The quality of your application will make you or break you. Work on it. TYPE IT.  Have someone you trust look over it.

Your application must do two things:

1.  It must honestly and specifically present your experience and qualifications.  This needs to be done so that both the personnel clerk and the hiring official (your boss-to-be) can understand it.   Keep in mind that most clerks do not have fire experience.

2.  It must distinguish you from the hundreds of other applicants.

Forms:
Your federal application will be done on one of two forms: the Standard Form 171 (SF-171) or the Optional Form 612 (OF-612).  You may also submit a resume; however, it is much easier for the personnel department to find your qualifications on a standardized form.  You might also submit a brief resume which summarizes your qualifications.
Advice on writing a federal resume.

Both the SF-171 and OF-612 are available online, and free, on paper, from almost any federal government office.
OF-612 from the Office of Personnel Management (FREE)
SF-171 in WordPerfect 5.1 and Adobe Acrobat 3.0 (FREE)
Shareware SF-171 ($20) and OF-612 ($15) for Windows
Shareware SF-171 template for FileMaker Pro ($10)
Digibook OF-612 and SF-171 ($32.95)
Systems International Inc. SF-171 ($39.95) for Windows

You may also need to submit Optional Form 306 (OF-306):
OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment (PDF) - slow

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