Top Tips and Lessons from Ft. Bragg Resume Writing Class

Left to Right – Daniel Serrano, Ten Steps Trainer; Kathryn Troutman; and
Cecelia Wallace, Director, Army Community Services Center, Ft. Bragg, NC
I got to the Iron Mike Conference Center early and three people came in. I thought, “Oh no, I flew here from Baltimore for ten people?” Dreaded speaker’s thinking… The place was pretty empty-looking at 8:30. Class starting time was 9:00. This was the ONLY class on Federal Resume Writing. There would be three more Federal Employment classes by OPM later in the day. I brought 50 copies of my latest Jobseeker’s Guides (8th edition) in case 50 soldiers showed up.

Then at 8:45, they started to come in – – fast! By 9:00 there were 80 soldiers in the room, standing room only! GREAT!!!

So, I began Step 6, Writing Your Outline Format Federal Resume!
The BIG Lesson for the 45-minute session was this:

++++ The Outline Format Federal Resume is the BEST Possible Format for USAJOBS and Federal Human Resources Specialists and Managers! ++++

The features of this easy-to-read, impressive federal resume format are:

• Reverse chronological resume format.
• Small paragraphs (8 or 10 lines long) for the Duties and Responsibilities section.
• Use the USAJOBS Resume Builder Job Block for the last 2 or 3 positions – 5,000 characters for each job!
• Four or five pages total length.
• A few selected ALL-CAP KEYWORDS that match the Required Qualifications section of the job announcement.
• At least two or three Key Accomplishments that will stand out and grab the attention of the human resources (generalist) specialist, to help him or her understand how good you are at your job. Hopefully these accomplishments can help you get REFERRED to a supervisor. These same accomplishments could make the supervisor want to MEET you in a job interview! That’s why accomplishments are so critical in the Grand Plan to get a federal job interview.
• EASY to copy and paste into the USAJOBS BUILDER!!! (The best method for a beginner federal applicant to use is the USAJOBS Resume Builder, not the Upload feature.)

OTHER IMPORTANT FEDERAL APPLICATION TIPS COVERED IN THE 45 MINUTE PRESENTATION:

• Use of the USAJOBS BUILDER, rather than the Upload, is recommended. The Upload is downright dangerous, because you might leave out critical information that the builder will be asking for.
• Give yourself all the credit that you can in the Questionnaire. You should strive for a score of 95% at least.
• Apply to U.S. Citizen announcements as much as possible, because veterans’ preference is applied to those types of announcements. The “Federal Employee” announcements are great also, but veterans’ preference is applied to U.S. Citizen announcements.
• Prepare for the federal job interview with five stories about your work within the last five years. Recent is better!

THE JOBSEEKER’S GUIDE 8TH EDITION
AND TEN STEPS TO A FEDERAL JOB®!

The Jobseeker’s Guide 8th Edition is your guide to a federal job. This is a Ten Steps to a Federal Job book, and it takes you through the steps of landing a federal job:

Step 1: Review the Federal Job Process – learn what federal job is right for you!
Step 2: Networking – and Non-Competitive Hiring Networking Veteran’s Programs
Step 3: Find Jobs on USAJOBS
Step 4: Find Your Keywords in the Announcements
Step 5: What are your best core competencies?
Step 6: Write the Outline Format Federal Resume – COVERED IN MY CLASS!
Step 7: KSAs, Questionnaires and Accomplishments
Step 8: Apply for Federal Jobs – Hot Tips
Step 9: How to Track and Follow Up on your Applications
Step 10: Interview for a Federal Job – this is a TEST!

Ten Steps to a Federal Job is taught bi-monthly at the ACS office at Ft. Bragg. See the schedule and register for classes here:

GET HELP WITH YOUR FEDERAL RESUME
TARGETED TOWARD THESE TYPES OF POSITIONS:
GET A FEDERAL RESUME QUOTE