Career

Phased Retirement’s Debut

http://www.psretirement.com/phased-retirements-debut/ The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the final regulations on Phased Retirement on August 7, 2014. Phased Retirement will allow full-time employees the opportunity to work part-time while drawing retirement benefits. Phased-retirement debuted as a mentoring tool to preserve the government’s institutional knowledge. As I stated previously, it is a start to something becauseRead… Read more »

Phased Retirement Annuity

Phased Retirement Annuity One of the incentives offered to gain employee participation in the Phased Retirement program is the more generous annuity at full retirement. Federal annuities are calculated based on years of creditable service and the high-three average salary. Therefore, the longer you work the better things might look in the end for you.Read… Read more »

Duo of Doctors Heal Veterans

Duos Come in all forms and across all trades. Batman and Robin. Simon and Garfunkle. Ben and Jerry. Mork and Mindy. Lewis and Clark. Bert and Ernie. Bauman and Spungen. Haven’t heard of the last duo? Well under their leadership the two doctors have collaborated to study medical consequences of spin cord injuries for overRead… Read more »

What Are Your Weaknesses?

Whether you’re interviewing for an internship or for a job in the Senior Executive Service, your interviewer may ask you that old “What are your weaknesses?” question. But even interviewers who still ask that widely reviled question recognize its limitations. “No one realistically expects to receive brutally honest answers like, ‘I’m below-average intelligence and difficultRead… Read more »

Building Trust With Your Team

You’ve probably heard that old saying, “people quit their bosses, not their jobs.” You may even have quit a job or two yourself because of a bad boss, so you know that one of the most important parts of being a good leader is to build trust with your team. They need to trust thatRead… Read more »

Government-ize Your Resume

If you’re considering applying for your first federal job (or if you’re hunting for a new one), don’t plan on using a traditional resume. There are a number of specific things the feds are looking for that don’t usually apply to the private sector. What follows are some tips on how to rework your resumeRead… Read more »

Going Beyond Traditional Learning Programs

70% of learning is informal, so it’s time for managers to think beyond just traditional training programs On September 3, 2014, American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) will be hosting the Government Workforce: Learning Innovations Conference. The conference will provide a unique opportunity for government leaders to explore how new learning models can helpRead… Read more »

The Grey Tsunami Problem: Why It’s Really About Communication

The “grey tsunami” was a big topic at my agency a few years back. The expectation was that up to 70% of the agency’s workforce would take early retirement. Massive amounts of tacit knowledge would be lost. In preparation, my team attempted to “crowdsource” the knowledge of the experienced staff. We wanted to convert thatRead… Read more »