How to write a federal resume for USAJOBS (two-page limit)

The two-page limit

OPM’s guidance is plain: resumes must be no longer than two pages and must address the minimum qualifications and other requirements in the job announcement. It applies to competitive and excepted service jobs under Title 5, and to resumes you upload, build in USAJOBS or store in your profile. Agencies are told to review only resumes of two pages or less; if the only resume an agency receives is longer, the applicant isn’t considered further. The main exception is positions that ask for a curriculum vitae (CV), typically medical and research roles, where the announcement says what to send.

What each job must show

• Job title and employer (with series and grade for federal positions, e.g. GS-0343-11)
• Start and end dates as month and year, e.g. 05/2019 – 08/2022
• The hours you worked per week
• A short description that shows you can do the tasks at the level the announcement asks for

What OPM no longer asks for

The long-form federal resume carried a supervisor’s name and phone number, salary, and long lists of duties for every job. OPM’s two-page guidance lists none of these. Leave them out unless the announcement asks for them, and spend the space on the qualifications the job needs.

Education and optional details

When relevant or required, include your education (school, completion date, degree type, cumulative GPA) and certifications or licenses with their type and date. Add, when relevant: a current security clearance, job-related training, languages, professional organizations and publications, and eligibility for special hiring programs such as those for military spouses or people with disabilities.

Match the announcement

Read the announcement’s qualifications and any specialized experience it describes, then make sure a line in your resume proves each one at the level asked for. OPM advises aligning your language with the announcement: use its words where they’re true for you, so the reviewer can see the match without searching.

What to cut first

• Jobs that are old or unrelated to this announcement: cut them, or keep one line
• Duty lists: keep the results and the duties that match a qualification
• A long summary or objective: two lines at most, or none
• Training and awards the announcement doesn’t ask about
• Supervisor contacts, salaries and references, unless the announcement asks

Formatting USAJOBS recommends

The USAJOBS Help Center recommends a sans-serif font such as Lato, Calibri, Arial or Helvetica, 0.5-inch margins, 14-point titles and 10-point text, and uploading a PDF (up to 5 MB) so the formatting and page count stay as you made them. Don’t shrink the text below that to squeeze more in: cut instead.