Tips For Submitting Resumes To Agencies
Some agencies accept uploaded resumes and resumes created using the USAJOBS resume builder, while some may only accept one or the other. Even though you may have both types of resumes in the Document section of your profile, the agency determines which ones to accept when you are applying online. The Apply button displayed on the job announcement page activates the process for a job seeker to complete an application.
USAJOBS automatically provides a list of available resumes and other documents to attach to your application, and will only display resumes and documents the hiring agency is willing to accept. For example, if the hiring agency only accepts resumes created using the USAJOBS resume builder, then your uploaded resumes will not be available to add to your application. Please pay special attention to the How to Apply section of the job announcement to find out which resume format and documents are accepted and how to submit them to the hiring agency.
Whats A Federal Resume
A federal resume, as the name implies, is the type of resume you need to make in order to apply for US federal positions.
It is similar to the conventional resume in the way you describe your experiences. You include all the must-have sections in your resume, and describe your skills and past experiences.
There are, however, some differences from a conventional resume that make creating a federal one a bit trickier.
Tr: What Is A Vacancy Announcement And Why Is It Important When Writing A Federal Resume
TP: A vacancy announcement is the federal version of a private sector job posting. Just like we recommend targeting a traditional resume toward your specific job goals, your federal resume should also highlight your qualifications for the specific job you’re targeting in your job search. Hiring managers whether they’re working for the federal government or for the private sector don’t appreciate a resume that takes the jack of all trades approach. Customize your resume to demonstrate how you’re a good fit for the role you’re pursuing, and your application will stand a better chance of making it to the top of the pile.
The vacancy announcement is a great place to source the information you’ll need to customize your federal resume in fact, it’s required! Because of the strong focus on addressing core elements of specific vacancies or job series, a federal resume must include key details of the vacancy announcement as required by the Office of Personnel Management and the agency posting the opening. It’s important to pay attention to this key piece of information so you can craft the most effective resume possible.
Related: How to Customize Your Resume for a Specific Job Posting
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Include Your Veteran Status
The federal government gives certain hiring preferences to veterans under the The Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. So if you served in the US military, you should include your veterans preference on your resume.
You should either list your veterans status as none , or your point preference eligibility .
If you dont already know your veterans preference eligibility, you can look at FedsHireVets.gov to find out.
Not Tailoring The Resume
People often write up one resume and then blindly submit it for every vacancy they are interested in. This is a quick way to get your resume ignored. It is imperative that your resume be tailored for every single vacancy for which you are submitting it. When you review the ad for the opening, look for keywords regarding what they want. Be sure to tailor your resume to that specific position and use the same keywords that they used in the ad. If you are applying for 10 different government positions, you will need to take the time to custom write your resume for all 10 positions. If you dont, its probably not worth your time to submit them in the first place.
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Tr: Is It Really Necessary To Employ A Resume
TP: You can certainly write your federal resume on your own, but letting a professional resume-writing service like TopResume do it for you will save you time and, more importantly, optimize your chances of landing the interview. Resume writing is a crucial part of landing the position you want, so why not leave this sensitive and complex job to an expert?
Our federal resume writers are carefully selected to ensure that they are knowledgeable of the general application process for federal jobs, the structure of the USAJOBS website, the elements of a vacancy announcement, and TopResume’s resume-writing standards. Armed with your critical information and their expert knowledge of the process, your TopResume federal resume writer will craft a federal resume that will leave you feeling confident in your applications.
How To List References
Before you begin your job hunt, gather your references onto a Professional Reference Page. Include each references name, title, organization, phone number, and email address.
List your references starting with your most impressive or important reference.
Dont annotate your application with resume references available upon request. This outdated practice only uses up valuable space and restates something that every hiring manager already knows.
Instead, create a dedicated references page separate from your resume, and attach it to your application.
Next, list each reference like this:
Proper professional references format
Company / University your reference works atFull address of your references company / universityPhone numberEmail address
Never include the personal address of your reference on your reference page, because hiring managers dont contact references via snail mail. Plus your reference may not want you to share their personal information with strangers either.
