As of October 2025, résumés for all USAJOBS applications must follow a new format. Below is the most recent guidance from USAJOBS.gov on how to add a résumé to your profile.
How to add a résumé to your profile
You can upload a résumé to your profile or build a résumé using our résumé builder. You can have up to five résumés in your profile.
You must upload or build a résumé that is two pages or less and meets all requirements listed in the job announcement. Learn how to write a résumé for a federal job.
How to upload or build a résumé
- Sign into USAJOBS.
- Select Documents—it will default to display résumés.
- Select Upload a résumé or Build a résumé.
When you upload a résumé
- Choose a file on your computer to upload.
- Enter a name for the résumé.
- Select Complete upload.
When uploading a résumé, you can choose a file on your computer to upload and change the file’s name. Then, choose Complete upload. To edit or update previously uploaded résumés, you’ll need to upload a new file with the changes.
What file type should I use?
Your résumé must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your résumé as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
We recommend using a sans-serif font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noto Sans. Make sure your page margins are 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your résumé.
When you build a résumé
Our résumé builder starts with information from your profile and walks you through the steps to add or update more information. You can edit résumés you built in your Documents.
How does the résumé builder help you?
- You can create a résumé tailored to the job you want to apply for
- You can duplicate and edit your résumé to easily customize it for different jobs.
How to format résumés in the résumé builder
You can copy and paste text from Word documents into the résumé builder, but some formatting (like bullets) may not work in the résumé builder.
To copy and paste from Word:
- Open up your Word document or other word processing tool.
- Select the File tab at the top.
- Go to the Save As option.
- Choose to save it as a Plain Text (.txt) file.
- Open the new file and make sure the text appears in the format you want.
- Copy and paste your resume text into the résumé builder.
Once you have filled out your information in the résumé builder, you will need to select Complete résumé and preview. If your résumé is more than two pages, you will not be able to save it to your profile and will have to edit it to make it shorter.
What if my agency doesn’t accept résumés or documents from USAJOBS?
If the agency does not accept uploaded résumés or documents, you will skip this step during the USAJOBS pre-application process. You may be asked to upload a résumé when you enter the agency application system.