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Recently, I've consulted with a number of people who have been forced to reapply for their own jobs due to agency reorganization and privatization efforts. Most hadn't written a resume recently, if ever. Of course, they were nervous wrecks, because this process is such an unknown and seems like a waste of time.

But this is real and necessary. Because so many agencies and offices are restructuring, many employees and managers are applying for their own jobs. It will be happening more and more in the future as agencies continually change the way they operate. You probably can't avoid it if you want to stay in government.

A major difficulty is knowing know how much to write, since your application package will be read by your supervisor and a committee of people you probably know. But if you like your job, and you'd like to keep your job, you have to write the best resume and knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) statement you have ever written.

Here are a few tips to get you going with writing an application package for your own job:

1. Gather employment documents. Find your old SF-171, position descriptions and evaluations. Don't read them right away. Just set them nearby for later. Don't start writing the resume yet.

2. Make a list of work-related accomplishments and initiatives in your current job and previous positions. Here's one good example:

"Coordinated the production of a one-hour television program aimed at diverse populations focusing on prevention of children's environmental health risks. This program will be nationally televised on CNBC,as well as over 1,000 local networks."

3. List your accomplishments and successes outside of your professional position (could be good KSA material). Here's a great example:

"As a Loaned Executive to the Combined Federal Campaign, successfully led a team to raise over $1 million. Developed a plan and strategy through team leadership to communicate throughout HHS, achieving our goal in 18 weeks."

4. Make a list of your added-value skills. Think about the value you have brought to the agency, i.e. how well the organization runs, how well the staff works together, how much the customers appreciate your ways of managing, how much better communication has become with senior managers and partners. These skills should be reflected throughout the resume, letter and KSAs. You can read more about these ideas in Daniel Goleman's book, Working with Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books, 1998).

5. Read the announcement very slowly. Take each phrase seriously and respond to all of them in your resume. Don't forget anything. This is your job and it might be your new job.

6. Find your organization's mission statement and read it again. Think about how you have contributed to that mission. Reflect your knowledge of the organization's mission in your document.

7. Find your agency's strategic plan and read it. Think about how you have contributed to achieving the plan.

8. Don't assume that your supervisor or the hiring committee/manager will know everything you have accomplished in your job, or in your prior positions. Write as though you are introducing yourself as a real competitor.

9. Write a cover letter or a letter of interest telling exactly why you want the job. Here's an example:

"I am enclosing my resume and supplemental statements for your consideration. I have held this position for the past 10 years and have had success with implementing the new programs and policies mandated by Congress. I have developed a cooperative team atmosphere through many changes, achieved many contracting successes, and have given customers the products they needed at the best possible prices. I would like to continue my leadership as the Associate Director working toward achieving the objectives of the strategic plan."

10. Show that you recognize you have customers. Include them in your job description. Customer service is an increasingly important aspect of government service, even if it's not in your position description or the job announcement.

11. Are you good at what you do? Then say so. I know it's hard to brag, but remember, you are competing for this position. If you don't sell yourself, who will?

Here are a few lines from the resume from an architect who sounds like a person who can design, advise, manage and lead. These sentences can be written into the new "profile" statement of your federal resume, or be used to describe your position.

• Director of engineering projects and architectural consultation on innovative approaches to institutional, commercial design and engineering problems.

• Advisor to clients on corporate plans and priorities for facilities management programs. Recommend new program initiatives to meet facilities and engineering management goals, especially with crucial deadlines for reconstruction.

• Manager of multi-disciplinary teams, programs and operations with successful track record with major clients.

• Member of the executive management team focusing the direction of the firm, creating a successful business and strategic plan and ensuring that objectives are met.

12. Start writing your resume and KSAs with the new material you have gathered.

Good luck with applying for your own position. You can do it - you're already doing it! If you need help, send me an e-mail.

Next week, I'm going to interview an executive who got her position at NIH by studying the agency's strategic plan and finding areas of the plan that had not been implemented. She made a few suggestions to the hiring committee and got the job.

Kathryn Kraemer has been the president of The Resume Place, Inc. for 27 years. Kathryn helps people get promoted and change jobs. She is the pioneer designer of the new "federal resume." She wrote and published the first book on federal resume writing and is a popular resume writing workshop leader in government.

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