Federal Job Applications - Resumes, OF-612
Forms, KSAs
Online degrees or Certificates
can lead to
higher pay & promotions
It is misleading to assume that a standard resume will land you a job with Uncle Sam.
Most private industry resumes are loosely structured and simply introduce the applicant to
the company. Follow the guidance on this site and in Chapter Six of
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs to write successful
applications and resumes for the job you want in government. The application is one of the
keys to successfully landing a federal job. You must write a professional application or
federal resume and develop job search strategies that work. This web site and The Book
of U.S. Government Jobs will help you achieve those goals.
|
|
Application Menu
It is important to remember that YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED INFORMATION.
You now have the option to use a federal style resume format or the OF-612
Optional Application, and many agencies now require applicants to use their online resume builders
to apply. If you
don't include all required information as stated on the job announcement, your
application may be rejected or at the very least you will loose valuable rating
points.
There are vast differences between industry's standard brief RESUME format and
the detailed information you must provide on the federal job resume format. The
resume that most are accustomed to is a short one to two page introduction.
Uncle Sam's resume, often three to five pages or longer, must be highly
structured with specific data. Knowledge, Skills, Abilities,
(KSAs) statements may also be required to identify the best qualified
candidate for the position.
The federal application process is complex and requires applicants to
thoroughly read job vacancy announcements, and provide detailed work, education,
and special skills and qualifications information. Your work history and
education MUST include the required Duties and Specialized Experience listed in
the Job Announcement to rate high enough on the list to be called for an
interview. The format and content is critical.
The federal government rates applicants on their work experience, education,
and special qualifications. The personnel specialist rating your application is
a generalist in most cases and rates you either eligible or ineligible based on
the Federal Qualification Standards. The qualification
standards describe the general and specialized work experience and
education required for each pay level within a job series. You must have a
certain number of years of both general and specialized experience and/or
education to be rated eligible for the position's pay grade. Past work
experience and training must be presented in your resume or optional application
in sufficient detail to receive a rating. If your application is rated eligible,
you will be ranked against all applicants and the best qualified candidates will
be referred to the selecting official. The selecting official picks from the top
rated applicants. Interviews are optional; however, typically the top rated
applicants are interviewed. Refer to Chapter Six of
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs for guidance on how to complete your
application.
Applicants can either compile and write their
resume / application independently with the proper
resources and knowledge, hire a professional federal
resume writing service such as
CareerPro
Global, or use Quick &
Easy Federal Jobs Kit software. Quick and Easy sofware is currently not
available. It is being updated and is is scheduled for release this November.
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. One of my very early job
changes in federal government was from a DOD avionics technician position in
Topeka Kansas to a similar DOD job in Pittsburgh, PA. I was selected for the job
and shortly after reporting to work, one of the specialists I was working with
stated, "the guys in the shop thought they would just throw away their tools
when I reported for work." I asked him why they would think that, and he said
that the supervisor had left my application out on his desk and all had read it.
The application and resume process isn't formidable, however it is detailed
and you have to know what to focus on so that rating officials will be able to
easily find the key duties and specialized experience that is required for the
job. With a little coaching and samples that are provided in
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs and The
The
Federal Resume Guidebook, you too can get though this. Entry level job
applicants can expect to spend at least 4 to 8 hours on their application.
Midlevel applicants can easily spend several days just compiling key information
in preparation for completing their resume. This is why I encourage all who
apply to complete their resume OFF LINE. I don't recommend completing your
resume through an agency or USAJOBS resume builder because of their limitations.
It is best to write your resume and/or application on your word processor and
take your time to compile the info you need, draft your work experiences, spell
check and insure that you have ALL information that is required in the Job
Announcement. After you complete your federal style resume offline, it is a
simple matter to copy and paste your resume into online resume builders.
A word of caution. Once you have your resume completed and
posted on USAJOBS or one of the many other agency resume builders, it's easy to
submit that same resume to apply for other job vacancies. That can be a mistake. Before resubmitting that same 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.
|
SPECIAL OFFER
Order the The Book of U.S.
Government Jobs and The Federal Resume
Guidebook
and save 10%.
Go to the Shopping Cart for pricing.
These resources have everything you need to find job
vacancies and
land high paying and secure
government jobs. Learn how to prepare professional federal style resumes that will get the
attention of rating officials.
Everything you need to pursue a government career is included in these two
books by the two best known
government career book authors.
Kathryn Troutman, the author of
The Federal Resume Guidebook is known as the
"Federal Resume Guru" is a well known
career counselor.
Dennis Damp, the author of
The Book
of U.S. Government Jobs, retired from federal service in 2005 with 35 years
and 7 months service. Damp knows first hand what it takes to go from job
hunter to hired, and everything in between.
|
The key to landing a job with Uncle Sam is to tailor your federal style
résumé and application to the core duties and responsibilities listed in the job
announcement. Those who take the time to develop a comprehensive and properly
formatted tailored application package will improve their rating and get the
attention of the selecting official.
Suggestion: You can apply
for most jobs online using an agency's resume builder. It is best to draft your
work experiences and take time to tailor them to the job announcement offline
using a word processor. This will give you sufficient time to collect
all of the information you will need for the
application, read the job announcement and tailor your work experience write-ups
to the job's required skills, abilities and qualifications. Spell check your
work and then copy and paste your write-ups in to the resume builder.
Read the job announcement thoroughly for the position you are applying for
and pay attention to the required Duties and Responsibilities. Look for special
skills or other evaluation factors that are needed. Highlight the key duties and
responsibilities and then incorporate them frequently in your work experience,
occupational questionnaire and KSA write-ups. You must provide specific examples
of the work experience you have that is relevant to the job you are bidding on.
Detailed step-by-step guidance on how to tailor your federal style resume to the
job announcement is available in Chapter Six, starting on page 130 of
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs. Chapter Six
takes you through an actual job announcement and shows you how to identify key
information to tailor your resume.
Don’t use the exact same application for all jobs that you apply for. The key
is to read the job announcement and then tailor your application to that
specific job. Detailed guidance on how to tailor your résumé is included in Chapter
Six. Jobs within the same series from different agencies often have
different skill sets or required experience. Read the announcement and ensure
that your application includes the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
Explore and apply for all job vacancies in the government and
private sectors to improve
you chance of employment. You can post your private sector resume online at no
cost to expand your job search. (Caution) Don't post your federal style resume
online without removing all sensitive information such as your Social Security
Number, etc.
FREE OFFER: Click on the following banner to post your resume.
Return to Top of Page
