Writing Your Federal Resume⁷

Federal Resume Writing Facts⁸

A Federal resume is not the same as a private industry resume!

In contrast to the 1-2 page maximum length requirement for private industry, your Federal resume will probably be 2-3 pages. Federal HR reviewers prefer more information so that they may thoroughly evaluate you with regard to the position qualifications, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Add the details!
For example, in private industry it is very important to be concise since the employer does not have much time to review the many resume that it receives. Therefore, a job description might begin in the following way:

“Serve as Project Team Leader for (fill in the blank).”

For Federal HR staff, however, more detail is needed to describe the Project Team Leader responsibilities. Therefore, a federal resume job description might begin like this:

“Project Team Leader: Selected team members based on specific skill sets, delegated tasks, planned meetings, reviewed quality of team members contributions, set deadlines over 6 months, advised team members in strategies to complete their project duties, compiled and presented the final project. RESULTS: Completed a successful project on-time resulting in (fill in the blank).”

Federal Resume Sections⁹

1. Name, Address, and Federal Job Profile Information
2. Summary of Skills
3. Keywords and Core Competencies
4. Education
5. Work Experience and Internships
6. Other Information

1. Name, Address and Federal Job Profile Information¹⁰

The following items should be included in your Personal Information or Resume Builder Profile:

2. Summary of Skills¹¹

Your Summary of Skills is a great introductory paragraph t introduce your most relevant skills for the position. There are two types of summaries:

• Summaryof Skills—a list of skills, competencies and keywords. You can use bullets or dashes to set off the list.
• Profile—a summary of your background, including critical skills, important competencies, highlights from education, synopsis of work experience. Written in sentence/paragraph structure, it is usually used by more experienced applicants.

Edit the keywords for various announcements

In general, you will probably use the same resume for different job announcements with the exception of key words that are changed depending upon the announcement language, especially by matching keywords on your resume with keywords in the announcement. It is in this section that you will want to edit to match the different announcement languages.

3. Keywords and Core Competencies make your Application Stand Out!¹²

Every Federal resume needs to include the appropriate keywords. The way to stand out from other qualified applicants is by using the keywords and skills from the announcement.¹³

Keywords can be found in the vacancy announcements in a variety of locations: Duties, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, Job Questions, as well as in other paragraphs.

Note: Many Federal vacancy announcements tend to be long and tedious. You may be tempted to scan the resume. Read the entire announcement, however, for content and keywords to help you better understand and apply for the job!

Core Competencies¹⁴ are a step beyond skills that need to be included with your skills in your Federal resume. They are skills unique to you—some learned, some that you were born with—that bring together all your qualities. As you identify your skills, ask yourself, “Is this skill part of a bigger core competency? How do I use this skill?”

For example, your resume might include a section called “Computer Skills,” listing your experience in Microsoft Word and Excel. However, computer skills are part of a core competency that may be called “communication” or “problem-solving.” Which of these two is it for you? Are you using your skill with Excel to create spreadsheet programs with stunning graphs in order to communicate clearly in presentations? Or are you using the spreadsheet program to analyze data and calculate equations for research? In the former, you would list your core competency as communication and in the latter, you would list them as analysis, problem solving and research. And if both, then list your core competencies as communication, problem solving, analysis and research.

You are not just an amalgamation of random skills—you are a person who possesses unique experiences and skills that, when viewed together, unveil your character, capabilities and potential. When you include your core competencies in your KSAs and federal resume, your application will become more three-dimensional and help you rise above the competition.

More examples of how to create Core Competencies.

4.  Education¹⁵

Since you are just completing your education, this section is critical to consideration for a federal job or internship program. Your courses, projects, research papers and activities are likely to be what will impress the Human Resources staff and the hiring manager. If you don’t have a degree yet, list the number of credit hours you have completed and whether they are semester or quarter hours.

You will primarily be using your education and academic experiences to become Best Qualified for your target position, so you will need to expand this information. You should list the education section before work experience.

Relevant Courses and Descriptions. The vacancy announcement will list any courses that are required for the position. Be sure to list the Relevant Courses in your resume in addition to providing a copy of your transcript. The course description can be important for critical courses so that the HR staff will see the keywords, and the supervisor will understand courses that may not be deal without the description.

Academic Projects. Many courses include a project or research paper where you work individually or as part of a team. Write about your major projects and papers. The HR reviewers will see keywords and skills that relate to the position. Since you are a recent or soon-to-be graduate, your most important experiences could be course projects and papers.

Academic Honors. This section may include scholarships, fellowships, the Dean’s list, graduation with honors, honorary societies, letters of recognition, ROTC military honors.

Academic Activities.Your academic activities demonstrate specialized interests, skills, and values. If you are a member of a sports team, you demonstrate discipline, teamwork, ability to manage a schedule, and dedication. If you are in theater or debate, you demonstrate communications skills, practice, teamwork, and again, dedication to a group effort (which will be important in your federal career). Federal jobs are performed in teams many times-groups of employees combine to implement program and provide services to various customers. Activities also show that you can handle multiple projects, deadlines and work with diverse groups.

Academic Papers and Publications. Writing articles, papers, presentations, speeches, and reports for courses, newspapers, and other print media can be greatly helpful when you are writing your KSA, “Ability to Communicate in Writing.” Federal employees communicate in writing every day – via emails, briefings, researching and summarizing information, website content, memos, letters, and more. Writing is a critical skill in government, so include your writing experience from college.

