by WYSKW Applying — USAJobs is an online database that enables job seekers to search for positions by location, job category or by agency. Most, but not all, full-time, part-time
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198 KB – 24 Pages
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Federal Resume Guide Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Writing a Winning Resume 4 Getting Started 4 Finding a Federal Career on USAJobs 4 Information Needed to Write Your Resume 6 Resume Sections 6 Resume Styles 7 Resume Formatting 8 Education or Experience? 9 How Far Back Should I Go? 9 Showcasing Your Ability to be Successful 10 Resume Length 10 Other Things You Should Know 11 What Other Documents Will I Have to Submit? 11 Minimum Qualifications 11 What is the Occupational Questionnaire? 11 Sample Questionnaire Questions 12 What Do es Time in Grade Mean? 13 What is the Difference Between USAJobs and USA Staffing? 13 14 Resume Samples 15 Chronological 16 Functional Competency Based 17 Combinatio n 18 Targeted 19 USAJobs 20 Winning Words 21 References 22
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Federal Resume Guide Page 4 Writing a Winning Resume Knowing how to write a winning resume is a valuable skill to ha job market. Your resume is the first impression you give to a potential employer it is your marketing piece. A well – written resume can help you land an interview or may lead to new job opportunities. Whether you are actively seeking a job at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), another Federal agency, or just want to update your existing resume, this guide will assist you in making your resume, and thereby you, stand out from the crowd. Before you begin writing yo opportunities. Federal agencies advertise vacancies online at www.usajobs.gov . USAJobs is an online database that enables job seekers to search for positions b y location, job category or by agency. Most, but not all, full – time, part – time and permanent Federal jobs are posted on USAJobs. If you are interested in a specific agency, that agency on USAJobs, you should visi t In USAJobs you can: familiar with the format. Federal vacancy announcements use a common 5 – tab format (high lighted in the following example) to provide information about the position. It is important to read each section carefully to ensure you fully understand the position, you meet the required qualifications , and you are aware of how your application will be evaluated. I FOUND A POSITION I , BUT UNSURE OF HOW TO REA D THE JOB ANNOUNCEMENT Getting Started Create an Account Build and store up to five distinct resumes. Create and save job searches to receive automatic notifications. Apply for jobs or save them to review later. Look for a Job Search by Agency, Occupation, Grade, Location, etc. View jobs available to the general public and those available to Federal employees. Apply to Federal vacancies. Be Informed Learn how to use USAJOBS by accessing their tutorials. Learn about the federal hiring process. Learn about special hiring programs.
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Federal Resume Guide Page 5 Tab 1 – Overview briefly describes the job and provides basic information regarding salary, who may apply, duty location, open period for acceptance of applications, and job summary. Tab 2 – Duties cites the major duties and responsi bilities of the job. Tab 3 – Qualifications and Evaluations lists the type of skills/competencies you need to be eligible for the position and how your experience will be evaluated. Tab 4 – Benefits & Other Information highlights some of the benefits a vailable to you as an employee. Tab 5 – How to Apply lists the required application materials and provides instructions on how to submit your application package. humancapital@nara.gov
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Federal Resume Guide Page 6 Having the right information at your fingertips will be helpful as you create your w inning resume. Employer names, addresses and telephone numbers Dates of employment professional references, using past current s upervisors if possible). Your job title/series List of your responsibilities Salary/GS level and step Training Career accomplishments Awards received Education If you are a current or former Federal employee, you should also have: Last SF – 5 0 Last Perfor mance Appraisal Your resume should provide enough information to enable an employer to see, at a glance, who position , and whether you meet the legal requi rements of Federal employment. At minimum, your resume should include: Personal Information Your full name, mailing address with zip code, area code and phone number, your email address, the last 4 – digits of your social security number, country of citiz enship and, if applicable, your eligibility for v refers to employment regulations that prevent veterans seeking Federal employment from being penalized for their time in military service. For additional information visit www.fedshirevets.gov or www.archives.gov/careers . WHAT SECTIONS SHO ULD BE INCLUDED IN M Y RESUME? Writing Your Resume WHAT INFORMATION WIL L I NEED TO WRITE MY RESUME?
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Federal Resume Guide Page 8 Examples of each of these resume styles are provided for your information later in this guide. Although the basic layout of your resume is important, your primary objective is to convey your strengths and accomplishments. A well – formatted, well – organized resume drives an employer to key information about you, such as technical proficiencies, your work history or the awards and promotions you’ve earned. When formatting your resume, consider margins, font type and size, color and the use of sy mbols in order to best highlight your strengths and accomplishments. Following are tips to guide you in formatting your resume: Margins Margins should be set at 1″ all around. Even if you’re concerned about space, the margins of your resume should not g o below 1/2″. Doing so creates a visually “crowded” resume. For readability, it is recommended that you use left – aligned margins over block justified text. Font Type The font you choose for your resume should be aesthetically pleasing and easy to read t o attract a potential employer’s interest. Font types such as Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman work well. Keep in mind that o nce you select a font, maintain its consistency throughout your resume. Font Size Font size has a lot to do with the font type you choose. The most commonly used font size s are 1 0 – 12 points. However, some fonts at 12 points appear too large, while other fonts at 12 points appear too small. To better identify yourself and the section headings within your resume, font sizes should be larger than the font size of the body of your resume. Color The use of color in your resume can be a powerful marketing tool, as long as it is used to enhance your resume not weaken it. When used properly and sparingly (e.g., no more than one additi onal color besides black) , color can create visual appeal and better emphasis important information . Formatting neglect to balance your resume with the use of both paragraphs and bull ets to describe your work history and accomplishments the combination is aesthetically pleasing and easier to read . HOW SHOULD I FORMAT MY RESUME? Always print your resume for review. Do this submitting your resume online because the employer may want to print it and just because the fonts and f ormatting look good on your computer screen will look good when printed.
