How to write a federal résumé for USAJOBS

Since September 2025, a federal résumé gets two pages. Those two pages have to prove, duty by duty, that you've done the work one announcement describes, and the people rating it won't fill in the gaps for you.

If you're getting out and a federal job is on your list, much of the federal résumé advice still online predates the rules you'll apply under. For years, federal résumés ran long. OPM's Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, ended that "longform" format, and since September 27, 2025, USAJOBS has held every résumé to two pages.

Two pages is not much room for what they have to do. Your résumé is the formal application. It has to show that you meet the job's qualifications, which for most GS jobs at GS-5 and above means one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade. Subject-matter experts may rate it, and the Labor Department's transition workshop guide puts it bluntly: "The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume."

So you write it against one real announcement, not your career in general. Below is what to read in that announcement, what each job entry has to show, how the questionnaire and essays work now, and what to attach. First, here's one military duty line rewritten as a USAJOBS work-experience entry.

Read the announcement before you write

Start with the announcement, not your old résumé. USAJOBS says to read the entire announcement and pay close attention to "This job is open to" and "Who may apply," to see whether you're eligible, then the Qualifications and How to Apply sections. DOL's Employment Workshop guide, used in the Transition Assistance Program, also walks through Duties and Required Documents. The hiring paths you'll see listed, such as the ones for veterans and military spouses, are covered in our veterans' preference guide.

Qualifications holds the sentence your résumé has to answer: the specialized-experience statement. In a Marshals Service announcement that DOL reprints, it asks for "at least one year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level," followed by a numbered list of duties. Copy those duties out. Each one needs an answer on your résumé.

The other sections tell you how to submit. How to Apply has to say that only résumés of up to two pages will be accepted. Some agencies take uploaded résumés and ones made in the USAJOBS résumé builder, and some take only one kind. The announcement also has to tell you how you'll be assessed, and whether the agency is using the Rule of Many. Required Documents is that job's checklist.

Two pages: what the rule covers

The limit applies to every Title 5 competitive and excepted service announcement, internal or external, on USAJOBS or any other platform. In USAJOBS, it covers every résumé in your profile, uploaded or built. If the only résumé you send is longer than two pages, OPM's guidance says you're ineligible. If you send a two-page résumé and a longer one, only the two-page one is reviewed, so attaching a "full" version as an extra document gets you nothing.

There are narrow exceptions. Agencies outside Title 5, and judicial and legislative branch agencies, may accept longer résumés, but only if the announcement says so and explains how to send one. For jobs that require a CV, typically in medical and research fields, agencies may ask for it as an "other document."

USAJOBS enforces the page count, not your font or margins: it won't let you upload or build a résumé longer than two pages. OPM recommends 0.5-inch margins, 14-point type for titles, 10-point type for the main text, and a sans-serif font such as Calibri or Arial. USAJOBS asks for a standard 8.5x11-inch page. The file must be 5 MB or less, and OPM and USAJOBS recommend a PDF "to maintain formatting and number of pages." Open the PDF and count the pages before you upload it.

The USAJOBS résumé builder starts from your profile and applies OPM's formatting recommendations. Your profile can hold five résumés, so you can keep a separate two-page version for each kind of job you apply for.

Specialized experience: the year you have to prove

For most GS jobs at GS-5 and above, the standard is one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade. OPM describes specialized experience as work that gave you the knowledge, skills and abilities to do this job's duties, typically in or related to the same line of work. One year means 12 months or 52 weeks of creditable work, whichever comes first.

"Next lower grade" depends on how the job's series steps up. In series that move two grades at a time, you need a year at GS-5 for a GS-7 job, at GS-7 for GS-9, and at GS-9 for GS-11. You don't have to work this out yourself, because the announcement names the grade.

For service that counts toward veterans' preference, OPM credits it either on its own merits or as an extension of the work you did before you joined, whichever helps you more. Either way, the weight falls on your descriptions, which OPM says should show you can do the tasks "at the required level as stated in the job announcement." The level has to come through in what you did: how much, for whom and with what result. Unpaid and volunteer work gets the same credit as comparable paid work, so list it if it matches.

Two other lines are worth knowing. The first is the closing date: the announcement DOL reprints says applicants "must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date." The second is time-in-grade, generally 52 weeks at the required lower grade for covered General Schedule promotions. It is separate from specialized experience and has exceptions, including appointments from a competitive examination register. Ask the contact whether it applies to your hiring path. OPM proposed ending it in May 2026, and as of October 1, 2026, we found no final rule.

