Resume Examples: Government Contract Specialist

If you want to draw attention to your achievements, make sure they are relevant to the government sector and the position for which you want to apply. Put them in reverse chronological order at the end of your resume, after the education section. Put the name of the certification or award first, followed by the institution from where you earned it, and the year in which you received it.

While an objective statement is still a great tool for first-time jobseekers, experienced candidates should use the professional summary instead. The professional summary serves as your chance to shine in just two to three sentences. It goes at the top of your resume, right after the header, but instead of dryly stating your career goals as you would in an objective statement, sell yourself and your skill sets.

Start by stating who you are and what you have to offer. Illuminate your intangible strengths, discuss what value you bring to the table, and describe who you work for. Keep this section to no more than three sentences in length. Refer to the professional summary in this government contract specialist resume sample as a guide when drafting your document.

An ATS, or Applicant Tracking System, is a system that scans applications for relevant keywords. Documents that rank well get transferred over to the hiring manager, while those that don’t rank as highly get archived. If you want to ensure that your application bypasses the ATS, there are a few tips you can use.

For starters, don’t get fancy with your format. These systems like clean resumes, such as this government contract specialist resume sample. Use standard header titles (“Professional Summary,” “Qualifications,” “Work Experience,” etc.). Review the job description for desirable skill sets and keywords, and use those phrases verbatim, especially in the qualifications section. Use industry jargon where appropriate. Finally, run your resume through a spelling and grammar checking system, as mistakes not only look bad, but they may not make it through an ATS.

Keep your qualifications section short and succinct. Use six to eight bullet points to draw attention to your most valuable talents and attributes. A good rule of thumb is to draw attention to skills listed in the job description. This will help your resume bypass an ATS and grab the attention of a human reader.

Ideally, your resume should be no longer than one page. However, if you have between 10 and 25 years of experience, two pages would suffice. If you have 25 years or more of experience, you can get away with three pages, but at that point, you shouldn’t need three pages to sell yourself.

Creating the perfect resume can be difficult. If you want to draft a winning resume such as this government contract specialist resume sample, use the resume builder. It comes with industry-specific text examples and step-by-step instructions.