What is SES?
Official description: The Senior Executive Service (SES) is comprised of the men and women charged with leading the continuing transformation of our government. This dedicated corps of executives shares a commitment to public service and a set of democratic values grounded in the fundamental ideals of the Constitution. As the leaders of our federal civilian workforce, senior executives strive each day to create a more citizen-centered, result-oriented federal government.
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The SES includes most managerial, supervisory and policy positions classified above General Schedule (GS) grade 15 or equivalent positions in the executive branch of the federal government.
The Senior Executive Service (SES) Federal Candidate Development Program (Fed CDP) will help federal agencies meet their succession planning goals and contribute to the government's effort to create a high-quality SES leadership corps.
Are you thinking about applying for the elite SES ranks or for an SES Career Development Program within the next five years? If the answer is yes, then now is the time to start planning! Like in show business, there are no "overnight successes" in government. Instead, there can be many unnoticed years of dedicated hard work as you head toward future leadership roles. This concept was illustrated in Rudolph Giuliani's bestseller "Leadership," in which the former New York mayor states he didn't simply become a great leader on 9/11. Instead, he purposefully took on challenges throughout his entire career.
Which Employees Can Start Planning to Apply for SES?
Federal employees eligible to apply for the government's SES-track Career Development Programs (CPDs) come from the manager and senior technical levels: GS-14 and 15. Others with a five-year plan of their own could begin around GS-12/13.
The best advice to all potential SES applicants is to start writing the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) right away.
The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) are the Office of Personnel Management's tool for assessing whether you have demonstrated the levels of leadership necessary to join the SES to be accepted into an SES Career Development Program.
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If you start writing your ECQs now, you can also use this as an important self-assessment tool. "This way, you can begin to look at what's missing according to the Office of Personnel Management's required 28 leadership competencies," advised Diane Hudson Burns, co-author of "The New SES Application."
The practical reason for this self-assessment is that you're going to have to prove your SES worthiness with specified types of real-life examples. If you are lacking some of the real-life examples, then you need to fill in the gaps over the next several years by seeking career opportunities to help you achieve your goal. This exercise will literally help you plan your climb.
The ECQs Are Your Past Performance
ECQs are broken into five separate leadership competencies (see the list below). You need to write two examples for each of the ECQs from your past work experience, which show you already demonstrate a particular leadership competency. If you have managed a program, changed an organization, lead staff through difficult times, worked through a changing budget or developed a new partnership, then you have some excellent accomplishments to start writing your ECQs.
Consider these ECQ descriptions and questions to help you prepare to write your ECQs:
- ECQ #1 -- Leading change: This competency is about leading change, not just implementing change. It demonstrates creativity and strategic thinking. Ask yourself, "When did I lead change? Why was change needed? What was my role in the change?" Remember, this is not about what your department did, but what you did to lead change.
- ECQ #2 -- Leading people: The second ECQ centers on the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision. Your example might address conflict management, leveraging diversity or implementing career development. Ask yourself, "Who did I lead? What was going on with them? What were the challenges of their jobs?"
- ECQ #3 -- Results driven: The third ECQ relates to action, staying on task, following up and being driven by the desired results. Top leaders are very results driven, like Giuliani was as New York's mayor.
- ECQ #4 -- Business acumen: To tackle this qualification, you need three "hats" -- leading finances, human capital and technology. This can be the toughest ECQ. Government people tend to think about programs and policies, rather than business. But think of contracts, procurements and budgets for finance, restructuring, recruitment and training for people, as well as security, IT security and automation for technology.
- ECQ #5 -- Building coalitions: The fifth ECQ is about partnering, political savvy, influencing and negotiating. Ask yourself, "How well do I partner with other organizations to achieve goals? How well do I communicate with them? How well do I work with others?"
Writing your ECQs is like writing your own executive leadership book about what you have accomplished. It's an important exercise that can result in increased confidence in your achievements and an impressive resume. The ECQs are also important talking points for your next behavior-based interview. For instance: What is your best accomplishment for 2011? Write it down and share it with your best friend or co-worker!
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Kathryn Troutman, president of The Resume Place, is dedicated to helping veterans write great resumes. She is also the author of the "Military to Federal Career Guide" and CD-ROM, filled with successful samples of federal and private industry resumes.
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