What You Need to Know About Writing a Government Resume That Will Get You Hired
Many of us feel that it’s our civic duty to work in the public sector and give something back to society. Working for the government can be rewarding, while often times providing secure employment. There are many different levels and positions that you can apply for including: Parks & Recreation, Administration, Census Worker, Analyst, IT Professional, Public Relations, and too many more to list. This page will provide you with several points you need to know before putting a government resume together, including what they are looking for and how to sell yourself to get the job.
The first thing you want to write is an Objective statement at the top of your resume, under your personal information (name, address, phone number, etc.) An objective is normally a single, well-crafted sentence that tells what position you wish to get and what adding you to the team can do for the government service you’re applying for (see below for examples related to specific positions.)
Example Government Resume Objectives
Parks & Recreation – “To gain employment in the Parks & Recreation Department and help keep our parks safe and enjoyable.”
Administration – “Gaining meaningful employment in the (town or city) administrative offices, so I can help save tax dollars and gain experience to further my career.”
Public Relations – “I would like to work in the Public Relations Office and ultimately want to do all I can to help improve the government’s reputation among its citizens.”
Once your objective statement is finished, you’ll want to turn to listing the key skills, experience, and other attributes you’ll bring to the job with you. There are many different headings you can use to put this information in your government resume including: Attributes, Skills, Experience, Volunteer Experience, etc. First, lets take a quick look at how the hiring process works and how your government resume differs from private sector jobs.
Public vs. Private Sector
The major thing to remember is that the public service sector has much different rules than private sector jobs. Depending on what level of government you’re applying for, the manager that’s hiring you will likely have access to information such as: youth offenses, driving offenses, criminal charges, and anything else you’ve done through the course of your life to make it on the government’s radar.
When you’re applying for a job in public works, all that’s needed is a grade 12 education, but preference is given to applicants who have a track record of volunteering their time to the community. Aside from volunteer experience, include any skills you have that are relevant to the job being applied for. An aptitude test is often used to further determine your eligibility.
If you’re applying for a specialized job such as Public Relations, or Administration, then preference will be weighted on a number of different factors. Your level of education is one major factor to include on your government resume, but there are plenty of others. Depending on the position, the requirements may call for experience working in the private sector (such as town council). Other positions require that applicants have a certain number of years working at lower levels (such as city treasurers) before you can apply for senior level positions within the government.
Tell Them Your Story
Make sure you know the job requirements of the job before putting your government resume together. Most people are surprised at the number of questions that have to be answered before gaining meaningful employment with a government agency. Often the government wants you to tell them everything including: public school, high school, college/university, where you have lived, military service, etc.
Most private sector jobs are more concerned with your level of education and experience, while the government carefully scrutinizes it’s applicants one by one – analyzing your entire life, rather than just your job related experience. Include every bit of information you can – it will increase your chances of landing the job. Make sure you don’t lie about anything on your resume, as the government has much more resources at their disposal then a small business might have.
Don’t Worry Be Happy!
The biggest reason people apply for government jobs is because of guaranteed pay raise increases, job security, and advancement opportunities. Those are all great reasons for wanting to serve your government, but most of all it’s a great feeling when you’re doing a job that directly helps your fellow citizens, so you should feel most happy about that. Although writing your government resume, performing entry tests, along with any other requirements the position calls for – can be excruciating… it’s all worth it when you finally land the job and get to listen to your friends talk about how “you’re living life on EASY street!”
