42 Davenport University Career Services Guide Federal résumés and Curriculum Vitae have many similarities and some differences. • Tailor your federal résumé to EACH job you apply for • A CV includes ALL experience, history and publications • In a federal résumé, be clear, not vague. Explain your skills as they directly relate to the qualifications required for the role • Explain how you developed and use the skills you used where you work or have worked, volunteered or studied • There are generally no page limits— BUT look to make sure a page limit isn’t stated • Keep information relevant to the job you are applying for • In a CV, you are not limited to direct relevance. All work, education, research and publications matter • Paragraphs or bullets? Hint: Bullets are easier to read, but both can be in paragraph format • Use REVERSE chronological order ONLY • Relevant experience can be paid or unpaid in both documents GENERALTIPS THEFEDERALRÉSUMÉ& CURRICULUMVITAE(CV) • Describe unpaid experience (volunteerism, board membership) as if it were a paid job in both documents • You will be asked what your minimum salary requirement is. Determine it and put it on the application • O*NET OnLine and DU Salary Calculator will help you to determine the current market value of a position • Gaps in employment don’t matter • Use experience going back ten years or less, unless an experience you had that is older than ten years reinforces the qualifications required • CV’s use all years of professional experience Defining Your Experience in a Federal Résumé In a federal résumé, your definition should include a two-part answer showing What and How Well or Action and Result. Part 1: What = amount, level and repetition Amount = # of years or % of time Level = entry, mid-level manager, high-level executive Repetition = how often did you do that same thing at different levels Don’t worry about over qualification. The issue is more that you have enough experience, not too much. Part 2: How Well = Impact, outcome and results. Quantity and quality. Who was impacted? How significant was your impact? How much or many? Did you get recognized? Do not speak in terms of what you were ‘responsible for’. Speak in terms of what you did and how well. Go back to those adverbs: executed developed, wrote, completed, managed. For example: Executed 40 material requisitions daily. Review skills profiler careerone.org: This will help you define your skills in meaningful terms.