OPM: Agencies can require scannable resumes

Federal agencies can require applicants to use resumes when applying for jobs, the Office of Personnel Management has announced.

Under old rules, agencies had to accept the Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612) or the Standard Form 171 (SF-171) if job applicants chose to use either of the two traditional federal job applications. But several agencies have begun installing automated systems that read and store resumes electronically. The automated systems can only accept resumes.

In the past, agencies would have had to request a waiver from the Office of Management and Budget if they did not want to accept the OF-612 or the SF-171.

OPM announced the rules change in the Nov. 13 Federal Register. Starting Nov. 13, agencies can require resumes if they use automated systems to process job applications.

"The use of automated systems for the development, movement and processing of resumes is becoming standard within the human resources field," the OPM announcement said. "Rather than requiring agencies to make individual requests to OMB for the approval of a resume approach for federal employment application, OPM determined it made more sense to move the initiative ahead on a governmentwide basis."

Though the new rules didn't take effect until last week, several agencies have been accepting only resumes for months. The Defense Department, for example, is installing the Standard Automated Inventory and Referral System (STAIRS) worldwide. Thirteen Defense Department human resources offices, including the Washington Headquarters Services human resources service center, have been using STAIRS for more than five months. By March 2000, all DoD human resource centers will be using the automated system.

OPM has created an online resume builder at its USA Jobs Web site. A few hundred job openings that require resumes are linked to the resume builder, so applicants can submit their resumes to agencies directly through the USA Jobs site. As more agencies use automated resume systems, OPM expects more job vacancies to be linked to the online resume builder.