In applying for a federal job, don't skimp on success stories

William Marston is interested in making a transition into the federal government and using his background in the banking industry. But he's not really sure how to start.

"William needs to determine what agencies and positions really match his skills, experience, education and qualification," said Derrick T. Dortch, president of the Diversa Group consultancy and a federal careers expert. That will let him target his résumé and list of relevant knowledge, skills and abilities (known as KSAs) and develop a networking strategy.

Federal résumés can be longer than those for private-sector jobs, Dortch said. Marston should think about things that happened in his career that would make him a good candidate for jobs he is considering and write those stories into his résumé. The résumé should run two to four pages or more "of substantive, powerful, persuasive and targeted stories that are both qualitative and quantitative," Dortch said. Marston should use the keywords from job announcements he's interested in when crafting his résumé, as well.

USAjobs.gov (at http://www.usajobs.gov) is a good place to start looking for jobs -- Marston might want to look at jobs at agencies including the National Credit Union Administration, Small Business Administration and Office of Thrift Supervision, Dortch said. Beyond adding to his résumé, he should reach out to people he knows who work for the federal government, give them his résumé for review and to pass along, and try to build contacts in agencies he might be interested in. Marston has already found success in the private sector, and this should translate to the federal field if he focuses his search and makes his accomplishments clearer, Dortch said.

-- Terri Rupar

If you would like to have your résumé critiqued and are willing to have the result appear in The Post, send your résumé and a short note about your goals to

resumerx@washpost.com.