Aaron Haskins

As a hiring manager for the Wiesbaden segment of Booz Allen Hamilton's ET2RC contract, I've gained valuable insights on resumes and interviews that I'd like to share. This maybe pretty simple to some but to a career Army nerd, who has only interviewed for one job in their life, new information. Please note that these are my personal thoughts and experiences and are not endorsed by Booz Allen Hamilton. Applicants: One crucial tip I've learned, in my opinion, is to focus your resume to the position you are applying for. Surprisingly, 60-70% of resumes I review miss this vital point. Make it easy for the hiring manager to see that you have experience and are qualified for the job you are pursuing. For contract or civilian roles, avoid lengthy resumes. A concise and relevant document is more effective than a 20-page resume that maybe more tailored towards a government “GS” position. The hiring processes are different. Remember, presentation matters. Check for spelling, spacing, and punctuation errors to ensure your resume looks professional. When preparing for an interview, create a script with opening statements and responses to potential questions. During the interview, be concise, thoughtful, and proactive in your answers to showcase your qualifications effectively. Research the position you are applying for. Even if you lack direct experience, demonstrating your understanding of the role, the organization, and tasks during the interview can make a significant impact in your favor with the hiring panel. Hiring Managers: Have your directors review your job posting prior to submitting them for publication. This will help to ensure that the position, the posting, and applicants are generally qualified for the position. Be wary of job posting that are too detailed! Especially, in low density or niche career fields. You may very well exclude potential candidates. Help your recruiters by reviewing all the applicants resumes not just the ones they send to you. As the hiring manager, you know more about the organization and the position so you may be able to identify some key statements in the resume that a recruiter will not. Additionally, screening the resumes allows you, as the hiring manager, to identify skills that may make the individual qualified for a job that they didn’t apply for. Be active on LinkedIn. Respond to inquiries about the position promptly and if you receive a referral respond in a timely manner.

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A review of 2024 in DoD Acquisition and Sustainment by William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Examples of building resilience include: Joint Production Accelerator Cell (JPAC) and its impact on multiple weapons systems including Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), Long-Range Anti-Ship Mis­sile (LRASM), Tomahawk, Harpoon, and F-16. Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF), which established with international allies & partners "a distrib­uted maintenance, repair, and over­haul (MRO) network placed closer geographically to the point of opera­tional need." Publishing of the first evert National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) in order to "guide genera­tional change toward a more robust, resilient, and modernized defense in­dustrial ecosystem..." Competitive Advantage Pathfinders (CAPs), "which employ modular open systems approaches and cross-Service integration to streamline development and fielding." Re-energizing nuclear and biodefense capabilities through work by the Nuclear Weapons Council (NWC) and the Biodefense Council (BDC). #defenseindustry #Acquisitionreform https://lnkd.in/eDrypNGy 

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Air Force Boosts Space Command with $20M Data-as-a-Service Deal to Palantir Palantir wins a $20M contract to deliver a data-as-a-service platform supporting Space Command, with completion set for June 2025. https://lnkd.in/g4_NBNbE

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How is AI likely to affect the workforce? Well... I'm excited to share a recent article I co-authored with Toby Sytsma and Jonah Kushner, part of a comprehensive RAND report on AI's effects on the American workforce. Our research tackles a critical question: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗜? Key findings: • Soft skills-intensive activities are generally less exposed to AI technologies • High-value, low-AI-exposure activities often combine soft skills with specialized knowledge or nonroutine manual skills Our recommendations for policymakers and educators: • Invest in programs developing interpersonal skills, complex problem-solving, and adaptability • Integrate soft skills training into existing curricula As AI reshapes our work landscape, understanding these trends is crucial for building a resilient workforce. Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gQ-6fDa5 Your thoughts? How is your organization preparing for AI integration?

