Two-Page Resume Requirement for Federal Jobs Starts September 27, 2025
Say goodbye to the lengthy resume for applicants to federal jobs.
Starting on September 27, 2025, candidates applying to positions posted on USAJOBS can only use resumes that are a maximum of two pages long. This is required under the recent Merit Hiring Plan released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
“This new policy will recruit the best and brightest candidates with improved cost, speed, and quality,” wrote OPM in a LinkedIn post. “No more technical, 10-15 page resumes needed for applicants interested in a role in the federal government!”
This presents a challenge for many federal employees as they must shrink a lifetime of accomplishments down to just two pages.
“So now we’ve got to really write tight and really get our executives to shine, if you will. Those leadership qualities have to really fly off the page now,” said Diane Hudson, Certified Professional Career Coach Program at the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches, to Federal News Network.
ClearanceJobs had additional tips for federal workers who need to consolidate their resume.
Those include:
Lead with results, not responsibilities
Use numbers to quantify impact
Match your resume to the job announcement
Condense older experience
Keep formatting clean and readable
Also critical: conducting an overview of a current resume for word count and to see how space is used.
As for font, FedWeek notes that resume writers should use “a .5 margin all around (nothing smaller) and 11-point font (again, nothing smaller) unless the job posting specifies otherwise.”
And job applicants are also urged to review their USAJOBS account to make sure everything conforms to the new standards.
Essay Changes
The timeline for the new requirements comes as the government hiring freeze is set to expire on October 15, 2025, unless extended again.
In addition to the resume, OPM is also changing the essay requirements. Applicants to Senior Executive Service (SES) positions will no longer be required to submit lengthy essays and will instead be subject to a structured interview.
However, all job applicants at GS-5 or above will be asked essay questions on their views of the current administration and which of President Trump’s executive orders are “significant” to them. While the questions will be presented on each application, OPM says that candidates can choose not to answer them without being penalized.