VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
YOUR
GATEWAY
TO
VA
CAREERS
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide i
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide i
Welcome
For Veterans and Military Service Members like you, the Federal Government job hiring process can be
dicult. It is a challenge to:
• translate military skills
• present your overall military experience in a way that civilian recruiters understand
• idenfy suitable jobs when the same military posion may be called something dierent in civilian
terms
The Internet contains many resources to help navigate the federal recruing process, but these resources
can be confusing. Many websites simply refer you to addional websites with links to other websites. The
most helpful resources are those that actually connect you with job openings that t your background and
skills and that honor the sacred pledge that you made to protect our naon.
The Department of Veterans Aairs (VA) created the VA for Vets program for just this purpose: to make the
process of nding, applying for and obtaining federal civilian jobs easier.
This Resume Building Guide describes the federal recruing
process at a high level, idenes the characteriscs of
good and bad resumes, provides samples of good resumes
and cover leers, and presents many excellent resources
sponsored by VA and the VA for Vets program.
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Contents
About VA for Vets ................................................................................................1
Geng a Federal Job...........................................................................................2
1 Know the Two Job Classes............................................................................2
2 Know What Jobs are Posted Where .............................................................2
3 Know the Applicaon Process ......................................................................3
Ten Tips for Navigang the Federal Applicaon Process ..............................3
Understand the Recruiter’s Perspecve ........................................................4
Building Your Resume..........................................................................................5
Geng Organized...........................................................................................5
1 Know Your Worth.......................................................................................5
2 Know Your Veterans’ Preference Qualicaons.........................................6
3 Know What You Want................................................................................6
4 Know What Works .....................................................................................7
Geng Started ....................................................................................................8
Resumes ..........................................................................................................8
1 Contact Informaon .................................................................................9
2 Work Experience.......................................................................................9
3 List of Technical Skills .............................................................................10
4 Educaon ...............................................................................................10
5 Job-Related Training...............................................................................10
6 Languages ..............................................................................................10
7 Aliaons ..............................................................................................11
8 Professional Publicaons........................................................................11
9 References ..............................................................................................11
10 Addional Informaon...........................................................................11
11 Honors & Awards ...................................................................................11
Cover Leers......................................................................................................12
1 Contact Informaon.................................................................................12
2 Salutaon.................................................................................................13
3 Body .........................................................................................................13
4 Closing......................................................................................................13
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Resume Do’s and Don’ts....................................................................................14
Applying Online .................................................................................................15
Sample Job Posng .....................................................................................15
Good Resume Example ...............................................................................21
Bad Resume Example..................................................................................24
Accessing Addional Resources.........................................................................27
Aachments ......................................................................................................28
Aachment A – VA FAQs on General Recruing .........................................29
Aachment B – VA FAQs for Healthcare Jobs .............................................32
Aachment C – VA FAQs for Administraon and Other Job Applicants......34
Aachment D – Acon Verbs ......................................................................35
Aachment E – Avoiding the Top 10 Resume Mistakes..............................37
Aachment F – Resume Tips for Making the Transion .............................39
Aachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs ...............................................41
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Resume Building Guide
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Let the
VA for Vets
help you!
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
1
About
VA for Vets
VA for Vets is a comprehensive career development program that helps Veterans and service members
launch or advance their civilian careers at VA. The mission of VA for Vets is simple: to create a world-class
organizaon of Veterans serving Veterans. To achieve this, the program‘s objecves are to:
• Recruit Veterans to work for VA.
• Retain the 100,000+ Veterans currently employed at VA.
• Reintegrate VA’s service member employees seamlessly aer deployments.
• Recognize and honor Veteran service.
• Educate VA’s supervisors, hiring managers, HR professionals and coworkers about Veteran-specic
issues and support resources.
The program oers support services tailored to the needs of Veterans and service members like you,
including:
• Assess your skills and job interests, create easy-to-read resumes, apply for open VA positions
•
Professional training resources to learn more about deployment and reintegraon topics.
Regional Veteran Employment Coordinators (RVECs) to address deployment and reintegration issues or
•
questions related to careers at VA.
From dynamic job searches to professional development and deployment lifecycle support—there is
something for every Veteran at VA for Vets.
Our Mission:
To create a world-class
organization of Veterans
serving Veterans
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Getting a Federal Job
The federal hiring process can take a signicant amount of me to successfully complete. Knowing
about this process will help you navigate it and plan your job search appropriately.
USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov) is the Federal Government’s ocial employment website. The website
collects the job postings of various government programs and agencies into one place and streamlines
the application process to more efficiently link qualified candidates with open positions. The VA for
Vets program uses the same resume template, so your career interests can seamlessly interact with
both the program and USAJOBS website.
The three things you should know to unleash the full power of USAJOBS in your job search include
1) knowing the two classes of jobs, 2) knowing what jobs are posted where, and 3) knowing the
applicaon process.
1 Know the Two Job Classes
According to the USAJOBS website, the two classes of jobs in the Federal Government include:
• Those in the compeve civil service.
• Those in the excepted service.
1
As the website explains, “compeve service jobs are subject to the civil service laws passed
by Congress to ensure that applicants and employees receive fair and equal treatment in the
hiring process. A basic principle of Federal employment is that all candidates must meet the
qualicaon requirements before they are hired into the posion.
“Excepted service agencies set their own qualicaon requirements and are not subject
to the same Congressional laws; however, they are subject to Veterans’ preference.
Some Federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Invesgaons (FBI) and the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have only excepted service posions. Other agencies
may have both types of posions.”
2 Know What Jobs Are Posted Where
Agencies are only required to post compeve service posions on USAJOBS
when they are seeking applicants from the general public and outside of their
own agency. It is worth the me to review the career sites of any agencies you
are interested in. Sll, many agencies post their excepted service posions on
USAJOBS to aract candidates from as wide a pool as possible.
1 Oce of Personnel Management. “How Federal Jobs are Filled,” retrieved July
29, 2011 from hp://www.usajobs.gov/process.asp
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Resume Building Guide
3 Know the Application Process
You cannot control how a recruiter analyzes your applicaon, the length of me he or she will take to
review your applicaon or whether you receive a response. You can control, however, how you present your
background so that it matches the posion you apply for, the completeness of your applicaon and your own
desny by not liming yourself to a single posion as you connue your job search. The ten things you can do
to eecvely navigate this process are described as follows:
Ten Tips for Navigating the Federal Application Process
1. Search USAJOBS!
USAJOBS is your gateway to government jobs.
2. Identify jobs you are qualified for!
Increase your chances of success by nding jobs
your experience says you can do.
3. Identify jobs you want to do!
Pick out the jobs you are qualied for and interest
you. Apply for all jobs that interest you - don’t limit
yourself to one aempt.
4. Use the template!
USAJOBS has a template that meets the
requirements for government job applicaons.
5. Use the job description language in
your resume!
Job descripons use specic words to dene
qualied candidates. USAJOBS tries to match these
words to your resume. Use as many of these words
exactly as they are presented to increase your
chances as a candidate (ex., use “Microso” versus
“MS” if USAJOBS used “Microso”). Unlike private
sector job posngs, federal jobs have lile exibility
with the specic criteria that must be met.
6. Read entire application before
submitting!
Upload transcripts and other supporng materials
needed and answer any essays or quesonnaires. The
2MB size limit may require you to compress your les.
7. Call the recruiter!
Contact names and phone numbers are provided for a
reason. Let recruiters know that you are applying for
a job and ask if there is anything you should do before
you submit your resume.
8. Submit your application before the
deadline!
Deadlines are published on the vacancy
announcement. Make sure you get your applicaon
completed on me.
9. Call the recruiter!
Ask the recruiter to conrm that your applicaon was
received and complete. They may or may not call you
back, but they will know you are interested.
