Can I keep my career going strong while being a trailing spouse?
June 5, 2017 11:02 AM Subscribe
I will be moving to Yokosuka, Japan soon. My husband is in the Navy and we have received orders to be there in about a month. I have a graduate degree, 15 years of experience with increasing responsibility, and a four month old. Can I expect to find a federal job or is this folly?
I have recently realized that applying for a federal job is just not like anything I have experienced. I feel like I am very qualified for some job openings I see on USAJOBS, but since I haven't worked as a federal employee yet, I'm just not sure. I have so many questions that I am almost paralyzed.
All of my relevant experience has either been for state government or for non-profits in planning and policy/community development most recently at the Executive Director level. Is there an accepted way to convert that experience to its equivalent federal experience? If not, do you have any experience in hiring someone to help convert a traditional resume to a federal one? I also can't figure out what, if any, help the military spouse preference might be and in fact if it could hurt me when it comes down to actual career sustainability.
Barring any of that, perhaps some of you have experience in looking for jobs in Japan not for our government and how you might go about looking for a job like that.
I feel like I am just shutting down faced with all the crazy red tape that goes into moving to Japan with a cat and an infant and looking for a job and childcare, but I pretty desperately don't just want to be the "household manager". I would really appreciate any insight and advice from those who have been in similar situations.
I have recently realized that applying for a federal job is just not like anything I have experienced. I feel like I am very qualified for some job openings I see on USAJOBS, but since I haven't worked as a federal employee yet, I'm just not sure. I have so many questions that I am almost paralyzed.
All of my relevant experience has either been for state government or for non-profits in planning and policy/community development most recently at the Executive Director level. Is there an accepted way to convert that experience to its equivalent federal experience? If not, do you have any experience in hiring someone to help convert a traditional resume to a federal one? I also can't figure out what, if any, help the military spouse preference might be and in fact if it could hurt me when it comes down to actual career sustainability.
Barring any of that, perhaps some of you have experience in looking for jobs in Japan not for our government and how you might go about looking for a job like that.
I feel like I am just shutting down faced with all the crazy red tape that goes into moving to Japan with a cat and an infant and looking for a job and childcare, but I pretty desperately don't just want to be the "household manager". I would really appreciate any insight and advice from those who have been in similar situations.
Making a federal resume is a lot of work on the front end but then it is ready to go for as many jobs as you care to apply to. You just want to say more instead of less. List position title, start and end dates, address of the position and a contact number. Starting and ending salary. List anything you did that is important even if not directly relevant to the job post You could probably find someone on Fiverr to do this for you, but it really isn't hard. Just time-consuming.
You will get point preference for being related to someone in the military depending on which agency you apply to.
Executive Directors manage people and budgets. Maybe this is like project management? Process improvement? Grant administration may be helpful in certain areas of the Fed.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:54 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
You will get point preference for being related to someone in the military depending on which agency you apply to.
Executive Directors manage people and budgets. Maybe this is like project management? Process improvement? Grant administration may be helpful in certain areas of the Fed.
posted by crunchy potato at 12:54 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I don't have experience of my own, but: You don't have to meet 100% of the posted qualifications for a job to apply for it. Don't reject yourself from the job before giving them a chance to hire you. Qualifications and titles look need on a job posting, but it's a human being they're hiring, and most humans can be trained into qualification, or bring experience and qualification that can't necessarily be described or demanded in a job posting. And, well, they're hiring-- they want to get someone in the door and take the workload off the others who are carrying it.
Federal job advertisements are possibly the only case where this advice is not true. Federal job applications are their own thing and it's worth following advice aimed specifically at that job search - e.g Preparing a federal application.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:15 PM on June 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
Federal job advertisements are possibly the only case where this advice is not true. Federal job applications are their own thing and it's worth following advice aimed specifically at that job search - e.g Preparing a federal application.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 1:15 PM on June 5, 2017 [10 favorites]
Is there an accepted way to convert that experience to its equivalent federal experience?
Every job you see on USAJobs should indicate a grade equivalent (or range), so once you have looked through a few that you seem to be qualified for, you will have an idea of what grades you might be hired in at. You could also check out OPM's Qualification Standards; in theory that's what people used to assign those grades.
In practice, you want to make the case for being hired in at the highest grade possible, because up until you hold a federal job, you (and the hiring personnel) have some flexibility in determining how to best apply your experience+education. Once you've held a position, though, it becomes much harder to later make that case. (So for example if someone left employment at a GS-7, worked somewhere else for two years, then tried to come back, they'd be pegged at whatever level requires GS-7 + 2 years, even if they should have originally been a GS-9, and they would have a much more difficult time arguing their case than if they had tried to argue for the GS-9 the first time around).
posted by solotoro at 2:21 PM on June 5, 2017
Every job you see on USAJobs should indicate a grade equivalent (or range), so once you have looked through a few that you seem to be qualified for, you will have an idea of what grades you might be hired in at. You could also check out OPM's Qualification Standards; in theory that's what people used to assign those grades.
