Federal Resume Tips and Examples
A Federal Resume is your employment biography. Whereas a private sector resume may be 1-2
pages, a Federal resume is regularly 3-5 pages, if not more. Be thorough! Use more detail than
you think you need. List how much, how many employees, how big of an organization, the size
of the budget, the percentage of your time spent doing the task, the number of people who
reported to you, the impact of what you did, etc.
Read the job announcement carefully and PAY ATTENTION to the wording. Though it is not
advisable to cut and paste directly from the announcement (managers can spot that a mile away),
it is important to respond to the needs of the position. For example, if an HR Specialist job
announcement says “Able to provide advice and guidance to managers and the walk-ins” you
want to show experience giving great customer service to both higher level supervisors and the
general public. The phrase “advice and guidance” is one you can steal for your resume, but the
experience should be all yours! Also, each Agency has different requirements for submitting a
resume. If you fail to follow the directions, you will not be considered among the applicants.
Don’t waste time by not following instructions. LOOK CLOSELY at the “Who May Apply”
section. If you do not meet one of those categories, you will not be considered.
Federal Resume Sample #1
Name
Address
Phone
E-mail
Header: Can be left justified or center, name font can be larger and bold but nothing extraneous.
Citizenship: US
Veterans Preference/Status: 5 pt or 10 pt
Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI, etc
Selective Service Number (optional)
Objective: Optional, provide a BRIEF overview of who you are, what’s important about you and
what you’re looking to do next. EX: US Marine Corps Officer highly experienced in Logistics
operations seeking a management position in the government sector where I can contribute to…
Professional Experience/History
Provide a detailed summary of EVERY civilian job or military duty starting with the most
recent. SPECIFY if you were military or civilian. If you have had multiple civilian jobs then feel
free to break your experience into separate military and civilian sections but understand that
virtually all Hiring Managers and Recruiters prefer to see a chronological timeline of your
experience.
Employer/ Branch of Service From:MMM/YYYY
Department, Program or Command To: M
MM/YYYY/Present
Title or Rank (M & Y, days are not needed)
General location: state or foreign country
Provide a DETAILED discussion of your responsibilities, duties and accomplishments. Be
honest but don’t be humble. Give SUBSTANTIVE explanations of your achievements; Led and
supervised squad of 10 rifleman in all daily tasks and operations, effectively managed program
X to Y & Z results, mentored XX employees, sailors, etc, managed $XXX,XXX worth of
equipment, budget or resources. Some thoughts: What did you do that supported your command
or company? How did you contribute to the overall operation or mission? How did your
subordinates benefit from your leadership, IE; development, retention, promotion numbers,
awards received, etc.
NO FLUFF OR BUZZ WORDS! No “results driven”, “detail oriented” or “outside the box”
comments. They may sound impressive but trust that recruiters and hiring managers see it on
hundreds of resumes. Honestly, the only thing generic fluff & buzz words say about your history
and performance is that you don’t have anything else to say. Avoid that perception and stick with
quantifiable examples.
Again, be honest but don’t be humble and sell yourself as being able to do a job by
demonstrating HOW you’ve done It (or related work) previously!
Education
List every school attended starting with most current. If you have not yet attended college, listing
your High School is fine). Include actual or anticipated (if still attending) graduation or
completion date
Masters of Business Administration From:MMM/YYYY
College or University, Department, To:MMM/YYYY or Present
Major, Minor, GPA, Cum Laude, Honors, etc.
If you had any special activities, projects, thesis work or other outstanding achievements feel free
to discuss or cite with a descriptive paragraph or with bullets. The “Total Person” concept
counts, no matter the job.
Bachelors of Science From: MMM/YYYY
College or University, Department To: M
MM/YYYY
Major, Minor, GPA, Cum Laude, Honors, etc.
Associates of Arts in History
And so on…
Training (and or) Certifications
DAWIA III MMM/YYYY
Microsoft Office Certified -
HVAC Level I Tech -
Forklift Repair -
Really Awesome Specialty Software, Ver. 2.6 -
DOD training: PII, Sexual harassment, etc. -
This can be as subtle or as detailed as you like but I would recommend leaning towards the latter.
Any work related systems, software, equipment or procedure training can be listed.
For technical and or computer related fields these will be weighed heavily. For management,
financial and logistics, acquisitions any related training courses or certifications should be listed.
Provide completion or receipt dates as managers will want to know the currency of certain
training and certs.
Mandatory DoD training can be valuable to also list as Government civilians are required to
complete the same training.
If you have a LONG list of training, I recommend utilizing 2 columns if possible.
Awards
List in the same fashion as training above, in 2 columns if necessary, and dates can be omitted.
LIST EVERY AWARD! All reflections of your character, conduct and performance count to an
employer regardless of how big a career change you’re making.
“TOTAL PERSON CONCEPT” STILL COUNTS IN THE CIVILIAN WORLD!
Format for multiple awards, EX: Navy Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal (4)
And then you’re all done, because…
Nobody puts “References Available Upon Request” at the end of their resume anymore and it’s
also not needed on a federal format!
