FAQs

About Federal Résumés, KSAs and Cover Letters:

What is different about a federal résumé?

A federal résumé contains compliance details required for hiring personnel to assess an applicant’s qualifications. Additionally, federal résumés show in writing that you have the qualifications and specialized experience for the job.

Can I use a functional format résumé?

No. Because the human resources staff rates your application, they need to be able to clearly see where you gained your experience, how long you were in your positions and what you accomplished. A functional résumé will not provide this information.

Why do I need a federal résumé?

Without the compliance details, qualifications and specialized experience information, the hiring personnel may not be able to tell if you are qualified for the job and you may lose consideration.

What are compliance details?

Compliance details include salary history, employment dates (with months), employer addresses, how many hours worked per week, supervisors’ names and contact numbers, education and training.

Why are the hours per week required?

To be found qualified for a job, you need to demonstrate 52 weeks of full-time employment at the next lower grade level (or equivalent if you are not a federal employee). So, you must indicate if your position was full- or part-time by stating the hours per week you worked.

Why should the employment dates contain months?

Human resources staff uses the months of employment to calculate the “time-in-grade” to see if you have 52 weeks of experience at the next lower grade level.

Why is my salary required?

Human resources staff uses your salary to determine what grade level your experience is equivalent to, if your level of responsibility is not clear from the job description.

Can I submit a cover letter?

Usually if you are applying via paper (including in person, mail, fax, email), you can submit a cover letter. While you never know if it will be read, we recommend including one: You never know if it might be the one thing that sets you apart from the other candidates. If the announcement directs you not to send a cover letter, do not send one. Online applications will not allow you to submit a cover letter.

What are KSAs?

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are narrative essays used by hiring personnel to assess an applicant’s ability to do the job. Depending on the agency, they may need to be submitted on paper or through an online system.

How long should my KSAs be?

The length of KSAs depends on how are applying for the job. If you are submitting via paper (including in person, mail, fax, email), your KSAs can be 2/3 to 1 page in length for each question. If you are applying online, you will need to follow the character limits for the system the agency uses.

How do I write KSAs?

KSAs need to demonstrate that you have the qualifications to do the job, so you need to give specific, detailed examples of your experience relative to the KSA question. Our best recommendation is in our book, “Ten Steps to a Federal Job.” It has some great sample KSAs and a chapter on KSA writing. You can order book in hard copy or electronic version. Also, we offer our KSA Builder to write examples that will demonstrate your KSAs. The builder is free – try it out! http://www.resume-place.com/booksandbuilders/index_builders.html

About Federal Applications:

How are federal applications assessed?

Federal applications are assessed in a variety of ways, depending on the specific agency. Some agencies rank and rate applications, some scan for keywords. Regardless of the actual assessment process, the hiring specialists will always evaluate your application to see if you are qualified to do the job you are targeting, including education and specialized experience. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate your ability to do the work of the target job.

About the Federal Hiring Process:

What is USAjobs.com?

USAjobs is the government’s Website for posting job vacancies. The majority of federal agencies use this site to post their positions. The site has a great information center about federal jobs and how to apply.

What is a USAjobs resume?

USAjobs allows applicants to create online résumés that can be submitted to agencies that use their site. Users can create a username and password, then create their résumé on the site.

What are Resumix, AVUE and QuickHire?

These are online résumé processing systems used by various federal agencies. Each system has its own parameters and requirements. If a particular agency uses the system, you will need to follow the directions and apply using that system. Of the three, only Resumix uses keyword scanning.

What is CPOL?

Civilian Personnel OnLine is the Army’s Resumix site, used for civilian hiring.

What is CHART?

Civilian Hiring and Recruitment Tool is the Navy’s Resumix site, used for civilian hiring.

What is a closing date?

Federal job announcements almost always have a closing date by which applications must be received or postmarked (the announcement will state which).

How long are federal job announcements open for?

Generally, positions are open for two weeks. If the announcement is open for longer than that, the agency might be having trouble finding an adequate candidate pool or could be collecting a pool of candidates for future vacancies. If the position is open for less than two weeks, the agency may be expecting a lot of applications or have someone in mind for the job.

