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US federal resume format for USAJOBS

The federal resume format for United States government jobs is not the private-sector one. Since 27 September 2025 USAJOBS accepts federal resumes of two pages at most, under the Office of Personnel Management's Merit Hiring Plan, and each job needs details private employers skip: month-and-year dates, hours per week, and for federal roles the series and grade. Everything must show how you meet the announcement's qualifications.

Build my resumeCheck my ATS scoreUpdated 4 October 2026

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Federal resume at a glance

Length
Two pages at most (OPM's Merit Hiring Plan, enforced on USAJOBS since 27 September 2025). Check each announcement.
For every job
Employer, title, start and end dates (month and year), hours per week, and duties and accomplishments.
Federal jobs
Also the series and grade (e.g. GS-0343-11).
Qualifications
Show specialized experience that matches the announcement's "Qualifications" section, using its wording where it's true.
Eligibility
OPM lists eligibility for special programs (for example military spouses or people with disabilities) as an optional detail; add it, and your citizenship, where the announcement asks.
Leave out
Photo, date of birth, Social Security number.
Build it in
USAJOBS's own resume builder, or upload a PDF of 5MB or less that contains every required detail.

Resume sample for the US

A made-up person, in the layout described on this page. Build yours with any CVEmber template and download it as a PDF.

Federal resume example (management analyst, GS-11)

Alicia Ramirez

Management and Program Analyst

Arlington, VA · (703) xxx-xxxx · alicia.ramirez@example.com

U.S. citizen · Veterans' preference: none

Work experience

  • Management and Program Analyst, GS-0343-09, Department of Example Services, Washington, DC · 06/2024–present · 40 hours per week
  • • Analyze workload data for 3 regional offices and recommend staffing changes; one proposal cut case backlog 18% in FY 2025.
  • • Draft briefing papers and standard operating procedures reviewed by senior leadership.
  • Operations Coordinator, Harbor Logistics Group, Baltimore, MD · 08/2021–05/2024 · 40 hours per week
  • • Built weekly performance reports in Excel and Power BI for a 60-person operation.

Education

  • Master of Public Administration, George Mason University · 2024
  • B.A. Political Science, University of Maryland · 2021

Skills

  • Program evaluation, workload analysis, Power BI, Excel, policy writing

Start from the announcement

Every federal job announcement lists qualifications and, above entry level, “specialized experience”. Agencies review resumes for eligibility and minimum qualifications, so show each requirement in a specific job with dates and hours. Write as if the reviewer knows only what the page says.

How HR counts your experience

OPM's qualification policies say a job title, military rank or pay rate is not used to judge specialized experience; HR evaluates the work you actually did. So describe the tasks and their level, not just the title. One year of experience means 12 months or 52 weeks of creditable work. Part-time work is prorated: OPM's example is 20 hours a week for 12 months, credited as 6 months. That is why every job needs its hours per week.

Layout USAJOBS recommends

OPM's guidance to agencies gives the advice USAJOBS passes on: save the resume as a PDF to keep the page count, keep the file at 5MB or less, use a sans-serif font such as Lato, Calibri or Arial, set margins of 0.5 inches, and consider 14-point titles with 10-point body text. For education, give the school, completion date, degree type and cumulative GPA. Clearances, training, languages and publications are optional extras when they are relevant.

Medical and research jobs

Where a position needs a curriculum vitae, typically in medicine or research, OPM says agencies may ask for it as an “other document”. Send it there only when the announcement tells you to; the two-page resume is still the one that is reviewed.

Fitting two pages

Keep the last 10 years in detail, cut duties that don't relate to the announcement, and merge older roles. Tailor a version for each announcement rather than one long master resume.

Format and ATS

A single-column resume with clear headings is easier to read on screen. If you want a federal resume template to start from, the example above already holds every required field: month-and-year dates, hours per week, series and grade. Check your PDF with the ATS checker for US jobs before you upload.

Rules change

Federal hiring rules changed in 2025 under Executive Order 14170 and the Merit Hiring Plan. Always follow the current announcement and USAJOBS guidance over any general advice, including this page.

Sources

Checked on 4 October 2026. Employers and portals change what they ask for, so always follow the job advert first.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

How long can a federal resume be?

Two pages. Under OPM's guidance, from 27 September 2025 USAJOBS restricts resumes to two pages, and an applicant whose only resume is longer is not considered.

Why do federal resumes need hours per week?

OPM prorates part-time work when crediting experience: 20 hours a week for 12 months counts as 6 months. HR needs your hours and dates to do that sum.

Can I use my private-sector resume on USAJOBS?

Only if it includes every required detail: month-and-year dates, hours per week, and experience that matches the announcement. Most need rewriting.

Should I use the USAJOBS resume builder?

It's a safe way to include every required field. An uploaded PDF works too if it contains the same details.

Is a government resume the same as a federal resume, and can I use a federal resume example PDF?

A government resume for a federal job is the federal resume described here; state and local governments set their own formats, so follow the announcement. A federal resume example PDF is a good layout guide, but your own hours per week, dates and duties must match the announcement. Export your final file as a text PDF, not a scan.

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