10. Keep looking!
Increase your chances of landing a new career by
applying to mulple opportunies.
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Resume Building Guide
Understand the Recruiter’s Perspective
From the recruiter’s perspecve, you are a part of a much more involved and complex hiring process to which
you must adhere, ensuring you and any other candidates receive fair consideraon for legal employment.
Recruiters are required to match the specic skills and competencies listed in an open posion descripon to
all applicaons before declaring someone a suitable candidate. To save them and you me, USAJOBS scans
resumes for key word matches and completed applicaons before alerng recruiters that a possible candidate
is available for consideraon. You are responsible for making sure that you have completed your applicaon
by lling in every required eld, answering every supplemental survey queson, uploading every supporng
document and addressing every requirement as listed.
Recruiters can receive hundreds, if not thousands, of applicaons to review each week for open posions.
While computers can help idenfy incomplete applicaons, it sll takes a human to assess and accept or
eliminate applicaons. The closer your resume matches the requirements of the posion descripon, the
easier it will be for a recruiter to assess you as a suitable candidate.
For a look at this more detailed federal hiring process from the government’s point of view, refer to the Oce
of Personnel Management’s (OPM) End to End Hiring Roadmap online at hp://www.opm.gov/stangportal/
EndtoEndRoadmap.asp.
The closer your resume matches the
requirements…the easier it will be for a
recruiter to assess you as a suitable candidate.
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Resume Building Guide
Building Your Resume
Resumes serve one purpose: to get you noced. You need to be organized, personally
and professionally, so you can create a solid resume and cover leer.
Getting Organized
You can get yourself organized by knowing your worth, knowing your Veterans’
preference qualicaon, knowing what you want and knowing what works.
1 Know Your Worth
As a Veteran or Military Service Member you…
Learn quickly.
One reason that you are needed in the federal
civilian workforce is that you have already proven
you can learn new tasks. You underwent rigorous
training. Managers know you understand the
value of learning and how to apply it.
Understand the value of teamwork.
Teamwork was inslled in you from the moment
you entered boot camp. You understand its value
and work well with others.
Lead by example.
You may have been given opportunity and various
experiences to be a leader. Federal civilian jobs
need people who are highly movated and li up
those around them.
Respect authority.
People in the federal civilian world respect
those who understand rank and authority.
Everything has its proper place, and order is
needed to funcon smoothly.
Supervisors take comfort in knowing that you
know how to support them with their mission.
Understand cultural diversity.
You know how to work alongside others of
dierent races and religions. You can work
with coworkers who may be a lile dierent
or challenging. You can adjust to dierent
environments when the situaon calls for it.
Perform under pressure.
You were trained to perform well—even when
the going gets a lile rough. You do not back
down from challenges. Your ability to keep
going adds stability to a team.
For all of these reasons and more, you are
the kind of high performance candidate the
Federal Government needs. Weave these words
and themes into your professional resume to
remind recruiters and supervisors that it’s not
just the candidate, but the quality of his or
her character that makes a dierence in the
workplace.
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Resume Building Guide
2 Know Your Veterans’ Preference Qualifications
In recognion of their service and sacrice to our country, Congress passed the Veterans’ Preference Act of
1944.
Veterans’ preference is a measurement that provides Veterans special consideraon when applying for
certain federal civilian jobs. It is intended for Veterans who served on acve duty in the U.S. Armed Forces
and were discharged under honorable condions. It does not guarantee Veterans a job or give Veterans’
preference in internal agency acons such as promoon, transfer, reassignment and reinstatement. It
does, however, give Veterans addional points aer their assessment as a qualied candidate for a job in
recognion of their status as a service member.
Veterans’ preference scores range from 0-10 points. Your Veterans’ preference score is in direct proporon to
VA’s assessment of the length and ming of your service and any disability incurred during that me.
To claim Veterans’ preference, you must provide a copy of your DD-214, Cercate of Release or Discharge
from Acve Duty, or other acceptable documentaon as proof of your service. Applicants claiming a 10-point
preference will also need to submit Form SF-15, Applicaon for 10-point Veterans’ Preference, located at:
hp://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_ll/SF15.pdf.
To invesgate your Veterans’ preference qualicaons, visit the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Preference
Advisor at: hp://www.dol.gov/elaws/vetspref.htm.
3 Know What You Want
Do you know what kind of job you want? Do you know what kind
of job you are qualied to perform? Do you know what you are
already qualied to do? If not, consider some exercises that will
help narrow your job-hunng focus to jobs that you want and for
which you qualify.
• Ask a trusted friend or supervisor for their suggeson of the
kinds of jobs at which you would excel.
• Write down the qualies of a job you want and then try to
match those qualies to an exisng posion.
• Write down the qualies of a job or work environment you
know you want to avoid to eliminate posions that do not t
your interests.
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Resume Building Guide
3 Know What You Want
(continued)
• Take several personality and professional
assessments to help idenfy your interests and
spark new career ideas. For example:
The Veterans’ Preference assessment tool
is a DOL service created at the direcon of
President Barack Obama’s Execuve Order
13518, Employment of Veterans in the Federal
Government: hp://www.dol.gov/elaws/vets/
vetpref/mservice.htm.
The Which Historical Military Leader are You
Most Like? personality game on Military.com
indicates your leadership style: hp://www.
military.com/LeaderShipTest/1,16183,main.
htm,,00.html.
The Big Five Personality Test is free and
measures the ve fundamental dimensions of
your personality: hp://www.outofservice.com/
bigve/.
The CoachCompass® Hemispheres assessment
is free and evaluates your current career: hp://
www.coachcompass.com/hemisphere/index.php.
The Myers-Briggs personality assessment tool
is a for-fee service available at hp://www.
myersbriggs.org.
4 Know What Works
Dierent types of jobs call for dierent types of
resumes. Creang resumes for dierent jobs allows
you to highlight the experience you have in one
area over another, tailoring your experience to a
desired posion. For example, on one resume, you
may wish to showcase the mes you coordinated
teams and managed assignments, but on
another, you may want to focus on your technical
prociency. USAJOBS allows you to create and save
up to ve dierent types of resumes.
Remember: The more your applicaon matches
a posion’s requirements, the easier it is for
recruiters to assess that you are a suitable
candidate.
What makes a resume good or bad can come down
to several common indicators, as much as the
format you choose.
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Getting Started
You should be ready to apply for jobs before you begin to look for them. Once you ready yourself
personally and professionally, you should create a resume and cover leer so you have something to
upload or copy and paste into the USAJOBS template.
Resumes
Resumes provide a historical snapshot of your experience, knowledge and skills. Recruiters should be
able to review your resume, and within a maer of minutes, understand the work you have done, the
length of your experience and your capabilies.
Resumes should encapsulate your experience as briey as possible. Quanfying your experience
can make them easier for recruiters to understand. For example, stang that you managed a project
is less eecve than stang that you managed a team of three analysts to successfully complete a
technology project in six months.
What’s in a Resume?
All good resumes include some standard
informaon:
• Contact informaon
• Work experience
• List of technical skills
• Educaon
• Job-related training
• Languages
• Aliaons
• Professional publicaons
• References
• Addional informaon
• Honors and awards
• Veterans’ Preference
• Level of clearance held
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Resume Building Guide
Resumes
(continued)
1
Contact Information
The rst secon of a cover leer should include your contact
informaon, such as:
• Name
• Address
• City, State and ZIP code
• Preferred phone number
• Personal email address
2
Work Experience
Your most recent experience should be listed rst, and the rest of your experience should be listed in reverse
chronological order. Experience typically includes the company or agency you worked for, the posion you held
while there, the dates you worked there, and highlights of your responsibilies while there.
Unless you have not been working for very long, you have no reason to go into detail on the jobs you held early
in your career. Focus on your most recent and/or relevant jobs.
