Federal Resume Guidebook: A Step-By-Step Guidebook for Writing a Federal Resume in Accordance With the Office of Personnel Management's Flyer, Of-510

by Troutman, Kathryn K.

• ISBN13: 9781563703133
• ISBN10: 1563703130
• Edition: Disk
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-05-01
• Publisher: Jist Works

Summary

Shows where to find federal jobs and how to navigate the different application processes for the many federal agencies. Expert step-by-step guidance and resume samples for applying for jobs with the federal government.

Author Biography

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman is both a resume expert and career consultant with over 30 years of experience in the specialized Federal job market. She is founder and president of The Resume Place

Table of Contents

Getting Started	p. 1
What Is a Federal Resume?	p. 2
Six Resume Formats for the Six Most Common Federal Career Objectives	p. 3
Federal Resumes for Career Change (Occupational Series Change and Advancement)	p. 4
Federal Resumes for Career Change (with New Training and Education)	p. 10
Federal Resumes for Lateral Moves (New Agency, New Location, or New Supervisor)	p. 12
Federal Resumes for New Agencies with New Missions	p. 16
Federal Resumes for Reinstatement	p. 22
Summary	p. 28
Strategies for Moving Up in Government	p. 29
Setting Goals Makes the Difference	p. 30
Know Your Agencies	p. 33
Being Proactive: Eliminating the "Wait-and-See" Mentality	p. 34
The One-Page Resume: A Networking and Self-Marketing Tool	p. 35
Summary	p. 37
Federal Resume-Writing Basics: Getting Started	p. 38
Getting into the Mindset for Writing a Better Resume	p. 38
Five Steps to Getting Started on Your Federal Resume	p. 40
Information That Must Be Included on Your Federal Resume	p. 42
The First Two Sections of a Federal Resume	p. 43
Summary	p. 48
Vacancy Announcement Search	p. 49
Find Vacancy Announcements	p. 49
Analyze the Vacancy Announcement	p. 51
Follow the Application Instructions	p. 62
The Importance of the Vacancy Announcements	p. 62
Summary	p. 62
Researching Your Core Competencies	p. 63
What Are Your Core Competencies and How Can You Include Them in Your Resume?	p. 63
Using Core Competencies as Transferable Skills When Changing Careers	p. 63
Search for Agency and Company Core Competencies	p. 64
Summary	p. 75
Writing Your Federal Resume	p. 76
Presenting Your Educational Background and Training	p. 77
Considerations for Organizing Your Educational Background	p. 77
Education Section Samples	p. 78
Writing About Your Other Qualifications	p. 88
Examples of "Other Qualifications" Sections	p. 89
Job-Related Honors, Awards, or Special Accomplishments	p. 97
Sports, Activities, and Special Interests	p. 104
Media, Quotes, Articles, and Public Speaking	p. 105
Travel Experience	p. 106
Summary	p. 106
Writing Your Work Experience	p. 107
What the Work Experience Section Should Include	p. 108
Know Your Audience: Who's Going to Read Your Resume?	p. 109
Do Your Research	p. 110
More Preparation Before Writing	p. 112
Converting Your SF-171, OF-612, or Private-Sector Resume into a Better, Expanded Federal Resume	p. 113
The Factor Evaluation System (FES)	p. 115
The Rewriting Stage	p. 117
Questions and Answers About the Work Experience Section	p. 128
Writing Your Part-Time and Small-Business Job Descriptions	p. 129
Writing About Unpaid Work Experiences	p. 130
What Have You Accomplished? The Importance of Your Career and Volunteer Accomplishments	p. 134
Project Lists	p. 138
Summary	p. 140
Plain-Language Resumes: Writing Well	p. 141
Use Plain Words	p. 142
Use Short Sentences	p. 142
Do Not Use "I"	p. 143
Use Powerful Words	p. 144
Beware of Acronyms	p. 144
No Bureaucratese, Colloquialisms, or Technobabble	p. 144
Tell a Story or Describe a Project	p. 146
Tell the Truth and Don't Exaggerate	p. 146
Be Consistent with Verb Tenses	p. 147
Avoid the Passive Voice	p. 147
Summary	p. 149
The Magic of Page 1: Focusing Your Resume Toward an Announcement, Promotion, or New Career	p. 150
Overview of the Three Types of Focusing Sections	p. 150
Targeting Your Resume to Each Announcement	p. 152
Changing Careers Using the Focusing Sections	p. 153
More Profile Statement Examples	p. 155
Federal Resume Case Studies with Page 1 Focusing Sections	p. 158
Summary	p. 163
Electronic Resumes, Cover Letters, KSAs, and Applications	p. 164
Putting Together Your Federal Resume Application	p. 165
Organizing Your Resume Sections	p. 165
