Career Planning

10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Improve Your Resume

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Most of us are looking for quick and easy things to improve our resumes without a lot of work or time. Here are 10 things you can do; all totaled, these should take less than 30 minutes:

  1. Is your education listed first? If so, move it to the end unless you have no work experience. Most employers value your work experience more than your education. EXCEPTION: if you are an academic and presenting a formal CV.
  2. Are there tables embedded in your resume? If so, remove them.
  3. Does your resume go back more than 10 years or so? If so, eliminate your earlier work experience; employers want to know what you have done lately.
  4. Do the dates and jobs on your resume match the dates and jobs on your LinkedIn Profile? If not, make them match.
  5. Does your resume include a Hobbies section? A Personal section? Something similar? Delete them; everything on your resume should be focused on your target job.
  6. Does your resume include references? Or the statement, “references available upon request”? If so, delete this; all employers know that you will provide references if asked.
  7. Do you still have your college graduation date? And it was more than 10 years ago? Delete it.
  8. Is your private sector resume more than 2 pages? It shouldn’t be. Likewise, if your federal resume is ONLY 2 pages, more content is needed. A typical federal resume is 4-6 pages.
  9. Do you have an objective statement? If so, get rid of it; your objective is to get the job! Which is implied by applying for it.
  10. Does your resume have typos or grammatical errors? Not sure? Ask someone else to read it and fix them.

BONUS: Does your resume contain key words for the positions you’re targeting? If not, add them. It’s not about knowing that you can do the job but proving that you already have!

Writing Your Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs), Part 1/2

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A fundamental part of the SES application process is ECQ writing. Many applicants fear writing ECQs and the idea of it can be overwhelming. Let’s start by talking about the ECQs in general. The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) describe the leadership skills needed to succeed in the SES; they also reinforce the concept of an “SES corporate culture.” This concept holds that the Government needs executives who can provide strategic leadership and whose commitment to public policy and administration transcends their commitment to a specific agency mission or an individual profession.

OPM has identified five executive core qualifications. The ECQs were designed to assess executive experience and potential–not technical expertise. They measure whether an individual has the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions–not whether they are the most superior candidate for a particular position. (The latter determination is made by the employing agency.) Successful performance in the SES requires competence in each ECQ. The ECQs are interdependent; successful executives bring all five to bear when providing service to the Nation.

The ECQs are:

Leading Change
This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. This ECQ requires the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.

Leading People
This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This ECQ requires the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.

Results Driven
This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. This ECQ requires the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.

Business Acumen
This core qualification requires the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.

Building Coalitions
This core qualification requires the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

Each of the ECQs include sub-competencies which are the personal and professional attributes that are critical to successful performance in the SES. They are based on extensive research of Government and private sector executives and input from agency Senior Executives and human resources managers. There are 28 sub-competencies. Twenty-two of them are specific to one of the ECQs; the remaining six are fundamental and cross-cutting across all ECQs.

Each applicant to the SES must demonstrate their experience in each ECQ, as well as the sub-competencies. How do you do that? By telling interesting, engaging stories that illustrate how you have exhibited these competencies in your work or volunteer activities.

Our next article will include additional information on how to tell your stories.

Writing A Senior Executive Service (SES) Resume

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While you are probably familiar with writing a resume, writing your SES resume is somewhat different. Not only must your resume include the required information for federal resumes, it must also show your executive-level experience and accomplishments. Typically grade 15 work (and sometimes grade 14, depending on the specific position) meets the basic qualifications requirement; therefore, your resume should focus on your highest-level work—there is no need to focus on earlier work experience – most resumes only go back about 10 years or so. In addition, like with other resumes, your executive resume should include the key words from announcement, as well as the five Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ), and as many of the sub-competencies as possible, in addition to the key words from technical qualifications.

Before starting to put your resume together, you should carefully review the job posting, especially the technical qualifications (TQs; also known as Professional Technical Qualifications or Mandatory Technical Qualifications). If you cannot provide specific examples of when you demonstrated each of the TQs, you should probably pick another announcement.

Additionally, you should carefully check the “how to apply” section of the announcement for any special requirements, such as a transcript, performance evaluation, supervisory endorsement, references, or something similar. You do not want to be applying at 11:59 PM on the closing date and find that you are lacking a critical document! Finally, you should carefully check the announcement to determine any character limits, font sizes, or application requirements (such as no uploaded resumes) before you start writing.

