to make confident eye contact to appear cool, calm and confident.Perfect that Posture Theres a reason your mom always used to harp on you to keep those shoulders back and eyes up. A slouching posture isnt just good for long-term spinal health, it also makes you appear taller, confident, and in control. Strength is a big plus in a candidate so roll those shoulders back and stop your slouching in the interview room.Modulation is Good in Moderation When it comes to tone and volume, be sure to keep things cool, calm and collected to avoid letting nerves show. Var y your pitch to show excitement when appropriate to avoid coming across as lacking enthusiasm for the potential gig.Stop that Fidgeting Fidget spinners may have been all the rage a few years ago but candidates know to leave these catchy toys at home if they want a successful interview. Similarly, candidates should avoid tapping their foot, drumming their fingers, or other similarly distracting habits while trying out for a new position. Confidence is key and a heavy case of fidgety nerves is definitely going to leave the wrong impression on a potential employer.About those Arms Whether on a first date or in the interview room, few gestures convey as much negative meaning as crossed arms. Avoid this offputting gesture to come across as approachable and engaged.Its all in the Eyes Eye contact is a big part of a positive social interaction. This applies in the interview room just as much as it does at the dinner table. Make eye contact when speaking with the interviewer and be sure to move your gaze to each participant in meetings with multiple people.Not so Grand Gestures Using your hands for gestures is a normal part of most polite conversations until things get out of hand that is. Avoid grand gestures or wild gesticulations to avoid appearing nervous or out of touch. At a loss for what to do instead? Try gently resting your hands on the table or clasping them in a normal manner.Not a One Way Street Just as body language is important for the job-seeker, successful candidates should be equally aware of their interviewers reciprocal signs. Read the body language of your hiring counterpart carefully so that you can correct missteps, misstatements, or clarify any confusion.In closing thoughts, its important to remember that the interview room is the best shot to make a good impression and convince the company representative youre the right person for the open position. Using all of the verbal and physical body language tools at your disposal will set you up for su ccess from the beginning. Conveying strength, confidence and enthusiasm for the opportunity is half the recipe for success. Use our tips above to ensure that your body language matches your resume strength and youll be that much closer to scoring the job offer and career-making opportunity.