“Rock Your Résumé” Getting Started Guide Since January 2011, GovLoop’s expert resume reviewers have rocked over 100 GovLoop résumés. Based on those reviews, we have compiled a list of their most common advice. You can start rocking your résumé right now by incorporating their tips, below. Once you have completed your own revisions, please post them to the Rock Your Resume Group (http://www.govloop.com/group/rockyourresume) and get a complimentary review. Get Back to Basics: Formatting • • • • • •
Use 11pt font. 10pt can be difficult to read and 12pt uses up too much space. Use a serif font like Times New Roman. This will make your résumé easier to read. Use bullets. Most employers can’t be bothered to read full paragraphs. Avoid using tables and templates to format your résumé. If you send a Microsoft Word version of your résumé, employers can see the lines of template, while the formatting of tables can often be distorted when converted to PDF. For federal positions, make section headings match those of the USAJobs Résumé Builder. Don’t waste valuable real estate! - Don’t go overboard with the size of your name. Most employers can read it at 11pt just as well as they can at 20pt, but at 11pt it doesn’t take up as much space. - Don’t use the same résumé header from the first page on each subsequent page. It not only takes up space, but could lead an employer who finds only one page of your résumé to think it is the first page. - Margins for your résumé should be no larger than 1” and no smaller than 0.7”. - Don’t waste space saying “references available upon request.” Employers know this!
Quick! Grab Their Attention!
• Keep in mind: your résumé needs to make an impact within 5-10 seconds! • Speak the language of the prospective employer. Be sure to use keywords from the position description to describe your skills and accomplishments. • Leave out the generic “objective” section. • In federal résumés, include a “Summary” section after your name and contact info. This should be a brief 3-4 line profile summary, incorporating keywords from the position description. • For federal résumés, you can also craft a “Core Competencies” section by using keywords from the announcement along with your expertise and skills. Again, target each job announcement by addressing employers’ specific needs.
Structure Your Experience
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• Consider using a “modified chronological” format. This is a hybrid version of the functional and chronological that is organized in reverse chronological order, but has subsections focused on the skills sets the employer has said they need. Each description, then, has longer bullet points that are focused on specific skill sets determined by the job announcement. • Make the last sub-section of every position description a “Key Accomplishments” section. • Nothing on your résumé is more important than your accomplishments. If you don’t share how you affected an organization or how your output was used, employers won’t get the full picture. After you write each bullet point, ask yourself “so what?” Whenever possible, quantify your accomplishments. In place of measurable accomplishments, give as much detail as you can.
“Rock Your Résumé” Getting Started Guide Re-Educate Yourself
• Move your education section after your professional experience, even if you are in school. Hiring managers tend to be more interested in your experience than in your course work. • List education experience in reverse chronological order. • Include graduation dates, GPA and related coursework. • Did you write a thesis or do research projects? If so, include their titles. • If your GPA is based on 4.0 scale, there is no need to say so. • Consider including capstone projects as pro bono experience in your experience section.
Polish Your Writing Style
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Write using a sentence structure, but don’t use “I.” Spell out all acronyms when they appear the first time. Do not use contractions. Cut out articles like a, an, the, etc. Start each bullet point with an action verb and use verbs found in the position description. Avoid using verbs like conduct, perform, play, prepare, administer, support, assist, maintain, or the dreaded “responsibilities included.” Those passive verbs don’t give you the credit you deserve!
Be Consistent! • Think you’re done? Go back and check your entire résumé for consistency of: - formatting (spacing, font, etc.); - tense; - punctuation; - date format (use month and year); and - bullets. • Paste your final résumé into a text file and replace any bullets or other symbols that don’t translate well into an asterisk (*) or other keyboard symbol. Double check for consistency, then you can simply copy and paste your clean résumé into the USAJobs Résumé Builder. Need More Motivation to Rock Your Résumé? Our Rockstar Reviewers have reviewed over 100 résumés, offering the tips you just read, plus much more great advice. The response has been awesome, complete with excitement about freshly rocked résumés, invitations to interviews, and job offers! Check out some of our favorite success stories:
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• Government Résumé Makeover: Christman, Flynn and Kugler Edition • Government Résumé Makeover: Jacob Hoots Edition • Government Résumé Makeover: Bradley Olin Edition