6C0X1 - Contracting - AFSC Description

6C0X1 - Contracting - AFSC Description6C0X1 - Contracting - AFSC DescriptionContracting Officers and Airmen are typically stationed with Mission Support Centers and are responsible for managing and executing operational acquisition solutions, across the Air Force enterprise. These Air Force professionals help prepare, negotiate and award contracts to qualified vendors as well as evaluate their wertzuwachss to ensure that the money we spend is put to its best possible use. They are on the front line of waste, fraud, and abuse. These contracting / business managers perform, and administer contracting functions for commodities, services, and construction using simplified acquisition procedures, negotiation, and other approved methods. They use automated contracting systems to prepare, process, and analyze transactions and products. Contracting Officers and Airmen act as business advisors, buyers, negotiators, and administrators. They support all functions of contingency operations. Air Force LInk Duties and Responsibilities Advises government and contractor personnel on contracting-related issues. Obtains data on marketing trends, supply sources, and trade information. Prepares memoranda, determinations, and findings, justifications, and approvals. Documents contracting files. Prepares documents, processes transactions, and maintains files applicable to automated contracting systems and other electronic methods. Analyzes statistical data pertinent to contracting functions. Ensures contractors comply with bonding, insurance, and tax requirements, as applicable. Supports studies pursuant to competitive sourcing. Performs market research. Reviews requirements to include descriptions, government furnished property, availability of funds, justifications for sole source, brand name purchasing, and delivery requirements. Reviews proposed documents to ensure contractual correctness and compliance with regulations, directives, laws, statutes, and contracting policies. Reviews government estimates. Determines appropriate contracting methods and contract types. Maximizes use of commercial items and practices. Interprets and explains government procedures and regulations. Determines applicability of contract clauses and special provisions. Prepares solicitations solicits proposals for commodities, services, and construction requirements. Ensures solicitations are publicly advertised as appropriate. Reviews and evaluates cost and pricing data/information. Analyzes and reviews award actions. Obtains and evaluates past performance information. Determines contractor responsibility. Evaluates responsiveness of bids and offers. Prepares and conducts negotiations. Prepares bid abstracts. Amends and cancels solicitations. Rejects bids. Reviews and evaluates bids or offers. Recommends contract award. Mediates protests. Conducts site visits to determine adequacy of contractor compliance and customer satisfaction. Interviews contractor employees to determine labor law compliance. Trains and monitors quality assurance personnel. Assesses contractor compli ance and determines appropriate actions. Resolves claims, disputes and appeals. Terminates contracts and administers termi nation settlements. Provides contingency contracting support at stateside or deployed locations in support of joint U. S. and allied forces. Develops and manages contingency contracting program plans 2.6. Evaluates methods and procedures used in purchasing commodities, services, and construction. Ensures contractors adherence to delivery schedules and price. Prepares and presents evaluation in the form of correspondence and briefings. Participates in the unit self-inspection program. Specialty Qualifications Knowledge. Knowledge is mandatory ofpricing techniques, market trends, supply sources, US or foreign commercial practices and marketing factors contributing to prices of items, equipment, materials or services. Knowledge is mandatory of basic computer appli cations, audit procedures, policies, laws, and directives governing purchasing and contingency contracting policies and procedures. Education. For entry into this specialty, completion of 24 semester hours inbusiness-relatedsubjects, such as accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, and organization and management is desirable, or possession of a baccalaureate degree.Training. The following training is mandatory for award of the AFSC indicated6C031. Completion of the apprentice contracting specialist course. 6C071. Achievement of Level II Certification in contracting under the Acquisition Professional Development Program, and completion of Defense Acquisition University (DAU) contingency contracting course (CON 234). Experience . The following experience is mandatory for award of the AFSC indicated (Note landseeExplanation of Air Force Specialty Codes). MINIMUM EDUCATION High school diploma, GED with 15 college credits, or GED ASVAB REQUIREMENTS General QUALIFICATIONS Completion of 24 semester hours of business related subjects Ability to communicate effectively in writing and verbally No prior conviction of court martial or nonjudicial punishment for dereliction in the performance of duties involving contracting activities, larceny, misappropriation of funds or property or financial irresponsibility. Never been convicted by a civilian court of a Category 1, 2 or 3 offense Completion of 7.5 weeks of Basic Military Training as well as Airmens Week Must be between the ages of 17 and 39 Article -Air Force Contracting

