Reviews

"The author describes how to present your qualifications so that they will appeal to government personnel officers, how to locate federal job announcements, and how to move up in your career once hired. (The book is accompanied by) a CD-ROM which provides 30 resume templates/samples and 25 KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) examples. This is a good, thorough review of how to approach federal agencies, written and designed in a reader-friendly style."

Feds who are looking to climb the career ladder but who haven't written a resume since before Standard Form 171 went out of style will welcome Kathryn Kraemer Troutman's new book on federal resume writing.

A typical federal resume will be under five pages, so "why is the book over 400 pages long?" Troutman asks. Because no stone is left unturned in her quest to demystify the federal job application process.

The Federal Resume Guidebook (Jist Works, Inc., 1999), now in its second edition, is replete with examples of winning federal resumes and cover letters as well as step-by-step instructions on how to write your own.

Seven appendixes cover the details of applying for a federal job. Troutman provides examples of knowledge, skills and abilities statements, federal employment forms, agency employment information, and Senior Executive Service qualifications.

Troutman also provides information useful for recent college graduates on locating a federal job, and lists sources for job vacancy announcements.

Automated resume readers are the wave of the future, Troutman writes. Certain agencies, notably the Defense Department, are now requiring resumes that can be scanned into computers. Troutman devotes a whole chapter to scannable resumes. The chapter explains how to "strike a balance between writing like a robot for the computer and writing like a human for the manager who will hire you."

Troutman is owner and director of The Resume Place, a professional federal resume writing service, and writes a weekly column on federal career issues for GovExec.com. Brian Friel, assistant editor of GovExec.com, also contributed to The Federal Resume Guidebook.