How to Apply for Federal Government Jobs

Federal jobs are listed by Federal Government agencies in vacancy announcements published in various journals, web sites, directories, databases, mailing lists and hotlines.

Each Federal job vacancy should include

• the announcement number
• the description of the position
• the requirements
• the deadline to apply
• the series/grade
• the salary range
• the promotion potential
• the basis for rating
• application guidelines such as format (OF 612, resume, etc..), resume guidelines and KSA questions.

The Federal Government hiring process being pretty strict, not respecting the rules and deadlines listed in the vacancy will get you irremediably disqualified, even if you are the most qualified candidate. Not only is a specially-tailored Federal Jobs resume important, but an appropriate cover letter as well.

Some Federal Government Jobs, such as sensitive Department of Defense or FBI jobs require a candidate to pass a polygraph test prior to hiring – check out our strategies and tips on how to pass a polygraph test.

Check out our latest offer – 100+ Cover Letter Examples for less than $20.

Federal Job Sites

While it is recommended to check government agencies’ websites for more information, here are a few sites that list vacancies for Federal jobs:

• USAJobs
• FedWorld
• America’s Job Bank
• NTIS
• StudentJobs

---

KSA Definition

A KSA (Knowledge, Skills & Abilities) is a series of narrative statements that accompany Federal resumes when applying to Federal job openings. An important factor in the hiring process, a KSA is used to determine who are the best applicants, when several candidates qualifiy for the job.

Knowledge refers to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature
which, if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible.
Skills refer to the — mental, manual or verbal — manipulation of data, things or people.
Abilities refer to the ability to perform a mental or physical activity at the present time.

Selective and Quality ranking factors

You must be above the job announcement’s minimum educational and experience requirements — or selective factors — to be eligible for a Federal position. However, you can get a higher grade if you meet or exceed quality ranking factors, which will demonstrate that you are a good match for the job.

KSA Scoring

A KSA is usually rated with a scoring system, from 1 to 10

KSA Answers

KSA’s feature the answers to 3 to 10 questions that must showcase in details how your profile fits the requirements of the job opening.

It should include any of the following elements, as long as they’re relevant to show that you meet — exceed — the requirements and factors listed in the Federal job posting:

• Education
• Training
• Experience
• Awards
• Volunteer work, activities, etc..

KSA questions — or ranking factors — can vary in themes, from demonstrating organizational skills, project management skills and supervisory skills to the ability to use certain software.

KSA Format

Unless stated otherwise, each KSA answer shouldn’t be longer than one page and should include:

• Job title
• Annoucement number
• Applicant’s name
• KSA number

KSA Writing

Written in the first narrative person, KSA answers must sound personal, from your own voice, while being grammatically correct.

KSA Help

Because KSA statements are so specific, writing them yourself will require several hours of fastidious homework, with the risk of not delivering a satisfactory document — content-wise or format-wise — being high.

With years of experience, we recommend instead using professional certified KSA writers who will make this complicated task easy.

[ Sample Cover Letters ] [ Military Resume Example ] [ Military Transition ]

---

Federal Government Pay Scale

The federal government pay scale is laid out in the GS (General Schedule).
The GS was designed to keep Federal government salaries on a par for all federal jobs throughout the various Federal agencies.

The GS is divided into 15 grades and each grade has 10 levels. There used to be 3 GS “supergrades” GS-16, GS-17 and GS-18. These were replaced by the (SES) Senior Executive Service.
The following is a BASE Pay Scale For Positions (2006)

Note: U.S. locations also receive additional pay adjustment above the base pay ranging from 12.64% to 30.34%.

The qualifications needed for each job are described in detail in the vacancy announcements that advertise job openings. Each job also has a code that corresponds to its minimum requirements. Understanding these codes will speed your search. Most federal positions require resumes in order to apply. They may require the OF 612, Resumix or the SES depending on the position and the job announcement.
Gaining work experience will often qualify you for higher GS levels. A rule of thumb is, 1 year of experience related to the job could raise your grade by one GS level in most clerical and technician positions.

In administrative, professional, and scientific positions, GS level increases in increments of two until you reach a GS-12. After that, GS level increases one level at a time.

GS levels by education

• GS-1: No high school diploma
• GS-2 (GS-3 for clerk-steno positions): High school diploma
• GS-3: 1 year of full-time study after high school
• GS-4: Associate degree or 2 years of full-time study after high school
• GS-5 or GS-7: depending on agency policy and applicant’s academic credentials Bachelor’s degree or

4 years of full-time study after high school

• GS-7: Bachelor’s degree plus 1 year of full-time graduate study
• GS-9(GS-11 for some research positions): Master’s degree or 2 years of full-time graduate study
• GS-9: Law degree (J.D. or LL.B.)
• GS-11(GS-12 for some research positions): PhD. or equivalent doctorate or advanced law deg

When applying for a federal position, you must be totally aware of what GS level is being asked for, Know exactly what you qualify for and make sure that your resume is written in the exact format required by the agency you are applying for.

---

Resumix

An automated scanning software used to ease and improve the Federal recruitment process both for the recruiters and the applicants, Resumix is now the hiring tool of choice for agencies such as the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard and the Department of Commerce.

What it means for applicants is that they will have to use an online resume builder to submit their information, which will not only reduce the number of application forms but also eliminate the need for separate KSA answers, in some cases.

Whether they make the cut or not, the scanned resumes will be added to a database, giving to job seekers the option to use the same Resumix resume to apply to other openings within the agency, thanks to the easy self-nomination process.

However, applicants interested in applying to different government agencies will need to go through different online Resumix builders, as requirements slightly vary from one agency to the other: for example the Army Resumix is restricted to 3 pages while the Navy Resumix allows 5 pages.

Because Resumix matches the skills of the applicants against the skills listed in the announcement to identify the best candidates, your Federal Resumix resume must include all the relevant keywords, otherwise your application won’t even be seen by the hiring manager.

Much faster than a manual ranking of candidates, Resumix only replaces human involvement in the first step of the hiring process, since resumes extracted from the database will be reviewed by supervisors before proceeding with interviews.

What are Behavior Based Interviews? More Information.
More Behavior-Based Interview Questions and Guidelines
Interview Tips for Clear Communications
Military-to-Civilian Transition Resume Service – Online Service

---

Career Resources

Military Resumes

Military Resume Tips – Tips on how to write the best resumes
Military Resume Example – Examples of military resumes
Cover Letters – Tips and examples of cover letters for your resume
Military Aviation Resumes – Examples of military aviation resumes
Résumés & Letters of Recommendation – help and advice
Military-to-Civilian Transition Resume Service – Online Service

Military to Civilian Transition

Military Transition – How to best present yourself to civilian companies
Military Transition Reading List – Reading list recommended by top military corporate recruiters
Negotiating a Salary – What salary are you looking for?
Hire Veterans – Find out why Companies are looking for veterans
Federal Government Jobs – Tips and advice on how to find a Federal Job

Prepare for the Interview

Corporate Interview – Overview on how to prepare for your corporate interview
Behavior-Based Interviews – Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new mode of job interviewing
Interview Questions – Prepare for the typical corporate job interview questions
Communications – Get some advice and tips from the pros on how to communicate better

Post Resumes & Browse Jobs
[ Employment911.com ] [ Monster.com ] [ Executive Search ]