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Federal Resume Guide Page 9 When using paragraphs to describe job duties, be sure to use short , concise phr ases starting with action verbs. When using bullets, do so sparingly in order to draw the readers eyes to especially important points on your resume and be consistent. This helps the reader to understand what you are highlighting from one section of your resume to the next. Below is an example of how the use of bullets makes a difference in the appearance of a potentially important aspect of a resume. Example Poor Response : Wrote 15 papers per semester with an average grade of 95%. Good Response : W rote 15 papers per semester with an average grade of 95%. The answer to this question depends on whether your education or your experience is your best selling point and/or meets the qualifications of the position you are applying to. Generally, new graduates list education first, while job – seekers with a few years or more of work history list experience first. However, when using the USAJobs Resume Builder, experience is always listed first. The most important thing is to include your most relevant experience. When considering how far back to go with your work history, go as far back as you need to in order to make your experience applicable. In other words, make sure you highlight your accomplishments of previous jobs that are most recent and relevant to the position you are seeking. If you fin d that this method results in the appearance of gaps in your employment history, you order with a brief sentence describing the work you performed. WHICH SHOULD GO FIRS T ON MY RESUME, EDUC ATION OR EXPERIENCE? SHOULD I INCLUDE ALL MY PREVIOUS POSITION S ON MY RESUME? HOW FAR BACK SHOULD I GO?
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Federal Resume Guide Page 10 The best way to showcase your abilities for a particular job is to ensure that your resume reflects your knowledge, experience and/or education required of the position for which o ensure that you fully understand how your application will be evaluated. Example 1 : a Management/Program Analyst position at NARA that requires applicants to have a demonstrated ability to research, analyze and presen t findings to high level management official in various formats such as comprehensive reports, recommendations and program policies and procedures . Does your resume identify that you have this experience? Human Resources specialists use your resume to v erify that you possess the required experience/competencies of the vacant position as well as to verify your responses to the self – assessment questionnaire. If your resume does not specifically and clearly show that you possess the required experience/comp etencies, credit cannot be given which may result in your application no longer being considered. For the above position you may include on your resume, for example: Utilized a high degree of qualitative and quantitative analytical skills to analyze, e valuate and improve the efficiency of internal administrative operations, organizations and management including participation on task forces and surveys, studies and other areas of management operations to determine the adequacy of existing program police s and procedu res. Example 2: You are interested in applying for A rchives Specialist position at NARA that requires knowledge in processing large volumes of records. In order to draw the reader tate to use numbers to show case your qualifications . For example, you may write : Appraised, arranged, described, preserved, and provided access to 700 collections of various types . Collections encompassed 10,000 linear shelf feet, including 4 ,000 artifa cts cataloged online . WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SHOWCASE MY ABILITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE POSITION FOR WHICH I AM APPLYING?
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Federal Resume Guide Page 11 While the length of your Federal resume is a personal choice, the general rule of thumb is one three pages depending upon your level of experience. However, if you are building your resume in USAJobs, the average length is fo ur to five pages. Resumes that extend beyond one page should be numbered accordingly (e.g., X of Y), so that if lost or shuffled an employer can easily identify if there are missing pages or if there are additional pages and in what order they belong. Regardle ss of the length, your resume should best reflect your qualifications for the position to which you are applying as concisely as possible. Read the vacancy announcement carefully and follow all instructions. At minimum, many agencies, NARA included , require applicants to submit a resume and an online self – assessment questionnaire. In m any instances, additional documentation (e.g., Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Form DD – 214), most recent performance appraisal, transcripts, etc. ) will be required. Failure to submit all required documents will result in your application being r ejected for consideration. Minimum qualifications are standards set by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to help ensure that Federal employ ees are, indeed, qualified for employment. You must meet these minimum qualifications to be considered for employment. Minimum qualifications are stated in terms of general or specialized experience. General experience is progressively responsible clerica l, office, or other type of experience that shows you have the ability to perform the duties of the job being filled. Specialized experience is usually obtained from having worked in a position similar to the job being filled. For some jobs, you can qual ify based solely on education instead of experience. For other jobs, both education and experience are required to qualify; and for yet other jobs, you can qualify based on a combination of your experience and education. These requirements will be describe d in the vacancy announcement. HOW LONG SHOULD MY R ESUME BE? IN ADDITION TO MY RE SUME, WHAT OTHER DOC UMENTS WILL I HAVE T O SUBMIT? WHAT ARE MINIMUM QUALIFICATI ONS?
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