Associated Resume Writers Federal Employment Services

COMPLETELY DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE & TRAINING ON YOUR RESUME

by Paul Maraschiello

My firm has helped thousands of people find jobs and get promoted within the Federal Government. Over the years, I have developed a method of preparing SF-171's and Federal resumes that has been very successful. In retrospect, when I look back, there is one thing that every successful Sf-171 or Federal resume has had in common. They have been extremely thorough in their descriptions of the duties, responsibilities and accomplishments of every job. In addition, all the training each applicant has completed is described in the proscribed manner.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

When you are describing the training you have had, in addition to your formal education, there are certain elements which must be enumerated to receive full credit. The first thing to list is who gave the course, next list where the course or seminar was taken. The next items should be the date or dates of the training. Next, list the course or seminar title and the number of hours. If a seminar was a whole day, put down eight hours, if it was for an entire week 40 hours, etc. This is a very important item that many people fail to include. You must remember, 180 hours of training in Widget Installation is much more meaningful that a 4-hour seminar in the Application of Widget Technology. The Government is interested in knowing if you completed the training, so tell them.

EXAMPLE OF TRAINING LIST

• Acme Business School, Washington, D.C., Computers & Principles of Operation, IBM 1401 & Peripherals, 1/67 - 7/67, 960 Hrs. , completed.
• IBM, Washington, DC, Computer Operation-IBM 1401 & Associated Hardware, 3/68, 40 Hrs., completed.
• IBM, Washington, DC, Scheduling Techniques, 7/70, 24 Hrs ., completed.
• IBM, Washington, DC O.S. for Non-Programmers, 2/72, 80 Hrs., completed.
• IBM, Arlington, VA, Data Entry Scheduling & Techniques, 8/72,16 Hrs., completed.
• IBM, Arlington, VA, Computer Operations-IBM 360/30 & Peripherals, 6/73, 40 Hrs., completed.
• IBM, Arlington, VA, Data Base Systems & Concepts, 5/74, 80 Hrs., completed
• IBM, Washington, DC, Remote Communications, 7/78, 40 Hrs., completed.
• Digital Systems , Walkersville, MD, Galaxy 5 Operation, 9/79, 24 Hrs., completed.
• Digital Systems, Walkersville, MD, Data Base Design & Programming Techniques, 10/80, 40 Hrs., completed.
• Widget Systems, Washington, DC, Computer to Computer Communications, 2/80, 24 Hrs., completed.
• Terminal Systems, McLean, VA, Galaxy 5 Scheduling & Operations, 1/83, 160 Hrs., completed.
• Data General, Alexandria, VA, C330 Basics of Operation, 12/84, 16 Hrs., completed.
• Data General, Alexandria, VA, Data Base Concepts, 2/84, 24 Hrs., completed.
• Sponsored by the American Counseling Association, Washington, DC, Staff Management, 2/85, 24 Hrs., completed.
• IBM, Washington, DC, Data Processing Reports & Interpretation, 5/86, 8 Hrs.,
• US Post Office, Alexandria, VA, Use & Assigning of Zip-4, 3/88, 4 Hrs., completed.
• Data General, Alexandria, VA, MV 8000/II Basics of Operation, 6/88, 16 Hrs., completed.
• Data General, Alexandria, VA, Mini/Mainframe Maintenance Principles, 3/87, 8 Hrs., completed.
• ASAE, Washington, DC, Computer Roundtable-PC/Mainframe-Sizing, 3/92, 4 Hrs., completed.
• Siemens Corp., Washington, D.C., Communications, 3/92, 16 Hrs., completed.
• American Counseling Association, Alexandria, VA, Staff Development, 1/93, 8 Hrs., completed.
• US Post Office, Merrifield, VA, Bar Coding, 6/93, 8 Hrs., completed.
• P.C.S., Herndon, VA, Introduction to PC, 9/93, 16 Hrs., completed.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Thoroughness in job descriptions on a Federal resume is critical to maximizing the points your application will attain. Too often, an otherwise qualified applicant will be rejected because he or she uses the same job description they use in their private sector resume for their Federal resume or SF-171. This is one of the biggest errors you can make on a Federal Resume or FS-171! The Government grades these like an examination, looking for key words and phrases that demonstrate competence. Your response will be compared to the three-page job description of the vacant position. At this stage of the process, an objective numerical rating will be developed for your application. A simple way of looking at it is that you will receive one point for every important factor and this score will be multiplied by the number of years of experience performing the task. It therefore becomes critical to enumerate all the duties and responsibilities of each job. Writing as much as 2-3 pages for a single job description in not too much. Often Federal resumes are as large as 10 pages or more.