In practice, you want to make the case for being hired in at the highest grade possible, because up until you hold a federal job, you (and the hiring personnel) have some flexibility in determining how to best apply your experience+education. Once you've held a position, though, it becomes much harder to later make that case. (So for example if someone left employment at a GS-7, worked somewhere else for two years, then tried to come back, they'd be pegged at whatever level requires GS-7 + 2 years, even if they should have originally been a GS-9, and they would have a much more difficult time arguing their case than if they had tried to argue for the GS-9 the first time around).
posted by solotoro at 2:21 PM on June 5, 2017
One particular place to look for jobs might be with the embassy; your status as a trailing spouse will make you eligible for some jobs there that are not open to the general public (though my experience with EFM jobs is that they will not be at the level your qualifications look like they would put you).
posted by solotoro at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by solotoro at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Making a federal resume is a lot of work on the front end but then it is ready to go for as many jobs as you care to apply to.
Current civil servant here, and I will have to respectfully disagree with this. You should have a tailored resume for each position you apply for. Do not assume that the HR person reviewing the resume can read between the lines, or discern your transferable skills. Do not make them go on a fishing expedition to determine how your qualifications match up with the KSAs of that particular job advertisement.
I would be leery of paying anyone off the internets to write a federal resume, unless they have a long track record of working in HR for that particular agency, or at least getting hired at different agencies.
I recommend Kathryn Troutman's book. You may also want to check out the Federal Soup forums and r/usajobs.
Just my 2 cents.
posted by invisible ink at 2:30 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Current civil servant here, and I will have to respectfully disagree with this. You should have a tailored resume for each position you apply for. Do not assume that the HR person reviewing the resume can read between the lines, or discern your transferable skills. Do not make them go on a fishing expedition to determine how your qualifications match up with the KSAs of that particular job advertisement.
I would be leery of paying anyone off the internets to write a federal resume, unless they have a long track record of working in HR for that particular agency, or at least getting hired at different agencies.
I recommend Kathryn Troutman's book. You may also want to check out the Federal Soup forums and r/usajobs.
Just my 2 cents.
posted by invisible ink at 2:30 PM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
Sorry, I should have said "may" in that second comment, I have no experience in countries with a military base, I don't actually know that such a posting would fall under Com authority.
posted by solotoro at 2:38 PM on June 5, 2017
posted by solotoro at 2:38 PM on June 5, 2017
Oh yes, invisible ink is correct about not having a one size fits all resume and the need to tailor to the position. I was talking about being more specialized than perhaps OP is. You always want to tailor your key words etc., But adding all the extras about contact info, hours of work, etc. only has to be done once.
posted by crunchy potato at 2:46 PM on June 5, 2017
posted by crunchy potato at 2:46 PM on June 5, 2017
One particular place to look for jobs might be with the embassy; your status as a trailing spouse will make you eligible for some jobs there that are not open to the general public (though my experience with EFM jobs is that they will not be at the level your qualifications look like they would put you).
Mrs. Photo Guy did this when I was posted overseas a few years ago (I'm a non-DoD federal employee). She wasn't nuts about the job (basically a glorified secretary - a major step down from her chosen career) but it did get her out of the house at least. These jobs are not advertised on USAJOBS, you'd have to apply through the Tokyo embassy's local job page. Unfortunately State still has a hiring freeze in place at the moment that includes a lot of EFM positions but it doesn't hurt to apply.
Otherwise I'd try USAJOBS and any career resources that the military provides. Also seconding the advice for /r/usajobs and Federalsoup if you're applying for federal positions.
posted by photo guy at 4:45 PM on June 5, 2017
Mrs. Photo Guy did this when I was posted overseas a few years ago (I'm a non-DoD federal employee). She wasn't nuts about the job (basically a glorified secretary - a major step down from her chosen career) but it did get her out of the house at least. These jobs are not advertised on USAJOBS, you'd have to apply through the Tokyo embassy's local job page. Unfortunately State still has a hiring freeze in place at the moment that includes a lot of EFM positions but it doesn't hurt to apply.
Otherwise I'd try USAJOBS and any career resources that the military provides. Also seconding the advice for /r/usajobs and Federalsoup if you're applying for federal positions.
posted by photo guy at 4:45 PM on June 5, 2017
There is a lot going on in the spouse-employment-at-new-duty-station in the DoD world, all good. I don't keep up with the specifics so please ask your sailor to inquire about federal employment preferences. You could also contact the nearest Navy Family Services Center.
posted by KneeDeep at 5:31 PM on June 5, 2017
posted by KneeDeep at 5:31 PM on June 5, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Momburnt was a Navy Wife with a career, and in the last couple decades of Dadburnt's career, most of the officer's wives had their own careers, so whatever they're calling the Navy Wives Club these days, that's a good place to check for advice. You may also get some job leads that way.
Your State Government experience will probably get you in the door-- government jobs are government jobs; the only difference is likely to be part of the social status game that all workers have the pleasure of playing at work.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:24 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]