FEMA Fact Sheet: Resume Writing Tips
Learn more at fema.gov September 2023 2
▪ Provide organizational context to your role – did you work on your own? As a part of a team? As a supervisor?
Did you assist with functions? Did you manage supervisors?
▪ Go beyond listing your job responsibilities by using accomplishments to highlight the results of your work
experience. Use quantifiable (measurable) information whenever possible, such as numbers, percentages,
dollars, or other data points to illustrate success.
▪ Utilize the ‘STAR’ Method when writing your accomplishments.
Situation: define the problem or situation
Task: define your objective or task
Action: describe the steps you took to achieve your objective
Result: measure your effectiveness, impact, and results
▪ Relate your experience and accomplishments back to the requirements for the position you’re applying to.
Expand on your experience and accomplishments that clearly demonstrate how you have performed the
specialized experience requirements for the position.
▪ When considering how far back to go with your work history, go as far back as you need to make your
experience applicable.
Resume Writing Tips:
▪ Organize Information. Information within the summary/background section cannot be used as qualifying
experience, unless accompanied by dates of employment. Use bullet points to provide important work-
related details within your work experience for each position, so you receive the appropriate credit based on
the minimum experience requirements.
▪ Tailor your resume. Include information relevant to the specific position you are applying to. Education and
work experience that is indirectly related can be excluded if the resume begins to grow too long. Many
federal postings have resume page limits. Check the posting you’re applying to for any page-limit
restrictions.
▪ Start bullets with an action verb. Don’t use personal programs (I, my, me) to begin your descriptions. Instead
use accomplishment-oriented phrases that can set you apart from the competition.
▪ Use your own words. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment
questionnaire from the announcement into your resume. Copied statements will not be considered a
demonstration of your qualifications for the position.
▪ Ensure correct grammar and no spelling errors. Your resume is your first impression – make it a good one!
▪ Be honest, not modest. Don’t make things up or inflate your accomplishments, level of responsibilities or
skills. Ensure that you are able to speak to all of the details on your resume, if asked during an interview.
▪ Don’t overshare. Do not include any photos, personally identifying information (PII), including birthday and
social security numbers, or personal information like marital status, age, health information, etc.
▪ Spell out Acronyms.