Usability Test Results -
Resume Builder PDF Template
Yuki Shimano
November, 2023
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Table of Contents
Project Goals & scope……………………………………………………………………………………………………..1
Current templates…………………………………………………………………………………………………………4
Methodology and research plan………………………………………………………………………………….………7
Participants/User profile……………………………………………………………………………………….…………8
Overall findings……………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
Resume review process………………………………………………………………………………………….………10
Positive resume template feedback……………………………………………………………………………………11
Resume template improvement opportunities…………………………………………………………….…………12
Desirable improvements to the Resume Builder tool……………………………………………………………...…24
Summary of suggested updates………………………………………………………………………………...………31
Next steps…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………32
Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…34
Project
Goals & Scope
Our goal is to improve the overall user experience of the Resume Builder's new PDF template for resume reviewers (HR specialists and Hiring managers) by answering the following questions:
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Current templates
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Current Resume Builder rendering
Improved Resume Builder rendering mockup
ATP
Web Admin
TAS/ Seeker
Current templates
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Current Resume builder rendering
Web Admin
TAS/ Seeker
ATP
Current templates
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Improved Resume Builder rendering mockup
Methodology & research plan
Remote moderated usability testing
Overall test plan
Findings & recommendations
(Tasks are in the Appendix.)
Possible limitation:
Left out job seeker input.
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9 Resume Reviewers
Participants / User Profile
Who our focus was & Why:
The kinds of jobs the participants work with
Secretaries
Wage grade jobs
Administrative positions
Benefits
Forestry technician
HR/HR specialist
Law enforcement
IT
Management and Program Analyst
343 series
Professional and scientific series
Data scientist
Statisticians
Grant management series
600 occupational families
Admin officer
Program management
GS-9 to GS-15 levels
System admin for USA Staffing
Natural resource positions
Positions focused on data analysis
Financial analysis
Data scientists (1560 series)
Supervisory positions (data science)
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Overall findings
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February 3, 2023
Resume review process
Check job qualifications
Review work experience and education
Confirm other information if required
Looks at what specialized experience is required to qualify for the job, and whether there is an education requirement.
Views work experience duties from recent to old for specialized experience or years of duties equivalent to a certain GS level).
Confirms education if it is required, usually alongside provided transcript.
May view job trainings for certificates, languages, publications, and references if it is required for the job, but not common.
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Positive resume template feedback
of participants were able to summarize the applicant’s professional experience and thought the order of the Work Experience section's content made sense.
of participants found it easier to read with the new text styles and layout
of participants thought the new resume builder template was cleaner and better organized, and the order of the content in the Education section made sense
100%
67%
55%
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Resume template improvement opportunities
Less whitespace is preferred for a better reading experience
A well-defined spot for certificates is needed
Information related to federal jobs should stand out more
Type of date under the Education section is unclear
Affiliations section can be low priority.
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‘Affiliations’ was the least important section to look at when reviewing resumes
Resume review process
Finding 1
Which section do you not need to see?
Which section do you need to read to determine if an applicant is qualified?
Affiliations are currently above Professional Publications and References
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Suggestion 1
Move the Affiliations section to the bottom, above the Additional information section.
Resume review process
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Final decision made (during the two-page resume limit updated in summer 2025)
The Affiliations section was ultimately removed from the resume. It was initially moved to the bottom to reflect its lower importance, but stakeholders decided it was no longer necessary in 2025, since users could include the same information in the Additional Information section if they chose.
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Less whitespace is preferred for better reading experience.
Resume template improvement opportunities
Finding 2
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Suggestion 2
Move date/hours to the right of position title, employers, and address.
Bring duties and rest of the information underneath in one column.
Resume template improvement opportunities
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An well-defined spot for certificates is needed.
Resume template improvement opportunities
Finding 3
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Suggestion 3
Break up the condensed ‘Relevant Coursework, Licenses and Certifications’ section under Education and have ‘Certifications’ separated (modify the resume builder tool, not the resume template).
