MSEJ April 2015 | Page 7

VETERAN SUCCESS STORY

Did you know CASY was named best in class by the Call of Duty Endowment?

CHALLENGE: I had been a pastor for many years, and then in the beginning of 2011 started working full time for the PA National Guard as a chaplain. I hadn’t written a resume or had a job interview in over 20 years. My resume was outdated, and my knowledge of present day resume writing and interviewing techniques was limited.

ASSISTANCE RECEIVED: In 2012-2013, I was deployed for one year and knew my position with the PA National Guard was being eliminated. I started looking for help with my job search and connected with Micki Auten through the PA National Guard Employment outreach program. Micki was an awesome coach and cheerleader. She provided critical advice on refining my resumes and taught me the importance of targeting resumes to the jobs for which you are applying. I feel Micki played a huge part in helping me obtain many interviews. When I did not get a job offer and was discouraged, she faithfully followed up with pep talks that kept me motivated.

RESULTS: Equipped with a stronger resume and experience at applying for jobs in both state and federal sectors, I was able to crack the code on USAjobs.gov and get to the interviews that landed me two job offers. Once there, my many years of experience and refined interviewing skills helped me to land two GS-12 positions. This gave me the awesome problem of having to decide which of the two great jobs I should accept.

VALUE: I believe the key is knowing your job acquiring deficiencies and taking steps to overcome them. The process of obtaining a job can be long and even discouraging and humbling, but after writing each resume, my skill at contextualizing a resume got better. After each interview, my confidence and skills improved. I personally cannot thank Micki enough for the huge part she played in helping me get a job.

Congratulations, Doug K.!

After 15 months of working with CASY, Doug was offered two GS-12 positions and accepted a position with the Federal Bureau of Prisons!