A good federal resume can help you land your dream role in what can be an extremely competitive and ruthless applicant market.
With your resume being so important to the process, what’s the best format to use, and what should you include?
Why Is A Federal Resume Different?
Federal resumes are slightly different to standard resumes in the amount of detail they require.
Whilst it’s usually advised to keep a normal resume to a single page, a federal resume can easily take two or three pages to cover all of the necessary information.
It’s still advised to avoid lengthy passages of text and unnecessary details, but it’s important that for a federal resume, all of the essential details are included.
Information To Gather Before You Begin
Before you begin to craft your resume, there are a few things you’ll need.
- Keywords – Every job listing will include essential keywords that the hiring body (and their ATS) will be looking for when reading resumes. Make sure you highlight important keywords and phrases to include in your resume.
- Skills and Qualifications – Be sure that you have the essential skills and qualifications required. Understanding the job requirements will help you to craft a completely relevant and impressive resume.
- Quantitative Examples – Try to prepare quantitative examples to use in your resume. Finding these before you begin writing can help you to pick out your most impressive achievements.
The Federal Resume Template (+ Examples)
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write a federal resume.
Just want the template? Get it here.
Personal Details
When writing your federal resume, accurate personal details are key.
You need to include:
- Full legal name
- Current address
- Professional email address
- Phone number
Next, include some extra details that are specific to federal resumes.
- Citizenship: (Yes or No, Work Visa details)
- Special Hiring Authority: (Veteran preference or Person with Disability – Schedule A)
- Federal Experience: (Yes or No and indicate whether it’s Military, Federal or State Gov)
- Clearance: (Indicate what level and if it’s still active)
- OBJECTIVE: To obtain a full-time position in public service with (Indicate the federal Agency and sub-agency) as a (indicate the position including an announcement number if there is one.)
Skills Summary
The skills summary on your federal resume should have three main sections, an introductory paragraph, a list of skills directly related to the position, and the skills you have acquired throughout your career.
Let’s break these three key sections down further.
An Introductory Paragraph:
This section must be specific and highly detailed for each job series and position you’re applying to.
You need to be specific in outlining the skills you have that are directly related to the position you are seeking whilst incorporating the keywords that you have identified.
EXAMPLE:
Focused and highly motivated management professional, with 12 + years of extensive experience in Strategic Workforce Planning, EEO, OHR and Diversity Mgt. Utilizing my background in Disability, Accommodations, Business Operations, Project Management, and Statistical Analysis to develop comprehensive programs based on the employment needs and mission of the agency. Deploying metric-based solutions and maximizing our ROI. I’m an innovative and energetic team player, relationship builder, and highly effective communicator.
TIP: Use action words to begin each point for maximum impact. Action words can be things like led, managed, or facilitated.
Skills Directly Related To The Position:
This is perhaps the most important part of your resume for highlighting your achievements and potential.
Following your introduction, highlight a list of skills directly related to the position and the keywords you earlier identified.
Back up your skill summary with specific examples from your career or education.
In this section, you should identify specific accomplishments and highlight numerical results and awards that support your successes.
EXAMPLE:
Good Example
- Developed and created a strategic workforce planning program to ensure we were accurately utilizing all available resources.
Better Example
- Expert in diversity mgt. and employee relations assisting managers and staff in identifying and solving EEO policy questions on accommodations for the past 9 years.
Best Example
- As Diversity manager, I trained a staff of 100+ internal and external personnel on diversity rules and regulations. This led to a 70% reduction in violations and improved the overall atmosphere at ABC Co.
Acquired Skills
The third element of your skills summary involves highlighting skills you want every employer to know you possess. These are the skills that define you as a model employee. These skills should also be quantified and qualified for maximum impact.
EXAMPLE:
Good Example
- Analyzed, developed, tested and incorporated IT business solutions to enhance business process control and tracking.
Better Example
- Supervised, motivated, mentored and led by example, using experience-backed judgment, strong work ethic, and irreproachable integrity, derived from my 12 years as a Department Manager at ABC Co.
Best Example
- Developed and implemented a supply inventory program, which tracked our use of production and office materials. This provided us with detailed reports of our available inventory at all times. Allowing us to make more informed purchasing decisions and resulting in $500,000 in savings over 12 months.