Highlight any accomplishments or results of your work that will be interesng and/or relevant to the posion,
such as those that:
• Required extra eort
• You completed by yourself
• You enjoyed doing
• You did well
• You are proud of
• You received an award for
These should emphasize results you produced, dollars generated or saved, percentage improvements in
performance, the extent to which you exceeded goals in the past or organizaonal turnarounds you produced.
Use acon verbs to describe your experience. For every skill, accomplishment or job described, use the most
acve impressive verb you can think of (which is also accurate). Begin the sentence with this verb, except when
you must vary the sentence structure to avoid repeous wring. You will nd a list of acon verbs by category
in Aachment D – Acon Verbs.
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Resumes
(continued)
3
List of Technical Skills
Technical skills can vary widely from methodologies to soware to hardware. Technical skills do not oen
require explanaon and can be listed by name; however, it is crical that you qualify your experience
with each so that recruiters know your level of understanding of these skills. For example, a recruiter that
is interested in process improvement will know about Six Sigma (a business management and process
improvement methodology), so you will not have to explain it, but if you listed it, you should state what
level belt you are and how long you have been praccing. The same rule applies to word processing and
programming tools or hardware, such as servers.
4
Education
Your educaon informaon should only include pernent facts for each instuon, such as:
• The name of the instuon where you earned your highest degree.
• The city and state of the instuon.
• The date you graduated or received the degree.
• Specic degree that you earned (such as, master’s in science or Ph.D. in economics).
• Any minors and/or double majors.
If you aended college or a technical school but did not receive a degree, you should state how long you
aended and your eld of study. You must be clear, however, that you did not receive a degree. If you
did not aend college or a vocaonal school, then you would include informaon about your high school
educaon or GED.
List your most recent degree rst. If you are sll enrolled in an instuon, list it. Do not forget to include
the ancipated date of graduaon and the degree expected.
5
Job-Related Training
You have most likely had a signicant amount of job-related training through the military. Provide details
on the training and courses that you took throughout your career. List only the training that has enhanced
your experience and skills and that will be of immense value in your new posion. If the course tle is not
descripve or is unfamiliar, summarize or briey describe the course to potenal resume evaluators. Don’t
assume the resume evaluator will understand the terms in your resume. If there is any doubt, describe the
meaning.
6
Languages
If you include languages on your resume, state your level of uency (such as, “novice,” “intermediate,”
or “advanced”). If your uency is very limited, it is probably not worth lisng the language. Do not
overstate your level of prociency.
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Resumes
(continued)
7
Affiliations
Your professional aliaons can relate your past work and your current job prole if you are working in the
same eld. On a resume, they inform recruiters that you have professional interest beyond your day-to-day
job.
Emphasize current contribuons and provide some details to explain your abilies within precise areas. It is
recommended that you not include any polical aliaons, since hiring managers or an agency may fail to
judge you enthusiascally. If you decide to include them anyway, be tacul in describing your involvement.
If you have a lot of aliaons on your resume, recruiters may view you as an “overachiever.” Consider
including only the most relevant ones or spling them into career-related and community-related
categories.
8
Professional Publications
Only list those publicaons that relate directly to your career goal or the posion for which you are applying.
List your publicaons in reverse chronological order. Potenal employers may aempt to track down your
publicaon, so make sure the tles and your authorship are veriable before including them.
9
References
References are typically people who can verify your employment and vouch for your performance. A
potenal employer always thinks that a provided resume is up to date. If your references are not up to date
when the resume is reviewed, your out-of-date list may harm your credibility or frustrate your recruiter.
10
Additional Information
Any informaon that does not t in the other resume subject areas but is worth highlighng for a recruiter
because of its relevance to the posion or because it helps you stand out as a qualied candidate can go in
this catch-all area.
11
Honors & Awards
Awards can tell a potenal employer that previous employers or other organizaons valued your
accomplishments. The fact that you or your team received formal recognion for your eorts is a good
indicator of your skills and work ethic.
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Resume Building Guide
Cover Letters
Cover leers are an important way to communicate to recruiters all the things that do not t on a
resume. There, you can state your intenons and desired job situaon, provide a mission or objecve
statement, oer addional details, such as travel and relocaon preferences, and explain why you
are an excellent candidate. If your resume does not meet the posion requirements, you will not be
considered at all, but a good cover leer can be the dierence between a qualied candidate receiving
a call or being invited to an interview.
A cover leer should complement, not duplicate, your resume. Its purpose is to interpret the data-
oriented, factual resume and add a personal touch. A cover leer is oen your earliest wrien contact
with a potenal employer, creang a crical rst impression.
Cover leers are now accepted in federal submissions but there are character limits.
What’s in a Cover Letter?
All good cover leers include some standard informaon, such as:
• Contact informaon
• Salutaon
• Body
• Closing
1
Contact Information
The rst secon of a cover leer should include your contact
informaon, such as:
• Name
• Address
• City, State and ZIP code
• Preferred phone number
• Personal email address
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Resume Building Guide
Cover Letters
(continued)
2
Salutation
It is important to include an appropriate salutaon
at the beginning of the cover leer or message. If
you have a contact person for your leer, be sure
to include his or her name. If you do not have a
contact person, either leave o the salutaon from
your cover leer and start with the rst paragraph
of your leer or use a general salutaon, such as:
• Dear Hiring Manager
• To Whom it May Concern
• Dear Human Resources Manager
• Dear Sir or Madam
3
Body
The body of your cover leer tells an employer
what posion you are applying for, why the
employer should select you for an interview,
examples of your work, and how you will follow
up. This secon of your cover leer should include
three paragraphs.
Paragraph one should state who you are, how
you heard of the posion or the agency and why
you are wring. Your goal in this paragraph is to
convince the reader why you are the only candidate
to interview.
Paragraph two should state why you are
interested in the posion and/or agency, how
your qualicaons t the specic skills needed for
the job, some specic examples of how your past
experience has prepared you to do the job, any
other relevant skills, qualies, achievements and
experiences that make you the best candidate for
the job. Tell recruiters how your experiences and
skills match the criteria for the posion.
Paragraph three should repeat that you are
hoping to be considered for the job, give specic
informaon about your plans to follow up and
thank the employer for his or her consideraon.
Note that if you state how you will follow up, be
sure to do so.
4
Closing
When you write a cover leer or send an email
message to apply for a job, you must close your
leer in a professional manner, such as:
• Sincerely
• Sincerely yours
• Regards
• Best regards
• Kind regards
• Yours truly
• Most sincerely
• Respecully
• Respecully yours
• Thank you
• Thank you for your consideraon
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Resume Building Guide
Resume Do’s and Don’ts
1. DO use the electronic resume format provided
by USAJOBS.
2. DO place your name in bold at the top of the
resume.
3. DO try to convert any documents you submit to
PDF format to make the les smaller and preserve
the formang.
4. DO list only one phone number and one email
address.
5. DO include your name and a page number on
each page, if it extends past one page, so recruiters
can keep any loose pages together once printed.
6. DO include a summary of your experience
at the top of your resume (below your name) to
highlight the skills and traits of most interest to the
recruiter for this parcular posion.
7. DO focus on the “requirements,” “skills” or
“qualicaons” secons of a posion descripon
to pick out “buzzwords” your applicaon should
include or address.
8. DO use numbers to highlight your
accomplishments and dene their eecveness by
me and money when possible.
1. DON’T use the exact same applicaon for all
jobs to which you apply.
2. DON’T create a fancy resume format that is
stylish but hard to read.
3. DON’T decrease the size of your margins to
make room for more content—these may not print.
4. DON’T include a mission statement, purpose
statement, objecve or goal on your resume. These
can be addressed in a cover leer or interview.
Save that resume space for your experience.
