Anyone who commits a portion of their life to serve in the United States armed forces should be commended. As a thank you, United States veterans are given preference points for jobs in the federal government as long as they meet the requirements for employment preference. This gives veterans a step closer to landing federal government jobs.
But there's still a lot of work to do to become a federal government employee. If you are a veteran of the United States military, or will be soon, here are several must-do's before hiring a federal job resume writer when looking for a position in the federal government.
Do the Questionnaires
Almost every job announcement the federal government puts out has a questionnaire regarding the various specific aspects of the job requirements and skills that are necessary. Do the questionnaires. They are excellent gauges for whether or not a specific job is a good fit for your background and experience. When you do the questionnaires, do them well. They are graded by a computer and put into a pile with other applicants, in chronological order with the highest "grade" on top, along with the accompanying resumes.
Get Your Documents Together
Whether you have already left the military or are a short-timer, several of the documents that are available to you can help you focus on your skills and qualifications based on your training, experience, and awards. In the federal government, these are called KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) and are required in your resume. Here are several documents you can pull information from:
- Verification of Military Experience & Training (VMET)
- Joint Services Transcript
- Official Separation of Service
The documents will have a ton of information on them, including descriptions and dates, which will be helpful for building your resume for a federal government job.
Hire a Resume Writer
The resume process for a federal government job is a very detailed and lengthy one for a reason. The human resources personnel are looking for very specific qualifiers and KSAs, typically in a specific order based on the job vacancy announcement (JVA). They go specifically by what is in your resume and don't make assumptions, so you want to be sure to get as much of your information and KSAs in there as possible. You may want to hire a resume writer with experience in writing resumes for federal jobs. Provide him or her with copies of the documents that show your experience, training, and awards.