Final Note: It’s very important to understand the difference between a civilian resume and the
“federal format” resume for government positions. The federal resumes tends to be a short 1-2
page summary of your career, while the federal resume is fundamentally different. The federal
resume requires a lot of detail in order to determine that you are qualified for the position under
consideration. Secondly, it is used to determine your salary (in essence, GS level) – so the more
detail, the better!
Each bullet in a federal resume needs to describe:
1. What you did (duties, responsibilities, skills)
2. How you did it (this is the most important)
3. Outcomes / products of your duties (quantifiable achievements)
a. Money saved
b. Number of people managed, trained, etc.
c. Schedule decreased (# of weeks/months, etc.)
d. Risks mitigated
e. Value of assets, programs, etc.
In short; describe everything you’ve done in your career, especially in the military and never
summarize.
Best of luck and please feel free to contact myself or other members of the NAVAIR WW
Program with any questions or concerns:
Sonny Fann
Office: 301-342-3295
Cell: 240-298-7382
Fax: 301-342-5504
E-Mail: sonny.fann@navy.mil
Federal Resume Sample #2
Chesty Puller Jr.
XXX-XX-123
1333 Isaac Hull Ave.
Washington Navy Yard, DC20376
(000)000-0000
VETERAN’S PREFERENCE 30% OR MORE DIABLED
SECRET CLEARANCE
CITIZENSHIP: US
PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT
QUALIFICATIONS:
Professional with over 6 years of experience in a variety of capacities that include
identifying barriers, developing solutions, delivering results and executing the vision to
solve agency problems, and improve overall performance. Results-oriented with a
unique combination of analysis, and program management skills. Proven track record for
assisting in programs, process and requirements documents, fostering strong client
relationships and quickly learning complex systems. Respected for integrity,
professionalism, leadership, and strong interpersonal/team building skills.
TIP: The top half of your resume should contain anything you want employers to know right
away: clearances, veteran’s preference, special skills Purple Heart, etc. Don’t make employers
search for anything—they will move on to the next candidate.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY: (this is where you list your jobs, starting with the most recent first.
It’s easiest to do in bullets or paragraph format—CHART, USAJOBS and other electronic
application sites recommend paragraphs. Some agencies prefer bullets. Be sure to do your
research! For your hard copy, keep the header format, and then list tasks and accomplishments
in each job. Always use a lot of detail—how many people did you assist? How long were you
there? How big was the command? Were you responsible for a large budget?, etc. And
REMEMBER—SPELL OUT ACRONYMS!! Once you have your hardcopy set, you upload it or
can cut and paste into various employment websites. )
October 2011- Present
Petty Officer 38
rd
Class , United States Navy
Walter Reed Military Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland
• Recovering from a combat related injury, schedule and attended all appointments related
to medical and nonmedical care. Coordinate with recovery team and communicate
information regarding challenges. Ensure that medical care and rehabilitative process
were followed and all leadership kept to date with the attainment of recovery goals.
April 2011-October 2011
Petty Officer 3
rd
Class, United States Navy
Helmand Province, Afghanistan
• Instructor for
o Basic Patrol Coordination
o Combat Life Saver Course
o Basic Sick Call Screening
o Intravenous Therapy
o Basic Hygiene
• Responsible for the care of a company size of Marine and Afghan security force
operating in isolated location with minimal advise of senior medical care provider due to
his capabilities as a combat corpsman
• Responsible for maintaining of Border Advisor Team medical readiness at 95% during
pre-deployment training phase while deployed surpassing the Commanding Generals
requirement by 20%.
• Served as an Advisor to Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge and to Officer in
Command on medical evacuation planning.
July 2010-April 2011
Petty Officer 3
rd
Class, United States Navy
Attached to Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
• Perform duties as assistants in the prevention and treatment of disease and injury and
assist health care professionals in providing medical care to Navy people and their
families.
• As Hospital Corpsman works varied of capacities and locations, including shore
establishment such as Naval Hospital and clinics.
• Maintained Medical ready unit by providing immunization, health assessments, and well
being on the service member and their families.
• Coordinated medical coverage for Marine unit evolutions exercises, including gas
chamber, obstacle course, runs, hikes, basic unit physical training.
• .
November 2008-July 2010
Petty Officer 3
rd
Class, United States Navy
Naval Medical Center
San Diego, California
• ..
June 2006 -November 2008
Petty Officer 3
rd
Class, United States Navy
Religious Program Specialist
Okinawa, Japan
• …
THECNICAL SKILLS:
Microsoft:
o Word
o Excel
o Power Point
o Acess
EDUCATION:
High School Diploma
Lyman Memorial High School
Lebanon, Connecticut
Some College Courses (9 Credits completed)
Eastern Connecticut State University
Willimantic, Connecticut
Pursuing Degree in Business
Basic Hospital Corps School - Graduated October 2008
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Fundamentals of Nursing
• Management ( of behavior emergencies)
• Management ( trauma injuries)
• Nursing( clinical practicum)
• Patient Care( contaminated environment)
• Pharmacology
• Physical Assessment
