Compressing your entire political career and executive expertise onto a two-page resume guide
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has announced a significant change in the resume format for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions. As of now, the new two-page resume format is the standard on USAJOBS for most announcements.
To create a concise and effective two-page resume for SES positions, it is crucial to incorporate the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and technical qualifications aligned with OPM’s new competencies and structured interview requirements. Here's a detailed approach to achieving this:
Resume Essentials
- Resume Header and Contact Information: Use a professional email, name, phone number, and LinkedIn profile. Avoid personal details like marital status.
- Executive Summary: Craft a concise paragraph (3-5 lines) highlighting your years of leadership experience, core executive skills tied to SES ECQs, a major accomplishment, and relevant technical qualifications.
- Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) Section: Explicitly include a section or embed stories in your experience sections demonstrating mastery of each ECQ. Use structured bullet points to link achievements to these ECQs.
- Technical Qualifications: Integrate your technical expertise relevant to the position, ideally in a separate section following ECQs or within your job descriptions, emphasizing tools, methodologies, or domain-specific knowledge that supports the SES role.
- Professional Experience: Start from the most recent relevant leadership roles. Use bullet points emphasizing impact with measurable results, linked to ECQs and technical skills.
- Education and Additional Information: List degrees, certifications, and any executive education or training related to federal leadership competencies.
- Formatting and ATS Optimization: Use standard fonts, clear headings, and bullet points. Avoid graphics or complex formatting to ensure Applicant Tracking System (ATS) readability.
Preparation for Structured Interviews
Reflect OPM’s updated competencies in your resume narratives to prepare for behavioral interview questions. Include examples and results that speak to these competencies.
This approach balances executive leadership competencies and technical expertise, meeting OPM’s new SES resume and structured interview criteria effectively within a two-page document.
With the new two-page resume format, federal employees will need to be creative and coached to adapt to the change from longer resumes. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requires an immediate switch from the five-page resume to the two-page resume, effective from May 29th.
Individuals selected for SES will undergo training to learn the new laws and executive orders. After July 13th, the new ECQ process will be implemented, shortening the hiring timeline from 90 working days to 80 calendar days. HR and OPM personnel will need to be re-trained for the new application process.
Diane Hudson, the Director of the Certified Professional Career Coach Program at the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches, advises focusing on building a career around the new competencies to qualify for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions. OPM will update the guides and resources over the next several months.
It is important to thoroughly read job announcements and ensure all required paperwork is submitted to avoid disqualification. The new SES qualifications have fewer competencies but are tighter. In addition to the executive core qualifications, technical qualification competencies must also be communicated, which are directly related to the specific job.
The two-page resume will also incorporate the technical qualification competencies. OPM is also incorporating structured interviews as part of the new application process, but details on what that might look like were not provided in the interview.
[1] Source: OPM Guidelines for Writing a Federal Resume [2] Source: Diane Hudson's Interview on the New SES Resume Format
To fully leverage the new two-page resume format for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, it's essential to integrate education-and-self-development opportunities that align with the updated federal workforce competencies and the reimagined civil service career-development.
This transformation could involve making strategic investments in learning resources, such as executive education programs, professional coaches, or industry-specific knowledge, to enhance one's suitability for the SES workforce.
References:[1] OPM Guidelines for Writing a Federal Resume[2] Diane Hudson's Interview on the New SES Resume Format
