Federal-Resume-template-and-tips (1) (1) (1).docx

FEDERAL RESUME TEMPLATE

Name (at least 14-16 point font; bold and/or italicized)

Street Address, city, state & zip on one line

Phone number(s) and e-mail address on one line

__________________________________________________________________________________

(Use some type of line or two spaces to separate your name and contact info from the body of your

resume)

Position Applying for: Write the job title/series/grade of the position you’re applying for and the

vacancy announcement number. Including the name and location of the agency you’re applying to is

optional, since the vacancy announcement specifically identifies a job in a particular agency.

Personal Information:

Citizenship: U.S.A. ● Veteran’s preference: ● Reinstatement eligibility: ● Highest Federal grade

held: write down the pay schedule/series/grade of the position as well as the dates you worked at the

job.

Skills Summary:

● Use bullet points to list several key skills, experiences, licenses, abilities that you have. Do not

write complete sentences!

● This is where you begin to sell yourself. If reviewers only look at your resume for a few

minutes, what key things about you would you want them to know?

● Think of this section as your “sandwich board sign.”

Academic Education & Honors:

● Use bullet points to list your academic education (job-related training comes later)

● Start with your highest-level degree first and work backward.

● Here’s a sample of this format:

--Ph.D. (May 1997), Howard University, Washington, D.C. 20059 Major: Organizational

Communication (human communication studies). Dissertation title: “From Program Towards

Process: Federal Employee Socialization, 1940-1990.” (61 semester hours, GPA 3.8 on a 4.00

scale)

● If you received any honors or awards in your degree program, make a section called “Honors:”

and then list them. You have to give the degree, the month/year you received it, the name, city

and state of the school where you received the degree. You must also give the number of

hours—identified as either semester or quarter) that you had in your major (I also include my

minor, but that’s optional). Many agencies also ask for your GPA (sometimes in just your

major, sometimes overall) and what the scale was. I always include my GPA so I don’t have to

worry about looking for it.

● If you attended college but didn’t get a degree, give the same information as above, but state

the number of hours you took and what your area of study was.

Employment History:

● NOW we get to your work history. You’re probably on your second page by now. Federal

resumes are chronological. You are only required to go back 10 years in your employment

history: you decide how far back you want to go. If you previously held a job that relates to the

job you are currently applying for, you should include it. However, you must include ALL of

the jobs back to that job; you can’t skip jobs just to include it. Start with your current job and

work backwards.

● The following information MUST be included for all of the jobs you list: see my sample

below:

--First line: Put the dates you held the position (month/year – month/year) on the right of the

page (it’s easier to read) and the job title in bold and/or italic)

--Second line: Name of organization, city/state/zip (not bolded)

--Third line: Salary (per hour/month/year), Number of hours per week (e.g., 40 hours/week)

--Fourth line: Supervisor’s name and contact info (phone and e-mail), indicate whether or not

he/she can be contacted

● Come down one line and then start listing your duties in bullet points. Make a heading for “Duties.” (I

use an underlined heading) List your MOST IMPORTANT duties first.

● Make sure that the verbs in all of your jobs other than your current one are in past tense.

● When you’ve finished listing your duties, come down one line and make a heading for “Results”,

“Accomplishments”, or “Achievements.”

● You should have at least one or two accomplishments in each job. Accomplishments include

promotions, bonuses, plaques, certificates/letters of commendation, awards, above-average performance

appraisals, special training, special projects, etc. Give the month/year for each accomplishment. List

your most important accomplishments first.

Job-Related Training:

● Make a sub-heading for each type of training that you plan to include. For example, my

sub-headings are Supervision/Management, Human Resources Management,

Analysis/Evaluation and Project Management, Training and Employee Development,

Information Technology, and “Other.”

● Under each sub-heading you create, list the course/training you took. Here’s a sample under a

“Human Resources Management” heading:

April 13-15, 1992 Supervising Employee Performance, Conduct, and Leave (24 hours,

OPM Training Center, D.C.)

● Include the date(s) of the training, the name of the training, the organization that sponsored the

training, how many hours/days it lasted, and where the training took place (optional for this last

item).

Job-Related Certifications:

Your Name Here (or in the middle or right side).

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● Using a bullet list, include any important certifications or licenses you have. Give the name of

the certification/license, the organization that granted it (and location), and how length of the

certification (dates).

