Government agencies are able to hire in all career categories and using Special Hiring Authority (SHA), and many agencies are taking full advantage of this hiring ability.
Government agencies have the ability to use Special Hiring Authority for recruiting people – outright. The key is to research the agency’s SHA options.
Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to received consideration for special priority selection.

Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirement of 5 CFR330.605 (a) for CTAP and 5 CFR330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible.
To see if you feel you meet the requirements of one of these programs on Office of Personnel Management: click Here for information on – Employee Guides

Individuals who have Veteran’s preference, and submit a DD214 Member 4 copy (VEOA Employment Opportunity Act, Veteran’s Recruitment Appointment) To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three or more years of continuous active service. Under the Veteran’s Guide, vets that have a disability of 30% or more can be hired – out right for the position they would qualify for if they were to submit their resumes. For example, if a 30% vet qualified as an information technician – a hiring official could hire them straight into the position.

If you feel you meet the requirements on veteran’s preference see Vet Guide Website:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-employment-initiative/vet-guide/
Then there are the student programs. These programs include but are not limited to the Student Career Employment Program (SCEP) and the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP).

The government is being “forced” to hire more students; this is an easy way to gain federal experience and utilized great benefits. This is a great way to get your “foot into the door” and the programs have great benefits to include but not limited to retirement, leave, flexi-work schedules, and more. In some hiring cases, they will even pay for your relocation to the hiring area that you are selected for. The government needs to “replace” the workforce that is currently retiring and these programs work to provide YOU stability. See the websites for requirements and more information.

Click here for Information on: Student Educational Employment Program

Dr. Jaye

The government has a set process – for the most part. Most applicants apply for either Merit (Status) announcements or DEU (Delegating Unit) announcements. I have said it over and over in previous articles I have written before MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHICH ANNOUCEMENT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR. Don’t waste your time or energy if you know that you are not eligible for a job announcement. You will only become frustrated when you get an email letter or letter in the mail that says “You were found ineligible because you do not meet the minimum eligibility factors or qualifications for the job announcement which you applied.”

REMEMBER – Merit is for Status applicants, this means former, current, displaced, eligible veterans or other special hiring authority applicants.

DEU is for public to apply for – anyone.

Now that we have covered that, once an announcement closes (the close date on the announcement) go back to www.USAJOBS.GOV and check to see if the announcement was Extended, Cancelled or has any Cut Off Dates (Cut Off Dates that are used to create job applicant listings and sometimes a job announcement can be filled from a Cut Off Date – so ensure your resume is updated and you get your application in before any Cut Off Date).

The closing of an job announcement, starts your “count- down clock – until hire ticking”, once it closes it takes the Human Resources Departments about 30 – 45 days to review and process all applicants and make a determination on whom is actually qualified and whom isn’t.

After the qualification process is completed, a list of Competitive or Non-Competitive applicants is sent to the selecting official. Competitive applicants are applicants whom have status, and Non-Competitive applicants are those who don’t have status. The selecting official normally has a 30 day time period to review all the applicants whom are found qualified by HR Dept. If the selecting official needs to conduct interviews, they will do so at this time period. Sometimes selecting officials request a 30 day extension to ensure they are hiring the right person for the position.

Once the hiring official has selected a person(s) for the position(s) the announcement point of contact will make a job offer to the selected applicant and the selected will be given a time period to “think” about accepting the job offer. If the job is rejected, the process of “going down the list” of second and third choices will follow, per the selecting official decision.

When a job offer is accepted, all other applicants are notified either by email or mail of the selection and why they were not selected. You are entitled to know why you were not selected, I suggest phoning the point of contact for more clarification on how you could improve your hiring changes in the future.

The total process can take up to 90 days from the closing of the announcement, all things being constant and going within the time periods accordingly. Any change can increase or decrease the time of selection by a fluctuation of 30 – 60 day, plus or minus the 90 days.

Dr. Jaye

Merit Promotion (See How to Know the Difference between Which Government Job to Apply for article)

There are many documents that are required by government agencies for applications. It is important you understand the difference in required documents for a Merit announcement you are applying to, and a DEU announcement.

I have listed the required documents:
– If you are applying for consideration as a Veteran under the Veterans’ Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) or Veterans’ Recruitment Appointment (VRA), you MUST submit evidence of eligibility, such as: DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or Standard Form 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and the proof requested on the form.
– If you are applying for consideration under a special hiring authority such as a person with a disability, Peace Corp or Vista volunteer, you MUST submit the appropriate supporting documentation to be considered by the closing date of this vacancy announcement; e.g. “certification” statement (contact your Vocational Rehabilitation Office) that identifies you as a person with a disability and that describes your ability to perform the essential duties of this position, Standard Form-50, etc.
– If you applying for consideration as a Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligible, you MUST submit the appropriate supporting documentation as proof of program eligibility.
– If you are applying and are a current or former federal employee with Career or Career-Conditional status, submit your most recent SF-50, “Notification of Personnel Action”, (NOT an award SF-50) which shows your status.
– If you are qualifying with education, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts.
– If the position you are applying for requires specific NWCG red card qualifications or training, you must provide a copy of your IQCS report.

Delegating Examining Unit: (See How to Know the Difference between Which Government Job to Apply for article)
– If you are applying for Veteran Preference, you MUST submit evidence of eligibility, such as; DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or Standard Form 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and the proof requested on the form. You must clearly identify your claim for veterans preference on your application. For more information on Veteran Preference, please go to OPMs website at: http://www.opm.gov/veterans/index.asp
– If you are qualifying with education, you must submit your college transcripts.

KEEP IN MIND: ANSWERS TO YOUR JOB QUESTIONS MUST BE SUPPORTED IN YOUR RESUME. If your answer(s) are not supported in your resume, or you fail to follow the instructions for the question(s), agencies will lower your answer(s) to reflect what was provided, for failure to follow instructions. Stay motivated and GO GET YOUR GOVERNMENT JOB.
Dr. Jaye

There are standard practices that you will need to complete once you finally get your government position.  Most of the requirements are standard and some are agency specific.  Make sure to review your career contract and job announcement and contact your human resources representative for further questions.

When you are selected for the position, you WILL be subject to complete a favorable background investigation.  You may be able to start working once your finger prints clear and may continue continue to work once your entire background is cleared.  In some agencies, you may or may not be allowed to start working with the agency until your investigation paperwork has been initiated and your FBI fingerprint check cleared.  You need to read the agency requirements to ensure your hiring procedures.  In most cases, it takes a minimum of 2 weeks to clear a background, but can take longer in some cases.  The key is to be honest and fully answer all background questions.  Most agencies use an online electronic background system called eQuip to complete this process.

With most if not all government announcement applicants, you MUST be a United States citizen.  Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs.  Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.  Again, review and research the agency you are completing an application for.

In some, if not all government agencies before being hired you will be required to sign and certify the accuracy of the information in your resume.  You will receive a Position Description of what job duties you will be required to perform and If you make a false statement in any part of your resume you may not be hired or in some cases fired.  The key is to ensure that your resume directly reflects your actual job skills, knowledge and abilities.

This whole process from selection, tentative job offer and completion of the background investigation normally takes 4 – 6 weeks.  But, depending on the position you are hired on for you may start working as soon as two weeks.  Meaning, a selectee may start working once their finger prints clear.  Over all, if you have your professional and personal history for the past 10 years articulated in some form it will be easier to complete this process than if you have to do research on this information.  Be patience and this process will fly by.  Keep in constant contact with your point of contact, and you will be working in no time at all.

Jenice