Quick answer
Start with what you can prove.
- Use US Letter paper, a simple one-column layout and familiar section headings.
- List your name, city and state, phone, professional email and useful portfolio link.
- Keep the strongest relevant evidence near the top and use recent experience first.
- Treat a USAJOBS federal resume as a separate application format.
1. Use a direct, readable structure
A common order is contact details, an optional target-focused headline or summary, work experience, skills and education. CareerOneStop recommends a simple single-column layout with standard headings so people and common parsers can find the content quickly.
TheJobSort recommendation: use US Letter paper and keep the document to one or two pages for most private-sector applications, unless the employer requests something different.
2. Keep contact details compact
CareerOneStop recommends your name, city and state, personal email, phone number and a maintained LinkedIn or portfolio link when useful. A full street address is not normally needed on the résumé.
3. Lead with relevant experience and evidence
List jobs in reverse chronological order. For each role, show the employer, title, location and dates, then use concise bullets that connect your real actions and outcomes to the target work. Spell out unfamiliar acronyms and remove material that no longer helps the target.
4. Federal applications are different
USAJOBS requires applicants to follow the job announcement closely. Its current guidance says federal résumés must be two pages or less for covered applications and may require hours per week, series and grade, education details or supporting documents. It also says to leave out photos, Social Security numbers and sensitive personal information.
Do not reuse a private-sector résumé without checking the exact federal announcement and USAJOBS instructions.
5. Check the application, not a generic rule
- Use American English spelling.
- Confirm the requested file type and page limit.
- Check that every keyword is supported by real experience.
- Open the final PDF or DOCX and inspect the text order.
Official guidance used for this article
TheJobSort separates official guidance from our own practical recommendations. These sources were checked on 17 August 2026.
- Resume guide: formattingCareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
- Resume guide: top sectionCareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
- How to write a resume for a federal jobUSAJOBS
Put it into practice
Build from facts you can defend.
Upload your résumé once. Merv helps you check the details, improve the writing and tailor a version to the job without adding unsupported claims.
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