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Would your resume survive federal review?
Check your resume against the actual OPM and USAJOBS rules — hours per week, month/year dates, the fields HR can't credit you without. Instant, free, and the checks run right here in your browser. Every finding cites its source.
The rules changed Sept 27, 2025: for Title 5 USAJOBS announcements, a resume over two pages is automatically ineligible. Most advice online still teaches the old 3–5 page format. OPM guidance →
Rules verified against OPM/USAJOBS guidance — last checked June 10, 2026.
Attach a resume
PDF, DOCX, or TXT — up to 5 MB. We'll extract the text below.
Using the USAJOBS resume builder?
Your resume lives in the USAJOBS form, not a file: open your USAJOBS resume, use the preview/print view, select all, and paste it here. Builder field labels like “Hours per week: 40” are recognized.
Optional: paste the announcement's Qualifications section
Literal term matching only — only an HR specialist rates your qualifications.
Your resume text never leaves your browser on the paste path — the checks run locally. Uploads are parsed on our server to extract text, never stored. Draft kept in this browser tab only.
0 characters · Minimum 200 to check
Private-sector bullet vs. federal format
Private-sector (fails federal review)
“Results-driven team lead with a passion for operational excellence.”
No dates, no hours, no verifiable duties — an HR specialist can credit none of it. “The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.”
Federal format (creditable)
“Supervised a 6-person team (40 hrs/week, 05/2021 – 08/2023); reduced ticket backlog 30% by introducing weekly triage.”
Hours → prorated credit. Dates → months of experience. A number → measurable accomplishment. Everything HR needs is on the line.
What no text checker can verify
We'd rather tell you the limits than overclaim. This tool checks structure — it cannot check:
- ·Truthfulness of any claim — we check structure, not facts.
- ·Whether your duties meet an announcement's specialized-experience requirement — even with the announcement pasted, only literal term-matching is honest. Only an HR specialist rates your application.
- ·Your true rendered page count — we estimate from word count; the real test is your exported PDF.
- ·File-level specs: format, size, fonts, margins, embedded photos or graphics — all invisible in pasted text (use the checklist below).
- ·Eligibility facts: citizenship, veterans' preference entitlement, time-in-grade, clearance validity.
- ·Whether a specific announcement asks for extra fields (supervisor contact, GPA, transcripts) — check its Required Documents section.
- ·Non-Title-5 agency exceptions to the two-page rule.
- ·Interview or selection outcomes — passing structural checks avoids auto-ineligibility; it does not predict referral or selection.
Before you upload the PDF — check these yourself
Not analyzable from pasted text — tick them off against your exported file:
Know someone applying to a federal job? Send them the checklist.
Built by the honest career platform
Climbr tailors this resume to every announcement — honestly, never inventing experience — and tracks USAJOBS, Pathways, and cleared defense jobs with real match scores.
Get started free →Federal resume questions, answered from the source
How long should a federal resume be in 2026?
Two pages or fewer for Title 5 USAJOBS announcements. Since September 27, 2025 (OPM Merit Hiring Plan), agencies reject longer resumes outright — reversing decades of 3–5 page advice. Some non-Title-5 agencies set their own rules, so always check the announcement.
What does a federal resume need that a regular resume doesn't?
Per USAJOBS and OPM: month/year start and end dates on every job (05/2019 – 08/2022), hours per week on every job, employer + title on every entry, detailed duty descriptions, and series/grade on prior federal jobs. HR specialists credit only what is explicitly written.
Do I really need "hours per week" on a federal resume?
Yes — it's how OPM computes your experience. 20 hours/week for 12 months counts as 6 months of credit; no number means zero credit, and "hours varied" cannot be credited at all.
What about military experience and jargon?
Translate it. DOI guidance warns untranslated military terms "could lead to your disqualification" — write the plain-English duty first (e.g. "Supervisor (NCOIC)" or "Training and Operations section (S3)"). Listing an active security clearance, on the other hand, is recommended.
Does the two-page rule apply to every agency?
It applies to Title 5 competitive and excepted-service announcements — the large majority of USAJOBS postings. Some non-Title-5 agencies (and certain CV-based scientific/medical roles) differ. The announcement's How to Apply section is authoritative.