Sports Reporter, Stars and Stripes Europe

I know nothing about Stars and Stripes but sounds interesting....

http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1369358

 

Note to anyone applying: The federal resume is a different beast. Check online as to the proper format.

 

Filling out those things is a full-time job.

 

You will lose considerably more than 20 minutes of your life filling it out.

 

I paid something like $200 to have one done and put in the proper format with all the bells and whistles.

I've applied to S&S ones and tend to score 98 or 98 on the Q&A thing but it's still not enough to rank for an interview. Essentially, unless you have NCE status or veterans' points, there's no chance.

Still, this one looks interesting just in the fact that they do ask you to submit your ideas for the vision. Most do not do that, so it does look like they are serious about the hire.

But if you're applying, do take the time to put your resume -- spelling out the kSAs and including all numbers when possible -- in the proper format. Dates, contact numbers, reasons for leaving, etc. Plenty of samples online.

 

KSAs were eliminated from the federal hiring process sometime last year.

It's not impossible to get an interview there -- I have. The pay is low for someone living in the D.C. area but the benefits will be strong, especially somewhere overseas, where you *may* get a housing allowance (don't quote me on that).

You'll mostly be covering sports at the base high schools, from what I've seen of their stuff, but you'll also get to cover other stuff near your base, or maybe some World Cup reax stories, stuff like that. I believe they have PDFs of their print editions online.

 

KSAs were eliminated as separate essays, but they still need to be on your resume.

KNOWLEDGE: Three years experience as assistant sports editor in Pudunk, USA
SKILLS: Supervised seven free-lance writers covering 14 local high schools encompassing 14 sports and 200 athletes. Managed four-page sports section six days a week for a circulation of 15,000 subscribers. Updated 24-hour news site eight times daily blah blah blah
ABILITIES (or ACCOMPLISHMENTS): Established semi-annual high school sections for two sports. Created sports blogs and increased traffic on Podunk's sports home page by 47 percent.

You have to be specific. Use numbers when possible. Since the KSA essays were eliminated, more weight is given to the Q&A thing and more value is on the NCE status (I can bitch forever about this -- the whole "make it easier to apply for federal jobs" has really bitten a lot more regular citizens in the ass because honoring the NCE is the employers' option, and after the change, more employers are taking the option.)

It's a PITA. Worth it if you get in, but it does take some doing.

I've no idea how the military-ish folks live overseas, but I've visited the embassy workers' homes -- nice, furnished and paid for by our tax dollar. One day that will be me.

 

Didn't encounter any Q&A thing in the application process. Maybe that's down the road or has been eliminated? Anyway, process is streamlined since you can upload PDFs of clips, CV and cover letter.

 

This job is right in my wheelhouse. I don't know if applying is worth all the trouble, however.

I will tell you Stars & Stripes has damn near 100 percent readership among Americans connected with the military. But there are only about 50,000 servicemembers left there, down from the 375,000 at the height of the Cold War.

Including civilians and dependents, there were at one time almost a million Americans stationed in (West) Germany ... big enough for their own state.

 

I've gotten a couple interviews for fed jobs in the past year or so and didn't have anything approaching a KSA on my resume.

From this link: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20100516/AGENCY04/5160306/Kiss-KSA-goodbye

Among the changes made by OMB: "Eliminate the use of knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) essays to assess candidates in the initial stages of the hiring process, and instead rely on resumes."

 

What I mean is that the KSAs are to be addressed in the resume. If that's not your experience, OK. But it's been mine and the interviews I had (VA and State, not S&S), they were required, as was supplemental material similar to what this posting requires.

All I'm suggesting is to follow the resume format to a T, and follow the application directions exactly.

It's nice to know there's no Q&A on this one. Not all of them have them.

Good luck to those who apply.

 

I applied for this one. Heck of an experience for the successful hire. Germany's great, I've been to Frankfurt and some places are like stepping back into time, like Casablanca in the 1940s.

Interesting to see how the whole Greece-Spain-Germany Austerity story all plays out, on a somewhat separate note.