Presentations. Depending on your major and degree, you may have had the opportunity to give presentations, speeches, and briefings. Make it clear in your resume that you have given presentations for courses, associations, or volunteer activities. “Ability to communicate other than in writing” is an important government skill. Federal employees talk and listen to customers, co-workers, other agencies, and contractors. You may negotiate, lead, or give briefings, using experience you gained in college.

Training, Workshops, Conferences. Be sure to include special workshops, training programs, and conferences you may have attended during college. Specialized courses demonstrate that you have sought out additional training and networked within a particular field of work.

Certifications. Separate your certification programs from your courses and internships. If you are certified in First Aid, Lifeguard Training, CPR, SCUBA, computers, or other certifications, include these. Job-related certifications are impressive to HR staffing specialists, as well as the manager.

5. Work and Internship Experience¹⁶

This is either the most, or second most important section in your federal resume. That depends on your experience. Your paid and non-paid experience gained from jobs and internships is critical to how competitive your application is. One of the biggest challenges of writing your position descriptions is writing in some detail, including specific projects, knowledge gained, skills developed, and missions or programs supported.

This section of the federal resume is different from a resume aimed at private industry. A federal resume should include sufficient information so that HR reviewers can check your references, and determine how much time you spent performing specialized work during your work and internship experiences.  Federal agencies may total up your hours spent doing a particular kind of specialized work to see if it amounts to a year or more.  The agency then determines the level of the work experience.  It is possible to qualify for a higher grade than you initially expected because of part-time work and internship experiences.  But you have to furnish the information if you want it considered.  Include the following information for each position that is relevant to your career objective: 

You can list your internships in the same section as your work experiences, or you can separate them so they are clearly defined.  Your internships provide knowledge in a certain field of work, skills and projects that could demonstrate qualifications.  Internships could be paid or unpaid.  Either way, you can acquire credit that may qualify you at a higher grade level.  Be sure to add hours per week so that you can get credit for this experience.

a.  Accomplishments

Work and School Projects and Accomplishments

If your positions or internships have been project-based, then you should describe each project. Expressing achievement in the workplace is an excellent way to stand out from the competition.

Project Lists.  Keep notes on your projects, so that you may record your accomplishments not only for your resume, but for your KSAs and interview as well.

Track the following:

• Title of project/program
• Mission or objective
• Your role
• People with whom you communicated
• Major challenges or problems
• Results (products including reports, cost savings, improved efficiency, or service, etc.).

Accomplishments in job descriptions and Major Accomplishment sections.
Even if your job does not involve special projects, you should highlight accomplishments.  Do this by literally listing selected accomplishments at the end of a job description set off by a sub-heading.  If you have achieved something special, large, or important in your career or life that you want to emphasize, you can create a “Major Accomplishments” section after the relevant jobs.

Include Recognition:

• Team reviews
• Professor reviews
• Articles from newspapers
• Awards
• Letters of recommendation

b.  Frequently Asked Questions

In what order should jobs be listed?
Use reverse chronological order, listing your most recent position or project first, and work backward.  However, if you have an older position or project that is more relevant to the vacancy than your most recent listing, list the older one first in order to highlight this relevant experience. Then title that section “Relevant Experience”.  If you are returning to government after having left, list your government experiences first.

How far back should I go?
The most relevant positions are those within the last five or ten years. 

I’m changing directions, so how do I handle courses and experiences that really isn’t relevant?
Those changing majors often have two types of courses and projects, with one type more relevant to an announced vacancy than the other.  In this case divide the experience into separate sections with appropriate headings.  You may want to de-emphasize the less relevant experience, even if it represents the majority of your history.

What if your supervisor is no longer there?  What if the business closed, moved, or changed names
Just write the supervisor’s name and give a telephone number that will be answered (if possible).  Or write this: Company is no longer in existence.

6. Other Information ¹⁷

Other information includes community service, special interests or hobbies, or information about skills and accomplishments that doesn’t fit anywhere else.  Contrary to popular belief, such listings are not “fluff” and if done properly, and can even be an asset.  HR personnel reading your resume may remember you specifically because of your outside interests.  In practical terms, other information probably has the least direct relevance to the job you’re applying for, so this section should be placed last on a federal resume.  However, such placement does have the advantage of being the last thing a reader may see, and perhaps has the potential to create an impact.

                                     
⁷_{This section is adapted from Troutman and Troutman, Chapater 6 pp. 96-123}
⁸_{This section is adapted from from Troutman and Troutman, Chapater 6 pp. 97-98}
⁹_{This section is adapted from Troutman and Troutman, Chapter 6 pp. 99-101
¹⁰For a complete description of each of these sections, please refer to Troutman & Troutman, pp. 100-102}
¹¹_{Ibid. p. 102.}
¹²_{Ibid. p. 103-106.}
¹³_{Please refer to Troutman & Troutman for examples of announcements with keywords, skills, and duties that should be addressed in your Federal resume, pp. 104-105.}
¹⁴_{See Troutman & Troutman for Core Competency examples, pp. 107-108.}
¹⁵_{Ibid. Chapter 6, pp. 110-111}
¹⁶_{Ibid. Chapter 6, pp. 111-114}
¹⁷_{Ibid. Chapter 6, pp. 114-115}

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