Formatting Your Federal Resume	p. 166
Grammar, Consistency, and Proofreading Tips	p. 171
Packaging Your Application	p. 172
Summary	p. 174
Electronic Resume Writing	p. 175
The Major Differences Between Electronic Resumes and "Paper" Federal Resumes	p. 176
Ten Steps for Preparing and Writing a Successful Electronic Resume	p. 177
The Bottom Line: Read the Directions Carefully	p. 185
Applying for a Federal Job	p. 186
USAJOBS and Recruitment One-Stop--The Near Future	p. 186
The Present Situation: Several Different Automated HR Systems Manage Resumes for Federal Agencies	p. 187
How Automated Human Resources Systems Manage Resumes	p. 191
Two Typical Kinds of Vacancy Announcements--Open Inventory Announcements and Current Job Announcements	p. 193
Summary	p. 194
Boosting Your Employment Chances with Great KSAs	p. 195
What Is a KSA?	p. 195
An In-Depth Look at KSAs	p. 196
How to Write Great KSAs	p. 200
Recommended KSA Format	p. 211
Examples of Good KSAs	p. 211
Summary	p. 215
Cover Letters with a Mission	p. 216
Why Should You Include a Cover Letter?	p. 216
Draft Your Cover Letter	p. 218
Sample Cover Letters	p. 221
Summary	p. 230
Resumes and Guidance for Specific Federal Careers	p. 231
Applying for the Senior Executive Service	p. 232
A Profile of the SES	p. 232
Requirements for Successful Applicants: Remember the Basics	p. 234
What Does the SES Announcement Require?	p. 235
Writing Executive Core Qualifications	p. 237
The Anatomy of an ECQ	p. 239
Sample ECQ Statements	p. 244
A Sample Executive Federal Resume	p. 259
Summary	p. 266
Federal Job Survival: CareerProofing	p. 267
The CareerProofing System	p. 267
Protect Your Assets	p. 269
Add Value to Where You Work	p. 271
Putting It All Together	p. 272
Federal Jobs in Science, Medicine, and Health Policy: Converting a Curriculum Vitae into a Federal Resume	p. 274
Section-by-Section Conversion Instructions	p. 276
Other Hints for Crafting Your Federal Resume	p. 278
Before-and-After Sample CV and Federal Resume	p. 279
Writing a Federal IT Resume	p. 290
IT Resume Writing Challenges	p. 291
Quick List of Final Steps to a Great IT Resume	p. 294
Federal IT Resume Examples	p. 294
Summary	p. 304
Wage-Grade Resumes: Staying Employed, Getting Promoted, or Going to General Schedule (GS) Jobs	p. 305
Case Study: Ship Fitters at Pearl Harbor	p. 305
Strategies for Writing a Winning Wage-Grade Resume to Compete to Keep Your Job	p. 307
The Most Desired Jobs for Former WG, WS, WL, WD, and WN Employees	p. 307
Researching Your Transferable Skills and Keywords	p. 308
Transitioning from a WG Career to a GS Career	p. 309
Checklist for Writing a Wage-Grade Resume	p. 309
Sample Resumix Resume for a Wage-Grade Transition	p. 312
Summary	p. 314
Resumes for Business Contracts and Purchasing	p. 315
The "Government to Business" Imperative	p. 316
Skills for Contracting Experts	p. 316
The OPM's Classification Standards	p. 317
New Competencies Needed for Contract Specialists in Government	p. 318
Examples of the Types of Contracts Negotiated and Managed	p. 319
Examples of Good Contracting Resumes	p. 320
Summary	p. 329
Resumes for Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Series Jobs	p. 330
State to Federal Career Change	p. 330
Transitioning from Private Industry to Government	p. 333
Moving Up from One Federal Job to Another	p. 337
Transitioning from Nonprofit to a Federal Job (Electronic Resume)	p. 341
Summary: Six Key Ways to Improve Your Administrative Resume	p. 344
Applying for Program/Management Analyst Positions	p. 345
What Is a Program/Management Analyst?	p. 346
Job Requirements for a Program/Management Analyst	p. 347
Gearing Your Resume Toward a Program/Management Analyst Job	p. 350
Sample Resume for a Program/Management Analyst	p. 354
Summary: Final Advice for the Program/Management Analyst	p. 358
Human Resources Management: An Occupation in Transition	p. 359
Addressing the New HR Competencies	p. 360
Developing New HR Competencies on Shifting Sands	p. 361
Two Contexts, Three Roles, and Ten Specialties: Using the HR Classification Standards to Focus Your KSAs	p. 364
Putting It All Together: Writing KSAs in the CCAR Format	p. 369
Eight Emerging KSAs for the HR Career Field	p. 369
Military to Civilian Resume Conversions	p. 370
Translating Your Resume to Civilian Speak	p. 370
Focusing Your Resume	p. 373
Summary	p. 386
Federal Resume Examples	p. 387
Index	p. 417
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