Job-Related Skills:

● Include language skills (not your high school French!); state your level: novice, intermediate,

advanced

● Include skills with machines (e.g., office machines, computers. Give specific names and model

numbers)

● List computer software you know how to use (be specific and give the name of each program

and its version. Here’s a sample:

--Proficient in using the following software: Windows XP Operating System, Microsoft Office

2003 & 2007 (PowerPoint, Word, Outlook), WordPerfect 9 word processing, Lotus Notes (e-

mail), Printshop Deluxe, Printmaster; also adept at using the Internet to conduct research.

Typing speed: approximately 60 words per minute.

Job-Related Honors, Awards & Special Accomplishments :

● Use a bullet list to include any awards that you didn’t previously put under your job

accomplishments.

Volunteer/Community Service & Awards:

● Volunteer/community service can provide you with a range of skills. If you’ve done any

volunteer work that you think gave you good skills or that you think will reflect well on your

resume, put it here, using a bulleted list. Make sure to include if you held any elected offices.

Here’s a sample:

● Served on the ASTD Federal Forum Planning Committee from 1999-2004 and was a member

of the Federal Team (FedTeam 2002) that produced the first “Conference-within-a-

Conference” (CWC) for Federal HRD specialists at an ASTD Conference in June 2002 (I was

also a presenter at the conference). For this achievement, our team received ASTD’s 2002

“Volunteer-Partnership Award” at the 2003 Conference in San Diego, CA. I was the co-chair

of the FedTeam that produced the expanded Public Sector CWC at ASTD’s 2004 conference

(May 24-25, 2004) in Washington, D.C.

Professional Affiliations:

● Using a bulleted list, include professional organizations that you belong to, especially if they

relate to the type of work you do or want to do. Include the name of the organization, your

role, and the dates of your membership. Here’s my sample:

--International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) (member,

2009 – Present)

Your Name Here (or in the middle or right side).

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● Even if you are no longer a member of a professional association that relates to the type of

work you are seeking, you might still want to list it on your resume and include dates that you

were a member. Here’s my sample:

--Human Resource Association of the National Capital Area (HRA-NCA) (member, circa 2006

- 2008)

NOTES:

1. Federal resumes do not have a specified page length. The two-page limit for private sector

resumes will actually hinder you when applying for federal jobs. Sing your WHOLE song!

Your competitors do!

2. Use 12-point font for your resume – it is the standard; minimum is 11-points. This resume

template is in 12-point font.

3. Make your headings stand out. Use all capital letters, bold, italics, or underlining, or some

combination, but NOT all four: two are best. For example, use bold and underlined, italic

and bold, italic and underlined, ALL CAPS and bold, ALL CAPS and underlined, or ALL

CAPS and italic. You might also want to make your headings 1 point higher than the font you

use. In this template, the headings are in 13-point font.

4. Your name should be on each page of your resume, but don’t use the same heading as on your

first page. Use a footer in a smaller font size (10 or 11). It is helpful to use the numbering

format that indicates how many pages your resume is (see footer and page number format

below). Putting a page number on the first page is optional.

5. Federal resumes must be in chronological format, not functional. You start with your current

position and then work backward.

6. You only have to cover a minimum of 10 years of work experience in your resume. However,

if you have a previous job that relates to the job you’re applying for, then include that job and

all other jobs you’ve held up to and including your current job.

7. Make sure to use key words from the vacancy announcement in your resume (job

descriptions, accomplishments)! Many agencies use computers to do the first sort on

applications received: if you don’t have key words in your resume, you’ll automatically be

eliminated.

8. This format will make your resume easy to follow and looks neat and uncluttered. Do not jam

everything close together. Bullet points and spaces between sections make text easier to follow.

Use line spaces to separate sections. However, do not use too much white space: it is wasted

space and will make your resume longer than it needs to be.

9. If you don’t have veterans preference or have never worked for the Federal Government, put

“No veterans preference” or “No federal experience” or “N/A” after head of these items.

10. NOTE 7: On Federal resumes, references are not required. However, it would be helpful to

have three references and their contact information on the resume just in case the interviewer

would like to contact them after he/she interviews you. Another option is to bring the names

Your Name Here (or in the middle or right side).

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and contact information for three references with you to the interview on a separate sheet of

paper with your name and contact info as the heading. Make sure that the references you

provide are the best ones for the particular job you are applying for: some references are better

than others. I switch references based on the job I am applying for.

Your Name Here (or in the middle or right side).

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