U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
1
Federal Application Tips
For more than fifty years, the U.S. Government required applicants to submit a
Standard Form 171, Application for Federal Employment. In 1995, however, the
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) adopted new guidelines and issued
the new Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612). As a result,
vacancy announcements issued today by the DOS carry this statement:
"You may apply for advertised vacancies with a resume, the Optional
Application for Federal Employment (OF-612), or any other written format
you choose."
In practical terms this means that you may continue to submit a SF-171, an
OF-612 or a “Federal” resume.
The purpose of all three options is the same:
• To get you judged “qualified” for the vacancy
• To get you certified as eligible
• To get you “best qualified”
• To get you selected for an interview and/or selected for the job
• To impress the reader with the contents, the look of the document and
your organizational skills
• To serve as a “marketing” tool
Federal Resumes
In its publication, Applying for a Federal Job (OF-510), the United States Office of
Personnel Management States that “You may apply for advertised vacancies
with a resume, the Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612), or any
other written format you choose.” If you choose to prepare and submit a resume,
you should be aware that while you may design your own format, you must
include certain information so that your qualifications may be evaluated to
determine if you meet legal requirements for Federal employment. If your resume
does not provide all the information requested, you may lose consideration for
the job.
The need to provide all of the detailed information that OPM requires means that
your Federal Resume may be longer than a typical private-sector resume. If you
wish to apply for non-government jobs, you’ll need to develop a different resume
to meet that need.
Use the freedom you have been given to create a format that allows the reader
easy access to all your strengths. Add as many experience blocks as you need
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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to describe the work experience you have that is pertinent to the job your are
applying for.
A resume is not a biography. Be selective, not exhaustive. Focus on experience
that is related to the job you are applying for.
Arrange the descriptions of your accomplishments in a way that will focus the
reader on how well you match the vacancy requirements.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, here is what your Federal
resume MUST contain (in addition to specific information requested in the job
vacancy announcement):
Job Information:
• Announcement number, and title and grade(s) of the job you are applying
for.
Personal Information:
• Full name, mailing address (with ZIP Code) and day and evening phone
numbers (with area code)
• Social Security Number
• County of citizenship (Most Federal jobs require United States
citizenship.)
• Veterans’ preference (if any)
• Reinstatement eligibility (If requested, attach SF 50 proof of you career or
career-conditional status.)
• Highest Federal civilian grade held (Also give job series and dates held)
Education:
• High School
Name, city and State (ZIP code if known)
Date of Diploma or GED
• Colleges or universities
Name, city and State (ZIP if known)
Majors
Types and year of any degrees received
(If no degree, show total credits earned and indicate whether semester or
quarter hours.)
• Send a copy of your college transcript only if the job vacancy
announcement requests it.
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
3
Work Experience:
• Giving the following information for your paid and non-paid work
experience related to the job you are applying for. (Do not send job
descriptions.)
Job title (include series and grade if Federal job.)
Duties and accomplishments
Employer’s name and address
Supervisor’s name and phone number
Starting and ending dates (month and year)
Hours per week
Salary
• Indicate if we may contact your current supervisor.
Other Qualifications:
• Job-related training courses (title and year)
• Job-related skills, for example, other languages, computer
software/hardware, tools, machinery, typing speed
• Job-related certificates and licenses (current only)
• Job-related honors, awards, and special accomplishments, for example,
publications, memberships in professional or honor societies, leadership
activities, public speaking, and performance awards (Give dates but do
not send documents unless requested.)
Optional Application Form for Federal
Employment, OF-612
When the Office of Personnel Management announced in January, 1995 that the
Standard Form 171- Application for Employment was no longer the sole federal
application form, federal job seekers gained an opportunity to present information
about their experience in new formats. One of these is OF- 1612, Optional
Application for Federal Employment.
The General Information provided by OPM concerning OF-612 states in part:
“You may apply for most Federal Jobs with a resume, the ... Optional
Application for Federal Employment or other written format . If your
resume or application does not provide all the information requested on
this form and in the job vacancy announcement, you may lose
consideration for a job. Type or print clearly in dark ink. Help speed the
selection process by keeping your application brief and sending only the
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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requested information. If essential to attach additional pages, include your
name and Social Security Number on each page.”
Strategies for Writing a Qualifying Federal
Application Package
You may apply for federal jobs with a SF-171, an OF-612, or a Federal Resume.
First, READ the entire vacancy announcement carefully to make sure your
experience and/or education meets the basic qualification requirements and
selection factors. This will be spelled out in terms of quantity (number of years)
as well as quality (type) of experience.
Next, WRITE a response that addresses both these requirements explaining how
you meet the criteria. Qualifying experience can either be paid or unpaid (i.e.,
volunteer).
Then, WRITE a response to all ranking factors ensuring that each is addressed
completely, worded properly and easily understood. Include training that relates
to each ranking factor.
