ATS Resume Checker for Federal & USAJOBS Applicants

Specialized experience

The qualification phrase from the announcement — mirror its exact wording in your work history.

GS level / grade (e.g. GS-09, GS-12)

HR verifies one year at the next-lower grade; list series, grade, and step for federal positions.

Occupational series (e.g. 0343, 2210, 1102)

Specialists search by series; naming yours confirms you understand the role's classification.

Hours per week

Required on every position entry — experience without hours often cannot be credited.

Security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, TS/SCI)

Searched constantly for DoD, DHS, and intel-adjacent roles; state active clearance level and type.

Public Trust

The background-investigation tier for many civilian roles; relevant if you already hold one.

Veterans' preference (5-point, 10-point, VRA)

Affects rating and referral order; recruiters filter on it for covered announcements.

FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation)

Core search term for 1102 contracting and acquisition roles.

FAC-C / DAWIA certification

Required or preferred certification language in contracting and acquisition announcements.

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR)

Common required duty term for program and acquisition support roles.

PMP / FAC-P/PM

Project management credentials named in federal program manager announcements.

Budget formulation and execution

Standard phrase in 0560 budget analyst announcements — use it verbatim if you did it.

OMB Circular A-11 / A-123

Budget and internal-controls references that signal real federal financial experience.

2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance)

The grants-management regulation searched for 1109 grants roles.

FISMA / NIST 800-53 / RMF

Security-compliance frameworks required in 2210 IT specialist and ISSO announcements.

Security+ / CISSP

DoD 8570/8140 baseline certifications screened for cyber and IT positions.

Federal Resume format

Searches and screens assume the long-form format: dates, hours, supervisor, salary per job.

KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Modern announcements embed KSAs in the questionnaire — your resume must evidence each one.

Performance metrics / program evaluation

Common specialized-experience phrasing in 0343 management analyst announcements.

Stakeholder engagement / interagency coordination

Standard duty language across policy, program, and liaison roles.

Schedule A / Pathways / Recent Graduate

Special hiring authorities — naming your eligibility routes you to non-competitive consideration.

Direct Hire Authority (DHA)

Announcements under DHA skip rating panels but still require the specialized-experience match.

Telework / remote eligibility

Not a resume keyword to stuff, but match the announcement's duty-station language when relevant.

Supervisor name and contact

Expected on federal resumes for each position; absence looks like a private-sector resume.

Month/year employment dates

MM/YYYY to MM/YYYY on every job — "2019–2022" alone can cost you credited time.