Employment History
This section should be formatted in a way that is identical to the skill summary.
Write up a brief description of duties, and identify your major roles and responsibilities.
Describe in detail each position you held for at least the last 10 years and quantify and qualify each statement.
Name of Employer
Position & Title
GS level or Salary and Years of Service
TIP: Describe each duty like you are teaching it to someone for the first time. Hiring managers are not allowed to assume you can or can’t do anything.
Eg: Cashier: A cashier can perform numerous duties, if you only list cashiers we can only interpret that as someone we collected and distributed money.
EXAMPLE:
Good Example
As Diversity Manager I analyzed, developed and managed programs and projects related to the successful deployment of our department’s initiatives. My duties included ensuring we met all federal and state regulations. This was accomplished by collecting and analyzing human capital data and statistics from various sources to get an accurate analysis of the programs and work environment we provided our employees.
Better Example
Coordinated with our OHR and EEO managers to develop programs to improve our diversity in the workplace. We performed a detailed analysis of the current workforce and developed a strategy to ensure we targeted a broader workforce. This had an immediate impact on our community relations and a 20% increase in local sales.
Best Example
As diversity manager for the past 7 years, I was responsible for a staff of 20 employees. I coordinated with our OHR to develop and measure our recruiting efficiency to determine our cost per employee hired and an accurate ROI. We identified various key elements related to recruiting and performed a statistical analysis on how we could reduce our cost per hire. This led to yearly savings of 15% on our recruiting expenses.
Accomplishments
Next, you should focus on accomplishments. Include specific honors, and any impressive goals you met or exceeded.
Try to quantify your accomplishments where possible.
EXAMPLE:
2011 – Supervised and developed the Speciality Hiring Program
2010 – Liaised with union and management on contract negotiations and labor dispute settlements. Avoided the loss of 200+ jobs and saved the company 1.3 million dollars.
2005 – Restructured vendor contracts for a gross saving of $375k per quarter.
Computer Software
Include any software or applications that you have any proficiency or experience with. List the level and any formal training you’ve had.
Additional Training
Add any formal or informal training including accreditations and awarding bodies where relevant.
EXAMPLE:
Good Example
- I have attended various seminars on EEO compliance and diversity.
Better Example
- Extensive EEO compliance training: Laws & Discrimination, Diversity in the Workplace, Workplace Relationships, EEO Complaints and Resolutions (80+ hours of training).
Best Example
- Extensive project management training specializing in large-scale projects and developing project plans and schedules. All training was done at PMI Institute 2002-2011 (120 hours).
Education
Always list your highest-level qualifications first. Try to use a consistent and clear format where possible.
EDUCATION
MBA – Business Management, xxxxxxxxxx University, city, state: year graduated and (GPA 3.93)
BA – Business Management, xxxxxxxxxx University, city, state: year graduated and (GPA 3.87)
*Graduated Cum laude Dean’s List: (5 times)
Honors and Awards
Make sure you include any formal awards or honors in your federal resume.
Volunteer Work and Community Involvement
Some federal roles may value volunteering work or a history of community work. Some even value these experiences as job experiences so be sure to include them if they’re relevant.
EXAMPLE:
(2010 – current) I hold Diversity workshops at the ABC community center in Washington DC, 6 times each month. I provide employers with information on developing an inclusive and diverse workforce.
Professional Associations
Include any relevant professional associations in your federal resume.
EXAMPLE:
- APD – American Association of People with Disabilities
- HAVA – Honored American Veterans Afield
- NRA – National Rehabilitation Association
- PMI – Project Management Institute
- Wounded Warriors Project – Warriors to Work
References
List at least 3 references including their contact information.
Need More Help? Use A Template
If you’re still unsure about how to craft your federal resume, check out our templates that have helped hundreds of applicants land interviews in competitive industries.
About the author
Mollie Buttery
Writer | SEO | Articles & Blog Posts | Social Media
Mollie supports ULTMECHE through website growth, social media, SEO, and also other digital marketing tricks. Mollie has 10+ years experience of in house and freelance marketing experience in industries such as Finance, Law, SAAS, Automotive, Building Services, Commerce, and more. Some of her favorite writing topics consist of sports and finance. Mollie has been key to the growth of ULTMECHE’s SEO and digital marketing efforts.