5. DON’T write long paragraphs that recruiters
have to wade through to get to your main skills.
Use short lists whenever possible.
6. DON’T leave misspellings on your resume. Some
recruiters will eliminate candidates for the simplest
of reasons.
7. DON’T list salary requirements unless the job or
lisng requires it.
8. DON’T give unnecessary personal informaon,
such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license
numbers or birth dates.
9. DON’T assume the evaluator will know what
your acronyms mean - spell them out.
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Resume Building Guide
Applying Online
The key to landing a job with the Federal Government is to tailor your resume and applicaon to the core
dues and responsibilies listed in the job announcement. If you take the me to develop a comprehensive
and properly formaed, tailored applicaon package, you will improve your chances of qualifying for the
posion and geng the aenon of the selecng ocial.
Review the following examples of a USAJOBS job posng at VA and examples of good and a bad resumes,
while keeping in mind the informaon previously covered.
Sample Job Posting
These tabs display the labeled
informaon, or you can
scroll down to see the same
informaon.
You can use Series and Grade
informaon to nd the OPM
descripon of requirements
that any candidate must meet
to qualify for this job. The
series qualicaons are at
opm.gov. In this example, you
would type “1712 Series” then
select Search.
Recruiter contact informaon
Basic requirements of the job
you must meet to be eligible
to apply.
Other groups that may be listed include: Naonals, Public, Student
Program Eligibles, and Status Candidates.
Note: When a vacancy announcement indicates that status candidates
are eligible to apply, Federal Government employees who have served
at least 90 days aer compeve appointment may apply.
When the posion has
mulple grades, such as GS-
1712-9/11-12-13, apply to
all grades by selecng each
grade. Otherwise, the hiring
agency will not consider you
for the other grades that were
not selected.
16
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Sample Job Posting
(continued)
Basic job descripon and
responsibilies.
Noce this link! It is easy to
miss since it is the same color
as other text on the page,
but it is a crical part of the
overall applicaon.
You must address this basic
educaon requirement in your
resume.
17
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Sample Job Posting
(continued)
You must address this list of categories in your
resume. Use the OPM descripon of the Grade and
Series and as many of the exact words used here
in your resume as possible. For example, number
one lists “performance-based training techniques.”
Assuming this applies to you, use those same words
to describe your experience.
18
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Sample Job Posting
(continued)
You can look up the benets
related to this posion here,
but there is no acon you must
take at this me.
Males born aer 12/31/1959
must have their Selecve
Service informaon to complete
their applicaon.
Be sure to complete any
Transion Assistance Plan
documents if you wish to
use this assistance with your
applicaon.
19
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Sample Job Posting
(continued)
USAJOBS tells you exactly how
to apply for each job. Make
sure you follow the direcons
given!
USAJOBS tells you exactly
which documents you have
to include in your applicaon.
Make sure you upload each of
these documents as listed!
20
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Sample Job Posting
(continued)
If you plan on claiming
Veterans’ preference, read
the informaon provided here
and be prepared to include
a DD-214 and the SF15, if
applicable, to support your
claim.
Here is the recruiter’s and
agency’s contact informaon.
It is provided so you can
contact them regarding your
applicaon.
21
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Good Resume Example
The following is an example of a good resume created in USAJOBS
to respond to a Training Specialist posion at VA.
Any Veterans’ preference
claim is stated on your resume
rst.
Work experience is listed from
most to least recent.
Use the same language found
in the OPM Grade and Series,
as well as the job descripon
categories listed, to make your
resume easy to match against
the posion requirements.
GEICO
Insurance
4/2003
-
6/2006
Chevy
Chase,
Maryland
US
Hours
per
week:
40
Curriculum
Manager
•
Anal
y
zed
and
mod
ifi
ed
pre-existing
e-
l
earn
in
g
libr
ar
;r
to
enhance
technical
accuraq
•
and
consistenc
y
11
.ri
th
course
objecti
v
es
and
instructional
goal.
Included
de
v e
lopm
ent
of
practice
l
abs
,
kno
v1
i
edge
assessments
,
and
scor
ing
s
•,r
stem
link
ed
to
learning
objects
and
material
e
•,•
a
lu
at
i
on
tools
.
•
Conducted
student
performance
anal
;•
ses
.
Subsequentl
y
completed
significant
adaptat
ion
and
re
v is
ion
due
to
sub
j
ect-matter
/
student
problems
.
•
P.
.
nal·
,.
zed
performance
measures
to
identif
;r
areas
of
opportuni~
,r.
Subsequentl
y
designed
,
de
ve
lop
ed
and
impl
emented
so
lution
sy
stems
resulting
in
operational
cost
reduction
.
o
Created
performance
support
tools
,
both
e l
ectron
ic
and
paper
based
. o
Collaborated
11
.ri
th
indi
v
idu
a
ls
at
a
ll
organ
iz
at
i
ona
l lev e
ls
,
both
domesticall
y
and
int
ernat
ion
a
ll
;r,
to
ensure
success
fu
l s y
stem
impl
ementat
ion
.
o
Emp
loy
ed
performance
based
tra
inin
g
techniques
to
ensure
kno
11
~
edge
and
s k
ill
acqu
is
ition
.
o
De
v e
lop
ed
and
impl
emented
marketing
and
communications
plans
to
l
aunc
h
both
department
and
cross-departmental
ad
v
anced
technical
s ;r
stems
.
T his
includ
ed
the
impl
ementat
ion
of
policies
,
creation
of
business
processes
,
procedures
,
job
aids
,
communication
art
icl
es
for
a
ll
le ve ls
of
the
organization
at
headquarters
and
in
the
g
lob
a
l-fi
e
ld
,
and
the
ordering
and
distribution
of
collateral.
o
Designed
,
de
ve l
oped
,
implemented
, ev a
lu
ated
and
cont
inuousl
;•
impr
o v
ed
communication
and
performance
support
e l
ements
for
the
impl
ementat
ion
of
ne
w
products
,
features
and
programs
.
JFK
Special
Warfare
Center
and
School
Fort
Bragg,
North
Carolina
US
Training
Speciafist
2/1998
-
4/2003
Hours
per
week:
40
·
An
aly
zed
training
deplo
y
ment
s
1r
stem
and
proposed
a
reengineered
arch
it
ecture
.
Imp
l
emented
changes
to
the
cour
.
se
catalog
,
adm
i
ss
ion
policies
,
course
prerequisites
,
registration
,
tracking
,
and
other
general
l
earn
in
g
en
v
ir
onment
design
e l
ements
.
·
An
al
;r
zed
student
performance
forecasts
.
Imp
l
emented
se
v
era
l
ne
w
course
prerequisite
requirements
,
program
ob
j
ect
iv
es
and
assessments
,
and
in
structiona
l
strateg
i
es
.
·
Designed
and
de
ve l
oped
roles
,
responsibilities
,
and
j
ob
descriptions
For
l
earn
in
g
center
personnel
.
·
Stream
lin
ed
operat
ions
and
facilities
processes
to
e
limin
ate
w
aste
.
· C
o-created
an
e l
ectron
ic
performance
support
tool
to
recruit
l
earn
ing
center
personnel
.
Good Resume Example
(continued)
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
22
23
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Good Resume Example
(continued)
Describe your educaon
starng with the most recent.
Include any pernent
informaon that did not t
anywhere else on your resume
here.
24
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Bad Resume Example
The following is an example of a resume in the USAJOBS format that includes some common mistakes.
Too many phone numbers
are listed. Give your recruiter
contact informaon that is
simple and direct.
Certain posions may require
that you include salary. Be
sure to do so. If it is not a
requirement, the salary can be
discussed and negoated once
you have an interview.
Be careful about stang you
worked more than 40 hours a
week in a salaried posion. It
may bring up quesons that
should be addressed in an
interview, such as why you
needed that extra me to
complete your work.
