From Kathryn Troutman, Author, Federal Resume Guidebook, 8th Edition, February 19, 2026
Which Resume “Job Block” is
Boring vs Impressive and Interesting? Why?
Target: Human Resources Specialist, GS-11
1.
Manager, Employee Engagement and Retention
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado
Aug 2016 – Aug. 2020
- Responsible for overseeing an engagement budget for the health system, including employee engagement survey strategy, retention efforts, and employee recognition.
- Facilitated data-driven leadership development summit. Created and delivered quarterly employee engagement surveys.
- Formatted data and crafted executive communications to staff and internal communication plans. The results were summits with leadership development content.
This does sound pretty good!
2.
Manager, Employee Engagement and Retention
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, Colorado
Aug. 2016 – Aug. 2020
- Created and led strategy for employee engagement across 12 hospitals, managing a 5-person team and a $2M+ engagement and retention budget. During this time, the health system grew from ten to twelve hospitals and 22,000 staff.
- Managed the creation of the system’s first real-time employee engagement surveys and associated leadership development. Led three engagement surveys per year for all employees which resulted in summits with leadership development topics for Hospital leadership.
Key Accomplishments:
- Designed St. Joseph Hospital’s first system-wide retention strategy (stay interview program) in response to COVID-era turnover. Created and delivered stay interview course to over 200 leaders and provided retention consulting.
- Created Physician Engagement Survey (2019): I designed and disseminated new physician engagement surveys to include 199 physicians and professional staff with a total of 622 participants. After each survey, I prepared a report and recommendations, which were used to run results summits around provider well-being education and initiatives.
Why is “Job Block” 1 Boring?
1. Too short
2. Generic sounding
3. Passive voice writing
4. Not enough details
5. No Specifics or Metrics
6. No Results
7. Nothing interesting
8. No reason to call the person for more details
9. Quick read, Boring
2. Generic sounding
3. Passive voice writing
4. Not enough details
5. No Specifics or Metrics
6. No Results
7. Nothing interesting
8. No reason to call the person for more details
9. Quick read, Boring
Why is “Job Block” 2 Interesting and Impressive?
Key Accomplishments:
1. Tells a Story!
2. The Numbers are HUGE – 22K staff; Hospital system grew from 10 to 12 hospitals during this time; Total 12 hospitals and 200 clinics
3. The scope of this job is BIG – IMPRESSIVE
4. Quantifiable content
5. “First-ever” system-wide Retention Strategy. Interviewed 200 staff with retention consulting.
6. Created an extensive engagement survey for 622 participants and recognized the need to fund well-being education for physicians. INTERESTING AND IMPRESSIVE
2. The Numbers are HUGE – 22K staff; Hospital system grew from 10 to 12 hospitals during this time; Total 12 hospitals and 200 clinics
3. The scope of this job is BIG – IMPRESSIVE
4. Quantifiable content
5. “First-ever” system-wide Retention Strategy. Interviewed 200 staff with retention consulting.
6. Created an extensive engagement survey for 622 participants and recognized the need to fund well-being education for physicians. INTERESTING AND IMPRESSIVE
ACTION: Look at your Federal resume and find your accomplishments.
Do they stand out?
WANT TO SEE MORE SAMPLES OF 2-PAGE FEDERAL RESUMES WITH
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, SPECIFICS, AND METRICS?
NEED HELP WITH AN INTERESTING AND IMPRESSIVE 2-PAGE FEDERAL RESUME?
Get the book with Samples: Federal Resume Guidebook, 8th $21.95 Available here
Resume Place, Inc., Leading Federal Resume Writing, Consulting, Training, and Publishing firm in America, Kathryn Troutman, President and Founder
kathryn@resume-place.com
For more information and 2-Page Federal Resume consulting and writing services …
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