I recently started reading “flash fiction,” a (sometimes corny) literary genre where the writer tells a compelling story in a very short scope—perhaps a few hundred words or even just a line or two. A favorite of mine is called “Sticks” by George Saunders. At around 400 words, it’s too long to post here, but even the first line gives a sense of how much drama can be packed into a small space:

Every year Thanksgiving night we flocked out behind Dad as he dragged the Santa suit to the road and draped it over a kind of crucifix he’d built out of metal pole in the yard.

Here’s an even shorter one, by the novelist and short-story writer Joyce Carol Oates:

I kept myself alive.

It’s amazing how through smart compression, strategic omission, and/or sharp imagery, you can tell a powerful, compelling story in a very few words. It’s fun to try to come up with your own:

The dragon begged for death. “I’m the last,” it wept. The knight lowered his sword.

“So am I,” he whispered.

Awakened by the sound of sirens, I heard my mother’s voice whisper that old Arab proverb: When danger approaches, sing to it.

I thought of flash fiction recently after meeting with a senior federal executive facing the prospect of converting her beautiful, information-rich, five-page federal resume into a stripped-down two-page version to apply for jobs in the private sector. 

It seemed “doable,” she said, but she was despondent at the thought of squashing so much rich detail about her expertise and experience into such a narrow scope. She loved her federal resume, which amply conveys vivid, compelling achievement stories that make her work as a talented leader stand out. Proud of her record, she balked at the need to whittle it all down to short bullets. How, she asked me, do you make all that accomplishment content come alive in a 2-page resume?

The truth is, it’s not easy. But while it’s true that you simply can’t convey in 12 or 25 words the detail of a more fleshed-out 75- or 100-word achievement story, there is a lot you can do to make two-line or even one-line accomplishment bullet powerful and effective. 

Take this 70-word accomplishment of the kind commonly found in federal resumes:

In early 2022, the XYZ Program Manager and Chief of Contracting Officer disagreed over documentation required to finalize a major request for proposal. I stepped in to mediate efforts to document completion milestones and deadlines, then involved the Source Selection Authority to negotiate product review by late 2021. We successfully overcame the stalled progress and communication breakdown; the $32 million contract was awarded in the planned year, October 2024.

This is a readable account of this GS-14’s conflict resolution skill, told in challenge-action-result narrative form. The details about documentation, dates, and specific people give it some nice authenticity, but they aren’t absolutely necessary for the core message about her mediating skills. 

There are also some weaknesses. One doesn’t really “mediate” efforts; one mediates conflict. That’s the story to foreground, the focal point that determines what to keep and what to cut. There is also some redundancy (“stalled progress and communication breakdown”) that, while just fine in a federal resume, can be easily cut without losing much. The writer also uses “we” instead of “I”, diluting the credit she deserves as the driver of the action and outcome. 

Now here’s the same story edited to 23 words for a 2-line bullet on a public sector resume:

2021-22: When PM & contracting officer clashed over major RFP, I mediated conflict for timely product review and on-time award of $32M contract.

Pressed for space, you could even go shorter:

Brokered thorny RFP conflict to ensure on-time 2022 award of $32M contract. 

That’s just twelve words! It loses detail, sure, but it keeps some narrative intrigue with the adjective “thorny.” In both cases, I applied a few editing techniques. 

Both versions still have a clear narrative arc involving a challenge, action(s), and impressive result. 

In the two-line bullet, the subordinate clause (“When…”) gives the story some momentum and situates the action (mediating) in the context of a real event (the dispute) so it won’t sound like an empty claim.

Most of the story-specific detail (documentation and timing issues, full job titles of players, etc.) is gone. There’s simply no room for it—but just as importantly, language like “Source Selection Authority” may just distract a private sector hirer.

Use abbreviations for common terms and phrases—no need to spell everything out at the first appearance as is standard on federal resumes.

Two very key details remain—the rough date (which lends the bullet authenticity) and the amount of the contract. Big, specific impact.

The emphasis is all on the core competency she wants to convey: conflict resolution.

Word choice is key! In the two-line bullet, I changed a somewhat vague and commonplace Latinate verb (“disagreed) to a more muscular, vivid Anglo-Saxon verb (“clashed”). Like “thorny” in the one-liner, it gives the little story more drama, upping the voltage on the challenge and therefore the potency of the action. Similarly, she’s no longer mediating “efforts” but conflict.

See if you can detect the same techniques at work behind my short bulletization of this accomplishment story:

In January 2023, prior to new Customer Relation Management (CRM) system rollout, a talented communications manager (direct report) was topping out in his position, likely toleave the organization. I used CRM implementation (which he had never previously worked with) to challenge and engage him to take on a valuable new skill area. I mentored him and trained him in data management best practices, encouraging him to think through use cases to dictate the Salesforce buildout. He grew in enthusiasm and developed the confidence to test the complex integrations of Slack, Formstack, and Asana with Salesforce, becoming an essential contributor to the CRM implementation. In months, the manager was promoted to Senior Communications Manager for his work on CCI’s technology stack implementation. [122 words]

Here’s this 122-word story compacted to 25 words for a public sector resume:

Seized on 2023 Salesforce rollout to inspire bored comms report, mentoring him to mastery in Slack, Asana, Formstack integration that won him promotion in months. 

Follow this guidance and you won’t have to suffer the anguish of stripping down your beloved accomplishment stories.

It’s a challenge, but very doable. In short (pun intended!), write your own flash non-fiction Tantalize the resume reader with an intriguing mini-story—then enthusiastically fill in the details at your interview.