Do not write long paragraphs
that recruiters have to wade
through to get to your main
skills. Use short bulleted lists
whenever possible.
25
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Bad Resume Example
(continued)
Provide enough informaon
to briey explain your dues
in each job. This descripon is
oversimplied for a ve-year
employment.
Do not include language skills
unless you can claim some
level of prociency or the job
descripon asks for “any”
language experience.
26
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Bad Resume Example
(continued)
Addional Informaon is used
for brief points of interest
that did not t elsewhere on
your resume. Use bullets to
list items. Use the full names
of any tools or soware you
have experience with and
include the length of me you
have used them so recruiters
know if you have a beginner,
intermediate or advanced
understanding of each.
Additional Tips for Applying Online:
Be aware of character limitaons when lisng your work experience.
Consider lisng no more than 10-15 years of work experience.
USAJobs
• 3,000 characters per job (work experience)
• Unlimited number of jobs
CPOL/Resumix
• 12,000 characters for the enre employment history
• 20,000 characters total for the enre resume
CHARTs-Navy
• 7,500 characters per job
• Limit of six jobs
• 5,000 characters for professional training
• 1,500 characters for professional licenses and cerfcates
• 7,000 characters for addional informaon
27
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Accessing Additional
Resources
Creating a resume is just one small part of the overall federal hiring
process. Use the lessons included in this guide to build a successful resume
for civilian employment.
• VA for Vets is located online at hp://www.VAforVets.VA.gov. The program is located at VA Central
Oce (VACO), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420. Addional career support can be
found by contacng VA for Vets coaches at 1-855-VA4Vets (1-855-824-8387) or VAforVets@VA.gov.
• USAJOBS is located online at hp://www.usajobs.gov. USAJOBS is also accessible by TDD 978-461-8404.
• To learn more about USAJOBS, you can review a series of tutorials available as animated lessons or PDF
documents at hp://www.usajobs.gov/EI/tutorials.asp#icc.
• Feds Hire Vets is headquartered in the Veterans Employment Program Oce (U.S. Oce of Personnel
Management, 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415) and is located online at hp://www.
fedshirevets.gov/. They are also accessible by telephone at 202-606-5090.
28
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachments
The following aachments have been added to this document to support you in
the federal hiring process.
• Aachment A – VA Frequently Asked Quesons (FAQs) on General Recruing
• Aachment B – VA FAQs for Healthcare Jobs
• Aachment C – VA FAQs for Administraon and Other Job Applicants
• Aachment D – Acon Verbs
• Aachment E – Avoiding the Top 10 Resume Mistakes
• Aachment F – Resume Tips for Making the Transion
• Aachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs
29
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment A – VA FAQs on General Recruiting
The following selecon of FAQs are displayed on the Department of Defense employment informaon
website and are included here for your consideraon.
2
Q: What is USAJOBS?
A:
USAJOBS (hp://www.usajobs.gov) provides
worldwide job vacancy informaon for all Federal
agencies, employment informaon fact sheets, job
applicaons and forms online. Job seekers can apply
for many posions online. USAJOBS is convenient,
accessible through the computer or telephone and
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You
can contact USAJOBS through an Interacve Voice
Response Telephone System at (703) 724-1850 or
TDD (978) 461-8404.
Q: What does it mean when the Federal
job announcement asks me to dene my
Knowledge, Skills and Abilies (KSAs)?
A:
Knowledge, skills and abilies are the core
requirements for a posion. Your knowledge, skills,
and abilies must reect the depth and breadth of
your experience as it pertains to the job for which
you are applying. KSAs demonstrate that you have
the requisite background to perform the posion.
Failure to address one or all may result in a rang or
evaluaon of less than best qualied.
Q: What are Selecve Factors?
A:
They are mandatory knowledge, skills, and abilies
required to perform the dues of the specic posion.
If Selecve Factors are listed, your applicaon must
demonstrate that you possess all of them. Selecve
Factors supplement basic qualicaon requirements.
If you do not possess any one of the Selecve Factors,
you will not be considered for the posion.
Q: What are Quality Ranking Factors?
A:
Quality Ranking Factors are highly desirable
knowledge, skills or abilies that are helpful in
performing the dues of the posion. Your applicaon
must address how you meet them. These factors help
determine the very best qualied applicant for the
posion. If you do not meet any one of them, you may
not be rated among the best qualied.
Q: Job Announcements oen refer to
“cercates.” What does that mean?
A:
A cercate is a lisng of the names of eligible
candidates for a job. The cercate is an ocial
document that is given to a supervisor or selecng
ocial from which to make a selecon determinaon.
30
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment A – VA FAQs on General Recruiting
(continued)
Q: When vacancies are announced by a Federal agency, how can selecng ocials ll the
posion with a Veteran?
A:
Agencies must select from the top-rated eligible applicants. Disabled Veterans are considered to have
Veterans’ preference for employment purposes and may be placed at the top of the Cercate of Eligibles
if qualied for the job. Other Veterans and non-Veterans may be referred on the same cercate in lower
categories.
Q: I have recently become blind. I was a computer specialist in the military. What jobs can I
apply for now?
A:
You can sll apply for computer specialist posions in Defense. Soware tools such as Screen Reader,
JAWS, and Dolphins soware are available to assist you in your daily work. A Refreshable Braille display is also
used, if needed, through the Computer/Electronic Accommodaons Program (CAP). Read more about CAP at
hp://www.tricare.osd.mil/cap.
Q: I’ve read job announcements that idenfy posions in the Federal Wage System. Can you
explain more?
A:
The Federal Wage System, or FWS, is a system that groups together the trades and laborer occupaons in
the Federal Government.
Q: I was a mechanic in the service and now want to consider other types of cra or laborer
jobs. Where can I nd these types of jobs as a civilian?
A:
There are many trades and laborer occupaons available throughout the Department of Defense.
Machine-Tool Operator, Truck Driver, Telecommunicaons Mechanic, Electronics Mechanic, Boiler Plant
Operator, and Painter are just a few. These and numerous other job opportunies can be viewed at hp://
www.usajobs.gov, the ocial job site of the Federal Government or call 1-888-DoD 4USA for assistance.
Q: Where can I get informaon about transioning from acve duty to the civilian
workforce?
A:
Before transioning from acve duty, military service members should make a visit to their Transion
Assistance Program (TAP) Oce. TAP was designed by the Department of Defense to smooth the transion of
military personnel into the civilian workforce. Whether you’re rering, going back to school, or looking for a
new career, success requires planning and resources and the Transion Assistance Program is there to help. of
military personnel into the civilian workforce. Whether you’re rering, going back to school, or looking for a
new career, success requires planning and resources and the Transion Assistance Program is there to help.
31
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment A – VA FAQs on General Recruiting
(continued)
The Transion Assistance Oce, normally located at the Military Family Support/Service Center on your
installaon, provides assistance with job searches, career decision-making, advice on current occupaonal
and labor market condions, resume and cover leer preparaon and interviewing techniques. Parcipants
are also provided with an evaluaon of their employability relave to the job market and receive informaon
on the most current Veterans’ benets.
In addion, to beer assist military service members preparing to transion to the civilian workforce,
the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor created a Transion Assistance Program (TAP)
Manual. Informaon contained in the TAP Manual includes excellent advice on career exploraon, job search
strategies, interview techniques, how to review job oers, how to determine your strengths, how to analyze
your skills and competencies, how to assess your nancial needs and includes up-to-date informaon on
Veterans benets. You may nd this informave manual at hp://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/tap/.
Q: Now that I’m geng out of the Armed Forces, how can I convert my military experience
toward a civilian career?
A:
The Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes the enormous contribuons you made and the excellent
skills you acquired while serving your country in uniform and are glad that you are considering a civilian career
with DoD.
