It is pretty easy to understand how to develop an entry-level resume - gain experience, excel in college, and get hired. It is also not very difficult with developing a professional or an executive CV - accomplishments, accomplishments, accomplishments. It is more challenging to do so if you are leaving the military service and seeking a civilian job - a lot of time and effort are paid to translate military experience into the one that will be clear for the hiring authorities. Today we are going to dwell on another resume writing level - federal.
How Do I Write a Federal Resume?
First and foremost, we should note that this type of resume is written with the purpose to apply for federal government jobs. It contains similar sections of information; however, it can be very different in terms of structure, length, and content. Therefore, you will fail if you send a private-sector resume to apply for Federal positions. Every federal resume must have the information required by a job opening - this is a must. Not following the guidelines will result in the rejection of your application right away. Usually, the information that needs to be on your federal resume includes job information (title, grade, announcement number), education (names of educational institutions and addresses, graduation dates, degrees), professional experience (titles, accomplishments/duties, employers, supervisors, dates of employment, hours/week, salary), skills, job-related trainings, certifications, awards, licensure, etc.
A federal resume should usually cover about 10 years of the most recent work experience and can be up to 4-5 pages long. Along with submitting a federal resume job seekers have to know that they will require to submit KSAs. Those are simply narrative statements of your knowledge, skills, abilities that are to help employers choose the most appropriate candidate for the position available. Usually, they evaluate KSAs responses using a 1-100 scale. In this case, candidates are to score over 70 to be considered for the position. The main criteria are specific examples. In other words, to successfully develop KSAs, you have to include as many specific examples that prove certain skills, knowledge or abilities as possible. Also when you apply for a federal position you have to know that adding "creative" graphic elements or experimenting with different fonts is not a good idea. Be conservative in terms of formatting and design: your resume should look clean with enough of white space. It is also important to list your experience in reverse chronological order - no functional formats will work here.
