Whoever said “Good things come in small packages” probably never had a federal job. Or if he/she did work for Uncle Sam, they likely never got on the promotion fast track.

Getting a government job and keeping it while moving up the ranks is an art as well as a science.

And although we are in an era of short attention spans, speed-reading and less-is-better, it may be that a longer resume is better than a short one. That’s according to Nancy Segal, a 30-year veteran of the federal HR field and a consultant+ who helps people get into government and build their careers. She’s our guest this morning (10 a.m. EST) on our Your Turn radio show. And she’s going to talk about New Year’s resolutions, which in this case is how to get yourself into shape so you will fit into, rather than clog the promotion pipeline. And the obvious place to start is your resume. Does it:

• Reflect your qualifications for a specific position? If not, why not and how to you fix it?

• Have all the required information? Maybe you forgot to include your transcript (if the jobs require them) or are missing a form.

• Did you properly toot your own horn to make it clear your resume is worth being passed onto the hiring manager?

• Make sure it reflects that you are eligible to apply?

• Did you answer the occupational questionnaire properly?

• Remember your resume audience. If it is top-heavy with acronyms and tech language, then HR reviewers will have a hard-time telling whether you are qualified or not. Segal said it is important to bear in mind “the first audience for your resume is HR; if they don’t understand your resume, it will be hard for you to be referred. And just because you are applying in your own agency, doesn’t mean they’ll understand the technical work you do.”

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

The name “Donald” means “ruler of the world” in Gaelic. It’s also the first name of one of Walt Disney’s most famous characters, Donald Duck.

Source: Behind the Name

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