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FSJO Frequently Asked Questions
Q14: Can I create a résumé online?
A14: Yes. Once an applicant answers the core questions and establishes a user ID
and password, the applicant may create a résumé and save it in the system. When a vacancy closes, the system automatically attaches the applicant's résumé to the vacancy announcement.
Q15: What information should I put in my résumé?
A15: The following information must be included in the résumé:
- Full Name
- Mailing Address
- Day and Evening Telephone Numbers (including area code)
- Education - Include the following information, as applicable. In addition, some jobs may require certain coursework. This coursework will be identified in the questions relating to the jobs.
- High School - School name, city, and state; Date of diploma or GED
- College/University - School name, city, and state; major field of study; and type and year of any degrees received. Also include total credits earned and indicate whether semester or quarter hours.
- Vocational/trade/business or technical school - School name, city, and state, and date of certificate or graduation.
- Work Experience - Include details on all paid and unpaid work experience that is relevant to the job for which you are applying. List your most recent jobs first. For each job include:
- Job title (and grade level, if it was a Federal job)
- Duties and accomplishments
- Employer's name and address
- Supervisor's name and telephone number
- Starting and ending dates (month and year)
- Hours worked per week
- Salary
- Other Qualifications – Including job-related training courses, job-related skills (such as typing speed, computer skills, professional licenses), foreign languages, job-related honors, awards, special accomplishments, publications, memberships in professional or honor societies, and leadership activities.
Q16: Should I include the vacancy number of the job for which I'm applying?
A16: No. There is no need to type the vacancy number in the résumé field because the applicant’s résumé is automatically attached to every announcement for which he or she applies.
Q17: How do I input my résumé into the system?
A17: Go to http://www.foodsafetyjobs.gov, and select the "Edit Personal Information" button. Towards the middle of the first screen is a box for the résumé. The résumé may be typed directly into this box, or the applicant may "copy and paste" it from another word processing package.
The résumé box holds 16,000 characters, which equals about 6 typed pages. The system allows only for simple text, and does not accept special formatting, such as bold print, italics, and underlining.
To copy a résumé from a word processing document, highlight the entire text of the résumé in the word processing document, hold down the CTRL key and press C (to copy the text). Then return to www.foodsafetyjobs.gov and log into the system. Select the "Edit Personal Information" button and click "Enter". Go to the résumé box, place the cursor inside the résumé box, then hold down the CTRL key and press V (to paste the text). Applicants can also type new text, or “copy and paste” text within the résumé box using the CTRL-C and CTRL-V process.
Q18: When I copy and paste my résumé into FSJO, it has additional characters and spacing problems. How can I correct this?
A18: Save the résumé in a “text only” format using a word processing application, such as
Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.
In Word, go into the résumé document. On the document menu, click on “File”, then “Save As . . . “ In the dialog box, click on the drop-down arrow across from “Save As Type”. Highlight “ASCII DOS Text”, then press “Save.” In a WordPerfect document, Click "File", and then "Save As" at the bottom of the screen. In the “File Type” drop-down box, highlight “ASCII DOS Text”, then press “Save.”
Remove additional characters, such as bullets, underlines, or hard returns. Copy and paste the text résumé into the online résumé box in FSJO. (See Q&A 17.)
Q19: I already have an FSIS Application for Promotion (Form 4335-1) completed.
Can I load this into the system?
A19: An applicant must edit Form 4335-1 extensively to include the information
required in a résumé. The résumé and Form 4335-1 have very different formats.
On Form 4335-1, employees address each knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA)
separately in a narrative format. In the résumé format, applicants are asked to
provide certain information about relevant work experience, education, and other
qualifications. (See Q & A 15.)
Q20: Do I have to submit a narrative statement addressing the KSA’s listed in the vacancy announcement?
A20: No. Vacancy announcements in FSJO do not list KSA’s for the position. Instead, applicants are rated and ranked based on their responses to the position-specific questions. The questions are based on the duties of the position being filled and are designed to solicit information about the applicant’s directly related experience. (Occasionally, some position-specific questions will require a brief narrative response.)
Q21: What if I want to change or update my résumé?
A21: Go to http://www.foodsafetyjobs.gov, and click on the “Login” button. Click on "Edit Personal Information," and press "Next." On the following screen, scroll down to the résumé box and make any desired changes. Be sure to save it by going through the rest of the screens to "Finish."
NOTE: The system saves only one résumé at a time. If an applicant applies for more than one job with the same closing date, only the most recent version of the résumé will be saved. Applicants may update the résumé at any time, however, revisions will not be processed for vacancies that have already closed.
Q22: My résumé is too long. What can I do?
A22: Applicants should only include relevant work experience (with short descriptions), education, and other qualifications that are relevant to the position for which applying. Résumés should be brief. Information on effective résumés can be found at
Monster.com.
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