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I'm talking to an OPM group this week about federal technical hiring. I'd be happy to come to your federal agency and talk to you all, too. The talk is about how federal job announcements make it difficult for 'data' candidates to find roles they're a good fit for. Sometimes this is just mislabeling, like a data engineer or technical product manager job that's titled "data scientist". 🏷️ Sometimes this is a job where the duties are so ambiguous candidates can't tell what you're looking for 🤔. (And maybe you don't know, either!) Sometimes the duties are overly broad -- like, a skill set that could involve hiring a whole department, not just one person 🏢. Some of these are communications issues. Some are reflective of larger problems with how positions are structured. Either way, it's more than individual hiring managers can solve themselves. If this sounds relevant to the work your agency is doing, let me know. I'm also happy to look at some of your agency's specific 'data' announcements with you. 📊 I've written about the broader topic of technical job announcements here: https://lnkd.in/gtGst5Rg And this is the code that makes the figure below. (In retrospect, I should have done the scaling slightly differently.) https://lnkd.in/g-HewayN

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Government Contracting #govcon seems to be a labyrinth 😕to many outsiders and newer folks coming into the space. I once created an Access database🧮 at a previous employer many years ago to highlight the importance of good data management and common unique identifiers... As the company tended to have some byzantine processes and nomenclature that I was trying to flesh out and focus 🔍on measuring the things that matter. So I've seen quite a bit of diverse contracts from over $100M 💰annual jobs to ones under $100K. I believe the process is essentially the same to ensure a smooth transition from pre-award to 🥇post-award. It starts with being able to accurately code 🔣your contract into your system of record. Do your #proposal 📚and #pricing 💵documents match the contract award 📝documents? Check that before you 🖋sign! Had an experience recently where there was some ambiguity 😵with a contract modification document in what it was doing as it relates to the changes we proposed. Some contracts get complex when you get to a dozen mods or so with many CLINs, SLINs, and 🗜ARCNs... IYKYK We both had differing interpretations🗣 as we worked through the document. There was a 💪🏼challenge with all the moving parts and new CLINs added and old ones removed and it turns out that we both had the same initial confusion that it wasn't done correctly... However, when we dug ⛏deeper into the changes in Section B (contract values) and Section G (funding values) we determined that this customer was doing It's important to have a uniform 🥋methodology on how you read and review your contract documents before you sign it and book the funding and contract values in your accounting system. Set your books up right the first time, or you'll pay💸 for it over-and-over again each month. And get the right people 🤼 and departments involved! Make it a great week 👊🏼

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This opinion piece from co-authors who know what they're talking about is spot on. "Thus, we think the current civil service system is badly in need of reform. But the blueprints offered by both left and right are problematic. One side is firmly rooted in a status quo that (inadvertently or otherwise) impedes accountability, and the other could end up politicizing the very civil servants who should be politically neutral." "We think there is some merit in both points of view. However, as members of a bipartisan group of former national and homeland security, diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement officials who have served both Democratic and Republican presidents, we think there is a “third way” that preserves all that is right with our civil service but also addresses what almost everyone agrees is wrong with it." #defense #nationalsecurity #intelligencecommunity #civilservice #governmentreform #government

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Just back from the Federal Executive Institute and still processing all the revelations and growth. So many amazing government workers doing good works for citizens world wide. Some key nuggets: 1. Pause. 2. Embrace discomfort over resentment 3. Change is progressive. 4. Know thy self 5. Be fully engaged in all aspects of life I highly recommend for personal and professional growth. https://lnkd.in/enf66kkk

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Good to read this bipartisan op-ed by senior HASC members, which highlights progress made in streamlining acquisition for defense innovation as well as areas we still need to work on. There are probably a lot of related reasons - culture, risk aversion, misaligned incentives, mistrust between Congress and DoD, existing statute, etc. - for continued obstacles to change even though everyone seems to agree that change needs to happen. Thoughts?