How to Get Out of Bed When You Hate Your Job

How to Get Out of Bed When You Hate Your JobHow to Get Out of Bed When You Hate Your JobEven if you have the best job on the planet, there will be days when you just cant bear to get out of bed to go to work. Fortunately, those days are probably few and far between, and a few recitations of Tomorrow will be better, is all youll need to get yourself to the geschftszimmer.But what happens when youre harboring a seething hatred for your employment situation? You already know tomorrow probably wont be any better, so how exactly do you talk yourself out of bed and into the shower for yet another terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day in the office?Well, as luck (or lack thereof) would have it, Ive managed to survive more than my fair share of horrible jobs. Heres how I did it.1.Get Up EarlyI know, I know. Getting up early to go to a job you despise is the exact opposite of what youll want to do, but I promise, it helps.During my darkest career days, I was literally in the dark whenever I was home. It was dark when I got to work in the morning and dark by the time I left. leid exactly motivating. For a while, I made a habit of hitting the snooze button about three times before dragging myself into the shower, until I finally realized that wasnt helping me. My only other option was to get up early (or even just on time) and try to enjoy my morning as much as possible.I started gradually waking up just 15 minutes early at first, until I was up to a full hour. I filled that time with things I enjoyed, my only requirement being I wasnt allowed to do anything even remotely related to work. I made French-press coffee, fixed myself a nice breakfast, and read the news, every day. Some days, Id add in a bubble bath, and others I even squeezed in a short workout. This was me time, and I was going to enjoy it if it killed me.And guess what? It not only didnt kill me, it made getting out of bed something I could look forward to. By the time I had to start thinking about leavi ng the house for work, Id already had a nice, relaxing morning, which took the sting out the fact Id be spending the next 10-12 hours in office hell a little easier to stomach.2.Make PlansWhen you loathe your job, chances are the first thing you want to do when youre off work is run home and crawl into your favorite pair of sweats and pour yourself a giant glass of wine (or warm milk, if thats your thing). That crappy job has sapped every last ounce of energy and zest for life right out of you, and the thought of spending even a moment out in public, let alone being social, is a terrifying thought. Sound familiar?Well, this is yet another case of how doing the opposite of what you want to do is actually better for you. When I was at my lowest with my lousy jobs, I tried to make as many plans with friends or doing activities I enjoyed as I could. When I couldnt make plans work during the week, Id make plans for the weekend. The point being, I always had something to look forward to, rather than only something to dread- going to work.While I still had to get my work done while I was actually in the office, knowing I had a party to attend on Friday night or a lunch date with a friend Wednesday afternoon was enough to keep me going and gave me a reason not to call in sick every day of the week.3.Make a ListI cant say this enough- making lists can change your life. While Ive never considered myself a type A personality, I cant deny the benefits- especially if youre facing a job you loathe a minimum of 40 hours per week.When I first came to the realization I hated my job, many years ago, I was still early on in my career, and trying my best to establish myself. Which meant, even though I despised going to work every day, I still needed to make a positive impression.Thats when I started making lists. Really long, detailed lists. I put everything from sending emails to calling a client to getting my morning (and afternoon) coffee on those lists. Sometimes, if I was ha ving a particularly bad day, Id even put things like Meet Jane for drinks at 6. If it had to be done that day, it went on the list, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Then, when I finished it, Id cross it off and move on to the next task. When the day was over, Id copy any items I hadnt finished on to a new list for the next day. Then, when I arrived in the office the following morning, I already had a list of things to get me moving.Making a list is a surprisingly simple- and effective- way to power through a challenging work environment. It not only gives you defined parameters of what will make up your day, but it has the added benefit of making you more productive in the process.While Im sure just rolling over and never showing your face in the office again may sound like a viable option on some days, trust me, its not. While looking for a new job is probably advisable, until youve found one, youll have to survive the one youve got. Employ these strategies, and not only will your boss never suspect how much you loathe your job, you might actually forget every once in a while, tooPhoto of woman in bed courtesy of Shutterstock.

How to Decide What to Include in Your Resume

How to Decide What to Include in Your Resume How to Decide What to Include in Your Resume Writing your resume can be daunting especially if youve had quite a long career or achieved a lot in each of your positions. I know many people find it hard to know what to include. How do you sift through all those years of experience, all those challenges, all those results, and come up with a concise job description and a few bullet points for each position?Some people give up and just include everything, winding up with a resume that is 3,4 or even 5 pages long. The problem of course, is that no-one will read all that information, so even the most salient points will be lost.In all but the most extreme cases, your resume should be no more than 2 pages long and this means you do have to make hard choices.So how do you do it? There are a few methods I use when writing resumes for my clients, and I thought you would find them helpful.First, I look at job postings. I choose positions that are s imilar to the ones my client is targeting and I look for the commonalities. Yes, different companies look for different things, but there are always common themes that andrang across all job postings. When I find those, I make note of them. The resume I create needs to directly address them.Next I consider the type of company my client wants to work for. Does she prefer to work within large, corporate entities that are process-driven, or is she accustomed to small, entrepreneurial environments where things are constantly changing. If she is most comfortable in start-up or rapid growth companies, then I need to select content that emphasizes her past success in similar situations and I can eliminate anything that doesnt do that.Next, I think about my clients unique value proposition. What makes them different from other people seeking the same position? What makes them suited to work for the types of companies they have chosen in the positions they are targeting? By the time I come t o write the resume, I will have a very clear idea of this and this means I can select content that emphasizes their unique value. For example, perhaps my client is looking to sell IT solutions and has a prior background in engineering combined with more recent sales experience. His unique value proposition may be his ability to relate to clients on a technical level and we can choose accomplishments that show how he has used this ability to close sales. Information that doesnt relate to this can be omitted without damaging his chances of interview.If I still have a resume that runs over two pages, I read every sentence again and ask myself is it possible that omitting this sentence will prevent my client from getting an interview? If the answer is yes, the content stays but youd be surprised how often the answer is no.Finally, there is one additional problem you might run into, one that doesnt affect me because you are writing about your own career history, you have personal associ ations with each part of your history and those associations can blind you to what makes the most sense. As an example, I recently worked with a client who had made a career change mid-career. She had worked in technology marketing for the last 7 years and planned to continue in that field. However, her prior experience welches in real estate working for large retail corporations. In one of these positions, she had been extremely effective. Given that she was targeting technology marketing positions, I knew it was important to play down this unrelated early history in order to tell a clear, consistent story of marketing success. But my client was very proud of that early experience and it was hard for her to accept that it shouldnt be the focal point of the resume. Its important to distance yourself from your feelings about any stage of your career and instead focus on one thing what does my target employer need and how can I show that I can provide it?If you follow the steps I laid out above, youll be able to write a resume that does just that.