Part 1: Federal Style Resume: Your Keys to Success
by Cory Edwards/Sandy Harris

When preparing a federal application, it is critical to understand the importance of keywords.  First, what are keywords?  Keywords are specific words that a hiring office uses to describe the duties of a position.  Next, where can they be found?  Keywords can be found in the job's vacancy announcement and position description.  Last, and most importantly, why do you need them in your resume? Every position has words that the resume reader is looking for. These words are used to rate and rank your resume, and determine your eligibility and selection for an interview.

FINDING THE KEYWORDS

Every job announcement has a "Duties" and "Specialized Experience" section that contains keywords.  Below is an excerpt from a job announcement with the keywords shown in bold:

"The incumbent of this position may be responsible for performing a combination of duties in the following areas: Human Resources Management, employee development, reporting systems management, budget, travel and special projects. The incumbent performs administrative functions specifically budget preparation, general services and supplies, resources planning, procurement and contracting, and records management."

If you are currently in an administrative position, you may have performed these tasks, but used different terminology to describe them in your resume.   Let's use records management as an example:  this is just another term for filing, so when preparing your resume, use the keywords 'records management' instead of 'filing'.  If you manage the office supply inventory, you are performing inventory management or supply services. If you determine what duties the office support staff perform then you are delegating or providing resource allocation. Employee development is working with staff members and determining what type of training they need. So don't write, "Help staff determine training needs." Instead write, "Perform employee development functions, such as, training needs analysis" By using the words found in the vacancy announcement, you will improve your rating and your chances of getting an interview.

When applying through an electronic application system, keywords become even more important.  Many Human Resources Specialists will search your resume electronically for specific keywords.  Each time a keyword is found, your rating increases...the more keywords, the higher your overall rating.

ACRONYMS & BRAND NAMES

When writing your resume, never assume the person reading your resume is going to understand your acronyms.  So, be sure to spell out acronyms the first time you use them followed by the acronym in parenthesis.  Not only will this make your resume easier to read and understand, it will also improve your keyword hits.

Be sure to use brand names for various software programs.  For instance, instead of stating "performed inventory management", state, "Provided inventory management for maintenance equipment valued at $1.5 million utilizing a Microsoft Access database."  Again, by using brand names, you could increase your keyword hits.

ALTERNATE SOURCES FOR KEYWORDS

Here are 3 more ways you can locate keywords:

1) Reviewing the job's position description. You can usually get this by contacting the human resources office listed in the job's vacancy announcement.  Just give them a call and see if they have this document available.  If not, then you'll need to rely on the duties section.  Some on-line systems, such as AVUE, posts the position description on their website.

2) Reviewing on-line questionnaires.  Many online application systems require applicants to answer a variety of questions.  Once answered, your resume needs to back up your responses.  By reviewing these questions in advance, you will be able to locate more keywords to include in your resume.

3) Researching the agency's website:  You can usually find a wealth of information about an agency (or specific office) by surfing through the agency's website.  In most cases, you can view the agency's mission statement or strategic plan, which can give you great insight into that particular agency, along with keywords and/or agency buzzwords.

Remember, by researching a variety of resources to locate keywords and then incorporating these keywords into your resume, you WILL increase your overall job rating, and your chance to be called in for an interview.

Cory Edwards specializes in federal employment counseling and federal resume preparation. Ms. Edward's affiliation with Federal Research Service is limited to preparation of articles for use in Federal Career Opportunities and FedJobs.com Career Central.