Federal, Public Sector & Education
Federal Government Resume Writing (USAJOBS GS-11 to GS-15 & SES)
A federal resume is screened against the announcement, not against your career story. HR specialists check whether each qualification is proven with dates, hours per week and specialized experience at the required level. For announcements opened on or after September 27, 2025, USAJOBS also caps the resume at two pages, so every line has to do qualifying work.
Recommended: Professional
$299.95
First draft in 72 hours · 60-day interview guarantee
Order My Federal GS & SES ResumeCheck my current resumeMuch federal resume advice is now obsolete. The old practice of four- to six-page federal resumes, carrying every duty from every position description, no longer works: for job announcements opened on or after September 27, 2025, resumes longer than two pages are not considered. Federal resumes still need details private-sector resumes skip, including start and end month and year, hours per week, series and grade for federal positions, and evidence that matches the announcement's specialized experience statement. Fitting all of that into two pages is now the core skill.
For GS-11 through GS-15 roles, we map your experience to the announcement's specialized experience and qualification requirements in its own terms, and make sure one year at the next lower grade level, or equivalent, is clearly supported. For Senior Executive Service candidates, OPM changed SES application requirements in 2025 under the Merit Hiring Plan, moving to a resume-based application with the Executive Core Qualifications addressed within the resume rather than as long separate narratives. Details can differ by announcement, so we write to each one.
Compensation band
Management Analysts (SOC 13-1111)
General and Operations Managers (SOC 11-1021)
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national estimates. Executive total compensation (bonus, equity) is not included in OEWS wages.
General Schedule base pay
| Grade | Step 1 | Step 10 |
|---|---|---|
| GS-11 | $63,795 | $82,938 |
| GS-12 | $76,463 | $99,404 |
| GS-13 | $90,925 | $118,204 |
| GS-14 | $107,446 | $139,684 |
| GS-15 | $126,384 | $164,301 |
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table 2026-GS, base rates before locality pay.
What reviewers check in the first 10 seconds
Check 1
Two pages, complete
The resume fits the two-page limit while keeping every element HR needs to credit your experience.
Check 2
Dates and hours
Start and end month and year and hours per week for each position, so HR can credit time accurately.
Check 3
Series and grade
For federal roles, the series and grade, such as GS-0343-13, next to each title.
Check 4
Specialized experience in plain view
Bullets that mirror the announcement's specialized experience statement with concrete examples and results.
ATS keywords & competencies
Hard skills and terms recruiters search for in federal gs & ses profiles. Your writer places each one inside a real achievement, not a pasted list.
Before & after: 3 Federal GS & SES rewrites
Illustrative rewrites showing the method; client work is confidential.
Before
Managed program budget and staff.
After
Program Manager, GS-0340-14, 10/2021 to present, 40 hours per week: formulated and executed a $48M annual budget across 3 regional offices and 62 staff; closed FY2024 at 99.2% obligation with no Antideficiency Act violations.
What changed: Adds series, grade, dates and hours, then shows budget execution in the terms HR and selecting officials use.
Before
Responsible for contract oversight.
After
FAC-COR Level II on 4 IT support contracts totaling $22M; built a quality assurance surveillance plan that cut late deliverables from 18% to 4% and documented performance for 2 option-year decisions.
What changed: Shows certification level, contract scale and an outcome tied to specialized experience language.
Before
Led organizational change initiatives.
After
Led consolidation of 5 field office help desks into one service center for 9,000 employees, redesigning workflows and retraining 30 staff; average ticket resolution fell from 3.1 to 1.4 days within a year.
What changed: A compact Leading Change example with scope and a measured result that fits a two-page SES resume.
ATS and format notes
- USAJOBS lets you build a resume in its builder or upload your own. Either way, for announcements opened on or after September 27, 2025, a resume longer than two pages is not considered. Check the page count of the exported PDF, not only your word processor view.
- HR specialists commonly compare your resume line by line with the specialized experience statement and your assessment questionnaire answers. If you rate yourself as expert on a task, a bullet in the resume should support that rating.
- Include start and end month and year and hours per week for every position. Without hours, HR may be unable to credit part-time or collateral-duty experience toward qualification.
Common mistakes we fix
- Submitting a four- to six-page federal resume to an announcement opened on or after September 27, 2025, where it will not be considered.
- Leaving out hours per week or month-level dates, so experience cannot be credited.
- Copying position description language instead of showing results that match the specialized experience statement.
- Writing SES material as long standalone ECQ essays when the announcement asks for ECQs addressed within the resume.
Recommended layout: USAJOBS Standard
Marcus T. Bell
Logistics Management Specialist (GS-0346)
Fayetteville, NC · (910) 555-0128 · marcus.bell@email.com · U.S. Citizen · Secret clearance (active)
Summary
Logistics leader with 12 years planning and moving equipment for brigade-size units. Managed $48M in property with zero unaccounted losses across three command inspections.
Work Experience
- Planned rail, air and convoy movement of 1,100 vehicles and containers for two overseas rotations, on schedule both times.
- Accountable for $48M in equipment across 6 battalions; passed 3 command supply inspections with zero findings.
- Supervised 14 logistics specialists; 9 earned promotion during my tenure.
- Managed GCSS-Army property book for a 180-soldier company.
Core Skills
GCSS-Army · DLA ordering · Transportation planning · Property accountability · Hazmat certification
Education
B.S., Logistics Management (in progress) · DoD SkillBridge: Supply Chain Analyst
- Plain, rule-free layout that survives the USAJOBS upload and resume builder.
- Supervisor contact permission line per role where required.
- Citizenship and clearance status stated plainly.
Federal GS & SES resume FAQ
Is the four- to six-page federal resume still recommended?
No. For USAJOBS job announcements opened on or after September 27, 2025, federal resumes longer than two pages are not considered. Advice recommending four to six pages predates that rule. The resume still needs dates, hours, series and grade, and specialized experience, so the writing has to be much tighter than before.
What are the Executive Core Qualifications?
The ECQs are the five leadership competencies OPM has long used for the Senior Executive Service: Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen and Building Coalitions. Under OPM's 2025 Merit Hiring Plan changes, SES applications moved to a resume-based format with ECQs addressed in the resume. OPM can update the framework, so always follow the specific announcement.
How do I show specialized experience in only two pages?
Start from the announcement. Identify the specialized experience statement and key duties, then write one or two results-based bullets that prove each one in the announcement's vocabulary. Cut duties that do not qualify you. Older or unrelated roles can shrink to title, dates and hours. Our writers build each resume to the announcement you are targeting.
Written by a human · Righted by an editor
Ready for a federal gs & ses resume that reads like you did the work?
Flat fee. One dedicated writer. First draft in 72 hours.