There are over 700 dierent types of occupaons within the Department of Defense. To nd informaon on
military to civilian occupaon comparisons, there is a great “Skills Translator” tool that can help you locate
jobs similar to your military occupaon. This user-friendly “Skills Translator” tool also provides salary levels
and informaon on future employment outlook and can be found at website hp://www.military.com/
Careers/Home/.
To also help in your search, you may want to obtain a copy of your Vericaon of Military Experience and
Training (VMET) document (DD From 2586). This document contains educaon and training data on skills you
acquired while serving on acve duty. The primary purpose of the document is to assist you with your civilian
job search by cross-walking military skills into civilian job elds. Informaon about this document can be
found on the following websites:
• hps://www.dmdc.osd.mil/vmet/owa/vmet_web_display.login
• hp://www.dmdc.osd.mil/vmet/owa/vmet_web_display.showpage?p_PageID=FURTHER%
2
Department of Defense. Quesons and Answers,
Retrieved July 28, 2011 from hp://www.dodvets.com/
vetqa.asp
32
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment B – VA FAQs for Healthcare Jobs
The following selecon of FAQs are displayed on the Department of Veterans Aairs Careers website page and
presented here for your consideraon.
3
Q: I’m interested in a VA posion I saw online (or in a publicaon). Why can’t I apply for it
online?
A:
For privacy reasons, many healthcare posions must be applied for via tradional paper applicaons.
Those applicaons must be made to the VA facility where you desire employment consideraon. That address
can be found within each job posng.
Q: Where do I nd the applicaon and other forms I need to apply for a VA posion?
A:
When applying for a VA posion, you will oen be asked to submit various forms, such as an applicaon,
a Declaraon of Federal Employment, Veterans’ preference forms, and others. You can nd most of the forms
you need in the Job Search secon (hp://www.vacareers.va.gov/job-search/) of the VA Careers website.
Q: I’m having trouble downloading (or can’t print) the VA job applicaon and other forms
that I need. What should I do?
A:
For help in downloading required documents or to obtain paper forms in the mail, contact a recruiter at
1-800-949-0002.
Q: How can I learn the status of my job applicaon?
A: Applicaon processing can take up to 60 days, and in some cases up to 120 days. Since hiring decisions are
made locally, you will need to call the VA facility where you submied your applicaon.
Q: How can I get more informaon about VA salaries?
A:
When available, VA salary informaon is included within individual job posngs. Most oen, a Professional
Standards Board determines an applicant’s starng salary based on experience and level of pracce. For many
healthcare posions, salaries are based on locality pay scales and regional special salary rates; therefore,
specic informaon may be available from the recruiter at the VA facility where you desire employment.
Addional salary informaon for many posions is available at www.opm.gov.
33
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment B – VA FAQs for Healthcare Jobs
(continued)
Q: Where can I learn more about VA benets, especially Educaon Debt Reducon Program
(EDRP) and other educaon support programs I’ve heard about?
A:
Visit the VA Salary & Benets secon (hp://www.vacareers.va.gov/salary-benets/) of the VA Careers
website or call 1-800-949-0002.
Q: I’d like to apply for a posion, but I’m not a U.S. cizen. Are there any excepons to this
qualicaon?
A:
VA hires U.S. cizens, but there are some excepons made in certain circumstances. Contact the facility
where you desire employment for informaon.
Q: Does VA incorporate Veterans’ preference into its healthcare professional hiring policies?
A:
Yes. VA is commied to hiring Veterans, and Veteran status gures prominently in our selecon process.
For more informaon, visit the Transioning Military secon (hp://www.vacareers.va.gov/va-you/military/)
of the VA Careers website.
3
Department of Veterans Aairs. FAQ for Healthcare Jobs, retrieved July 28, 2011 from
hp://www.vacareers.va.gov/resources/faq-healthcare-jobs.asp
34
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment C – VA FAQs for Administration and Other Job
Applicants
The following selecon of FAQs are displayed on
the VA Careers website and presented here for your
consideraon.
4
Q: What does “DEU” mean and how does
it dier from a regular human resources
department?
A:
DEU stands for Delegated Examining Unit.
Within the Veterans Health Administraon
(VHA), there are eight DEUs located throughout
the country servicing VA medical centers. DEUs
announce certain open posions to the public
(via job posngs) that VA facilies do not have the
authority to recruit for. Those posions generally
include non-healthcare or healthcare support
jobs, such as clerks/secretaries, police ocers,
engineers, food service workers, housekeeping
aids, and psychology technicians, to name a
few. Medical center HR departments have the
authority to recruit directly from the public for
professional medical posions, such as physicians,
RNs, LPNs, social workers, psychologists,
pharmacists, etc. Currently, the DEU does not post
job announcements for those types of healthcare
posions.
Q: I have quesons about a job
announcement, such as the dues, tour of
duty, etc. Who should I contact?
A:
Rather than the DEU, you should contact the
HR department at the facility where the posion is
located.
Q: I can’t print the announcement or
required forms. What should I do?
A:
If you do not have access to a computer with
prinng capabilies, you can go to the nearest VA
medical center Human Resources Management
Oce to obtain all of the required forms and a copy
of the announcement.
Q: What happens to my faxed assessment
quesonnaire and supporng documents?
A:
All documents are faxed to the central scanning
center in Macon, GA, where they are matched
to the correct announcement by the vacancy ID
number. The assessment is scanned electronically.
If you have completed your assessment online and
then faxed supporng documents, they will be
matched to your assessment. You should keep a
copy of the fax receipt showing that all pages were
received.
Q: I want to talk to someone at the
DEU about general quesons, but the
voicemail system says that only messages
from preference-eligible Veterans
requesng reconsideraon, as well as
disabled applicants requiring help, will be
answered. Why?
A:
Please review this enre FAQ secon to nd the
answers to your quesons. Detailed instrucons are
also located within each job announcement. If you
sll have quesons, you can contact the VA human
resources oce listed in the announcement.
4
Department of Veterans Aairs. FAQs for Administraon and Other Job Applicants General Quesons, Retrieved on July 28,
2011 from hp://www.vacareers.va.gov/resources/faq-other-jobs.asp
35
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment D – Action Verbs
Management skills
• administered
• analyzed
• assigned
• aained
• chaired
• contracted
• consolidated
• coordinated
• delegated
• developed
• directed
• evaluated
• executed
• improved
• increased
• organized
• oversaw
• planned
• priorized
• produced
• recommended
• reviewed
• scheduled
• strengthened
• supervised
Communicaon skills
• addressed
• arbitrated
• arranged
• authored
• corresponded
• developed
• directed
• draed
• edited
• enlisted
• formulated
• inuenced
• interpreted
• lectured
• mediated
• moderated
• movated
• negoated
• persuaded
• promoted
• publicized
• reconciled
• recruited
• spoke
• translated
• wrote
Clerical or detailed skills
• approved
• arranged
• catalogued
• classied
• collected
• compiled
• dispatched
• executed
• generated
• implemented
• inspected
• monitored
• operated
• organized
• prepared
• organized
• prepared
• processed
• purchased
• recorded
• retrieved
• screened
• specied
• systemazed
• tabulated
• validated
Research skills
• claried
• collected
• criqued
• diagnosed
• evaluated
• examined
• extracted
• idened
• inspected
• interpreted
• interviewed
• invesgated
• organized
• reviewed
• summarized
• surveyed
• systemazed
36
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment D – Action Verbs
(continued)
Technical skills
• assembled
• built
• calculated
• computed
• designed
• devised
• engineered
• fabricated
• maintained
• operated
• overhauled
• programmed
• remodeled
• repair
• solved
• trained
• upgraded
Teaching skills
• adapted
• advised
• claried
• coached
• communicated
• coordinated
• developed
• enabled
• encouraged
• evaluated
• explained
• facilitated
• guided
• informed
• iniated
• instructed
• persuaded
• set goals
• smulated
Financial skills
• administered
• allocated
• analyzed
• appraised
• audited
• balanced
• budgeted
• calculated
• computed
• developed
• forecasted
• managed
• marketed
• planned
• projected
• researched
Creave skills
• acted
• conceptualized
• created
• designed
• developed
• directed
• established
• fashioned
• founded
• illustrated
• instuted
• integrated
• introduced
• invented
• originated
• performed
• planned
• revitalized
• shaped
Helping skills
• assessed
• assisted
• claried
• coached
• counseled
• demonstrated
• diagnosed
• educated
• expedited
• facilitated
• familiarized
• guided
• referred
• rehabilitated
• represented
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment E – Avoiding the Top 10 Resume Mistakes
According to Military.com, it’s decepvely easy to make mistakes on your resume and exceponally dicult
to repair the damage once an employer gets it. So prevenon is crical, especially if you’ve never wrien one
before. Here are the most common pialls and how you can avoid them.
