# Kathryn Troutman

Kathryn Kraemer Troutman (born October 5, 1947) is an American author, consultant, and career trainer. She has assisted individuals seeking government employment. She is the founder and president of The Resume Place, Inc., a service business located in Baltimore, MD that consults, writes, and designs federal and private-sector resumes.
Troutman has been presented in the media as an expert on the Federal Resume, Senior Executive Service Applications, and federal career consulting. She has worked in this field since 1971 and has published ten books on these subjects.

## Early life and family

Kathryn Troutman was one of five children born to Edward and Bonita Kraemer, and she grew up with siblings Bonny, Edward, Jr. (Ted), Richard and Robert. Her parents met while Bonita was working as a secretary at Picker X-Ray Co. in Baltimore; Edward was an X-ray salesman. The two were married on New Year’s Eve, 1945.
Kathryn’s authorship, speaking and teaching reflect her family’s background as educators, writers and storytellers. Both of her maternal grandparents – Alvis and Bessie Dick – were frontier school teachers. Her famous uncle – Everett Dick – wrote The Sod House Frontier 1854-1890, which was first published in 1937. According to NebraskaAuthors.org, the book is considered “a classic account of the European settlement of the Great Plains.” Her mother Bonita wrote a children's book titled Rules Mean Happiness while working as an editor for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Kathryn went to college at the University of Maryland, College Park. While at UMCP, she performed with the university’s Magricals Singers, including an appearance at the White House for President Nixon and his family in December 1969. She left the university in 1971 to start a resume business that led to establishing the Resume Place.

## Career

In 1995, as the U.S. government began phasing out Standard Form 171, Troutman wrote the Federal Resume Guidebook, the first-ever book on how to write a federal resume. The Federal Resume Guidebook is now in its 7th Edition.
Other Troutman federal career publications include The Stars Are Lined Up for Military Spouses, 2nd Edition, which was the winner of Best Military Nonfiction in the Independent Press Awards 2020; The Student’s Federal Career Guide, 4th Edition (the 3rd Edition won the 2013 Foreword Indie Gold Award in Career); the Military to Federal Career Guide, 2nd Edition; and the Jobseeker’s Guide, 9th Edition.
Troutman has appeared online, in print, radio, and television to answer questions about federal careers, resume writing, and job search techniques. Troutman has appeared repeatedly on The Washington Post's Federal Diary Live On-Line and the Federal News Network. On August 26, 2020, Troutman was the guest for a "Life After COVID" segment on Mike Causey's "Your Turn" program on Federal News Network to discuss current strategies for applying for federal job openings that continue to appear on the USAJobs.gov website despite, and in some cases, because of the coronavirus crisis.
Troutman regularly leads workshops on Federal Resumes and the federal job search for a variety of audiences, including people at military bases such as Misawa Air Base, Japan, U.S. Army Fort Huachuca, Arizona, and Schofield Army Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii. Her articles are featured on Military.com.
Troutman was a member of the SmartBrief Workforce Advisory Board. She is currently a publishing member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

## Recognition

In 2022, Troutman received the National Resume Writers Association's Industry Hero Award for her "significant contributions" to the specialized field of federal resume writing. Among the accomplishments NRWA noted for Troutman are designing the modern federal resume format and creating the train-the-trainer program called "Ten Steps to a Federal Job" for federal resume writing.
In October 2024, Kathryn Troutman's firm, Resume Place, Inc., won a Moxie Award in the Women-Owned Business category. Resume Place was one of only 17 DC area businesses and organizations to be so honored this year in the award's various categories. Moxie Chair Katie Jordan said, "...this year's winners shined brightest among their competition for demonstrating exemplary innovation, growth and resilience, industry leadership, community service, and local achievements." The awards were announced at a live ceremony at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner on October 24.

## Personal life

Kathryn donated a kidney to her brother Robert in 2004, when his kidney failed due to brittle Diabetes. After the transplant, he lived a full life for another 14 years until his passing on December 5, 2018. He was known for his creative sheet metal designs, one of which was featured at the Trolley Stop in Elliott City.
Kathryn’s brother, Richard Edward Kraemer, is a divorce and separation attorney in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was mayor of the town of Mead from 2002-2006.
Her sister, Bonny Kraemer Lally, is a professional musician and soprano soloist. She is the Musical Director of Grace Episcopal Church in Elkridge, Maryland.
The author has three children, Emily, Chris and Lori. Emily Troutman is an independent journalist and photographer who covers global humanitarian issues. In 2009, she was named Citizen Ambassador to the United Nations based on her winning video, “My Message to World Leaders: One Person at a Time.” Allen “Chris” Troutman is an Emergency Management Specialist at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Lori Morgan successfully campaigned to save more than 90 trees from being cut down at the Palm Crest Elementary School of LaCañada Flintridge in 2022. The School Board wanted to cut down many of the trees to create a bigger parking lot.
Kathryn’s mother Bonita passed on in April 2023 at the age of 102. Bonita was preceded in death by her husband, Edward, and two of her sons, Edward, Jr. (Ted) and Robert.