Federal Job Applications -
Federal Resumes, OF-612
Forms, KSAs
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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 our
Federal Resume Guide to write successful
applications and federal 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.
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Application Menu
It is important to remember that YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED INFORMATION.
Most applications now required a federal resume format
however some agencies and many internal merit promotion vacancies require the
OF-612
Optional Application, most agencies require applicants to use online
federal 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 resume format. The
resume that most are accustomed to is a short one to two page introduction.
Uncle Sam's federal resume, often three to five pages or long, 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 resume and 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 and our
resume prepartion page will guide you through the process.
The federal government rates applicants on their work experience, education,
and special qualifications. The personnel specialist rating your application and
federal resume 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.
Additional Resume Information
Hiring reform is creating significant changes to the federal recruitment
process that will be phased in gradually over time. Applicants can be
expected to encounter a mix of the old and new systems until agencies are
able to implement the new procedures. The key for applicants is to read the
job announcement thoroughly, complete, and submit ALL required documentation
including a federal style résumé, by the closing date of the job
announcement.
The new hiring process is based on category ratings rather than a point
system that was used by many agencies for decades. Applicants are placed in
one of several categories; typically, Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or
Qualified. Agencies may use different category titles. The federal
government provides fair and equitable opportunities for all applicants
regardless of race, national origin, gender, age or religious beliefs. The
system is designed to reduce and eliminate, wherever possible, outside
influence such as nepotism and political affiliation to level the playing
field.
Category Ratings
One of the major hiring reform changes is the requirement to utilize the
category rating approach to refer candidates. In the past, applicant’s
federal résumés were scored with a numerical rating; a hiring manager could select
from only among the top three highest-scoring applicants and could not “pass
over” a veteran to select a non-veteran. This was known as the “Rule of 3.”
Under category rating, applicants are put into categories and do not
receive a specific numeric score. Hiring managers may select anyone in the
top category as long as they do not select a non-veteran if there are
veterans in the same category. The purpose of category rating is to increase
the number of qualified applicants while preserving Veterans’ Preference
rights. The category rating approach gives agencies the flexibility to
assess and select from among applicants in the highest quality category
without regard to the “Rule of 3.”
“The Presidential Memorandum – Improving the Federal Recruitment and
Hiring Process,” issued on May 11, 2010, requires agencies to use the
category rating approach to assess and select job applicants for positions
filled through Competitive Examining. Agencies are required to evaluate
candidates’ applications and place them into two or more predetermined
quality categories. Quality categories are defined by Human Resources (HR)
with the assistance of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) through job analysis
prior to the posting of an announcement. The categories are written to
reflect the requirements to perform the job successfully and to distinguish
differences in the quality of candidates’ job-related competencies or
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs).
For complete information on how to write a professional federal resume
and KSAs and to find out about hiring reforms and the category rating
process pick up a copy of the all new 11th edition of
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs.
ORDER
A COPY NOW.
Applicants can either compile and write their
federal resume / application independently with the proper
resources and knowledge or hire a professional federal
resume writing service such as
CareerPro
Global.
When writing your federal 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.
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The application and federal 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, you too can get though this. Entry level job
applicants can expect to spend at least 4 to 8 hours on their application and
federal resume.
Midlevel applicants can easily spend several days just compiling key information
in preparation for completing their federal resume. This is why I encourage all who
apply to complete their federal resume OFF LINE. I don't recommend completing your
federal resume through an agency or USAJOBS resume builder because of their limitations.
It is best to write your federal 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 resume offline, it is a
simple matter to copy and paste your federal 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 federal resume. It is not unusual to apply for
the same job series and find other requirements, or new or additional KSA
statements.
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 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.
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