How long does it take to be hired by the government?

Federal agencies are trying to hire within 45 days of the closing date of the announcement. However, it can take shorter or longer depending on the agency needs and priorities. If you are transitioning into government service, plan for a job search of three to six months.

What is the difference between qualified and best qualified?

When reviewing applications, hiring personnel first determine if you meet the basic qualifications for a job. This might include education or time-in-grade requirements. Once s/he determines you meet the basic qualifications, your application is assessed again, to see if you are “best qualified.” In this review, the HR specialist will evaluate your qualifications, specialized experience, KSAs, narratives and/or questionnaire. The best qualified candidates are forwarded to the hiring manager and usually interviewed.

After receiving a referral letter, how long does it normally take to receive further information?

It depends on the agency, the hiring manager and the hiring situation, but it could be anywhere from a few days to several weeks. If you haven’t heard anything in two weeks or so, follow up with the human resources specialist to inquire about what the next step is and what to expect.

What do I do if I haven’t heard anything?

We recommend following up one month after the announcement closes. Call the human resources specialist (save a hard copy of the announcement!) and ask if you are still in consideration for the job. S/he will tell you what the status of the position is, and your application. It is possible that you might not have made the cut or that they cancelled or re-announced the job.

What determines who is interviewed?

Generally, the applicants rated “best qualified” will be interviewed, but it depends on the hiring agency. They could interview three people (Rule of 3), or use the Category Rating system and interview all applicants in the highest category. Or, they can make a job offer without interviewing any candidates.

What is veterans’ preference?

Eligible veterans can have 5-10 points added to their résumé rating depending on their years of service and/or disability. Visit USAjobs or OPM.gov for more information.

What is competitive service?

Competitive service positions are filled through a competitive selection and subject to civil service laws passed by Congress.

What is excepted service?

Excepted service agencies do not need to fill jobs through a competitive process, and are not subject to appointment, pay and classification rules in Title 5, USC. Some agencies have both competitive and excepted service positions.

What is DEU?

A delegated examining unit is used by agencies to fill competitive civil service jobs for applicants from outside the federal workforce, federal employees who do not have competitive service status or federal employees with competitive service status. Alternatively, agencies will fill positions based on merit promotions.

What is the Senior Executive Service?

The Senior Executive Service is the government’s executive-level management – the highest level federal positions – which administers public programs.

What is the federal pay scale?

Most federal jobs are classified using the General Service (GS) pay scale. Each grade level reflects pay and job responsibilities. The 2009 GS salary table is here: http://www.opm.gov/oca/09tables/html/gs.asp. The 2010 GS salary table is here: http://www.govcentral.com/government-payscale/articles/7565-2010-government-pay-schedule

Which government agency is hiring the most people and has the most growth in the coming year?

Joe Davidson of the Washington Post just wrote a great article in Federal Daily about the most popular federal agencies. Read it here: www.washingtonpost.com. Also, the Partnership for Public Service produced an excellent report on where the most frequent hiring will occur in 2009, though it was written before President Obama took office and before the economic problems in the U.S. Read it here: www.ourpublicservice.org. Another resource is Government Executive magazine, which posts a list of the most popular agencies and the highest customer services responses every year. (www.govexec.com)

It is recognized that the Army will be the highest hiring agency this year, especially now that the troops will be going into Afghanistan next year. Second will be the Veterans Administration, since the troops are coming home next year from Iraq. But with the financial crisis, the Treasury Department, including IRS and FDIC will be hiring a lot of people. And recently President Obama said there will be increased enforcement for food safety laws, so that will mean that FDA will be hiring more food safety inspectors. You might also learn more about current hiring by reading www.recovery.gov, where President Obama’s new initiatives and programs will be posted. Wherever the government is giving out money, government employees will be managing contracts, services and grants.

For Military-to-Federal Jobseekers:

How should part-time reserve duty (drills) – which can be a higher level of responsibility than other work – be reflected on a federal résumé?

