Jul 2026 · Blog
Thomas Jefferson’s ECQ 1 – Writing the Declaration of Independence
By Certified Federal Writers and Trainers, Resume Place, Inc., July 2, 2026, Baltimore, MD. Resume Place, Inc., SES Trainers and Writers write / coach, and…
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For jobseekers
Resume Writing and Review
Kathryn Troutman and the Certified Federal Resume Writing Team write your two-page federal, SES, or private industry resume and cover letter.
One hour · $210 or $260 (executive)
For career professionals
Resume Writing Certification Training
Get certified to teach the Ten Steps to a Federal Job® method as a Certified Federal Job Search Trainer® or Certified Federal Career Coach®.
CFJST® / CFCC® · 3,000+ certified since 2002
For agencies
Government Agency Training
Federal resume, SES, and interview preparation and practice classes, on site at your agency or as live webinars.
GSA contract 47QRAA25D00E0 · SAM-registered
How it worksRP / The method
A Certified Federal Resume Writer® interviews you and writes your resume, start to finish.
01
Share
Hand us what you have today
Send your current resume, the job you are seeking, and a sample announcement if you have one. We read your roles, dates, agencies, and duties, and come back fast with recommendations on organization, content, keywords, and accomplishments.
02
Strategize
A Certified Federal Resume Writer® reads it against the announcement to begin
One hour with a consultant tells you what to change: the organization of your sections, the keywords, the accomplishments, the projects. Then we give you homework. You write the content of your career; we edit, organize, format, and target it. We do not invent a sentence.
03
Delivered
We write your two-page federal resume
You get a finished, OPM-correct resume written to the current two-page format and matched to your target announcement. Not a template, not a wizard. Our goal is Best Qualified; the referral itself is an HR decision, and we build the page to earn it.
Start your consultation
$210 or $260 (executive) · one hour · certified writer
Every service starts with a consultation.
A Certified Federal Resume Writer® reviews your current resume and a target announcement, discusses keywords and accomplishments, and tells you what needs to change. You leave with next steps and a quote for professional writing.
$210One hour
$260One hour
Writing hours are quoted from the consultation at the same rates.
The federal workforce · from the cover of the 8th edition
A new resume for every career move. Find yourself.
The two-page rewriteRP / What changed
Your long federal resume is now two pages.
You built it under the old USAJOBS rules, and it worked. The 2025 guidance replaced those rules. Everything you did is still your strongest material; it is the format that expired. We have tracked every OPM format era since 1973, and we edit, reorganize, and target what you already have into two pages that get Best Qualified.
What you havebecomesWhat agencies accept
Format
Two pages, 10-point body, half-inch margins. Every accomplishment has to earn its line, with the emphasis on your last ten years.
Questionnaire
Each announcement now carries its own assessment questionnaire. We make sure your resume covers its questions before you SUBMIT.
Language
No more “tasked with” and “served as.” Every line opens with an action verb, and keywords from the announcement are mandatory. We build the keyword list.
Start your two-page rewrite
Begins with the one-hour consultation · $210 or $260 (executive)
Interview preparation
Congratulations, you made it to the interview.
Federal interviews are scored, so preparation and practice make a real difference. Practice your best stories with a Certified Federal Career Coach® and walk in ready and confident.
Federal & private
Interview Quick Prep
Two live practice sessions with your coach, built around the announcement. Behavior-based or structured format.
SES
The SES QRB interview
Two sessions with a senior coach and a recorded mock interview, built for the three-member QRB panel.
Book interview coachingTwo 45-minute sessions · $595
Success storiesRP / Results
It all works. In their own words.
More than a half-dozen federal job offers.
Kathryn Troutman, the owner of The Resume Place, literally wrote the book on federal resume writing. Her personalized feedback and coaching has been absolutely invaluable in helping me receive more than a half-dozen federal job offers, and still counting. Particularly in a few instances when I feel I’ve hit a wall, Kathryn always seems to know what I’m doing wrong and how to fix my mistake.
An offer the next day.
We discussed and reworked my resume, also developing a suitable cover letter. I sent it out to four potential employers, and I was amazed to receive an outstanding offer the next day.
A federal resume in under a week.
Rita dedicated herself to understanding my concerns with my old resume. In under a week, she took my federal employment history and helped me craft an easy-to-read professional resume.
On working with Rita Chambers
Ready for an SES interview.
Before a key SES interview, Kathryn designed an interview simulation, application, and post-op review. Her no-nonsense guidance provided lifelong tips crucial to placement success.
Jim S.
Teach the methodRP / Certification
Get certified to train others.
Since 2002 we have certified more than 3,000 career counselors, workforce staff, and HR teams to teach and coach the Ten Steps to a Federal Job® method.
See certification dates01
Trainer certification
CFJST® + CFCC®
A licence to teach the Ten Steps to a Federal Job® curriculum and coach the federal job search one to one. Both credentials, earned together.
Five weekly webinars or a live 3-day class · 30 CEUs · three-year licence
02
Writer certification
CFRW
A writing credential for the federal resume and the USAJOBS Outline Format, for people who already hold the CFJST and CFCC.
Six individual webinars · four coached writing projects
03
Facilitating Career Development
CCSP / GCDF
The NCDA’s 120-hour career development curriculum, taught live over sixteen weeks. The credential is awarded by the NCDA.
Sixteen weeks, live · NCDA curriculum
For agenciesRP / Agency training
Government agency career training for employees.
For more than thirty years, senior trainers have taught federal employees, HR and EEO staff, workforce centers, and career staff the same method we use for clients: how to write the two-page federal resume, get promoted, and change job series. Off-the-shelf courses on the two-page federal resume, USAJOBS, the two-page SES resume, and QRB interview preparation and practice, delivered on site or as live webinars.
Full-day intensiveHalf-day workshop90-minute virtual class
Bring training to your agencyGSA Schedule, 20 years · small woman-owned business · SAM-registered
Agencies our trainers have taught inside
Health & Human ServicesHomeland SecurityTransportation Security Admin.Veterans AffairsDepartment of the NavyDepartment of the ArmyDepartment of the Air ForceFEMAFederal Aviation Admin.Environmental Protection AgencyCustoms & Border ProtectionU.S. Secret Service
Agencies where our senior trainers have delivered federal resume and SES programs. We name them rather than show their seals, because a federal seal implies an endorsement. GSA Schedule, 20 years.
We wrote the book · order directRP / Bookstore
A book for every stage of a federal career.
The 8th edition covers the new two-page federal resume. The rest of the shelf covers military transition, military spouses, and a student’s first federal job. Kathryn Troutman · 500K copies sold across editions.
Jobseeker’s Guide, 10th Edition
From $21.95
Federal Resume Guidebook, 8th Edition
From $21.95
Student’s Federal Career Guide, 4th Ed.
From $15.95
The Stars Are Lined Up for Military Spouses® 3rd Ed.
From $15.95
Federal career & resume newsRP / Articles
The latest articles from our team.
Jun 2026 · Blog
From Declaration to Duty
The Declaration of Independence expressed the nation’s purpose. The Constitution created its governing framework. Federal employees help put both into practice.
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7 Book Awards Honor Publisher
Memorial Day 2026 Ten Steps to a Federal Job® FREE Virtual class
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