5
1. Typos and Grammacal Errors
Your resume needs to be grammacally perfect. If
it isn’t, employers will read between the lines and
draw not-so-aering conclusions about you, like:
“This person can’t write,” or “This person obviously
doesn’t care.”
2. Lack of Specics
Employers need to understand what you’ve done
and accomplished. For example:
A. Worked with employees in a restaurant seng.
B. Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more
than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in
annual sales.
Both of these phrases could describe the same
person, but the details and specics in example B
will more likely grab an employer’s aenon.
3. Aempng One Size Fits All
Whenever you try to develop a one-size-ts-all
resume to send to all employers, you almost always
end up with something employers will toss in the
recycle bin. Employers want you to write a resume
specically for them. They expect you to clearly
show how and why you t the posion in a specic
organizaon.
4. Highlighng Dues Instead of
Accomplishments
It’s easy to slip into a mode where you simply start
lisng job dues on your resume. For example:
• Aended group meengs and recorded minutes.
• Worked with children in a day-care seng.
• Updated departmental les.
Employers, however, don’t care so much about what
you’ve done as what you’ve accomplished in your
various acvies. They’re looking for statements
more like these:
• Used laptop computer to record weekly
meeng minutes and compiled them in
a Microso Word-based le for future
organizaonal reference.
• Developed three daily acvies for preschool-
age children and prepared them for a 10-minute
holiday program performance.
• Reorganized 10 years worth of unwieldy les,
making them easily accessible to department
members.
5. Going on Too Long or Cung Things Too
Short
Despite what you may read or hear, there are no
real rules governing the length of your resume.
Why? Because human beings, who have dierent
preferences and expectaons where resumes are
concerned, will be reading it.
That doesn’t mean you should start sending out
ve-page resumes, of course. Generally speaking,
you usually need to limit yourself to a maximum
of two pages. But don’t feel you have to use two
pages if one will do. Conversely, don’t cut the meat
out of your resume simply to make it conform to an
arbitrary one-page standard.
Many Federal resumes should not go back further
than 10-15 years. Oen this is due to character
limitaons when subming the resume online and
relevancy of work experience. For example: An IT
posion worked 18 years ago is probably no longer
relevant to the skills needed for a new posion in IT.
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment E – Avoiding the Top 10 Resume Mistakes
(continued)
Here are a few parameters when entering informaon
into federal databases:
6. A Bad Objecve
Employers do read your resume’s objecve statement,
but too oen they plow through vague pueries
like, “Seeking a challenging posion that oers
professional growth.” Give employers something
specic and, more importantly, something that
focuses on their needs as well as your own. Example:
“A challenging entry-level markeng posion that
allows me to contribute my skills and experience in
fund-raising for nonprots.”
7. No Acon Verbs
Avoid using phrases like “responsible for.” Instead, use
acon verbs: “Resolved user quesons as part of an IT
help desk serving 4,000 students and sta.”
8. Leaving O Important Informaon
You may be tempted, for example, to eliminate
menon of the jobs you’ve taken to earn extra money
for school. Typically, however, the so skills you’ve
gained from these experiences (such as, work ethic,
me management) are more important to employers
than you might think.
9. Visually Too Busy
If your resume is wall-to-wall text featuring ve
dierent fonts, it will most likely give the employer
a headache. So show your resume to several other
people before sending it out. Do they nd it visually
aracve? If what you have is hard on the eyes,
revise.
10. Incorrect Contact Informaon
I once worked with a student whose resume seemed
incredibly strong, but he wasn’t geng any bites from
employers. So one day, I jokingly asked him if the
phone number he’d listed on his resume was correct.
It wasn’t. Once he changed it, he started geng the
calls he’d been expecng. Moral of the story: Double-
check even the most minute, taken-for-granted details
-- sooner rather than later.
5
Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes, Retrieved July 27, 2011 from hp://www.
military.com/Veteran-jobs/content/career-advice/resume-wring/avoid-the-top-
10-resume-mistakes.html
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment F – Resume Tips for Making the Transition
According to Military.com, you’re leaving the service and are faced with the daunng task of developing
your resume. No doubt your military career is studded with accomplishments, but even the most decorated
Veteran needs to gure out how to make the transion to a civilian posion. Follow these ps to dra a high-
impact resume that shows how your military experience is transferable to a civilian job.
6
Define Your Civilian Job Objective
You can’t eecvely market yourself for a civilian job if you don’t have a clearly dened goal. Because so
many service people have diverse backgrounds, they oen make the mistake of creang resumes that are
too general to be eecve. Before wring your resume, do some soul searching, research occupaons and
pinpoint a specic career path. If you’re having trouble with this step, tap into your local transion oce or
solicit the help of a career coach. If you’re torn between two or more potenal goals, set up dierent resumes
Create a Resume That Speaks to Employers’ Needs
Now that your objecve is dened, you’re ready to create a winning resume. Consider a resume’s purpose: To
answer the employer’s queson, “What can this person do for me?”
A great way to start thinking about employers’ needs is to research your target job. Search for jobs, scour
company Web sites and read as many job posngs as possible. What types of skills and experiences are
employers seeking? What aspects of your background are most relevant?
Any informaon that does not relate to your goal should be eliminated or de-emphasized, and this
includes any unrelated military awards, training and disncons. For example, that medal you won for rie
marksmanship doesn’t belong on a civilian resume. This is oen the hardest step for ex-military personnel,
which is why it’s so common to see military resumes span ve pages or more. As you decide which
informaon to include, ask yourself, “Will a potenal employer care about this experience?” Only include
informaon that will help you land an interview.
Assume No Knowledge of the Military
Demilitarize your job tles, dues, accomplishments, training and awards to appeal to civilian hiring
managers. Employers with no exposure to the military don’t understand the terminology and acronyms, so
translate these into civilianese. Show your resume to several nonmilitary friends and ask them to point out
terms they don’t understand. Refer to job posngs for help substung civilian keywords for military terms.
40
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment F – Resume Tips for Making the Transition
(continued)
Showcase Your Accomplishments
Your military career has oered you excellent opportunies for training, praccal experience and
advancement. Tout your accomplishments so the average civilian understands the importance of your
achievements and the measurable outcomes.
Here’s an example of a demilitarized accomplishment statement:
Increased employee retenon rate by 16 percent by focusing on training, team building and
recognion programs. Earned reputaon as one of the most progressive and innovave IT
organizaons in the Army’s communicaons and IT community.
Here’s an example of incorporang a military award so employers understand its value:
Received Army Achievement Medal for compleng 400+ medical evaluaons and developing
paent database using MS Access. The database improved reporng funcons and tracked paent
demographics, records, medicaon, appointments and status.