What each job entry has to show

OPM's applicant guidance, issued in September 2025 alongside the two-page rule, and the USAJOBS Help Center both list what to include for each relevant job:

• your job title and employer, with series and grade for any federal position
• start and end dates by month and year, such as 05/2019 – 08/2022
• the number of hours you worked per week

HR credits experience by time worked. OPM's qualification policy prorates part-time work, so 20 hours a week for 12 months counts as 6 months. Credit is generally based on hours in a pay status, not counting overtime, and you can't get more than one year of credit for any 12 months.

We didn't find an OPM or USAJOBS rule on what number to write for active duty, drill weekends or annual training. DOL's guide asks for the average number of hours worked each week, part time or full time, so write the average you actually worked. If your service was part time, the proration rule is why the number matters. For how an agency wants it shown, ask the announcement's point of contact.

Add your education, with school, degree, completion date and GPA, and any certifications or licenses with their type and date when the job calls for them. OPM also lists optional details when they're relevant, including a current security clearance, job-related training and language skills. Supervisor phone numbers aren't on OPM's list, and DOL says to include salary only if the announcement asks for it. USAJOBS says to leave your Social Security number, photos of yourself, and classified or government-sensitive information off your résumé and profile.

Then write each entry against the announcement. OPM's hints are to prioritize the most relevant and recent experience, use concise, results-focused language, borrow the announcement's own wording, and remove outdated or unrelated experience. DOL adds chronological order and no acronyms a reader won't know. For each numbered duty you copied, write at least one line that shows you did it, with a number where you have one. Our military-to-civilian résumé guide covers turning evaluations and award citations into lines like these.

How you're screened and ranked now

You'll still fill out an occupational questionnaire, but for most jobs it no longer ranks you. Agencies had until September 30, 2025, to stop ranking applicants on self-ratings, except for jobs at GS-4 and below, seasonal jobs, and Federal Wage System jobs filled under Job Element examining. The questionnaire can still screen minimum qualifications and eligibility, such as veterans' preference.

Your answers still have to match your résumé. The Marshals Service announcement DOL reprints warns that if your résumé doesn't support your questionnaire answers, "we will not allow credit for your response(s)." If you say yes to a duty, a line on your résumé should show it.

Ranking now comes from at least one technical or alternative assessment. One option is a structured résumé review by subject-matter experts. DOL says experts, "rather than HR staff alone," rate your résumé to decide your level of qualification. Others include job knowledge tests, work samples, structured interviews and writing samples.

Since November 7, 2025, agencies can use the Rule of Many in place of the old "rule of three," and they had to comply fully with the new rule by March 9, 2026. Under it, they score applicants and refer a set number, a percentage, or everyone above a cut-off score, with at least three per vacancy. Veterans' preference points, 5 or 10, are added to passing scores, and a preference eligible is listed ahead of a non-preference eligible with the same score. Agencies can use category rating instead. Under either method, veterans who are 10% or more disabled go to the top, except in scientific and professional jobs at GS-9 and above.

The essay questions, as of October 1, 2026

This part has changed twice in 2026, so every rule below carries its date. The Merit Hiring Plan of May 2025 added four short essay questions. Each answer is limited to 200 words, and you certify that you used your own words, without a consultant or AI. Under OPM's April 2026 guidance, agencies must include them on GS-5 to GS-15 announcements and on Senior Level and Scientific and Professional (SL and ST) ones, may include them on merit promotion announcements, and should not use them for Senior Executive Service, teacher, seasonal or Wage Grade jobs.

Answering is up to you. OPM's June 2025 guidance says you won't be disqualified or screened out for skipping them, and its April 2026 guidance adds that postings must not mark them as required. OPM's September 2025 FAQ says answers "are not scored or rated." OPM's June 2025 guidance says agencies should treat them "in the same way they would treat the submission of a cover letter," read by the hiring manager and agency leadership.

Question 3 changed in September. On September 11, 2026, a federal court in Massachusetts stayed the old question, which asked how you'd help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities. In guidance dated September 18, OPM replaced it on announcements opening September 19 or later, and on open ones closing September 26 or later. The new question asks for an example of carrying out leadership direction on a decision that differed from your own recommendation. OPM says agencies "cannot consider" answers to the old one. If an open posting still shows it, ask its HR contact.

Questions 1, 2 and 4, on the Constitution, government efficiency and work ethic, are unchanged. OPM has also told agencies to send it the wording of a fifth, agency-specific question by September 30, 2026. Its September 18 guidance says agencies will add that question "in the near future": in USA Staffing "as soon as possible after approval," and in other hiring systems "no later than Monday, November 2, 2026."