EXAMPLE OF A THOROUGH JOB DESCRIPTION

As an Investigator, I was responsible for planning investigations (5%); researching collecting and analyzing data (90%); administrative and other related duties (5%) for an investigative firm specializing in copyright, trademark and intellectual properties, corporate and personal background investigations. Duties and Responsibilities:

• Planning copyright, trademark and intellectual properties, corporate and personal background, investigation activities.
• Utilizing a variety of state-of-the-art communications and other hi-tech surveillance and intelligence data gathering equipment.
• Conducting interviews in person and undercover.
• Conducting undercover investigations and surveillance.
• Conducting asset forfeiture investigations.
• Conducting missing person investigations.
• Investigating employee crimes, rape cases, assault cases, and other crimes.
• Participating in international investigations.
• Investigating and locating hidden assets.
• Coordinating activities with law enforcement personnel at the Federal, state, local and international levels.
• Analyzing and evaluating intelligence data, evidence and other information.
• Analyzing and evaluating financial data, legal material, investigative and other reports.
• Writing, editing and presenting report findings.
• Making oral and written presentations to clients and superiors.
• Working independently with little supervision.
• Communicating orally with Government personnel, supervisors, and others both orally and in writing.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Accomplishments are the frosting on the cake. Not only is the Government looking for people who have a lot of time and experience in their profession, they are interested in people who can do the job well. You should certainly list all the official recognition that you have received on the job. But, do not limit your accomplishment sections to just the awards you have received. List those things you did well. List those things that show YOU ARE REALLY GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO. Don't be humble, put it all down. Obviously, a person with 10 accomplishments has to be better at the job that someone who has only accomplished two.

EXAMPLE OF OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Successfully completed audits of: Military Airlift Command, Marine Air Warfare Center Air Craft Division/Marine Air Station, Fort McHenry Army Installation, Fort Despair Installation, Fort Alfred E. Neuman, Camp Drudgery, Headquarters Marine Corps, Naval Air Center, US Enterprise, Facility Maintenance Navy Under Sea Lab, Army Accounting System.
• Received a Outstanding Ratings (1994 and 1995) and a Highly Satisfactory Ratings (1992 and 1993).
• Received seven Exceeds Fully Successful Ratings (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992).
• Received four Certificates of Commendation (1990, 1991 1992 and 1993).
• Received a Letter of Appreciation (1993) and two Performance Cash Awards (1987 and 1995).
• Provided supervision, and guidance for five Junior Auditors during the Base Closure and Realignment.
• Based on the work I performed during the CFO audit at MSC Headquarters I identified $3 billion in cash reconciliation, $6 million in accrual and $4.8 million contingent liabilities adjustments that resulted in three major findings.
• Provided supervision, and guidance to three Auditor Trainees during the Property Management audit on how to prepare work paper, summaries, analysis (e.g., correlation analysis, graphic charts to support findings), findings and how to conduct successful interviews. Gathered data that was exceptionally effective and efficient in supporting $50 million worth of additional container cost that was not authorize under a preexisting contract. Identified $15 million of cargo accruals, which were not included in NAVSCAMs fiscal year end reconciliation; and $2.5 million, which was incorrectly reduced from one account to another in order to force the account to balance.
• Based on the work I performed during the survey phase of our review and my briefing our Headquarters of my finding, we were task to audit a MSC $1 billion plus accrual account.
• My accomplishments in Data Assembly and Analysis (e.g., I used a correlation analysis between MSC's account balance and the journal voucher supporting documentation) at MSC were critical and resulted in an approximate $1.5 million, one-time cost saving.
• Consistently completed assigned work well within established time frames.
• Submitted valuable suggestions for audit work to meet assignment objectives.
• Applied advance audit techniques (such as data collection), which were instrumental in developing an installations equipment cycle.
• I identified major understatements in the equipment general ledger accounts at Ft. Alfred E. Neuman utilizing a data collection instrument I developed specifically for the purpose of identifying units which had previously not reported equipment.
• Identified major understatements in the equipment General Ledger accounts at Ft. McMean. I used a computerized spreadsheet I developed specifically for the purpose of identifying units which had previously not reported equipment.
• I wrote numerous findings, in the equipment transactions processing areas, that highlighted serious deficiencies in the area of: (1) financial reporting of equipment at Ft. Alfred E. Neuman and (2) internal controls. My findings were always well thought out and identified recommendations for improvement or correction of the issues or problems.
• Effective analysis of Army Regulations, finance and accounting guidance and data collected resulted in high quality summaries and findings which were used job-wide to develop additional findings at other audit sites. In all instances, I properly safeguard audit information from all unauthorized disclosure.

ARW's assistance in creating your federal resume can make the difference when applying for a well paying, quality federal job.  An outstanding federal resume is particularly important in this age of federal job cutbacks and freezes.

AVAILABLE ASSISTANCE

I will personally evaluate the Federal employment potential of all applicants who send us their SF-171, 612 or resume and provide a free critique of the material. We can provide a full range of services, from developing winning SF-171's, Federal resumes, and answering KSA's, to providing job search assistance, on-line job listings and job announcement, as well as counseling. For select clients we even provide a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul Maraschiello is the president of the largest resume writing company in the Washington, D.C. area and specializes in assisting people in finding Federal employment. For years, he wrote the "SF-171 Advisor" column for the Federal Jobs Digest. Associated Resume Writers has its headquarters at 262-M Cedar Lane, Suite 2,Vienna, Virginia 22180. (703) 208-9770. E-Mail jobs@fedjobs.org