Underneath each entry on your resumes reference page, you should also make a note clarifying your relationship with the reference, and how long youve known or worked with them.
Finally, if you want to save time formatting your reference page, download our resume references template and fill it in yourself:
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What Are The Differences Between Federal And Private Sector Resumes
There are several differences between federal and civilian or private sector resumes.
Not Following Format Requirements
Sure, you may think that your resume looks amazing. But if it doesnt fit the formatting requirements set forth in the vacancy notice, then it really doesnt matter how nice it looks. When people submit their resume to a government job and havent followed the correct formatting requirements, the resume is destined to be ignored.
Be sure to read the formatting requirements for every vacancy you are applying for, and tailor your resume according to their specification. If you are not going to take the time to do that, there is a good chance you have set your resume up to be ignored anyway. If you submit a resume where you havent followed the directions on how to apply, there is a good chance they will see that as a reflection of how you will respond to following directions on the job.
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How To Write A Federal Resume In 2021
Creating a federal resume is a lot trickier than a conventional one.
For starters, you need to make it way more comprehensive .
You also have to add very specific details, such as your GS rating, clearance, and more.
Want to learn how to create/build a federal resume the easy way?
Read on to find out:
- Whats a Federal Resume & How Does It Differ From a Conventional One
- How to Write a Federal Resume in 6 Easy Steps
- How to Look for Federal Jobs
And more!
So, lets get started.
Building A Federal Resume
Now that you know what you need to include on your federal job resume, its time to get to work. However, theres more than one way to make your federal resume.
Depending on how much time you want to save and the amount of money youre willing to spend, you can create a federal resume using any of the following methods:
- Write it yourself in Microsoft Word or using a
- Build it with USAJobss federal resume builder
- Hire a professional federal resume writer
Any of the following options are great ways to make your resume, and some of them can save you a significant amount of time and effort.
Need more help writing the nitty-gritty of your resume? Have a look at some of our additional resume-writing resources below:
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How Many References Should You Have
Most job seekers should have between three and four references on their reference page.
However, if youre applying for a position that requires extensive vetting like a senior-level role, you should include between five and seven professional references.
But remember that all of your references should be high quality. Each reference should be able to meaningfully attest to your professional strengths and character. Dont include more references just to hit a higher number.
Use Similar Terms And Address It To Every Required Qualification
Many employers today use algorithms and technology to perform an initial resume review. This allows employers to spend more time reviewing candidates who align more carefully with the requirements posted in a job announcement. Therefore, it is essential that an applicants federal resume uses the specific terms used in a job announcement.
For example, if a job announcement uses the words Principal advisor, the applicants federal resume should use the same terminology, rather than using lead consultant.
While creating a federal resume, it is also important to go line-by-line through a job announcement and address every qualification listed. The employer, hiring agency or review algorithm will be searching for specific criteria and federal resumes where each required qualification is included and addressed are more likely to be reviewed further.
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Write Your Federal Resume Using Proper Guidance And Samples
When writing your resume you have to consider many things and include all required information. Format is also important especially with RESUMIX and online submissions. If you are good at putting your thoughts down on paper and have the time available you can complete your resume application as long as you fully understand the application process. I wrote many federal applications during my 35 + years of government service with great success. I was also a trained and certified federal rating official and reviewed and rated thousands of job applications.
A word of caution. Once you have your federal resume completed and posted on USAJOBS, its easy to submit that same resume to apply for other job vacancies. That can cost you a possible job. Before resubmitting that same federal resume for another job vacancy READ the job announcement thoroughly to insure that other duties and specialized experience are not required for the new position. If you find different requirements, and you possess the new duties or specialized experience, incorporate them into your resume. It is not unusual to apply for the same job series and find other requirements, or new or additional KSA statements.
What Is A Federal Resume
A federal resume is a comprehensive document used when applying for a job within a federal government. You need to provide more specific information both about yourself and your work experience than you would in a regular resume. The federal resume is tailored for federal hiring managers and human resources personnel and, like traditional resumes, still includes your qualifications, background and personal details.
