As Director of our writing, editing, and coaching services, Kathryn Troutman recruits, develops, and trains outstanding individuals for The Resume Place team. Whether you're seeking writing help or job-search coaching, your project will be monitored through Kathryn to maximize your success.

Read Kathryn's full bio ..

Jacqueline Chaverini Allen, CFRWC
Senior Executive Service Advisor
Certified Federal Resume Writer & Coach

Jackie is a writer with more than 25 years of writing experience. She has major Federal application writing and editing expertise, plus newsletter, magazine, and book publishing credits. Jackie was a Contributing Writer for our Federal Resume Guidebook, penning the chapter on Program and Management Analysts.

In her work on resumes and Federal application packages, Jackie specializes in writing and editing for science and technology and IT clients. Her expertise also extends to program and management analyst positions of all types. Jackie has a knack for writing about technical professions in an engaging and comprehensible way. Contributing to this is her skill in interviewing jobseekers and clarifying their accomplishments. She is also an excellent coach for Senior Executive positions.

For several years, Jackie operated a successful Career Counseling business where she wrote tailored resumes for clients. She has also served as a Senior Manager in marketing support services for major engineering and environmental firms. Before becoming a marketing/writing consultant, Jackie held full-time and contract management positions in established firms in the Washington Metro area. Additionally, Jackie taught Career Communications at the college level, including coursework on writing an effective resume.

Jackie earned a Bachelor of Education Degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Her M.A. Degree, which she received from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, OH, is in Human Services Planning and Administration.

Pat Alvarez has over 20 years of Federal Human Resources experience.  Her Federal career included a broad array of Human Resources responsibilities, with a specialization in Federal recruiting and many years of career coaching to Federal applicants.  During her Federal career, Pat received numerous awards including the Distinguished Career Service Awards from both the Bonneville Power Administration and the US Department of Energy.

Pat has coached and written for hundreds of clients and brings to them her expertise in the Federal application process—coaching applicants on their Federal job searches, interpreting the lingo in Federal vacancy announcements, explaining how to respond to KSAs, and providing an understanding of the selection process.

Pat is currently a Certified Professional Career Coach and Federal Resume Writer / Editor with The Resume Place and was a significant contributor, both as resume writer and editor, of the Military to Federal Career Guide.

Some recent clients of Pat's wrote this about her work:

"Pat, I have very good news. I was selected for the position (Supervisory Program Support Specialist) for which you helped write my resume. I will be forever grateful for your expertise and talent. I have been promoting The Resume Place to all of my co-workers and hope that they will invest the money to help themselves remain employed. Thank you again."

"Pat, I GOT THE JOB! This position requires a very high security clearance which could take as long as 6 months. Pending the outcome of that process is when I will actually start the job. Thanks for all your excellent work and patience with me."

Diane Burns is a nationally-recognized author and has been quoted in the Career Builder and other national periodicals. An international conference speaker and trainer on career-related topics, Diane specializes in composing quality career change, military transition, and federal resumes. She is an expert is writing SES and ECQ packages, coaching clients to define their strengths and target ROI for employers. In business for 15 years, and with a background as a former recruiter, Diane knows what employers want when they read a resume.

Diane is a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers International Resume Certification (PARW) committee. As an award winning resume writer, her achievements include Best Executive Resume Award by PARW and she is the facilitator for the Certified Professional Career Coach program including lessons on resumes and career focus. Her resumes are published in over 30 books and periodicals including the chapter on military to civilian in the Federal Resume Guidebook, Third Edition.

One of Diane’s recent clients (GS-14 seeking GS-15) said, “I got referred. Now I have to get prepared for the interview. Thanks for helping me get past the referral process.”  

Rita Chambers brings over 15 years of technical writing expertise from the IT field to our projects. She is currently an active IT Project Manager in government and has extensive knowledge of project management and defense contracting.

In her work for us, Rita combines her technical background with outstanding writing skills. She is a master of the KSA and Federal resume, and as a Contributing Writer, she addressed KSAs for our Federal Resume Guidebook. Rita is skilled at learning what you, as a client and jobseeker, are passionate about and translating those skills and goals into effective language for resumes, KSAs, and other application pieces. As a hiring manager in commercial industry and Federally-related institutions, Rita has often been on the other side of the hiring process. As a result, she has a solid understanding of what managers are looking for.

Rita has managed a leading edge Computing Center for one of the Department of Energy national physics labs, directed a Network Operations Center for a leading national/international Internet Service Provider, and provided systems administration and programming for NASA. In each of these positions, she produced significant technical documents and proposals. Before moving into the technical career field, Rita taught public school, adult education classes, and courses at the college level. She has personally delivered courses on both technical and soft skills topics, including resume and interviewing skills.