Flaunt Your Military Background
You might have heard you need to develop a funconal resume format to mask or downplay your military
experience, but the opposite is true. Your military experience is an asset and should be marketed as such.
Many employers realize the value of bringing Veterans on board. Aributes honed in the military include
dedicaon, leadership, teamwork, posive work ethic and cross-funconal skills. If you fear a potenal
employer won’t realize the signicance of your military experience, make sure your resume clearly
communicates the value you bring to the table.
If You Were in Acve Combat, Leave out the Details
Defending your country and its interests is among the most admirable pursuits, but the sad truth is actual
references to the horrors of combat leave many employers squeamish. While you might have worked in a
short-range air defense engagement zone, this experience might not relate to your future goal. Tone down or
remove references to the baleeld.
Test-Drive Your Resume
For some Veterans, developing a resume that works in the civilian world is an ongoing process. Aer you’ve
polished your resume, start your distribuon and keep track of your resume’s response rate. Solicit feedback
and listen carefully to suggesons for improving your resume. Connue modifying the document unl it
successfully generates job interviews.
6
Out of Uniform: Resume Tips for Making the Transion, Retrieved July 27, 2011 from hp://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/
content/career-advice/military-transion/military-to-civilian-transion-resume-ps.html
41
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs
Q: What special skill sets and qualies does a Veteran bring to the organizaon?
A:
Ready supply of needed skills. Due to the cung-edge training and educaon the military oers, Veterans
and transioning service members have technical skills in areas of crical importance: acquision, informaon
technology, communicaons, security, informaon gathering, and medical technology. Many already hold
required security clearances for some Federal posions.
Q: What is Veterans’ preference?
A:
Veterans’ preference in its present form comes from the Veterans’ Preference Act of 1944, as amended,
and is now codied in various provisions of Title 5, U. S. Code. By law, Veterans who are disabled or who served
on acve duty in the Armed Forces during certain specied me periods or in military campaigns are entled
to preference over others in hiring from compeve lists of eligibles and also in retenon during reducons in
force. In addion to receiving preference in compeve appointments, Veterans may be considered for special
noncompeve appointments for which only they are eligible.
Q: Why is Veterans’ preference given?
A:
Since the me of the Civil War, Veterans of the Armed Forces have been given some degree of preference in
appointments to Federal jobs. Recognizing their sacrice, Congress enacted laws to prevent Veterans seeking
Federal employment from being penalized for their me in military service. Veterans’ preference recognizes
the economic loss suered by cizens who have served their country in uniform, restores Veterans to a
favorable compeve posion for Federal Government employment, and acknowledges the larger obligaon
owed to disabled Veterans.
Q: When does Veterans’ preference apply?
A:
Preference in hiring applies to permanent and temporary posions in the compeve and excepted
services of the Execuve Branch. Preference does not apply to posions in the Senior Execuve Service or to
Execuve Branch posions for which Senate conrmaon is required. The legislave and judicial branches
of the Federal Government also are exempt from the Veterans’ Preference Act unless the posions are in
the compeve service (Government Prinng Oce, for example) or have been made subject to the Act by
another law. Preference applies in hiring from civil service examinaons conducted by the Oce of Personnel
Management (OPM) and agencies under delegated examining authority for most excepted service jobs
including Veterans Recruitment Appointments (VRA), and when agencies make temporary, term, and overseas
limited appointments. Veterans’ preference does not apply to promoon, reassignment, change to lower
grade, transfer or reinstatement.
Note: Veterans’ preference does not require an agency to use any parcular appointment process.
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs
(continued)
Q: What special skill sets and qualies does a Veteran bring to the organizaon?
A:
Ready supply of needed skills. Due to the cung-edge training and educaon the military oers,
Veterans and transioning service members have technical skills in areas of crical importance: acquision,
informaon technology, communicaons, security, informaon gathering, and medical technology. Many
already hold required security clearances for some Federal posions.
Q: How can a Veteran or employer determine eligibility for Veterans’ preference?
A:
The Department of Labor’s Oce of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) and Veterans’ Employment
and Training Service (VETS) developed an online, interacve system called the Veterans’ Preference Advisor
to help Veterans understand:
• Whether or not they are eligible to receive Veterans’ preference,
• The type of preference to which they may be entled,
• The benets associated with the preference, and
• The steps necessary to le a complaint due to the failure of a Federal Agency to provide those benets.
The Veterans’ Preference Advisor leads the inquirer through a series of quesons to determine eligibility
and provides specic informaon and instrucons for ling a complaint. It is important to note that the
tool is intended to be a rst step and to provide general informaon, but it does not oer denive advice
regarding an individual’s Veterans’ preference entlement. The Veterans’ Preference Advisor can be
accessed at the Department of Labor’s website under elaws Advisors.
Q: What are the dierent Veterans’ preferences?
A:
Veterans’ preference uses a numerical rang system. Veterans receive addional points for their status as
a Military Service Member either while they served or as they currently serve.
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs
(continued)
Q: How can I nd out what kind of Veterans’ preference I have?
A:
The Department of Labor’s Oce of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) and Veterans’ Employment
and Training Service (VETS) has an “expert system” to help Veterans assess the preferences to which they are
entled. Two versions of this system are currently available, both of which help disabled Veterans determine
the type of preference to which they are entled, and the benets associated with the preference.
Q: What is a “Derived Preference” for hiring consideraon?
A:
Derived preference, available to eligible spouses (including widows or widowers), is based on the
qualifying service of a Veteran who is not able to work. Under certain circumstances, mothers of deceased
or disabled Veterans are also eligible for derived preference. Derived preference follows the same
appointment process as Veterans’ preference.
Q: How does Veterans’ preference impact the numerical rang for a job posion
selecon?
A:
Under the numerical rang system, Veterans are aorded preference points based on their classicaon.
The points gained through this preference are added to their overall rang based on knowledge, skills, and
abilies (KSAs) and experience.
Q: What are the classicaons of Veterans who are eligible for Veterans’ Preference?
A:
There are four classicaons of Veterans’ preference:
Classicaon Descripon Preference Points
TP Preference eligible with no disability rang 5
CPS Disability rang of 30% or more 10
CP Disability rang of at least 10% but less than 30% 10
XP Disability rang less than 10% 10
43
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VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
Attachment G – Veterans’ Preference FAQs
(continued)
Q: If I believe my or another’s Veterans’ preference rights may have been violated,
where can I le a complaint?
A:
Preference eligibles who believe their rights under any law or regulaon relang to Veterans’
preference have been violated may seek informaon or le a complaint with the Department of
Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS). Complaints must be led in wring and
within 60 days aer the date of the alleged violaon. The VETS Sta Directory on the Department of
Labor website lists the locaons for the Naonal Oces, and Regional and State Oces.
Q: What does the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) do with my
complaint?
A:
Upon receipt of the inial complaint, led within 60 days of an alleged violaon, VETS conducts
an invesgaon to determine if the claimant’s Veterans’ preference rights have been infringed upon
or if a claimant was denied the opportunity to compete under merit promoon procedures when
the agency is accepng applicaons from outside its workforce. If VETS determines that the case
has merit, every eort is made to resolve it. If a resoluon is not reached in a mely manner, or in
cases of appeal, the claimant may elect to elevate the complaint to the Merit Systems Protecon
Board (MSPB).
Q: Can a Veteran be eligible for mulple classicaons?
A:
No. A Veteran can meet the specicaons for mulple classicaons but they can only select one
for consideraon and inclusion for their numerical rang.
Q: Where can I get more informaon about Veterans’ preference?
A:
Specic details regarding Veterans’ preference can be found in the Vet Guide on the OPM
website and the Feds Hire Vets website. You may also submit quesons to “Ask an Expert” on the VA
for Vets website.
45
VA for Vets
Resume Building Guide
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