We are saying goodbye to CPOL, the Department of the Army’s Civilian hiring system.
The Army Civilian Personnel Online application is the last Resumix keyword automated system available to federal jobseekers -- and it is coming down on May 31, 2012.
The CPOL Resume Builder was liked by many federal jobseekers. It is and has been the easiest way to apply for a federal job, with just the resume and a self-nomination form and documents!
The biggest myth in federal job search is this: USAJOBS and federal resumes are read by an automated system for keywords. USAJOBS is NOT a Resumix or automated keyword resume review system! Keywords are still very important for human resource reviewers!
OFFICIAL NOTICE BY CPOL RESUMIX:
From the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC): Effective, 31 May 2012, the Army Resume Builder will no longer be available. The Army will complete its transition to the DoD Enterprise Recruitment Tool (USA Staffing) effective, 1 May 2012. USA Staffing will be the single hiring process and tool used by all DoD components.
APPLYING FOR CIVILIAN JOBS – TAKE YOUR RESUME OUT OF THE CPOL BUILDER! Resumes cannot be electronically transferred to USA Staffing. Applicants must manually extract their resume data prior to the system going off-line.
GOOD NEWS: Applicants will be able to view the status of self-nominations from the old system via USAJOBS - My Account - Application Status.
CHART, the Navy and US Marine Corps Resumix system have already moved to USA Staffing and USAJOBS.gov, which is an automated application system of resumes online, and a questionnaire system in Application Manager.
Below is a summary of the major differences between CPOL and USAJOBS for your consideration when revising your resume and applying for civilian Army jobs through USAJOBS.
The Differences Between CPOL and USAJOBS
The USA Staffing system is a combination of the USAJOBS Resume Builder and ApplicationManager.gov. Right now both of these systems require a separate user name and password (not the same, set them up separately); and a separate profile for each. Once they are set up, you will need to remember the user names and passwords and your secret questions.
How Applications are Processed – No More Resumix!
CPOL: No More Resumix! CPOL was a Resumix System where the HR specialists searched for best qualified candidates with keywords and keyword phrases.
USAJOBS: This is a human system, where the keywords are important for the resume for the human HR specialists and the supervisors to read, but there will not be any keyword searches for the best qualified candidates.
Application Elements – allow more time to apply for federal jobs!
CPOL: Resume Only + Self-Nomination + Documents. This was a fast way to applyl for a federal job.
USAJOBS: Resume Builder + Applicationmanager.gov Questionnaire + Documents (including optional cover letter). The Self-Assessment Questionnaire was originally designed and developed by Bryan Hochstein, Founder of QuickHire. This Questionnaire is now the "valid, reliable assessment tool" that President Obama wrote about in his Hiring Reform Executive Order. The Questionnaire questions will be All New for CPOL Civilian Army Applicants. Allow extra time to get used to the questions – there could be between 15 and 60 questions.
Vacancy Announcements – USAJOBS is longer!
CPOL: Vacancy announcements were similar to the new USAJOBS vacancy announcements.
USAJOBS: Vacancy announcements are specific for a particular position or positions. The announcements will include longer descriptions of duties, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, specialized experience and questionnaires.
Character Counts – You can write more!
CPOL: You were limited to 12,000 characters for all of your Work Experiences. The preferred length was 3 pages.
USAJOBS: You can write 5,000 characters (including spaces) for each of your Work Experience job blocks. The USAJOBS resume can be longer, preferred length is 4-5 pages.
Resume Format – No more Big Block!
CPOL: Big Block format was the typical format in order to cram content into the 12,000 characters.
USAJOBS: Now you can write 5,000 characters for each position. Improving readability for the HR specialists is very important. We recommend small paragraphs focusing on specific skills with Accomplishments. The KSAs in the announcement should be covered in the resume. Keywords are still important – for the human resources specialist readers.
Resume Selection – No more selection with keywords (Resumix)!
CPOL: The first cut was made by Resumix and keywords. The HR specialist review was done by keywords with the Resumix system. The HR specialist and supervisor would agree on 5 to 7 keywords to "pull" the best qualified candidates. The applicant had to show minimum qualifications and have the keywords in order to get referred.
USAJOBS: The first cut is made by the Questionnaire scores. You should give yourself all the credit that you can on the questionnaire. Your questionnaire score is added to your resume score, and that will determine if you are Minimally Qualified, Qualified or Best Qualified.
Move your resume from the CPOL Resume Builder to USAJOBS.gov Resume Builder:
https://resumebuilder.cpol.army.mil/resumebuilder/builder/index.jsp