An executive resume typically includes several parts:

  • Executive Qualifications
  • Executive Experience and Achievements
  • Professional Leadership Development
  • Awards and Honors
  • Professional Presentations and/or Publications
  • Relevant Certifications and/or Licenses
  • Education

This is a lot of content; in most instances, your federal executive resume will be five or six pages. While this may sound long, it is important to remember that from a Human Resources (HR) review perspective, if it is not on your resume, you did not do it. So, a traditional two-page resume will rarely get your application in front of the agency Executive Resources Board (ERB).

Many agencies are restricting SES resumes to 5 pages. In these situations, many agencies are considering the resume as the entire application; in this case it is critical that you demonstrate your executive leadership through your resume. This means focusing on the language of the ECQs in addition to your technical qualifications. Do not rely on your resume “passing” because you are already in the agency. Throughout your resume, be sure to include metrics to give your work context (how many people do you lead? What is your budget? Etc.) and accomplishments to demonstrate that you can achieve results.

In addition to the above-mentioned parts, be sure to include all required information such as your title, job series, and grade, name of your supervisor, etc. Check the announcement to see if your Social Security Number is required (or prohibited). You do not want to be disqualified for failing to follow the rules.

Since veterans’ preference is not a consideration in the SES, this is less important in your executive resume. However, if you have military leadership experience at a high level (typically Colonel or above), you may want to include it in your SES resume.

Do I Really Need a Cover Letter?

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Back in the days of “snail mail,” the use of a cover letter was standard. Applicants mailed their resumes and included a cover letter to introduce themselves and highlight their qualifications. Nowadays, no one actually mails their resume to anyone; so the obvious question is whether cover letters are still needed.

Here are some thoughts to consider:

  • Does the job posting ask for a cover letter? If so, you definitely want to include one. If nothing else, it shows that you can follow instructions (always a plus for an employer!).
  • Is there a place to upload a cover letter? Many private sector Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) do not provide space to upload a cover letter. If you find yourself in this situation, it is clear that the organization does not want a cover letter.
  • Most private sector recruiters (over 60% according to some studies) do not read them. Of course, that means that approximately 40% of resume reviewers and recruiters do review cover letters.
  • In the federal arena, the first thing that is reviewed is basic qualifications and then the questionnaire; next is the resume. An applicant has no way of knowing whether the Human Resources Specialist reads your letter—or even more importantly, passes it along to the hiring manager.
  • A cover letter that simply says “here is my resume for the ABC position is always worse than no cover letter at all. If you are going to prepare a cover letter, you should make it meaningful. There are still no guarantees that it will be read or considered but if it is, it will at least say something.

If you do decide to prepare a cover letter, here are best practices:

  • Customize your cover letter, including addressing it to a real person and properly noting the job and organization. There is no excuse for “to whom it may concern.” All federal job postings list a contact person. And for private sector positions, use LinkedIn and other sources to find the hiring manager.
  • Make it different than your resume. A cover letter should not just repeat what’s in your resume—highlight your key qualifications and accomplishments vis-à-vis the posting and tell your story, while making it personal. You can and should use “I” in your cover letter.
  • If you are emailing your resume to someone, you should put your “cover letter” in the body of the email, rather than making it a second attachment for someone to open. Keep it short; emails are typically shorter than letters. If you’re putting your resume and cover letter into a system, be sure to put it in the right place.
  • Keep it short and sweet; your cover letter should not exceed one page and paragraphs should be kept to 4-5 sentences.
  • Ensure perfection. Make sure your cover letter is well written and includes no typos or grammatical errors. Ask a friend, family member, or colleague to proof it for you.

While in many cases, a cover letter is no longer needed, if you are going to prepare and submit one, make sure it is worth the reader’s time and attention!

Main Differences Between Federal and Private Sector Resumes

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Most of us remember the rule drilled into us at school that no resume should be more than 2 pages—and 1 is better! That “rule” points out one of the major differences between federal and private sector resumes.

