Sandy turned out to be a non-issue for most of Northern Virginia, so we were fortunate. I'm still trying to use the rest of the water I'd hoarded in camping containers, but it's almost gone now. I don't think I'd prepared adequately for losing power to the refrigerator, though - something to think about next time.
Work quickly returned to normal, and I'm continuing my transition from mostly training to mostly work. I did end up training for 3 days last week on Earned Value Management, which is similar in principle to what is already common in the construction industry.
I'm getting involved in projects at a variety of phases: design, pre-bidding, construction, warranty, and even post-warranty. It's very helpful to see how they/we handle the different phases, particularly for observing issues that are coming up and how I might avoid them in the future.
I'm also slowly becoming more familiar with the issues surrounding construction in Africa, including contractor-subcontractor arrangements, security, and travel issues. On travel, I'd never heard of Asky Airlines before, but our contractors fly them sometimes so I thought I'd look up a bit of info on them as a random air carrier example. Asky apparently has 4-6 planes (depending on whose data you trust) and flies to many of the West and Central African locations where we have projects. Africa is just such a different market to me that I'm not sure how it will differ exactly from US carriers, if much at all. It sounds like I'll generally fly US carriers due to the Fly America Act, but I might fly others depending on route specifics.
After seeing Argo and its obvious Foreign Service recruitment message, I was pleased with the State Department's less in-your-face recruitment effort in Skyfall last night. I believe the term is nanosubliminal. Good stuff.
(This post written while listening to Adele Skyfall.)
Hi Mark, I've been enjoying your blog. I've been trying to get into the FS for a few years now. I was even on the register as a qualified candidate for a Facility Manager position a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I, and about 60 other poor souls on the list, never made it to the top while positions were being handed out. I'm hoping CE will provide better opportunities for me. I was just wondering if there was anything you think I should emphasize on the application to make me stand out to the powers that send out OA invitations?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Gregg
Hey Gregg! Sorry to read the FM position didn't work out. There do seem to be some great opportunities as a CE though.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I really don't have any definitive advice, I'll give it a shot on the Something Is Better Than Nothing principle. I guess I would suggest focusing on your construction management experience and as many of the facets described in the vacancy announcement as possible. I don't think it's possible to be an expert in every category listed - I just described my experience where I had some, and politely didn't address the areas where I was...less experienced. To be more specific, I did list some numbers, like the quantity of projects I've worked on, the value of some of the projects, and ways in which they were significant from relevant points of view. I probably described over a dozen projects in my application, but I tried to keep the descriptions short and directed at the question. I guess that's fairly standard resume stuff. I tried to refer to the 12 Dimensions a bit in my responses. I do not have significant [non-english] language skills. Please note that I might've been successful _despite_ my doing the above - this was just my interpretation of what they wanted to see.
Since I got absolutely no feedback on my application, I'm not sure what got me invited to the OA, so it's hard to offer useful advice. Our group of new hires came from all walks of life, so you shouldn't count yourself out because of some [non-illegal] background aspect. You've probably thought of all this or read it before, but at any rate, those are my thoughts. I hope they're helpful - good luck!