What to attach, and when

The Required Documents section decides what goes with each application, and leaving something out can remove you from consideration. DOL's guide says an incomplete package "will not be considered any further." Your DD-214 and other records go into your USAJOBS profile, which holds 10 documents besides your résumés, and USAJOBS shows you only the ones the agency accepts. Don't upload them anywhere except USAJOBS or the hiring agency's own application system.

If you've separated, use your DD-214. OPM's FedsHireVets page accepts a copy that shows your dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions, and says the Member-4 copy "is preferable," not required. If an announcement asks for something more specific, follow it.

If you're still serving, you can apply with a certification from your branch instead of a DD-214. DOL's guide calls it a statement of service. Under 5 U.S.C. 2108a, it counts if it certifies that you're expected to be discharged or released under honorable conditions no later than 120 days after the date you submit it. OPM's guide for HR offices says it should show your service dates, including the expected separation date, and your character of service.

Some OPM pages and forms word the 120 days differently. The FedsHireVets page and the 2013 SF-15 count from the date the certification is signed, not the date it's submitted. The statute counts from submission. To meet both readings, keep the statement within 120 days of when you apply: have it signed no earlier than 120 days before your expected separation date, and apply with it after that. If your separation is further out than that, the certification rule doesn't fit. DOL's advice for anyone applying before they have a DD-214 is to ask the announcement's point of contact what documents they'll accept.

Preference granted on a statement of service is tentative. The agency has to confirm you're a preference eligible before it appoints you, and once the statement's window has passed, it must ask for other proof, such as your DD-214. Upload the Member-4 copy to your profile as soon as you have it.

If you're claiming 10-point preference, add an SF-15. For a service-connected disability of 10% or more, the form asks for an official document from VA or a branch of the armed forces, dated 1991 or later, certifying it. VA.gov lists a "Civil service preference letter" among the letters you can download. Who qualifies for which kind of preference is in our veterans' preference guide.

If the job requires education, or you're qualifying on education, OPM accepts an official transcript, a statement from the registrar or dean, or equivalent documentation. Check Required Documents for which kind the announcement wants.

One example, start to finish

Example (fictional) Andre Coleman is a Navy logistics specialist first class (LS1, E-6), the sailor in the figure above. His orders give him an expected separation date of January 29, 2027. On October 5, 2026, he finds a GS-9 logistics announcement, also fictional, open to the public through October 19.

Its specialized-experience statement asks for one year equivalent to at least GS-7, doing three duties: tracking inventory and reconciling discrepancies, coordinating shipments, and preparing supply status reports. He copies the three duties out. How to Apply says résumés over two pages will be removed and uploaded résumés are accepted. The evaluation section names a structured résumé review by subject-matter experts.

His first draft, built from his evaluations, runs four pages. He keeps his years as a logistics specialist, puts month/year dates and hours per week on each entry, and writes each duty line to one of the three numbered duties. He cuts his first two years in the Navy, before he became a logistics specialist, and his collateral duty as command fitness leader, because neither matches any duty. With 10-point text and 0.5-inch margins, the PDF comes out at two pages.

The questionnaire asks whether he has reconciled inventory discrepancies. He answers yes, because his first duty line shows it. The posting opened after September 19, so it shows the new Question 3. Answering is optional; he answers all four it shows, each in 200 words or less.

Counting 120 days back from January 29 gives October 1. His statement of service from the Navy is signed on October 9, showing his service dates, his expected separation date and honorable service. His separation date falls within 120 days of both the signing and the day he applies, so the statement meets the statute and the signed-date wording. Any preference he's granted is tentative and has to be verified before he's appointed, so when his DD-214 arrives he uploads the Member-4 copy to his USAJOBS profile. He isn't claiming 10-point preference, so there's no SF-15.

If your duty lines are still in shorthand, the Evidence Extractor in a free OperationMOS account takes one at a time, typed in: what you did, its scope, what changed and the number that proves it. It returns a civilian translation and up to three draft lines to edit, and nothing is uploaded. It doesn't read the announcement or add dates, hours or grade, so rewrite each line in the announcement's own words and add those yourself.

This is general information, not legal advice or a promise of eligibility, preference or a job. For any one announcement, the agency contact listed on it is the official word on what that job accepts. OPM's free FedsHireVets site covers veterans' hiring and documents, and the Labor Department's Employment Workshop, part of the Transition Assistance Program, covers federal résumés in its participant guide.