Federal Resume Writing Services Cuts Through the Red Tape

Writing a federal resume and completing a federal job application packet are not jobs for the inexperienced or faint of heart. Successfully cutting through the red tape that usually surrounds federal job requirements requires skill, determination and experience.

A powerful resume written by federal resume specialists gives you a big advantage over your competitors. Remember, every day literally hundreds of thousands of people apply for only thousands of federal jobs. If your resume and application package are less than stellar, you won’t stand a chance!

A great federal resume cuts through the red tape by emphasizing your academic achievements, education, transferable skills and career-matching qualifications by providing most if not all of the following information about you:

Your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): The federal government frequently requires a supplemental narrative statement that addresses a specific knowledge, skills, and abilities as they pertain to a job series or position. Providing quantitative or qualitative evidence that supports your KSAs is imperative. All KSAs are scored on a point system, and specific examples usually get the highest scores.

KSAs are also known as: Supplemental Narrative Statements, Selective Factors, Selective Placement Factors, Evaluation Criteria, Executive Core Qualifications, and Professional and Technical Qualifications.

See why you need a specialist?

Here are the basic definitions for KSA statements:

Knowledge statements are bodies of organized factual and procedural information that indicate your performance on the job will be adequate.

Skill statements mean how well you manually, verbally or mentally manipulate the data or other things as required by the job for which you are applying, for example typing tests or vehicle-operating skills, or skills in writing and editing and evaluating information.

Ability statements describe your present abilities to perform an observable activity, as opposed to whatever aptitudes you possess. Aptitudes are only the potential for performing the activity.

KSA’s are important because Office of Personnel Management ranks applicants with higher proficiency levels on a quality ranking factor above those with lower proficiency levels With quality ranking factors, the focus is on the level of proficiency the candidate brings to the job.” Simply put, KSAs alone will not disqualify you but they are essential to receiving a high proficiency rating.

KSA’s are only one of many reasons why hiring a professional federal resume service is the smartest move you can make when applying for a federal job. So don’t leave your federal hiring to chance–to increase your chances of being hired for a federal job, put your chances in the hands of professional today.

Expert Federal Resume Writing Help – Certified Professional Career Help and Assistance

Expert Federal Resume Writing Help – Certified Professional Federal Resume Writing Service

The federal resume is one of the hardest documents you will ever prepare. It is a time-intensive, labor of love that requires dedication, advanced grammar and editing skills, and the ability to draft a 2-4 page document about yourself. That doesn’t sound hard to you? Okay, try sitting down and describing your current life in a paragraph. Now, do that 2- 8 times over with respect to each job position and life experience you have had and then maybe you will see my point.

Unfortunately, even though the Obama administration got rid of the KSAs, the federal resume still looms. And, don’t be fooled by the fact that the government has done away with KSAs – that is not the case. Rather, the only difference is that now many of the agencies require that the KSAs be integrated into your current resume. How’s that for difficult – Basically the KSA is still a requirement for almost every government agency, only they are requiring that it be included in your resume, as opposed to submitted in a separate document.

What can you do to try to ease the pain of creating a federal resume – here are a few tips from a 10th year nationally certified resume writer who has served as a federal resume writer to several of the web’s top resume writing companies.

1. Brainstorm: When you apply for Federal and Government positions, they are sticklers for accuracy. Saying you started a position in 2010 is not enough – they want dates, including months and years. And, once you are on the interview and request that you complete a job application, they will require even more specific dates such as the exact date you started and ended the position. Therefore, take some time and think of each position you’ve had, the title, the supervisor, the months/years, and whether you will agree to let the potential employer contact your old employer.

2. Outline: Just as if you were back in high school or college, the key to any great essay is the ability to gather, organize, and execute your thoughts. Therefore, the first step in actually drafting the resume is for you to outline a job description that adequately describes each position you have had for the last 15-years.

3. Fine Tune the Outline: The next step should be taking the information and turning it into a story. Unlike a civilian resume, which is the equivalent of telling a story, a federal resume is the equivalent of writing a really, really boring story. It is important that you detail everything you did, but not overstate it. This is because with federal jobs, they WILL check your references, and WILL check you confirm that you actually completed what you said you did. (Not that you should ever lie in a civilian resume).

4. Give up and Hire a Resume Writer: Make SURE you have an EFFECTIVE FEDERAL RESUME: Government resumes generally will require the help of a professional resume writer. This is because the format is entirely different, the verbiage is more straightforward without being repetitive, and the content is much more dense. In addition, the job descriptions are much more detailed and in paragraph form. For the best results, do yourself a favor and hire Certified Professional Resume Writer with a strong background in creating Federal Resumes.