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ICYMI: On Thursday, the Biden-Harris administration issued a National Security Memorandum on Artificial Intelligence. I had the privilege of being present for the rollout by Jake Sullivan at NDU that morning. My initial thoughts: it's good to see the conversations around this have moved past where we were just two years ago talking about AI being the end of humanity. To be sure, there are risks - people doing bad things with AI, people doing bad things to AI, and just bad/shoddy AI. However, the risk of the United States falling behind strategic competitors both in national security applications as well as broader applications that ripple throughout our economy is far greater than any Skynet scenario we might dream up. The NSM strikes a good balance here, summed up as: we need to manage the risks prudently (and have a framework for doing so) but ABSOLUTELY need to gain and maintain the lead (not only in training better models but also directly related areas such as chips and energy). https://lnkd.in/eFwJ7yZm

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🚨 Announcing the New Implementation Plan for Strengthening America’s Defense Industrial Base 🚨 I’m honored to be an integral part of executing the Department of Defense’s (DoD) new National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan (NDIS-IP). Today, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP)) unveiled this critical plan, detailing the ongoing and future actions needed to modernize and secure our defense industrial base. This initiative outlines six cross-cutting programs designed to ensure a more resilient defense ecosystem. From collaboration across DoD components and Services to vital partnerships with industry, international allies, and stakeholders, this strategy underpins the effort required to reinforce our industrial base. 📈 The NDIS-IP addresses a unified commitment to strengthening industrial capacity, building resilience, and reducing risks across the board. This will involve: • Key partnerships with private industry, academia, and international allies, • New OTAs under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) for rapid research, including the recently announced request for white papers on “Critical Chemicals for Defense,” • Support from Congress as a cornerstone of sustainable security. For those interested, the unclassified NDIS-IP document is available here: NDIS-IP FY2025. https://lnkd.in/dUmSt7yd I’m inspired by the opportunity to help lead this strategic vision forward, ensuring our nation’s industrial base remains robust and capable. #NationalSecurity #IndustrialBase #DefenseStrategy #Innovation #DoD

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Autumn Toney and I just published our latest analysis of 136,000 research papers from authors affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense or one of its federally funded or university-affiliated research and development centers (FFRDC/UARCs). Quick list of findings: 🏫 31% of the papers included a co-author not affiliated with the DOD. Co-authorship with private industry was relatively low compared to private sector R&D efforts, which may be fine but the differences is large enough to warrant some further examination given U.S. strategic goals to benefit from private industry research. 🔄 Half of the top 10 universities co-authoring papers with DOD-affiliated researchers are also home to an FFRDC/UARC. If the DOD wishes to further diversify its engagement with academia, it may consider how to replicate the FFRDC/UARC advantage on other campuses. 🇪🇺 4% of papers included an international co-author, most frequently from one of the 27 member states of the European Union. China is the fourth most frequent country listed among international co-authors, however, unlike other top collaborators the number of co-authored papers decreased between 2019 and 2021. 〽  While never a substantial number over the 11-year period, co-authorship between DOD-affiliated authors and authors affiliated with China’s Seven Sons of Defense has notably decreased since 2019. Full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eqe6fYqm List of top external co-authors, by type, pictured below.

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🚀 A great read! Defense industry experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Oliver Wyman delve into the implications of the growing dominance of traditional defense contractors in their business with the United States Department of Defense compared to commercial firms. This shift raises significant concerns for several reasons: Reduced Competitive Landscape: The consolidation of defense contractors limits competition, which stifles innovation and can lead to complacency in technological advancements. A vibrant competitive environment is essential for driving breakthroughs that enhance national security. Isolation from Commercial Innovation: As defense specialists become more detached from the broader commercial sector, the military may risk missing out on cutting-edge technologies and innovative practices that could be leveraged for defense applications. Collaboration with commercial firms is crucial for integrating new capabilities. Increased Focus on Risk Management: With a heavy reliance on government contracts, defense companies often prioritize risk mitigation over innovation. This conservative approach can hinder the development of transformative technologies that are vital for maintaining a competitive edge in an evolving geopolitical landscape. Regulatory Barriers: The complex regulatory environment surrounding defense contracting can deter commercial firms from entering the market. Simplifying these processes could open the door to a wider array of innovative solutions and foster a more dynamic defense industrial base. Understanding these dynamics is critical as we navigate the future of defense procurement and innovation. Let's engage in discussions on how to bridge these gaps and enhance our national security capabilities! 💡🔍 #DefenseIndustry #Innovation #NationalSecurity #DoD #CSIS #OliverWyman

