Inputting résumés in OARS

Q: What happens if I don't input a résumé into my personal information?

A: If your résumé is not online in the OARS system on the closing date of the vacancy announcement, you will not be considered for the vacancy that you applied for.

Q: How do I input my résumé into OARS?

A: First, login to OARS and select the "Edit Personal Information/Update Resume" button. Towards the middle of the first screen is a box for your résumé. You can either type your résumé directly into this box, or you can "copy" and "paste" it from another word processing package. From that point on your résumé and personal information will be automatically associated with your question responses and referred to the selecting official for consideration each time you apply for a job and answer the job-specific questions. You may also view our Flow Chart that shows the process of applying to vacancies with the U.S. Geological Survey. It describes the necessary steps to follow to update user profile and résumé information, change your password, or how to apply for a vacancy. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Q: What information should I put in my résumé?

A: You should ensure that you have the following information in your résumé:

Full Name
Mailing Address
Day and Evening Telephone Numbers (Including area code)
Education - Please 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 (Note: You may be asked to submit a copy of your college transcript prior to interview and selection if the position you apply for requires proof of education.)
- 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 you are applying for. 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 - Include such things as job-related training courses, job-related skills such as typing speed, computer software/hardware tools, known languages, job-related honors, awards, special accomplishments, publications, memberships in professional or honor societies, leadership activities, and performance awards.

Q: Should I include the vacancy number of the job I'm applying for?

A: No. Your résumé is automatically attached to every job that you apply so there is no need to type the vacancy number in the résumé field. Don't worry: OARS will keep track of your résumé and make sure it is included each time you apply for a job and answer the job-specific questions.

Q: What if I want to change or update my résumé?

A: If you should wish to update your résumé login to OARS, click on "Edit Personal Information/Update Resume," and press "Next." On the following screen, scroll down to the résumé box and make any changes you wish. Be sure to save your changes by clicking "Next->" at the bottom of the screen.

Please be aware that the system saves only one résumé at a time, so if you are applying to more than one job in the same time period, only your most recent version will be submitted. You may update your résumé and change the answers to the vacancy questions at any time up until midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the job you are applying for. Once a job has closed, your résumé is copied into the record for that job and frozen. You will not be able to change your résumé after the closing date of the announcement, however, you can always update your résumé for use in future applications.

Q: My résumé is too long. What can I do?

A: Résumés in OARS may not exceed 16,000 characters in length. If your résumé is too long try editing it to only include relevant job experience (with short descriptions) and your education. Remember: résumés should be brief. Monster.com has some good ideas for writing more effective résumés.

Q: How long is 16,000 characters?

A: The system accepts 16,000 characters, which is equivalent to about 6-9 typed pages of information. If your résumé is very long, you should consider removing any extraneous spacing in order to maximize the amount of space available to you. You may use the "Check resume length" button to verify that your resume isn't too long.

Q: The word count feature on my word processor says my resume is one length, but OARS says it's much longer.

A: The 16,000 character limit in OARS includes spaces in the count. Most popular word processing packages (Word, WordPerfect, AmiPro) give a character count based on only non-space characters, which accounts for the difference in counting. Because spaces count against the 16,000 character limit you should format your resume so that all extraneous spaces are eliminated.

Q: What if I want to submit a better formatted résumé, a list of publications, or my curriculum vitae? Your system won't accept my fancy formatting.

A: If you are called for an interview you will be given an opportunity to present additional information to the selecting official, such as a more complete résumé (with "fancy formatting"), a bibliography, or a curriculum vitae. In addition, the selecting official is free to request other documentation to aid his or her selection process.

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