You’ve always been a standout student. Now your resume can follow suit.

To be considered for opportunities across the federal government, including AFCS and its career development programs, your resume must clearly and concisely highlight your strengths, and it must not exceed two pages. This is your chance to transform classroom success into real-world impact while building a career in public service.

To help you navigate the new requirements, AFCS Career Development Programs prepared this short primer on what you need to know to give your resume the best chance of rising to the top.

Don’t worry about dressing up your resume.

Unlike the private sector, design isn’t important for a federal resume. What matters is what you’ve done and how clearly you tell it. Keep the style simple. Half-inch margins work fine. Titles in 14-point, your story in 10-point. Let your skills and experience do the talking. That's what gets noticed, and that's what we're looking for.

Content & Length

Limit your resume to two pages. That’s true whether you’re applying for an AFCS Career Development Program, through USAJOBS, or directly through a federal agency’s hiring system. Wherever you submit, the rules are the same. Federal resumes need to include:

• Contact information – Your full name and the best way to contact you via personal email and phone.
• Education – Include relevant coursework or extracurricular activities and your expected graduation date. You must have a 2.95 GPA or higher to apply.
• Relevant work experience – Job experience should include employer name, job title, start and end dates (month/year), the number of hours worked per week, and descriptions that explain how your qualifications are relevant to the internship for which you’re applying.

How soon can you start?

Before sitting down to draft your resume, study the internship requirements closely. They’ll show you what’s important, what you’ll need, and what belongs in your resume. Begin there, and you’ll already be off to a flying start.

What to watch for:

• Duties, which describe the internship's daily activities and responsibilities.
• Qualifications, specialized experience, and education.
• Required documents so you understand what paperwork to provide.

Resumes on file longer than two pages won’t fly anymore.

If you have a resume already on file associated with your profile, USAJOBS and other federal hiring sites will no longer process or consider it if it’s longer than two pages, so it will need to be reformatted to the new requirements. 

Education information should include:

Remember, for each relevant work or volunteer experience, include:

• Employer name and job title
• Start and end dates (include the month and year)
• Number of hours worked each week

*Be sure to include any required documents like transcripts, certifications, or licenses.

Work or volunteer descriptions should:

• Use concise, results-focused language. Use numbers, percentages, dollars, or descriptions to highlight your accomplishments.
• Focus on the work experience that is most relevant to the internship you’re applying for.
• Include relevant volunteer work and roles in community organizations that demonstrate how you qualify for the internship.
• Use similar terms and address every required qualification. For example, if the qualifications section says you need experience with MS Project, be sure the words “MS Project” are reflected in your resume.

Download your resume checklist here.

Launch your future with AFCS — where your degree meets real-world impact, and your adventure takes flight!

For an example of what the new federal resume format looks like, see our editable resume template.

For an even steeper dive into the federal resume writing process, visit USAJOBS.