The Top 5 Mistakes Most Federal Applicants Make When Writing Their Own Government Resume
February 5, 2008Writing a federal resume is much different than preparing a resume for submission to the private sector. Consider the top 5 mistakes most federal applicants make then they try to write their own government resume:
- Your resume is not the proper length and fails to provide sufficient details – a federal resume is 2-3 pages long while most private industry resumes are crowded onto 1 page;
- Your resume does not include the right keywords to be considered for the position – it is essential to carefully review the job vacancy announcement for the keywords that describe the position you are applying for so you can use those keywords throughout your application;
- Your resume does not contain necessary compliance details such as your social security number, citizenship information, military experience, federal government experience or pertinent background about your work experience;
- Your resume is grammatically incorrect or contains spelling errors; and
- Your resume fails to comply with the requirement for Federal submission as detailed in the job vacancy announcement.
If the Federal job application process seems overwhelming, you can make a solid investment in your future by hiring an experienced resume writer. A professional Federal resume can mean the difference between landing your dream government job or continuing to rewrite your resume to try to get it right.
Federal Resume Writing 
Hi federalresumes,
I hope you don’t mind the rant, but I’ve been seeking federal employment for some time now and I haven’t been to crack it yet. If you had any suggestions or comments, I’d love to hear them and would be highly grateful too. 🙂
Applying for federal employment has been one of the most frustrating and maddening experiences I have ever endured. After reading through many help sites on federal employment, I don’t believe they sufficiently cover the complexity of the process, and just how different it is from private industry.
The process appears simple enough; search for a position using USAJobs, fill out your resume and personal details, submit, and voila you’ve embarked on a government career.
Well, it’s not that easy, not at all. I have tried for months to get through the highly-muddled process of obtaining employment with government departments and the armed services, and it is anything but straight-forward.
First of all, if you have a highly detailed profile at USAJobs, good for you, though chances are you’ll have to recreate it elsewhere. If you apply to a job with the US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, State Department, USAID, Treasury, etc, etc… you’ll have to use their own HR websites, recreate your profile there, answer many many tedious Knowledge, Skill, and Ability (KSA) questions (particularly for ApplicationManager.gov and Avue Central. Note that these are separate often from specific KSA statements which are also often required.
When searching for a position at USAJobs or any other federal job site, you have to play close attention the position’s listed series and grade. Many people think that government jobs are only part of the GS or General Schedule (competitive) series, but in fact there are many other series types, such as GG (general schedule, excepted), FS (foreign service), WG (wage grade), IA (Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System), SV (Department of Homeland Security), AD (Department of Defense), and the Y series (YA, YB, YC, YD, YE, YF, YG, YH, YI, YJ, YK, YL, YM, YN, YP) that are used by the National Security Personnel System. Each of these series will have specific application to a type of position (security, medical, administrative, etc), and carry with that specific requirements.
The issue of Veterans preference and the 5/10 point system is well covered at OPM, and in essence it means that if during the application review your skills and experiences are graded at the same level as another person ( see military equivalencies) who happens to be a veteran (disabled or not), OR a spouse of a veteran (deceased or living), OR a mother of a veteran (deceased or disabled), then assuming they have met the requirements, that individual will receive up to 10 addition points and will be offered the position. The preference is in recognition the “economic loss suffered by citizens who have served their country in uniform, restores veterans to a favorable competitive position for Government employment”.
Perhaps more importantly, is the issue of status. For many government positions you must be a ‘status eligible’ to apply and be considered for that position. The other type of position is referred to as ‘public’, and can be applied to by anyone, with a few caveats, such as citizenship. For example, with Army jobs, many many openings are available only to status eligibles, such as; Army Civilian eligible, 30 percent Disabled Veteran, VRA eligible, VEOA eligible, EO 12721 eligible, Defense Contracting Management Agency (DCMA) civilian eligible, Transfer Eligible, Reinstatement eligible, ICTAP eligible, Person with Disabilities eligible, DCIPS/CIPMS Interchange eligible, NAF Interchange eligible, DCIPS employee applying for DCIPS, Student Employment, Summer Employment, Military Spouse preference eligible, Family member preference eligible, Family member no preference eliglible, Reemployment Annuitant, Other Interchange Agreement. In addition, if you want to apply to a job overseas for one of the military branches, you either have to be a military family member residing in the local area of that foreign country, but you cannot be just a US citizen residing in that foreign country.
Another issue is security clearance level, and many many positions require clearance, whether it is an intelligence analyst position or a custodian. It is necessary that you read in-depth about the process and requirements of obtaining a security clearance before applying for a position that will require you to obtain one. Also note that different departments, agencies, and defense organizations have their own clearance levels and standards, such as a DOD clearance versus a State Department clearance.
Lastly, keep in mind that almost all applications are created and submitted online. There are times when you can fax information in, but it becomes a real pain as you have to attach specific cover pages and wait several days for the details to be processed. In most instances, you will have access to an application status system, depending on which agency or department HR system you’re using. Every now and then you are allowed to send in applications by email, which is nice because you know you’re sending it to a human, and it is not necessarily being examined only by a database system looking for specific keywords and rejecting those that don’t fit that exact profile.
Most often (but not always) when submitting applications by email you are highly ‘encouraged’ to use the OF612 Optional Application form. The form is a nice fill-able PDF file, which is convenient until you get the work experiences section. In the work experiences area, you are allowed to reference only TWO jobs, and the field where you supposed to describe your ‘duties, accomplishments and related skills’ allows for ONLY 150 characters (including spaces). You are allowed to add a separate page if you require more space (which you will), but you are also told not to only write “see resume”, or “see attached page” in that highly limited field in the PDF, but what else can you write? The form is also secured, meaning that you cannot change the PDF except in the approved text fields, which is fine except there is also a place for a signature at the bottom. Most often, if sending the application by email, the HR personnel want a completed OF612 form, which the instructions say you must sign. But you can’t add a signature graphic to the PDF because it is secured. What do you do? You could print the document, sign it, scan it, and turn it back into a PDF to be email… though the file size will be significantly larger and the clarity will be reduced. Another option would be to sign the document digitally, using Adobe’s digital signature process. When asking HR officials if that is accepted, most likely they will have no idea what you’re talking about. The solution, when asked further about the signature requirement, HR personnel will probably say, “oh, don’t worry about that, it’s not necessary.”
All in all, it is a very complex and time consuming process, which sometimes often makes little logical sense and requires significant learning about what is and what is not acceptable. From my experience, it is clear that looking for a federal position when you’re already working for the government is infinitely easier than coming in from private industry. As you can tell, I’ve struggled with this process, particularly given my background which includes a deep academic foundation and highly desirable skills… not that it has made much difference. I have created a site which has documented so- http://me of those struggles and i/ssues mentioned here, which can be viewed at whatdoesittaketogetajob.com.
Thanks, and sorry again for the rant,
Job Seeker