Let’s look at that and some of other myths about resumes in more detail:

  • Resumes should not exceed 2 pages. SOMETIMES. While I agree with that rule for private sector resumes, if your federal resume is only 2 pages, it will be difficult for you to get traction. From a federal Human Resources (HR) perspective, if its not on your resume, you did not do it; federal HR reviewers of your resume are not allowed to make assumptions or draw conclusions about your experience; it must be spelled out. A typical federal resume is 4-6 pages, while a strong private sector resume is 2 pages (or one, if you are relatively new to the workforce).
  • Resumes do not need to include names of supervisors, starting and end months, hours worked per week, etc. SOMETIMES. As mentioned above, Federal resumes require significantly more detailed information than private sector resumes. This includes things like citizenship, hours worked per week, supervisors’ names (and whether they may be contacted), and more. This information should not be included on a private sector resume (although most private sector employers want to know start and end month, in addition to year). Federal HR can eliminate people from competition who do not include all required information—why take that chance?
  • Uploading resumes is always better than copying and pasting into the builder. WRONG. Private sector organizations have created resume builders for a reason: information appears in the order and location recruiters want to see it. Ditto for USAJOBS. (and not all federal agencies accept uploaded resumes—it would be a drag to figure that out at 11:58PM). While it may take a bit longer to copy and paste your Word document into the available builder, remember that is how organizations want to receive it.
  • Resumes should reflect duties. TRUE BUT. Whether you are putting together a federal or a private sector resume, duties should be included. But so should accomplishments; its not enough for your resume to show that you do “x”; you need to show accomplishments so that readers of your resume can see how you have added value to your organization(s).
  • Generic resume work. WRONG. All resumes, whether federal or private sector should be tailored to individual job postings. This means including all of the job postings’ key words.
  • Email doesn’t matter. WRONG. If you are still using AOL for your email, that screams that you have not updated that part of your life—and begs the question whether you have updated other parts of your work life. While concerns about age are a bigger issue in the private sector than the federal one, it is always a good idea to have a professional email address; preferably, one that has your name (without the year of your birth). And make sure the “display name” is appropriate as well.
  • Formatting should be attractive. IT DEPENDS. Federal resumes are not typically heavily formatted and the USAJOBS builder does not accept formatting tools like bold, underline, small caps, italics, etc. You can get a bit more creative with private sector resumes but remember that most private sector Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) do not accept embedded tables, certain fonts, PDF, and borders.

While federal and private sector resumes both require the use of key words, the inclusion of accomplishments and accomplishments, there are substantial differences in length, level of detail, and content. When applying for jobs, it is important to make sure your resume matches your target sector for maximum consideration.

Include a References Page with your Resume

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The days of noting: “References Available Upon Request” on your resume are over (and have been, for quite some time). Do not list references on your resume. Instead, create a Reference Page to provide to hiring managers upon request. You should take your reference page to all interviews and have it ready to share.

Here’s what a reference page should look like and the information it should contain:

  • The formatting of your reference page should match the formatting of your resume in terms of font and any graphics used.
  • The top of your reference page should include your name and contact information (at least your phone and email address). You may also want to include your customized LinkedIn URL.
  • You should have at least 3 and no more than 5 references; all should be professional. The information on each reference should include: the reference name, title, organization, City, ST, email, and phone. You may also want to consider including the reference’s relationship to you.
  • Your most important reference should be the first one. And if possible, your references should have some familiarity with the skills required for the job you’re targeting. It is acceptable to use difference references for different positions.
  • Don’t forget to double-check all spelling and contact information.

You shouldn’t wait until you’re getting called in for interviews to contact people you want to use as references.

It can take some time to track down and reach references, catch them up on where you’re at in your career, and obtain their contact information. You don’t want to try to do that while you’re researching and preparing for a job interview.

Before providing someone as a reference, be sure to ask for permission. Not everyone you’ve worked for — or worked with — will be a good reference for you. You want a reference that can be as enthusiastic about you as you are about getting the job. Not all potential references will be able to provide this kind of stellar recommendation. But some of your references may be hesitant to say no to you directly if you ask.

Give them a way to let themselves off the hook, without turning you down directly. Instead of asking, “Will you be a reference for me?” Ask them, “Do you feel you know me well enough to serve as a reference for me?” You also want to update them on what you’ve been up to (especially if they knew you at a previous job) and what you’re looking for in your next job.

Immediately send a letter or email thanking them for serving as a reference, and provide a current copy of your resume.

If you provide a name as a reference for a particular job, contact them right away after the interview to let them know. Give them the company name, position title you’re seeking, and the name, title, email address, and phone number for the person who may be calling. Let them know some of the critical challenges and responsibilities of the position so they will be prepared to discuss specific skills, experience, and achievements from their work with you.

Ask them to let you know if they are contacted about a particular opportunity. (When they do let you know, ask what kind of questions they were asked.) This not only allows you to find out what information was collected in the reference check, but also can prompt you to write them a handwritten thank-you note, thanking them for their support.