Blog
Board service: How to find fulfillment and a mission that matters
If you’ve thought about serving on a board, but aren’t sure what to expect or seek, here is a “day in the life” from my experience serving as a board trustee with the world’s largest environmental nonprofit.
How to empower your adult child in their job search
I once called a young White House applicant to invite them to interview for a position. They answered with confusion. It soon became clear that their Mom, a self-professed Helicopter Parent, had written their application materials and applied for the job on their behalf. Before you step take over your adult child’s job search, consider instead how you can help them help themselves. Here are tips to support their job search while still letting them take the lead.
How to stay safe from job scams and fake resume writers
Public service announcement: A fake recruiter is trying to defraud job seekers by referring them to a resume writer purporting to be me. It's awful that scammers are taking advantage of desperate job seekers in a tough hiring market. Here are some tips to stay safe from hiring scams.
ATS-Friendly Résumé Writing
A recruiter may spend only ten seconds scanning your resume to determine if you warrant further evaluation. Word choice, word order, and conciseness all matter. Here are five tips to write a resume that compels a recruiter to stop scanning and start reading.
To keep my skills sharp when writing resumes for C-suite and executive leadership candidates, I recently completed the Master Series: Executive Resume Writing Certificate. If you're a senior executive trying to break into C-suite roles, or if you're struggling to adequately convey the impact of your work, know that there are tools and techniques to make your resume more powerful.
Before you turn to AI to write your résumé or cover letter, it’s important to understand how to use AI effectively, rather than to your own detriment. Here, I discuss several common perils of using AI, and how you can exploit its potential benefits for your job search.
Here are several strategies to help you understand how Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) work and how to optimize your résumé's performance in ATS.
Career and Job Search Advice
If you’ve thought about serving on a board, but aren’t sure what to expect or seek, here is a “day in the life” from my experience serving as a board trustee with the world’s largest environmental nonprofit.
I once called a young White House applicant to invite them to interview for a position. They answered with confusion. It soon became clear that their Mom, a self-professed Helicopter Parent, had written their application materials and applied for the job on their behalf. Before you step take over your adult child’s job search, consider instead how you can help them help themselves. Here are tips to support their job search while still letting them take the lead.
Public service announcement: A fake recruiter is trying to defraud job seekers by referring them to a resume writer purporting to be me. It's awful that scammers are taking advantage of desperate job seekers in a tough hiring market. Here are some tips to stay safe from hiring scams.
Job Interview Tips
When interviewing for senior or executive positions, consider deploying the VITAL framework. This framework pushes you to describe your leadership vision and learning, not just your results. It demonstrates the executive decision-making that can make or break your candidacy for high-level roles.
When it comes to sharing anecdotes in interviews, there is more than CAR and STAR. To go beyond these commonly used methods, try the STAR Plus or Inverted STAR methods to more fully demonstrate your leadership, initiative, and value.
Many people I’ve prepared for interviews have asked, “How do I talk about my greatest weakness?” First, ditch the tired approach of presenting a strength disguised as a weakness. Instead, share an Accountability Story.
With oddball questions, what interviewers look for is not perfection, but potential. Read on to learn how to handle unexpected questions in job interviews.
In today’s tough job market, intentional interview prep has never been more important. When you hone your key messages and learn them by heart, you will know what examples will be powerful to share.
Federal Résumés and USAJOBS
Federal hiring is coming back online, and there are a lot of jobs to backfill. Here’s a cheat sheet I wrote to help people navigate the new 2-page federal resume requirements.
If you’re interested in federal government jobs, it’s worth making your resume searchable on USAJOBS. You can only set a resume as searchable if it meets the new 2-page limit. Make it easy for federal agencies to find and hire you by uploading a 2-page resume to USAJOBS and setting it as searchable.
There is more to a job application than your resume. Take, for instance, all the other documents you need to submit on USAJOBS when applying for federal positions. Here, I offer a Q&A about the other documents you may need to apply for federal government jobs.
Back in September, I wrote about the USAJOBS reboot and its new 2-page limit on federal resumes. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently shared additional guidance on how to write a short federal resume. Here is a rundown of key elements you may have wondered about including when writing your new, 2-page federal resume.
I did the math so that you don't have to. If you're a federal employee and want to maximize your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement contributions for 2026, read on.
Here is a rundown of the formatting and content requirements you’ll need to follow if you want your federal resume to meet the new USAJOBS requirements. Starting on September 27, 2025, all federal resumes will be limited to just two pages.
Starting September 27, the longform federal resume is dead. Here is what you need to know to make sure your federal resume meets the new requirements.
Here, I present an overview of OPM's overhaul of the SES hiring process and what the new résumé requirements mean for aspiring government executives.
Federal Layoffs and RIF Resources
Work and Life Hacks
If you travel a lot for work or pleasure, you’ve likely experienced the displeasure of feeling rundown during or after your trip. Years ago, I caught a cold (or worse) after nearly every flight, and I was tired of it. I asked my doctor what I could do to stay healthy when flying frequently. She gave me several tips to minimize germ exposure on planes.
When it comes to working efficiently, figuring out how to handle up to 1,000 emails a day has been a necessary part of my job. I have used both Outlook and Gmail at work. Here are several features and tips to improve your email management and process emails more quickly.
One afternoon, I gathered over lunch with a dozen White House colleagues to exchange our favorite productivity hacks. From Outlook macros to scheduling wizardry, we shared best practices to get more done under intense time pressure. Here are 12 of my favorite practices to maximize my productive time at work.
I learned minimalist packing by necessity when I traveled through 14 countries in 8 months as a recipient of the Bonderman Travel Fellowship. For the many friends and colleagues who have asked me for packing advice over the years, here are my favorite packing tips and gear.
This morning, I tuned in to the hearing challenging the federal government’s Reductions in Force (RIF) during the current lapse in appropriations. Here are highlights from the hearing and the judge’s decision enjoining the federal government from proceeding with RIFs.
You may have heard that many federal employees received Reduction In Force (RIF) notices. Even now, federal agencies must still ensure that RIFs “comply with merit system laws and regulations.” Here are a key points to know about OPM's memo on RIF Basics.
With recent mass layoffs happening in the public and private sectors, I gathered tips on how to prepare for layoffs. Read on for steps you can take to be ready.