Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE As a federal employee for 10 years, at two different agencies, and applied to hundreds of positions I can attest that KEY WORDS ARE ESSENTIAL. Yes veterans are given extra points and current federal employees have a better chance but persistence is key.
Unfortunately the initial screening process is done through a computer system or HR person that is not necessarily familiar with the position. Therefore the thing they look at are key words. Regurgitate the key words that are on the job announcement. Regurgitate the key words that are on the job announcement. Yes I said it twice. Use the form that USAJOBS provides. DO NOT UPLOAD your own version of a CV or resume. Once you have your USAJOBS resume it is relatively easy to apply for positions with minimal tweaking. The HR person then passes along the a few qualified, top scoring applicants to the hiring supervisor to determine who will get an interview. The top scoring applicant does not have to be the person offered the position. If you are not on that list from HR you are out of luck however, the hiring supervisor can always ask that a specific applicant be added to the list. If you can find out who the hiring supervisor is and give them your CV, resume you may stand a better chance or may just anger them because you did an end round the system. Matthew Voisine Biologist USACE- NY District 26 Federal Plaza Room 2151 NY, NY 10278 917.790.8718 voice 702.271.0496 mobile 212.264.0961 fax -----Original Message----- From: Brent Bellinger [mailto:bbellinger2...@yahoo.com] Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:24 PM Subject: USA jobs: CV vs. Resume I am looking for some advice to improve my odds of getting past the initial applicant screenings in USA Jobs. As a research scientist, I've put together a pretty standard CV, which I've uploaded onto USA jobs and is used when applying for research positions. I was told recently by a non-scientist (a helicopter mechanic), the key when applying to positions through USA jobs is to make sure your resume utilizes key words which helps it rise to the top of the applicant list. A CV obviously does not have the depth of detail in terms of outlining skills, abilities, knowledge, etc. that a resume usually does. I'm wondering if I need to augment my profile and compliment my CV with a descriptive resume to help my odds of getting an interview? Is a key-word heavy resume a real and necessary thing in USA jobs, or have I just had bad luck with the past few positions I've applied to (i.e., they were not good fits with my skill set)? Thanks much for the insight on this matter. Brent Bellinger, Ph.D. post doctoral scientist U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Duluth, MN Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE
