Building Your Two-Page Federal Resume

The following post explores Building Your Two-Page Federal Resume.

Thinking of building your Federal Resume? Not sure how to make it stand out? Or how to adjust to the new two-page rule? You’re not alone.

Read: How the Merit Hiring Plan Affects Federal Job Seekers  

Related: Best Federal Resume Writing Services

With big changes underway in the federal hiring process, it’s important to take stock of how the new rules stack up and what that means for the way you build and present your Federal Resume.

Here’s what you need to know.

Overview

With the rollout of the new Merit Hiring Plan, the federal hiring process is undergoing a major overhaul.

One of the biggest changes is Federal Resumes being capped at two pages. It’s a massive change for federal job seekers. For more on this topic, check out Navigating Major Changes to the Federal Resume.

Whether you’re applying to GS-level roles or vying for an SES position, this shift requires a complete rethink of how you present your experience and value to agencies.

Updating Your Federal Resume

Now that we know the format is changing, it’s important to start thinking about what a strong Federal Resume looks like in this new environment.

Trimming your Federal Resume down to two pages will be harder than it sounds. What should you keep? What should you cut? To get it right, you’ll need to take a strategic approach.

With the shift to a two-page limit, your Federal Resume is a space management exercise. Think of each page like valuable real estate. You only have so much room and every detail matters.

Here is a screenshot from an insightful perspective on converting your Federal Resume.

Lead With Impact

Avoid falling into the trap of listing responsibilities. Instead, focus on highlighting results. Federal hiring managers want to see the impact of your work (not just what you were assigned to do).

Following a structured approach like the CCAR model (Challenge, Context, Action, Result) can help with giving you a framework to follow for crafting strong achievements.

Prioritize Recent and Relevant Experience

Focusing on your most recent experience (10 to 15 years) is your top priority. That doesn’t mean you can’t include older roles on your Federal Resume, but it does mean they shouldn’t take up much space.

Allocate the majority of your two pages to recent, relevant work that best supports your current goals. Older positions can still be listed in an “Additional Experience” section using one-two lines (or less).

Below is a screenshot of an additional experience section for older jobs.

Omit Excessive Job Details

It used to be standard on Federal Resumes to include specific details like your salary, weekly hours, and even your supervisor’s name and phone number.

Under the new rules, you can skip all that. You’re not expected to include every administrative detail. Instead, you should use the space to elaborate on your achievements and qualifications.

Be Smart With Formatting

On a two-page Federal Resume, smart formatting is about maximizing your available space. Being economical with your word choices and how you present information makes a huge difference.

Take your Professional Certifications section, for example. Listing them one per line eats up space fast. A cleaner, more efficient option is to run them side by side in a horizontal format.

Below is a screenshot example of listing your certifications left to right for saving valuable space.

Look For Specific Requirements

When building your Federal Resume, it’s important to note that each job announcement may have certain specifications you must follow. Often times it’s buried deep in the job announcement.

For example, one listing on USAJOBS might call for 10.5-point font and 1-inch margins, while another might be totally different. If you miss those instructions, your Federal Resume could be screened out. That’s why it’s important to carefully review each job announcement for any formatting or submission requirements.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, while there’s a lot more that goes into it than just these tips, I hope this is helpful for thinking strategically about building your new two-page Federal Resume for 2025 and beyond.

If you’re ready to build your new two-page Federal Resume, my team and I are here to support you. Please use the Contact Us or Submit Your Resume for a risk-free evaluation. JobStars is an A+ BBB-rated service that has earned multiple consecutive Complaint Free Awards. We look forward to hearing from you!