For USAJOBS applicants
Stop getting
“Not referred.”
Most federal applications are cut by HR before a hiring manager ever sees them. FedResume shows you why — requirement by requirement — and writes the two-page resume each announcement is screened against.
- Free match report, no card
- Nothing invented, ever
- Two pages, verified by print
Jordan M. Ellis
Applying for · Management Analyst · 0343 · GS-13
Work experience
HR Specialist (Employee Benefits) — U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
2021 – now · hours per week missing
- Responsible for various HR duties and special projects as assigned.↳ Doesn't show the specialized experience
- Worked on reports.↳ No scope, no level, no result
Application status
Not referred
Minimum qualifications not met
The problem
You didn't lose to a better candidate. You lost to a screen.
Before anyone weighs your experience, HR checks your resume against the announcement. Three things end most applications right there — and none of them is about how good you are.
The specialized experience isn't visible
HR checks each part of the announcement's specialized-experience statement against your jobs. If they can't find it in words they can match, you're rated not qualified — even if you did the work.
FedResume: Every part of the statement rated against your history, then written into the right job.
It runs past two pages
Since September 27, 2025, USAJOBS won't accept resumes longer than two pages. The long federal resume you've been reusing for years is now unusable.
FedResume: Printed like USAJOBS prints it, tightened until it fits — strongest evidence kept.
Dates and hours are missing
HR adds up qualifying experience from MM/YYYY dates and hours per week. Leave them out and the experience may not count toward the grade.
FedResume: Every job checked for the fields HR needs, before you apply.
The fix
One resume for every job is the mistake. One per announcement is the fix.
What most applicants send
- The same resume to every announcement
- Duties copied from the position description
- Five pages, or an old format USAJOBS now refuses
- “2019–now”, no hours per week
- Keywords the rater never finds
- No idea why it was “not referred”
What FedResume sends
- A resume written for this announcement
- Each specialized-experience line proved inside the right job
- Two pages, checked by print before you upload
- MM/YYYY dates, hours, series and grade on every job
- The announcement's own terms, where they're true for you
- A match report that tells you, before you apply
How it works
Three minutes from announcement to a resume HR can credit.
- 1
Your history, once
Upload your current resume — private sector, military, an old federal one. FedResume builds your career profile with every field federal HR needs, and asks for what's missing.
- 2
Read and rate the job
Paste a USAJOBS link. Each specialized-experience line, selective factor and duty is rated strong, partial or missing, with the evidence and the fix.
- 3
Your two-page resume
Written for that announcement in its own language, fitted to two pages and checked. Edit any line, download PDF or Word, apply.
Requirement-by-requirement match
The statement split into its parts, each one rated against your jobs.
Two-page autofit
Weakest lines cut first, required fields never.
USAJOBS search built in
Find open announcements and check your fit in one click.
Application tracker
Every job, its closing date, status and resume version.
Veteran-ready
Military experience in civilian words; preference where HR looks.
Federal fields check
Dates, hours, series, grade, supervisor — flagged before HR does.
Try it on a real job
Pick an open announcement.
Live from USAJOBS. See how you'd be rated before you apply — free.
Pricing
Cheaper than one more “not referred”.
Federal resume writer
$300–1,200
per resume
FedResume Pro
$19
a month, every job
Free
$0
See where you stand before you spend an evening on an application.
- Your career profile, built from your current resume
- 1 announcement read and rated
- Full match report: every specialized-experience line
- Missing keywords and eligibility risks
Pro monthly
$19/ month
For an active search. Cancel any time.
- Unlimited announcements and match reports
- A tailored two-page resume for every job
- Auto-fit to two pages, checked by print
- Edit line by line with live preview
- PDF and Word, two designs
- Federal fields check: dates, hours, series, grade
- Application tracker with closing dates
- USAJOBS search built in
Pro yearly
$99/ year
For the long game: promotions, transfers, every open season.
- Everything in Pro
- $8.25 a month — save 57%
- Every resume version kept all year
Guides
The rules HR reads by.
Getting referred
Why HR Found You Qualified but Didn't Send You Forward
Eligible but not referred means you met the minimum qualifications but ranked below the cut. Here is how ranking works and what to fix.
10 min readWriting the federal resume
The two-page federal resume rule, explained.
Since September 27, 2025, USAJOBS accepts resumes of at most two pages for Title 5 jobs. What counts, who is exempt, and how to cut a long federal resume without losing qualification.
7 min readWriting the federal resume
Federal resume format for 2026.
The structure of a federal resume that gets rated qualified: header, summary, work experience with MM/YYYY dates and hours per week, education, and what to leave out — within two pages.
8 min readQuestions
Why do I keep getting “not referred”?+
Usually because HR could not find the announcement's specialized experience in your resume at the grade below the target, or couldn't credit it (no MM/YYYY dates, no hours per week). Since September 27, 2025 a resume longer than two pages can't be used at all. FedResume checks each of these against the actual announcement before you apply.
Is a federal resume really limited to two pages?+
Yes, for Title 5 competitive and excepted service jobs, which are most federal jobs. USAJOBS no longer accepts resumes longer than two pages. FedResume prints every resume the way USAJOBS will and shortens it until it fits, keeping the lines that prove the specialized experience.
Does FedResume guarantee I'll be referred?+
No one can: agencies decide. What FedResume does is remove the avoidable reasons for rejection, and tell you honestly when an announcement asks for experience you don't have, so you spend your time on the jobs you can win.
Will it make things up to get me qualified?+
Never. It rewrites, orders and sharpens what you really did, in the announcement's language. When something is missing, the match report says so plainly.
How is this different from ChatGPT or a regular resume builder?+
General tools don't know federal rules: MM/YYYY dates, hours per week, series and grade, specialized experience at the grade below, the two-page limit. FedResume reads the actual announcement, rates every requirement like an HR specialist, then writes and checks the resume against those rules.
I'm a veteran. Does it translate military experience?+
Yes. Your MOS, AFSC or rating and your duties are written in civilian terms a rater recognises, with the original title kept on the record, and veterans' preference shown where HR expects it.
What happens to my data? Can I cancel?+
Your information is used only to write your documents: never sold, never used for ads, deletable at any time. Pro cancels in two clicks; it stays on until the end of the period you paid.
Find out where you stand — before you apply.
A free match report on any USAJOBS announcement. Upgrade when you're ready to send the resume.
Check my fit — free