We wrote the book on federal resumes.
The Resume Place, Inc. was the first-ever federal resume writing service. Since 1973 we have seen a fair share of competitors and imitators, but there is only one original.
Federal Resume Guidebook · 8th Edition · 500K copies sold
Fifty years of helping people serve.
The Resume Place began as a design and print studio one block from George Washington University, typesetting law student resumes on ivory paper. When the government dropped the SF-171 in 1995 and USAJOBS opened in 1996, Kathryn Troutman mortgaged her house to publish the first guide to the new federal resume. That book became the standard, and this firm became the leading federal resume writing service in the United States.
A print shop and an idea
Kathryn sees her first resume at a DC print shop, realizes she can typeset one in twenty minutes, and starts a law-student resume service that reaches twenty law schools from New York to Duke.
The Resume Place opens
Kathryn goes out on her own at 1740 N Street NW. The writers who join her serve attorneys, the White House, the World Bank, NBC, and federal employees filing SF-171s.
The book that set the standard
The SF-171 is eliminated and 1.7 million federal employees need a resume. Kathryn publishes the Federal Resume Guidebook, the birthplace of the Outline Format. Half a million copies later, it is still the reference.
Still the original
Our writing team crafts about 1,500 resumes a year, and we teach federal resume writing in more than 50 federal agencies. The rules keep changing. We keep tracking them.
The Federal Resume Guru.
She designed the federal resume format
After the government eliminated the SF-171 in 1995, Kathryn designed the format federal HR now expects and wrote the first-ever book on federal resume writing. In 2022 the National Resume Writers’ Association gave her its Industry Hero Award for those contributions.
More than 30 books on federal careers
The Federal Resume Guidebook, Ten Steps to a Federal Job®, The Stars Are Lined Up for Military Spouses, The New SES Application, and the Student’s Federal Career Guide, regularly recognized as the best in Careers and Reference.
She trained the trainers
In 2002 she created the Ten Steps to a Federal Job® method and the first federal career train-the-trainer certification. Today 503 counselors hold a current license, and the curriculum is taught at over 250 military bases worldwide.
Cut-and-dried, but never dry or dull.
We are storytellers, innovators, and leaders committed to helping people see the best in themselves and find meaning and purpose in their work in the federal government. A thriving federal workforce is vital for the health of the country, and we are determined to keep our agencies staffed with the best and brightest.
Originators and innovators
Over 50 years of responding to Washington’s changing rules, regulations, and culture.
Educators and resource center
Giving people the tools to transform their careers and their lives. Guiding leaders in finding the most qualified candidates.
Advocating for changemakers
Empowering people to advance themselves by properly highlighting their talents, skills, and accomplishments, and being their best selves.
The Resume Place helps people write new chapters in their story of service and commitment to America.
Certified writers, career coaches, and SES consultants.
Our writers and consultants are carefully selected and trained as Certified Federal Job Search Trainers and Certified Federal Career Coaches. The SES team specializes in the writing OPM requires for successful ECQs, technical qualifications, and executive federal resumes.
Writers & Consultants
Meet the team: SES consultants Nicole Schultheis, Sharon Banks, and Scott Bauer, and writers Rita Chambers, Sarah Blazucki, and Debbie Hahn.
Meet the teamPress / Media
Awards, press, and podcasts featuring Kathryn Troutman and The Resume Place, from the Independent Press Awards to The Baltimore Banner.
Press and mediaContact us
Questions about services, books, training, or certification. Write to us and a real person answers.
Get in touchWork with the original
Ready to write your next chapter of federal service?
Work with the team that wrote the federal resume. A certified writer, a one-hour consultation, and fifty years of knowing what USAJOBS rewards.