The Federal Resume
Part One: An Introduction

Crafting a federal resume is your first step in the application process. Federal resumes are used:

• To seek promotions within the same government agency (e.g., CIA Advisor to CIA Senior Advisor).
• To make lateral moves across government agencies (e.g., Systems Director of the United States Post Office to Systems Director of the Food and Drug Administration).
• To seek government employment for the first time, whether previous employment was in the military or in the private sector.

Keep in mind that for certain federal positions, you must use the federal Resume Builder, located on the agency’s Web site. Check the requirements of your job announcement to see if you are required to use it.

Federal resumes are similar to private-sector resumes. However, there are some important differences.

Data unique to the federal resume:

• Social Security number
• GS numbers and grades for current or past federal jobs
• Hours worked weekly at each job
• Annual salary at each job
• Supervisor's name, phone number, and permission (or refusal of permission) to contact
• Employer's physical address
• Veteran's preference
• Name of high school attended and whether a diploma was received

On a federal resume, work history is provided in reverse-chronological order. Academic data should be presented with the highest level of education placed first, followed by previous schooling, including high school. If you have completed college coursework, but have not attained a degree, provide the number of course hours that have been completed (e.g., "Business Administration, 35 course hours").

Electronic federal resumes are generally longer than private-sector resumes, which rarely exceed two pages. However, electronic federal resumes often do have some length restrictions. For example, resumes submitted to OSD, Defense Agencies, and DoD Field Activities can be no more than three pages, plus a separate page for supplemental information. It's always wise to check agency sites for length restrictions.

Formatted federal resumes are generally longer than private-sector resumes as well. For senior positions, a formatted federal resume may exceed six pages. Again, check specific agency guidelines about length.

Scannable resumes used for the Resumix scanning system should follow these guidelines. Remember, though, that specific agencies may have their own requirements, which must be carefully followed.

• Use in 11-12 point type (generally Times New Roman or Courier).
• No bolding, italics, tabs, bullets are used.
• The entire resume is flush left.
• Margins are one inch.
• The current job title begins the resume and is followed by all previous titles that relate to the current job search (i.e. if the client is a paralegal, but once worked at Baskin Robbins as an ice cream server, the server position would not be included).

Formatted federal resumes can be sent as attachments or by regular mail. These are the closest to what you might submit when applying for a job in the private sector. They differ only in the following areas:

• Data is more comprehensive and personal (e.g., Social Security Numbers, hours worked per week, annual salary, company/agency physical location, veteran status, etc.).
• High school data is included within the Education section.
• The resume will often exceed two pages. Remember that agency requirements must be followed.