Rita has a Master of Science in Computer Science from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, and a Bachelor's Degree from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, with a double major in Philosophy and Education.

One of Rita's clients had this to say recently,“I was very pleased with the work performed by Ms. Rita Chambers. She was very professional, knowledgeable, reliable and easy to work with. Her writing skills are excellent! This was a daunting task to say the least, however, the assistance provided by Ms. Chambers was critical to the successful completion of the package within the required timeframe. In summary, her help was invaluable! Please convey this feedback to the appropriate individuals in your organization. Thank you.”

Susan is our “in-house” Senior Executive Service (SES) expert and senior writer. With more than 27 years of Federal human resources experience, working for several executive agencies (Navy, Interior, Energy), Susan has developed an outstanding reputation for her knowledge and expertise in executive level staffing and selection. As both an Employment Manager and HR Director for several large organizations, Susan uses her knowledge and insight of the requirements of the SES process to design successful and focused job search strategies and competitive application materials for each client. Susan specializes in developing effective partnerships to coach clients to develop a comprehensive package that includes superb written application materials and interview preparation.

Susan’s accomplishments with the Resume Place include the successful selection of more than 26 applicants for SES positions. Additionally, Susan has coordinated with the Resume Place in developing SES workshops, served as an editor for The Student’s Federal Career Guide, has regularly contributed to the Resume Place’s monthly Federal employment newsletter, and serves as a resource for other Resume Place writers.

Elizabeth is an experienced Federal Resume writer, trained in Federal Human Resources recruitment and selection. She has written professionally for 12 years and joined the Resume Place last year. Her expertise encompasses Federal Resumes, ECQs, KSAs, Resumix, QuickHire, AVUE, cover letters, and private industry resumes. An expert interviewer, Elizabeth is a master at extracting key information for job applications. Her clients consistently praise her incisive and engaging style.

Elizabeth’s communication and writing credentials are extensive. Applying her degree in Mass Communication from Tulane University, Elizabeth honed her skills in persuasive and influential writing as a Marketing and Public Relations Director for an international luxury hotel chain. Her writings there included business plans, marketing plans, and budget justifications, adding to her skill set in writing for private industry jobseekers as well as all types of Federal management positions. She has also served as a journalist for an influential regional publication.  

Her professional dealings with a wide array of industries, associations, and government agencies have given Elizabeth a broad base of knowledge across many fields. Her real-world executive experience includes several leadership positions in a prominent organization devoted to the education of young children.  

Professional writing runs in the Juge family. Elizabeth’s husband, Christopher, a Federal Administrative Judge and Federal employment expert, authored the chapter entitled “Plain Language Resumes: Writing Well,” in Kathryn Troutman’s seminal Federal Resume Guidebook.  

Michael Ottensmeyer has nearly 30 years professional writing experience within the Federal sector. He has held key positions in Federal HR.  His most recent HR position was in the private sector as Human Resources Coordinator for the non-profit United Services Organization (USO), European Regional Headquarters, where he established and administered a fully functioning HR program for Germany, Italy, and Iceland.  Because of his HR background, Michael has special insight into what it takes to get hiring officials interested in a job candidate. He makes sure that an application package is as complete and strong as possible. Michael writes and edits resumes and application packages for all Federal occupations and grades, but has a particular expertise in mid-career, executive, and SES positions. In addition to the writing and editing he does for us, Michael acts as an SES Advisor for The Resume Place.

Michael was Director of Position Classification and Employee Development for the former Lindsey Air Force Station, Wiesbaden, Germany, as well as Chief of Employment, Career Programs, and Position Classification for the U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools, Germany Region. His most recent position in government was as Senior Staff Classification and Human Resources Consultant for the Air Force Materiel Command Headquarters at Wright-Patterson, covering 13 separate Air Force Personnel Offices with a total of 65,000 civilian employees.

Michael's Bachelor's Degree is from Indiana State University, and he has an M.A. Degree in Public Administration and Human Resources Management from Central Michigan University. His hobby is fiction writing, and in May 2007, he published his first novel.

A recent client of Mike's wrote this about his work:
“Mike; My interview went extremely well for the Chief Counsel position. The panel was extremely impressed with my written package, and if I am selected, the entire package will be sent to the Office of Personnel Management in Washington next week. I am completely confident that it will meet with the approval of the Senior Executive Review Board! Thanks again for your excellent writing!”

