Kathryn Troutman’s award-winning guide explains how to write
the special type of resume required by the Federal government

Baltimore, MD; June 15, 2022 | This week author Kathryn Troutman received some great news from her book distributor, Cardinal Publishers Group. Her popular book, the Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Edition, had the highest sales numbers this year to date of any of the resume books sold in America, according to BookScan. Click to view June 2022 BookScan rankings. It got almost twice the sales of its closest competitor. In today’s rocky economy, people are drawn to Federal employment for the security, opportunities and benefits.

“What these jobseekers may not realize is that the Federal Resume is 100% different than the Private Sector Resume,” notes Kathryn. “The Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Edition, gets first-time Federal applicants and others up to speed to write not only a resume in the right format, but also one that will stand out.”

The latest 7th Edition of the Guide provides 17 samples of successful Federal Resumes. Instead of complete samples, Kathryn focuses on excerpts of the Work History sections in the book. She says that the Work History section is the hardest part to write, because it has to match the USAJOBS.com vacancy announcement in six ways:

1. It must show the Specialized Experience required for the job as described in the announcement.
2. It must show that you have the number of years in experience required for the job.
3. It must show the Keywords and Core Competencies listed in the announcement.
4. It must show the month and year for your start date and end date, hours per week, street address and zip code for each position held over the last 10 years.
5. It must show your important certifications, as well as the computer skills that are required or desired for the position.
6. It must show Accomplishments that demonstrate your past performance in the required specialized skills.

Specific targeted jobs in the book include Information Technology Specialist, FBI Special Agent, Park Ranger, Insurance Specialist, Maintenance Mechanic, Law Enforcement Specialist, Contract Specialist, (Veteran to Federal Sample for) Material Handler, (Military Spouse Sample for) an Administrative position, and (Recent Graduate Sample for) Engineering. The samples in the book are from real people and fictionalized. All gave permission for their winning resumes to be in the book.

In 1996, Kathryn Troutman wrote the first edition of the Federal Resume Guidebook. She saw the need after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) decided that it was time to change the Federal job application format from the long-form SF-171 to a resume. Over 25 years later, the Guide is now on the shelf in Business or Reference in every Barnes and Noble bookstore in the US.

The samples in the book are in the Outline Format, which Kathryn invented in 2002. In this format, the keywords from the announcement’s required Specialized Experience section are featured in ALL CAPS. “Federal Human Resources personnel like the Outline Format,” notes Kathryn, “because its presentation makes it easy to find the required experience.”

Over the years, Kathryn has noticed the typical big mistakes jobseekers make when applying for Federal positions on USAJOBS.

1. The resume doesn’t match the announcement, in terms of keywords or specialized experience.
2. The applicant doesn’t score the Assessment Questionnaire at the highest level.
3. They don’t upload the right documents (such as transcripts or other personnel documents).
4. The jobseeker doesn’t include month and year start dates and end dates or hours per week for each job.
5. They don’t push the submit button to actually apply for the job.

“The bottom line is that if the Federal resume doesn’t match the USAJOBS announcement, you won’t get Best Qualified or Referred for a position,” explains Kathryn. “That means your resume won’t be considered further for the job.”

Getting back to the Guide’s sales breakthrough, BookScan tabulates purchases from cash registers at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, many mass merchants and hundreds of independent bookstores. Lots of numbers flowed through its tabulators to arrive at the Federal Resume Guidebook’s #1 sales position for 2022.

“I’m smiling really big right now,” Kathryn says. “This book is a must-have if you want to apply for a Federal job, or get promoted in government. With the Guide’s samples and techniques, you learn how to format, write and target your Federal resume. Best wishes for your public service career! The government is hiring!”

The Book: The Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Edition, took Gold as the Best Book in the Reference category in the 2021 Ben Franklin Awards. Buy it as an ebook or paper book on the Resume Place website (where quantity discounts are available) or Amazon.

The Author: Kathryn Troutman is the author of many award-winning Federal career guides including the Student’s Federal Career Guide, 4th Edition, Jobseeker’s Guide, 9th Edition, Writing The New SES Application, 2nd Edition, and The Stars Are Lined Up for Military Spouses, 2nd Edition. Her firm, the Resume Place, offers Federal resume writing and job coaching services in Baltimore, MD. She leads workshops on Federal resume writing and Federal jobseeking around the world.

The Author: Kathryn Troutman is the author of many award-winning career guides including the best-selling Federal Resume Guidebook, 7th Edition (Best Reference Book/Gold in IBPA’s Ben Franklin Awards and more) and Creating Your First Resume (Foreword Indie Silver for Career and three other honors). Troutman is the Founder and President of The Resume Place, which she established more than 30 years ago.