Executive tip of the day: banana peels
January 30th, 2009 | Career Information | Posted by Tim Kauffman
OK, readers: You’re about to head out to an important meeting with agency brass, wearing your finest business suit, when you realize your dress shoes are all scuffed up — and you’re fresh out of shoe polish. What’s an executive to do?
Two words: banana peels.
No, we’re not smokin’ them. Apparently, the oils and potassium found naturally in banana skins can give shoes a military spit shine in a fraction of the time — and it’s environmentally friendly, to boot!
Our newest favorite website, VideoJug, gives step-by-step instructions in hilarious detail. We’ve posted the tutorial below for your Friday viewing pleasure.
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Clean Green:How To Polish Shoes With A Banana
Full disclosure: Fedline hasn’t worn shoes worthy of shining since the first President Bush left office, so we can’t vouch for the technique. Try at your own risk — and report back the results.
Tags: dress, executives
The ethics pledge
January 21st, 2009 | Career Information White House | Posted by Tim Kauffman
We noted earlier today that President Barack Obama wasted no time in laying out a series of executive orders designed to set the tone for an open, transparent government that is responsive to the American public.
Part of that effort comes in the form of an ethics pledge that every political appointee will have to sign. The pledge applies to all appointees brought on board after Jan. 20 — including every non-career appointee to the Senior Executive Service or equivalent systems, policymaking and confidential jobs under Schedule C, and all other noncareer slots filled by the president or vice president.
The pledge aims to close the revolving door between public servants and federal contractors and shut down the influence of lobbyists on the administration’s activities.
We’ve got the full text of the pledge, after the jump.
Tags: lobbyists, political appointees
2009 pay raises are out!
December 19th, 2008 | Career Information Pay & Benefits Workplace | Posted by Steve Watkins
The widely anticipated pay raises for 2009 were just released this morning. In an executive order, President George W. Bush outlined how various pay schedules will be impacted by the 3.9 percent overall pay raise that Congress enacted. Also, the Office of Personnel Management released the new 2009 pay tables for the various localities.
Among the highlights:
- Basic pay under the General Schedule will go up 2.9 percent. The remainder of the 3.9 percent overall pay raise enacted by Congress will go toward locality raises.
- Among the 30-plus locality pay zones, employees in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore-Northern Virginia region will see the biggest pay hikes. Those folks will get an overall pay raise of 4.78 percent, including the 2.9 percent basic pay increase. That amounts to base pay plus 23.10 percent.
- Meanwhile, the lowest-paying locality zone — “Rest of the U.S.” — will see overall pay increases of 3.52 percent, including the 2.9 percent basic pay increase. That amounts to basic pay plus 13.86 percent.
- The highest-paying GS employees — which are those at GS-15 Step 10 in the higher-paying localities — will see their pay capped at $153,200, which is the pay rate for Level IV of the Executive Schedule. That’s up from the previous cap of $149,000.
- The maximum pay for Senior Executive Service members in certified performance-based pay systems will increase from $172,200 to $177,000, while the minimum pay will increase from $114,468 to $117,787. For SES members outside of certified systems, the max goes up from $158,500 to $162,900.
- Executive schedule pay increases from $139,600 to $143,500 at Level V, the lowest level, and from $191,300 to $196,700 at Level I, the highest level.
Now you can see what’s in your stocking for the coming year!
Tags: Pay & Benefits
Want a four-day work week?
November 19th, 2008 | Agency Management Career Information Workplace | Posted by Rebecca Neal
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced yesterday he believes President-elect Barack Obama may support a four-day work week for federal employees.
Such an idea has been bounced around for months, and some agencies already allow employees to telework or adjust their schedules to allow for an extra day off a week.
So, readers, would you welcome a 10-hour, four-day work week? Reactions I’ve received via e-mail are mixed. Some say they’d work harder in exchange for a three-day weekend every week, while others said the alternate work schedule would ease traffic in the Washington, D.C. area. Others criticized the proposal, saying a longer day would force them to enroll their children in expensive day care.
What say you?
Tags: Civil Servants
The Plum Book has landed
November 12th, 2008 | Agencies Career Information Congress | Posted by Rebecca Neal
Looking for a job in the Obama administration? Then you should check out the Plum Book, the federal directory of leadership jobs released after every presidential election.
The book was released today and contains more than 7,000 federal civil service leadership and support job descriptions in the legislative and executive branches.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that all of the jobs will be filled when Obama takes office. It does, however, give you a look at the scope of opportunities available for you in certain sectors of the federal government (and could even help you get that ol’ resume ready!)
The glorious tradition of the Plum Book originated in 1952 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower took office after 22 years of Democratic control of the White House. The Republican Party asked for a list of previous positions so the administration knew which jobs could be filled, and the book has been published every four years since 1960.
Tags: Barack Obama, Congress, Workplace