GOOD LUCK!

What is a Federal Resume and How To Write One

The federal resume is one of three documents required for official applications for jobs within the federal government. The other two are the OF-612 and the traditional SF-171 – and it’s hard sometimes to figure out which agency wants what document, because some offices prefer one over the other So your best bet is to submit a federal resume – it’s considered the most current type of resume for government employment and, even if the department in question would prefer a different style, you’ll still look like you know what you’re doing!

A federal resume should be developed in the “chronological” resume format, listing your work history in reverse order of when you were employed. It must also include some additional information that’s not usually requested by civilian employers. You’ll need to include:

Job Information (job/listing number, title, series and grade of job)

Personal Information (full name and address, day and evening phone numbers, social security number, country of citizenship, veteran’s preference, reinstatement eligibility, highest federal civilian grade held)

Education (high school, including name, city, and state, date of diploma or GED, colleges or universities, including name, city and state, majors, type and year of any degrees received)

Work Experience (job title, duties and accomplishments, employer’s name and address, supervisor’s name and phone number, starting and ending dates, hours per week, salary, references)

Additional Qualifications (job-related training courses, skills, certificates and licenses, honors, awards and special accomplishments; for example, publications, memberships in professional or honor societies, leadership activities, public speaking and performance awards)

It may seem odd to provide so much information before you even get an interview, but keep in mind that applying for government jobs is very different than applying for private ones. The purpose of the federal resume in the private sector is to get an interview, after which an employer will ask for more information. In the government, the purpose of the resume is to present your qualifications, proving that you meet eligibility requirements, so that you can be approved by the Human Resources office. Your federal resume, therefore, needs to include similar language to that in the job announcement, because the HR specialist will be looking for applicants with experience that meets the requirements of the open position.

Your federal resume should cover about ten years of employment, with details describing your accomplishments. Focus on highlighting skills that are compatible with the the position for which you are applying. The resume should be no more than three to five pages long, plus pages outlining your knowledge, skills and, where applicable, performance ratings. Start with three pages as a goal. If you don’t have the work experiences to fill three pages, that’s okay – just make your on to two pages the best they can be.

If you are looking for additional information on federal resumes, KSA and ECQ documents, and Resumix applications, check the other articles we have published here.

Make Your Federal Resume Stand Out

Making your Federal resume stand out is of utmost importance if you are hoping to land that Federal position you have your eye on. It is not enough to just turn in a Federal resume in the proper format any more, though that does help. In order for a Federal resume to be useful it must be concise, clear, to the point, and most of all relevant to the position you are applying for.

You have to understand that there will be many, possibly hundreds, of other applicants and without a Federal resume that really pops you probably won’t make it very far in the eyes of the reviewers. Here are some ways that you can really make your Federal resume stand out from the rest that will be on the pile:

o Be Truthful: While you never want to lie on any resume you especially don’t want to lie on a government resume; it is the government for crying out loud. Their resources are vast and your information will be checked so be honest with yourself and if you are not qualified for a position, then don’t apply.

o Be Relevant: You may have all sorts of great information that you can out on your Federal resume, but if it is not relevant to the job posting, then leave it out. It doesn’t matter what information you give, it needs to be relevant as irrelevant information will see your government resume hit the bottom of the trash can fast.

o Be Concise: Yes you certainly want to stand out but if you use too many big words and phrases you may come off as a bit of a show off or know it all. This has a tendency to annoy the reviewers and if you do that your chances of landing your dream Federal job are going to be very slim.

o Mold and Create: A Federal government resume is not like a regular resume in that there is no ‘one size fits all.’ With Federal resumes you have to create and mold the resume to be all about the job posting you are applying for. Instead of thinking of your government resume in a cookie cutter approach, think of it in a custom made approach.

o Mention all Strengths: No matter how much relevance you may think you have included in your resume, try to find some more. You have to look beyond schooling as everyone applying will have similar qualifications in this area. What makes you stand out? Perhaps some relevant volunteer work? Whenever you get the chance to mention a strength that is relevant to the posting you should take full advantage and do so.

o Use Proper Formatting: Remember that this is a Federal resume and is going to require a unique format that will not be the same as your standard resume. Be sure that you are turning in your resume in the proper format so that your resume has a fair chance of being viewed.

Now more than ever, the Federal resume is lending a lot of weight as to who gets a Federal job and who gets left out in the cold. Be sure that your Federal resume is done right and that it really pops in order to give yourself the best possible chance of landing that Federal position that you have always wanted.

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