OR
Delegate Job related training section for certificates, possibly changing the title or instructions on resume builder, and remove the certifications from Education.
Resume template improvement opportunities
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Final decision made (during the two-page resume limit updated in summer 2025)
Instead of the Job related training section, the Education section was delegated for certificates by leadership. The Education section title was updated to Education, certification or licensures to clarify where certificates should be listed. Separating the single ‘Relevant Coursework, Licenses and Certifications’ form field was set as a future enhancement.
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Information related to federal jobs can stand out more and be condensed
Resume template improvement opportunities
Finding 4
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Suggestion 4
Condense grade, pay scale, and series to format [grade acronym]-[series number]-[payscale number], and bring in front of job title. This formatting is used on applications.
Resume template improvement opportunities
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Final decision made (during the two-page resume limit updated in summer 2025)
The Hiring Experience team decided it was not necessary to ask about the pay scale in the resume builder. Since listing only the acronyms for series and grade could be confusing, they were listed with clear headers in front and beneath the job title. Only the series number and grade number were displayed.
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Dates under Education section are confusing.
Resume template improvement opportunities
Finding 5
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Suggestion 5
When a date is provided, add a header about the type of date (completion date).
Adjust alignment as the Work Experience section
Resume template improvement opportunities
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Other ideas to save space
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Do not display full address of employer. Limit to city and state.
The heading for duties is not necessary as a list of work experience duties is easy to tell
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Resume template improvement opportunities
Desirable improvements to the
Resume Builder tool
Improve guidance on information that should be in the duties of a work experience, as well as suggested formats
Add explanation for optional fields and why they are being asked
New optional fields that are nice to have: introduction or short skills summary, and optional day field for work experience dates
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Improve guidance for job seekers on writing duties
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
Finding 6
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Suggestion 6
Add suggestion to review the specialized experience of the job announcement and provide details that support it for the Duties.
Explain what specialized experience is.
Mention suggested format to write out duties (use of action verbs, brevity, simplicity, etc.)
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
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Explain the importance of optional fields
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
Finding 7
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Suggestion 7
Explain who views the optional information, and why it will be helpful to include it.
For salary, may need to tell users about why they might not want to provide salary as well.
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
NOTE TO SELF: Add screenshot of where military rank input will look like in resume builder
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Nice to haves: summary section and day field for work dates
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
Finding 8
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Suggestion 8
Provide a Summary section in the Resume Builder. It will populate at the top of the resume between contact information and work experience.
Add optional day field to work experience dates. Will need policy approval for this.
Desirable improvement to Resume Builder
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Summary of
suggested updates
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Provide guidance on duties
Explain the importance of optional fields
Consider adding a summary and work experience day field
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Remove left-side whitespace
Choose one area to list certificates
Improve indication of federal jobs
Label the date for education
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De-prioritize Affiliations section
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Changes to the document template
Suggested future changes to the Resume Builder
Next steps
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New suggested Resume Builder PDF template (link in Appendix)
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Thank you for your time.
Any questions?
Appendix
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ID.
Position
Participants’ information
PA
PB
PC
PD
PE
PF
PG
PH
PI
HR Specialist
Hiring Manager
HR Specialist
HR Specialist
Hiring Manager
HR Specialist
HR Specialist
HR Specialist
Hiring Manager
Appendix
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Appendix
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Sort
1
2
3
4
3+4
Resume review process
Resume layout
Resume Builder
Current template
Severity 0
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7
N/A
N/A
N/A
0
N/A
6
4
2
N/A
2
N/A
3
N/A
1
N/A
1
1
1
2
1
N/A
1
Rating
0 - not usability issue
1 - cosmetic issue
2 - minor problem
3 - major problem
4 - usability catastrophe
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How easy was it to scan through the resume?
Overall score
1 - difficult
5 - easy
Average
score
“Would like more space for details on Duties”
“The education date is not specific”
“Getting rid of the white space would make it better”
Appendix
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What are the most important pieces of information under Work Experience?
Appendix
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What are the most important pieces of information under Education?
Appendix
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