DO NOT use abbreviations or acronyms. Spell the name in its entirety and then
use abbreviation in parentheses. Example: Department of State (DOS).
Use the 3 Cs of good writing” when writing your experience blocks.
CLEAR - is easily understood and free from confusion.
COMPLETE - provides detailed evidence of your skill, knowledge, and/or
accomplishment. Quantify and qualify your experience. Explain the result
and how it was implemented.
CONCISE - is brief and to the point.
DO NOT ADD attachments to your application unless they are specifically
requested. You may refer to letters of commendation and quote from them where
appropriate.
DESCRIBE general experiences gained more than 10 years ago if pertinent. Do
not include any experience older than 10 years that does not pertain to the
position for which you are applying.
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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Experience Block Format
Start with a brief narrative that explains the scope of your responsibilities. Next,
cite your award(s) earned during this time period and explain what you
accomplished to earn the award(s).
The body of your experience blocks should be a series of “bullet” entries which
are concrete examples of your duties and accomplishments. Start with an action
verb and describe your most important accomplishments. It is important to give
evidence of your skill and knowledge.
Near the end of each experience block provide a skill summary, that highlights
your special skills, a list of your awards, and training you completed during this
time period.
Format Example:
Scope of Responsibility
• As Management Analyst in the of office of __________
• Received Cash Awards 1996, 1995 and 1994 for OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCE as a result of my work on ___________
Duties and Accomplishments
• Managed _________ (Accomplishment with results stated).
• Coordinated _________
• Organized __________
• Planned and evaluated __________
• Developed and gave eight briefings per month to ____________
Skill Summary
• Knowledge of ________
• Experience with __________
• Ability to ___________
• Able to _________
Honors and Awards
Training
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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Six Steps to Strong Accomplishment Statements
The following steps will help you to develop your action statements that give
evidence of your accomplishments. Select skills necessary for the position you
are applying.
Step 1
STATE THE PROBLEM, NEED OR CHALLENGE
Provide secretarial support, write letters, memos, reports as needed.
Chaotic and inadequate log book; documents that are needed are difficult to
identify and retrieve.
Step 2
IDENTIFY A SKILL
Write letter and memoranda
Organize and create files
Step 3
CITE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOU USED THIS SKILL
For three years wrote letters and memoranda for office director’s signature.
Set up new files for Eastern European reports.
Step 4
DESCRIBE THE CIRCUMSTANCES - Who, What, Where, When, Why, How
Independently researched and drafted letters daily in response to Congressional
inquires, requests for information from companies and the public, and Red
Borders for the Seventh Floor principals.
From log books, created a new filing system and data base of documents that
staff members could use to file and retrieve timely documents.
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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Step 5
REINFORCE WITH MEASURABLE DATA- Numbers, Dollars, Percentages,
Volumes per Month, year, etc.
Wrote 20-25 responses to Congressional inquires per week during a 6-month
period; wrote 25-30 responses to public inquires per month; wrote 3-6 Red
Borders per week during crises, ensuring that all were grammatically correct and
in compliance with correspondence regulations. Created a 450-item data base
with summaries.
Step 6
GIVE THE RESULTS. WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED BECAUSE OF YOUR
USE OF THIS SKILL?
Productivity, morale, customer service, problem solving, money saved, etc.
Handled the correspondence previously done by two secretaries, and reduced
turnaround time significantly. Received cash award for outstanding performance.
Ten-member staff and five Foreign Service Officers commented that the new
system is much more efficient and user-friendly. Received Cash Award for
Creating a new Standard Operating Procedure.
Describing Your Accomplishments
Describe your accomplishments with strong verbs. The following list may be
helpful:
accomplished
achieved
acquired
adjusted
administered
advised
analyzed
applied
appraised
arranged
assessed
assisted
assured
bought
briefed
coordinated
corrected
counseled
critiqued
dealt
decided
defined
delegated
delivered
demonstrated
designed
determined
developed
devised
directed
implemented
improved
initiated
inspected
instructed
insured
interpreted
interviewed
introduced
investigated
joined
kept
led
licensed
maintained
programmed
prohibited
projected
promoted
purchased
qualified
rated
recommended
related
reported
researched
reviewed
revised
selected
set
U.S. Department of State Office of Civil Service Personnel Management
Bureau of Human Resources Career Development Resource Center
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brought
budgeted
cataloged
changed
chaired
classified
closed
communicated
compared
completed
conceived
concluded
conducted
continued
contracted
controlled
drafted
edited
enlisted
ensured
established
estimated
evaluated
expanded
expedited
explained
financed
forecast
formulated
gathered
graded
guided
handled
managed
modified
monitored
named
negotiated
observed
ordered
organized
participated
perceived
performed
persuaded
planned
prepared
presented
processed
solved
sought
specified
spoke
studied
suggested
summarized
supervised
targeted
taught
tested
trained
translated
treated
updated
wrote
You need not limit yourself to the verbs on this list. The vacancy announcement
may help you identify verbs to use.
