Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)
OPM updated the Executive Core Qualifications in August 2025. Read the current set and sub-competencies. We cover the mandatory CCAR writing model for accomplishments, and our senior writers produce the 2-page SES resume with accomplishments matched to the ECQs.
The five Executive Core Qualifications
Drawn from the OPM Guide to the Senior Executive Service and Qualifications Review Board (August 25, 2025).
Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding
Demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.
Driving Efficiency
The ability to cut wasteful spending and pursue efficiency through better process and technology.
Merit and Competence
The knowledge and technical competence to produce work of exceptional quality, reliably.
Leading People
The ability to lead and inspire toward the mission, drive a high-accountability culture, and lead people through change.
Achieving Results
The ability to achieve individual and organizational results aligned to stated goals.
The writing model
Write each ECQ on the CCAR model
Every strong ECQ is built on the Challenge, Context, Action, Result model. Begin each statement with a half-page to one-page summary of your executive experience, then build the narrative in four parts.
Challenge
Describe a specific problem or goal.
Context
Name the individuals, groups, and environment you worked within, such as clients, co-workers, members of Congress, a shrinking budget, or low morale.
Action
Discuss the specific actions you took to address the challenge.
Result
Give specific, measurable results of your actions.
OPM guidance
What the Qualifications Review Board looks for
The QRB expects specific accomplishments that map to the new ECQs and the announcement TQs. One or two examples for each, depending on the length of the resume and career history.
Two pages for the SES resume, covering the ECQs
Clear, concise, active voice, executive language for the accomplishments that match the ECQ and sub-competency definitions. Follow the announcement directions for type size and margins, typically 11 point type and 0.8 inch margins.
Spell out and quantify
Spell out all acronyms, and quantify your accomplishments rather than stating beliefs or philosophies.
Add related credentials
Include recent education, training, and awards that relate to a particular ECQ.
Count non-federal experience
Include details, task forces, committees, and other special assignments where they demonstrate executive qualifications.
Show competencies, do not name them
Show the fundamental competencies across the complete statement without labeling each one directly.
Write CCAR without the labels
Keep the model in mind, but do not annotate the statement with “Challenge,” “Context,” “Action,” or “Result.”
How our ECQ writing service works
The first step is yours: Resume Place SES writers and editors cannot write the first draft. To help you write it, we give you samples to follow, with three sets of Top Ten lists and three full case studies that show the format. This document is not a book for sale. It is our specialized curriculum for coaching and training the 2-page SES resume.
Writing your leadership accomplishments from the last ten years is mandatory for writing SES ECQs. From that list you map 7 to 10 examples into the five ECQs, one or two examples each, and our SES writers and editors coach the drafts to the QRB standard. Use our free CCAR Accomplishment Builder to write the accomplishments in the mandatory CCAR format.
The three-hour ECQ consultation, $780
The consultation
Your SES writer opens with a review of your current resume and everything the 2-page SES resume requires. From there: coaching so you can draft your accomplishments in CCAR format, consulting on mapping those accomplishments into the ECQs, and guidance on mapping the TQs. The whole three hours develops your leadership resume content. Afterward your writer quotes the additional time to finalize the 2-page SES resume.
- Three-hour consulting and new content development: within 5 to 7 days.
- Five to seven-hour mark-up.
- Full-service writing: 2 to 3 weeks.
- We just need your current resume and a sample or target job announcement to begin.
Past performance
The record behind the service
Resume Place senior executive writers have been writing, editing, teaching, and coaching SES ECQs for 25 years, inside agencies and one-on-one.
Where the record comes from
Agency contracts
Contracts with the VA, the Secret Service, and other agencies to write, coach, and edit ECQs for internal SES and leadership program candidates.
Agency training
Trusted trainers for leadership development programs and SES pipeline building, starting every class with the Top Ten list.
QRB rejection rewrites
We rewrite the ECQs following the QRB rejection letter, and they pass.
The leading 2-page SES resume curriculum
We wrote and published the leading text for writing ECQs, and now the 2-page SES resume. The updated text, which is not available as a book, covers three cases of the 2-page SES resume from ECQs to the new format. It is our training and coaching curriculum for government training and individual executive coaching.
Success story
I just wanted to share my good news with you! I was notified this week that I got the SES job that I applied for. I have your assistance to thank for my big turnaround from my first SES interview to the next. The feedback from the selecting official was I improved my performance 200%!
Preparing for the QRB interview
The QRB interview is new. After you pass the ERB interview, you are now interviewed again by OPM SES executives. The Qualifications Review Board is a three-member panel of sitting SES members. The panel assesses your breadth, depth, and scope of executive experience within the context of the ECQs and their competencies. Be ready to discuss your experience in a clear, concise, organized way, and in the mandatory CCAR accomplishment format.
Successful candidates focus on the challenges faced, the leadership actions taken, and the results achieved. That is the CCAR model, and it is exactly what the board scores. Write your interview stories ahead of time with the free CCAR Accomplishment Builder.
Get started
Write a 2-page SES resume that passes the board
We coach SES candidates through the new ECQs, the 2-page SES resume, and the QRB interview.