When William Partridge retired from government, he was with the Senior Executive Service. Today he brings his thorough understanding of the Federal government to his work for The Resume Place as an Executive Editor of SES application packages, specializing in the areas of program management, IT, and science and technology. William is an outstanding editor, and he enjoys working with clients who want to write the first draft of their application. He knows what to leave in and what to take out, and he understands how to transform everyday language into executive language. William can also consider an executive's duties based on first-hand experience of working at that level.   

William's last Federal position was as the Deputy Inspector General of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Prior to joining FEMA, he was on the Surveys and Investigations Staff of the US House Appropriations Committee. Prior to that, he was Assistant Inspector General for Inspections of the US Department of Energy. In all of these positions, William guided and evaluated the work of highly specialized analysts representing the diverse fields of science, engineering, auditing, and law enforcement. His writing skills were polished as he helped these specialists prepare well-reasoned reports to management.

Previously, William worked as director of a research program for the University of New Mexico, as Corporate Manager of Management Systems for North American Aviation, and as an Operations Research Analyst for the System Development Corporation and the US Atomic Energy Commission.

After majoring in engineering, Partridge switched to Liberal Arts and earned his BA at Pomona College. Later he picked up on his technical education to earn an MBA in Operations Research at UCLA. To pursue his interest in government, he earned an MPA from Syracuse University.

Nancy has nearly 30 years of Human Resources experience with the Federal government. Her career includes a broad array of Federal Human Resources responsibilities, including serving as Personnel Officer, Deputy Regional Administrator, and Special Assistant. During her Federal career, Nancy received numerous awards including the Distinguished Career Service Award from the Comptroller of the Currency.

A member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARW), Nancy has been involved in numerous successful outplacement projects, prepared handbooks for employees on the Federal job application process, and provided counsel and assistance to numerous employees in reduction in force and similar situations. She has also designed recruitment programs for agencies and counseled applicants and employees alike on successful resume writing and interview skills.

In addition to her work as a Resume Place writer, Nancy uses her expertise as a Consultant performing numerous services for Federal employees and supervisors including providing outplacement assistance to several agencies and training on a wide variety of human resources and management topics. She uses her in-depth knowledge of the Federal application process to successfully coach applicants on their Federal job searches, teach them how to interpret Federal vacancy announcements, explain how to respond to KSAs, and provide them with a solid understanding of the selection process and how to maneuver through it.

Nancy received her MS in HR and Labor Relations from Loyola University, Chicago, IL and her
MPA from American University in Washington, DC.

Nancy’s clients have been very pleased with her work:

“Nancy, I could not have done it without you. The personnel staff complimented me several times on my application package.  Again, thank you for everything.”  

“Also, I cannot say enough good things about how helpful Nancy Segal was in my personal job search. To her credit (and to DOE for hiring her), she was very supportive at every step of the way. My best compliment is that if I ever have to do this again, I will go out of my way to look her up for advice and counsel.”  

“It was worth every penny.”

“I got the job!”

Emily graduated from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine in 2002 with a BA in Human Ecology, and she has since directed her career toward writing, publishing, public policy, and international affairs in the Middle East. Emily completed her Master of Public Policy in May 2005 from the Hubert Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.

Emily co-authored The Student’s Federal Career Guide with Kathryn, and co-facilitates the Federal Job Search Trainer Certification course with Kathryn as well.

OUR PHILOSOPHY ABOUT ECQ DEVELOPMENT:

We consider the SES applications to be the most difficult and challenging federal applications to write. We will match your area of expertise, project deadline and writing project style with the best SES writer/consultant available. Our writers are expert in the SES application processes, as well as writing, interviewing and packaging the most competitive applications.

We know the Office of Personnel Management and agency Quality Review Boards and panels and the format and content required, including the Context-Challenge-Action-Results formula for writing ECQs and PTQs, and the best possible executive presentation for your federal resume. The executive SES package is the most challenging job application you will ever write. WE can help you get through it so that you can begin an SES job campaign. Our writers can also help with interview preparation, practice and strategies, once you land interviews. WE can also adjust and edit PTQs that may appear with new announcements.

Following your Assessment, your SES writer/editor will be assigned and you can learn more about your executive writer. The Resume Place, Inc. is the leading federal job application writing and consulting service in the world. We write packages for all grade levels and positions, but SES packages are our true specialization. We can help you help the American public by landing an SES position!

Sincerely,

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman, President, The Resume Place, Inc.
Author, Trainer, Webmaster, SES Consultant and Trainer