While you should usually list your most recent positions first in federal applications, in this case you have a choice as you are doing two jobs at one time. List the reserves experience separately and, if you can, list it first – especially if it is more relevant and a higher skill level. Be sure to add the technical responsibilities, software, skills and project details to this position. If you have enough space in the builder, list any reserves assignments separately.

For Private Industry-to-Federal Jobseekers:

How do I tell what is the appropriate job level to apply for?

To discern whether you will qualify for a particular job, read the “qualifications” section of the announcement very carefully to see if your experience matches the “specialized experience.” Then, read any Knowledge, Skills and Abilities or questions required by the announcement. If you have done similar work and have good examples, you should be qualified. Also, you can find salary tables at opm.gov, which will tell you the salary ranges for different jobs. The human resources personnel who review the applications will sometimes use salary as an indicator.

Can you determine from an announcement if external applicants have a chance or if there is an internal candidate slated for the job?

Yes, but you will need to study the announcement carefully. First, look at the Duties section to see if you can do the job based on the mission, services and level of job responsibilities. Then look at the Qualifications and read the Specialized Experience and the One Year Specialized Experience statement to see if your experience will qualify. Next, read the examples they recommend you provide to demonstrate that you have the Qualifications. Then look at any Knowledge, Skills or Abilities required for the application and see if you have experience that will support these. Then look at the Questionnaire that could be part of the announcement and see if you can “self-assess” your skills at the highest or near highest level. If you can do all of these, the position probably not slated for a particular candidate. Also, if the closing date is two weeks or more, that’s also a good sign that you can apply.

I created a five-page résumé for federal jobs. However, when I’m applying with an online system, I need to create a new résumé, which does not allow me to use the same information. What do I need to do to use my initial resume?

Because of the character limits for online résumé builders, you may need to shorten your résumé to fit. Make sure that you check each builder before you apply, then edit your longer version as needed.

I hold the following licenses: Real Estate Broker, Mortgage Broker and Title Insurance Agent. How do I obtain a federal job in the housing industry?

First, you will need to determine what jobs you are qualified for and the correct grade level. Some agencies you could consider are Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, General Services Administration and Rural Housing Service. Search USAjobs for these agencies, then look at positions that are similar to your current (or highest) salary level. Read the Duties and Qualifications sections, and see if you have the knowledge, skills and abilities for the job. If there are self-assessment questions, review those also.

I have worked in the same job for 21 years. Is it ambitious of me to go for jobs higher than my current title even though I feel and know I am qualified for the job?

With the government, they generally want to see that you have done the work, not that you could do the work. That said, the best way to see if you are qualified is to read the duties and qualifications sections of the announcement. If you have similar work experience, you should apply.

About RP:

Why should I hire an expert to write my résumé?

Writing a résumé is a difficult task, and it’s important to do it right. After all, your job depends on it. To write a stand-out résumé, you need to objectively evaluate your work experience, accomplishments and qualifications, then present them in the most effective format possible. Hiring an expert will make sure that you truly showcase your best skills – and get the best results.

Why should I work with The Resume Place?

The Resume Place has been helping jobseekers get results for over 30 years. Our certified résumé writers have years of experience writing private industry and federal résumés: We know the most effective formats, what information to include and what to leave out.

What is the difference between full-service writing and a critique?

For full-service writing, you will work with an experienced résumé writer, who will interview you and draft/rewrite/edit your documents. For a critique, an experienced résumé writer will give you written feedback on your résumé and/or KSAs, and you will make the changes and edits.

What if I can’t afford full-service writing?

While our services are competitively priced and top of the line, we understand that you might need or want to do some of the work on your own. In this case, we recommend using our books, including “The Federal Resume Guidebook” and “Ten Steps to a Federal Job,” to get started. Once you have the basics down, we can also critique your résumé or KSAs, giving you valuable feedback at an affordable price.

Why should I have interview training with The Resume Place?

Congratulations on getting the interview! Now, you need to wow the hiring manager and demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the job. With our interview training, we can coach you on telling your best stories and accomplishments, framing your experience and making sure you put your best foot forward. We will provide information on what to expect, what types of questions you might face and how to respond. Best of all, we have different service levels to meet your needs.