6 Tips For Creating Your First Federal Resume

Aug 5

Thinking about applying for a federal or state government job for the first time?

Whether you’re transitioning from the military or simply interested in reaping the many benefits of federal employment, the first stop in your federal job search will likely be the USAJobs website. Besides being a fantastic resource for new federal job seekers, USAJobs also hosts the majority of vacancies posted by government agencies.

Job announcements on USAJobs are far more in-depth than most corporate job postings, which can be overwhelming for a new federal job seeker. Even if you’re confident that you’re qualified for the job after reading through the announcement, you may be questioning how you’ll translate your diverse experience for a government job. Don’t make the fatal mistake of uploading and applying with the same resume you’ve applied to non-government jobs with!

These federal resume tips will point you in the right direction and guide you through how to write a resume for federal government jobs.

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1 | Don’t Use A Resume Template

When it comes to writing a federal resume (or any resume for that matter!), skip the flashy template that you think will help you stand out. Instead, understand your resume’s role in the process and who your resume’s readers are. When you apply for a federal or state government job on USAJobs, you won’t be trying to conquer Applicant Tracking software.

Instead, your resume will undergo a 100-point test conducted by an HR Specialist (That’s right, a human being!). Your resume’s layout should be designed to help HR Specialists determine whether you have the required Specialized Experience, Knowledge, Skills Abilities, and Competencies as well as your level of experience with each. A template designed for organizing very little content is only going to hurt you.

Don’t jeopardize your chances by using a graphic resume or resume template to improve the look of your federal resume.

2 | Start With The USAJobs Resume Builder

Federal or state government resumes require compliance details for your last 10 years of experience that you wouldn’t typically include in a non-government resume, so it’s best to start by using the USAJobs Resume Builder. These compliance details include average hours you worked and your supervisor’s contact information for each job you’ve held. Otherwise, your application may be flagged as “Incomplete.”

If you’re unsure which details must be included in your federal resume, start by using the USAJobs Resume Builder. You should never apply with a USAJobs Resume Builder Resume, though. The Resume Builder produces a resume with a size 7 font which is extremely difficult to read. Instead, you should download the Resume Builder resume you’ve created as a Word Document and reformat it with size 11-12 font.

The Resume Builder also only allows for 2,000 characters per job description, and you may need more space to adequately demonstrate that you possess the Specialized Experience and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) that HR Specialists are looking for in a “Best Qualified” applicant.

3 | Find These Details In The Job Announcement

The job announcement literally spells out exactly what needs to be found in your federal resume to be “Minimally Qualified.” On a USAJobs announcement, pay close attention to the Qualifications and How You Will Be Evaluated sections under Requirements. These will outline what Specialized Experience is required with specific examples that should be found in your resume, Educational requirements, KSAs, and Competencies that you should include.

Create a list by copying and pasting these terms and phrases from the job announcement. Working from a list will keep your writing focused and give you guidance on how to translate diverse non-government work for your federal resume. You’ll find more specific examples to help you demonstrate that you’re “Minimally Qualified” in the Application Questionnaire. You’ll find a link to preview the questionnaire under the How You Will Be Evaluated section.

4 | Organize Your Experience By Keywords

Now, THIS is how you will make your resume stand out. Your federal or state government resume needs to showcase that you have the required Specialized Experience, KSAs, and Competencies listed in both the Application Questionnaire and the job announcement to be ranked as “Minimally Qualified.” Make it super easy for an HR Specialist to mark these off of their “checklist” by using the keywords found in the announcement to organize your experience.

Instead of using bullet lists to organize your experience in short statements (This is a quick way to be ranked “Not Qualified,” by the way!), create short paragraphs that begin with each keyword you’ve identified to describe in detail how you have demonstrated that experience or KSA for each job you held. Remember to give context that shows your level of experience with each (“Trained in” vs “Supervised others in”). This strategy keeps your federal resume easy to skim for a human reader while still providing the level of detail needed to be ranked “Best Qualified.”

5 | Create Stories To Showcase Achievements

Make your Specialized Experience, KSAs, and Competencies jump off the page by creating accomplishment stories that show how you exceeded expectations and contributed toward organizational goals for past employers. Employers (especially federal employers) love measurable achievements, so do your best to quantify what you can. Start by answering these questions:

Did you increase sales, by how, much and how?
Did you save the company money, how much, and how?
Did you handle or manage money? If so, how much and how?
How many people did you assist on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?
How many new customers did you secure, or how many customers did you retain?
Did you improve customer service ratings, by how much, and how?
Have you improved efficiency or accuracy by creating a new process/procedure or streamlining an existing process/procedure, by how much and how?
How many people did you hire, supervise, or train?

When struggling to quantify details, put context behind the story by highlighting how many people were involved or impacted, the time-frame completed, or a comparison of change. Don’t just identify your achievements but create detailed stories that describe what your contributions were, why your efforts were necessary, and what challenges you overcame. These stories are what ultimately separate the “Best Qualified” applicants from the “Minimally Qualified” applicants.

6 | Add A Short But Sweet Branding Statement

Unlike a corporate resume, your federal resume should bypass the Summary and Skills section and dive right into the required Education or Experience needed to be “Minimally Qualified.” The top third of your government resume’s first page can still help separate you from other applicants, though. Beneath your contact information, add a Resume Title that includes the job title and GS pay grade as well as the specific announcement number of the job you’re applying for.

Then add a short but sweet Branding Statement (no more than one sentence) that quickly addresses that you understand the agency’s mission and can meet or exceed the goals of the role you’re applying for. Showcasing the unique value you offer will catch an HR Specialist’s attention and keep them reading.

If there are specific skills that are required or helpful but not identified within the examples you’ve used throughout your Experience section, you can add an Additional Skills or Computer Skills section at the end of your government resume. It’s best to add them in context for your detailed work history and accomplishments, but it’s better to add them at the end than to exclude them altogether.

Conclusion

There are some rather significant differences between federal government resumes and private sector resumes that will impact whether or not you move forward in the hiring process. From layout and presentation to the level of detail needed to be ranked “Minimally Qualified,” federal and state government job applications require a separate resume than what you’d use for a corporate job.

Following these six tips for how to write a resume for federal government jobs will take some of the overwhelm out of your first government job search.

Author Profile: Steph Cartwright, CPRW

Steph Cartwright is a Certified Resume Writer, LinkedIn Strategist, and Founder of Off The Clock Resumes. She helps job seekers get unstuck and get a foot in the door at the companies they’d love to work for with their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and job search plans.

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