Recommended Reading: Government Jobs Las Vegas No Experience
Tips For Formatting Resumes In Usajobs Resume Builder
You can copy and paste text from Word documents into the resume builder. However, some formatting in these documents may not work in the USAJOBS resume builder. To fix formatting errors inside your resume, you must first save the original file in a .txt format.
To copy and paste from Word:
To edit your USAJOBS resume-builder resume:
Add Your Citizenship Status
Include your citizenship and visa status in order to speed up the vetting process. You can list this as either yes, no, or simply write your work visa status.
Many positions in the federal government have specific requirements regarding citizenship, so this information is often required for job applications. Additionally, many jobs list the required citizenship status in the job description, so make sure you check that you qualify before applying.
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Government Of Canada Resume Format
Writing an effective resume for job competitions in the Government of Canada is not an easy task. HR managers go through hundreds of resumes daily and apart from the initial scan from a computerized system, an outstanding resume is the key to be screened in for further testing.
Not only is it necessary that your resume is presented without grammatical errors,it must also be done in a manner that is appealing to hiring managers. Below is the winning format for resumes.Provided that you have the minimum experience required, this format provides key elements that will get your application screened in and has worked for many individuals inside the federal service. Before I continue, I must underline that resumes for job positions in the federal public service must illustrate passion and drive.
Government of Canada hiring managers want employees who are confident of their skill set.
To start, like a regular resume, a personal information section is necessary:
The personal information section should include:
- Name
I do not recommend that you put your home address for three reasons:
1) The large majority of government communication is done through email.
2) This information is already in your online profile.
3) It takes up 2-3 lines of precious space on your resume that you need for more important things.
Education
Experience
Here is an example of how to do this:
Now that you know how to explain what you did based on the Statement of Criteria you will need to:
Languages
Organize Your Resume To Make It Easy To Understand
You need to organize your resume to help agencies evaluate your experience. If you dont provide the information required for the hiring agency to determine your qualifications, you might not be considered for the job.
- Use reverse chronological order to list your experiencestart with your most recent experience first and work your way back.
- Provide greater detail for experience that is relevant to the job for which you are applying.
- Show all experiences and accomplishments under the job in which you earned it. This helps agencies determine the amount of experience you have with that particular skill.
- Use either bullet or paragraph format to describe your experiences and accomplishments.
- Use plain language avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood.
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How Much Does A Federal Resume Writing Service Cost
As federal resume service reviews will often tell you, you get what you pay for. At CareerProPlus, we price our USAJobs resume writing services based on your series, pay grade, and level of composition, as well as the requirements of the position youre seeking. Structuring our pricing this way allows us to ensure that our writers have the resources necessary to give your resume the firepower it needs, ultimately helping you realize the return on investment you are seeking.
Our USAJobs resumes area not cookie-cutter and are all individually written for each of our clients. Its both an art and a science to integrate the perfect blend of content, keywords, core competencies, and specialized experience related to each USAJobs vacancy in order to earn you a Highest Qualified ranking. Even with all of the rapid increases in technology, communicating the unique and often intangible aspects of your experience and accomplishments to a highly automated system is incredibly complex. And with stakes as high as federal employment, it pays to work closely with experts in the USAJobs application process.
In addition to writing successful federal resumes, CareerPro Global and its team members have written and published well over 300 online and print articles related to resume writing, USAJobs, and federal resumes We have also authored and administered the industrys top federal career service certifications.
How To Write A Federal Resume
If youre applying for a position with a federal government agency, you may have to submit a specialized resume that includes several unique elements, in addition to traditional elements like education, work experience and contact information.
In this article, we explore what a federal resume is, what information to include in it and provide an example federal resume to help you write your own.
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Resume Reference Page Example
Check out this properly formatted resume references example to see what a references list looks like in practice:
Note that in this example, the candidate matches the style of her reference page to her resume design.
If you need to include a list of references with your resume, be sure to match the formatting to the rest of your application.