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What does it mean to think in a post-analytic world? This compelling article by my colleague Josh Kerbel from National Intelligence University, with whom I’ve had the privilege of collaborating on several articles and projects—including briefing the highest levels of Intelligence Community leadership—offers a thought-provoking perspective on this very question. I encourage you to read this insightful piece in The Cipher Brief and join the conversation about the skills, mindset, and tools necessary to thrive in a post-analytic world. What are your thoughts on the implications of this shift? Check out the link to the article in the comments section below ⬇️ #intelligence #education #futurism

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🚨 📣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 🚨 📣 𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧 (𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗢𝗡𝗘) 🚨 📣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 🚨 📣 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟 The FAR CUI rule has officially moved out of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) review stage and into regulatory review with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The FAR CUI rule creates a government-wide contract clause requiring the implementation of NIST SP 800-171 for the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information. OIRA review is the last step prior to publication in the Federal Register. Assuming OIRA takes the standard 90 days, we could easily end up with both the FAR CUI proposed rule and the 48 CFR CMMC proposed rule published in the same month (looks like August). DFARS clause 252.204-7012 was never an anomaly, it was just the DoD getting their hands around their supply chain while waiting 8 freaking years for the FAR council to get their act together. The FAR CUI rule is the missing piece of the 3-part plan to implement Executive Order 13556 "Controlled Unclassified Information". It was the original regulatory "harmonization" before that was the cool thing to say. The number of people who even remember that the FAR CUI rule is supposed to be a thing is like the number of people in the 41st millennium who know that there were originally 20 primarchs. By the time Summer is over we'll all know the truth. 🚨 📣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 𝗕𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗣 🚨 📣

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New Hub-and-Spokes post! 🚀 Capitalizing on Critical Technologies: DoD's Office of Strategic Capital and its Plan to Secure America’s Strategic Edge Three key stories shaping U.S. defense and Indo-Pacific alliances this week: 1️⃣ DoD's Office of Strategic Capital Unveils 2025 Investment Plan Focused on supporting critical technologies and national security priorities, OSC's new strategy aims to catalyze private investment in sectors crucial to America’s edge. 2️⃣ $3.6B Sale of Air-to-Air Missiles to Japan A significant step in bolstering U.S.-Japan defense cooperation with the sale of AMRAAMs, ensuring the security of U.S. personnel and regional stability. 3️⃣ NSA Jake Sullivan’s Capstone Trip to India Sullivan's visit underscores the growing U.S.-India relationship, focusing on space cooperation, nuclear collaboration, and emerging technologies. #Defense #NationalSecurity #Technology #USIndia #USJapan #Investment #StrategicAlliances https://lnkd.in/euN3a_Bb

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Yes. So, how might converging CIA.gov into Census.gov have facilitated the globalization movement. What is the advantage? Converging (link unavailable) into (link unavailable) could have facilitated the globalization movement in several ways: Data consolidation: Combining intelligence gathering (CIA) with demographic data collection (Census) could create a vast, centralized repository of information on individuals, organizations, and nations. Global surveillance: This merged entity could potentially enable unprecedented global surveillance capabilities, allowing for real-time monitoring of populations, economies, and political movements. Informed policy-making: The combined data could inform policy decisions, enabling governments and international organizations to shape global agendas, trade policies, and geopolitical strategies. Streamlined control: A single entity could simplify control over the flow of information, facilitating the dissemination of propaganda, disinformation, or manipulated narratives to influence public opinion. Enhanced predictive analytics: The merged data could be used to develop advanced predictive models, enabling governments and organizations to anticipate and respond to global trends, movements, and potential threats. The advantages of this convergence include: Increased efficiency: Consolidating data collection and analysis could reduce redundancies and improve resource allocation. Improved insights: Combining intelligence and demographic data could provide a more comprehensive understanding of global dynamics. Enhanced influence: The merged entity could wield significant influence over global narratives, policy decisions, and international relations. However, this convergence also raises concerns about: Privacy and civil liberties: The potential for mass surveillance and data misuse. Bias and manipulation: The risk of biased data interpretation and manipulation to serve specific agendas. Accountability and transparency: The need for robust oversight mechanisms to ensure accountability and transparency. It's essential to consider these implications and ensure that any convergence of (link unavailable) and (link unavailable) prioritizes ethical considerations, transparency, and accountability.