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Writing Effective ECQ Statements

It is about Marketing Yourself

WORKER
DON
Thu Apr 3, 2008 10:50 AM

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My dad who worked for the military and DOD (for 48 years) said that the people who get the best jobs in government - know how to market themself and how to write about themself.

MY dad said it is all about how you market yourself when you apply for a job (be it a resume or application), or interview for a position.

MY dad said that it has nothing to do with how much you know or what you can do. It has to do with how you market yourself on the application/resume.

He was right.

Re: It is about Marketing Yourself

Associate Director
Air Force
Thu Apr 3, 2008 12:03 PM
It is also about the certifications and degrees you have these days. I know a lady that unfortunately was transferred to my office for a year that was basically incompetent. Senior management was unwilling to let anyone take the steps to fire her because of fear of EEO complaints, but transferred her a lot to jobs for a short period of time. She did not actually perform the jobs, but spent her entire day studying for and taking tests--at our expense. She apparently was good at it and is now an incompetent executive with every certification you can achieve in accounting. Because she obtained impressive credentials and showed she worked a lot of jobs, they felt compelled to promote her. Her career is a farce and it is what gives the majority of hard working federal employees a bad name. By spending her time working on 2 master degrees and several certifications, she was promoted ahead of the people who knew and did the job. I am embarrassed to be evolved in the situation and I t

ECQs

HR Manager (Retired)
Department of the Air Force
Thu Apr 3, 2008 3:41 PM

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ECQs are without a doubt one of the greatest waste of time and effort. They serve no useful purpose; not even to demonstrate a candidate's writing skills as many candidates "out source" the writing of their ECQs. (I know because once it got mine down pat I was able to "help" other write theirs - some candidates, I later found out, just "borrowed" mine.) Unforutnately some agencies, like the Air Force, have adopted their use in some careerfields, like HR or Civilian Personnel, even at levels below the SES. The best candidates for SES or GS-15 jobs are those who have already demonstrated the qualities sought by the ECQs through actual performance and work experience, not those who can write about these qualities or have someone else do it for them. Plus, in the Air Force, what was really important about the ECQs was not content but the use of the right format, font and length.

Excellent Article

H.R. Specialist, Executive Resources
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:12 PM

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You have written an excellent description of how ECQs should be written. This is very helpful to everyone applying for SES jobs.

ECQ's

Program Manager
USMC
Mon Jun 22, 2009 8:40 AM

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Do you have a source that can provide training for ECQ writing? As we look at sucession planning and opportunities to promote our workforce, it seems we need to find valuable training resources for our workforce.

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