Guys! So, while I was getting focused for 2016, which as you know is not easy, I realized that I had to develop a mantra.  As many of you know, I had to first really understand what the heck a mantra is and what it means to have one!  Mantra comes from a Sanskrit word meaning a “sacred message or text, charm, spell, counsel. So when I saw "charm" and "spell", I said, "Heck No", no mantra for me.  But the more I thought about what I needed to do to get things on track, how do I get this train moving?  What are the missing links or ingredients to reaching the level of success right now?  In the end, I needed to do three things, Get Help, Get Organized, Get Moving.
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I had to get some help honey.  The first thing I did was have a consultation with a marketing and public relations person. Honey I had to get help with getting my message together so that people other than me and the folks who know me can understand it.  We are still working on clearly defining the messaging; but what that consultation did was to help me to understand how other people saw "my brand".  
The next step was to vet and join a mastermind group.  I wanted to join a mastermind so that I could help myself by helping others.  The major focus for the mastermind is to keep us all accountable to ourselves and our businesses by setting measurable, attainable short range goals, to move our businesses from the plateaus or to that next level.   

My business was all over the place, consulting, coaching, writing, legal, representation, on and  on, and on and on. Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!!! I started to get overwhelmed each and every time I thought about what I needed to do.  Bottom line, I was not organized and I did not realize how chaotic this was because I understood it.  I had to pull it together and focus. Many people have asked me, how did you do it?  How did you get organized?  The key to getting organized is starting with stating very specific goals and objectives.  Then doing them.

You can make it.  What's your mantra?  Your challenge for this week is to develop your mantra.  Mine is Take Action.  Leave your mantra in the comments section, tell us why you chose that mantra and how it fits into your overall goals for 2016.  Until next  time, be blessed, but more importantly, be a blessing. If you are in the Atlanta, GA metro area on March 12, 2016, join us for Opulence TV's private netwroking event "Stimulate Your Business"  space is limited so RSVP today here.

As part of a recent interview for the Jeff Altman Show, I discussed three main points and differences between the standard resume and the federal sector resume. 

The rule of thumb for Federal resumes is to include everything. For each position, within each company, list your functional duties.  What does this mean you ask?  This means DO NOT just copy and paste a job description. It means to lay out your duties, responsiblities, as carried out on a daily basis.  This is a much more detailed description than the standard resume, which requires an overview or encapsulation to stay within the requisite one page guideline.  Even though the goal is to get everything in, there are several ways to streamline your  federal resume. First, are there any functional duites to which you can pair with others?  Second, write, read, re-read, revise, re-read again.  Last, with each re-read, revise to create a more concise statement. This will help you "trim the fat" from an already robust resume and create a more tailored document.

In general, the rules are the same for tailoring a federal resume as with the standard resume.  However, one difference is, the federal sector deals with job classifications or job series.  This series is located in the job announcement and the number corresponds with a class of positions.  When tailoring your federal resume, it is important to review the job announcement very carefully.  First, look at the position duties and responsibilites, this will help you identify the proper "buzzwords" to use to insure that you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.  Second, write your resume in the proper tense and active voice. Third,  make sure that your descriptions demonstrate how your experience lines up with the specialized experience needed for the position.  Lastly, list accomplishments that are pertinent to the knowledge, skill, or ability sought for that particular position/series of jobs.  Additionally, there are items that must be included in the federal resume that are not required for the standard resume.

The following information must be included for federal resumes: Veteran status; the job announcement number should be included on every page of the resume; social security number; security clearance, if any; whether your positions were part-time, full time, contract, etc.; and current supervisor's name and contact information.

Job hunting can be daunting; but not having the knowledge to make sure that you are competitive can lead to long term unemployment.  ​In this area, my typical clients are persons who are seeking upward mobility and need a stellar resume to get them in the door.  They already possess the requisite skills, but lack the ability to present those skills in the way described here.  We work with clients to get their resumes to the minimal qualified levels based on a class of positions.  Be encouraged, if you find yourself stuck we are here to help!

Now that I've shared the secrets with you, how do you construct your resume?  What's the best advice you would give someone seeking federal employment? Do you have a question or comment?  Let's dicsuss tips, tools, questions, and feedback in the comment section below!