Introduction

As a Federal manager or supervisor, one of your major responsibilities is to recruit and retain staff to help you meet your established work goals and objectives. This responsibility must be taken seriously and appropriate time should be allotted by you to ensure that your office is staffed with the “best qualified” employees who can help you achieve your goals and objectives. The major steps in the recruitment process are:

• Determining what your exact hiring needs are
  
• Initiating a recruitment action
  
• Issuing a vacancy announcement for the position
  
• Marketing the position to get high quality applicants
  
• Interviewing those candidates that you believe can perform the work of the position
  
• Selecting the “best qualified” candidate for each and every position you advertise
  
• Retaining the employees once you have them
  

In the recruitment process, the only mandatory requirement for posting positions is that they must be included in the USAJOBS database maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. It is the responsibility of your servicing Human Resources Specialist to ensure that this requirement is met. In ARS, we also post our vacant positions on the ARS web site. Many locations also advertise positions on their own location web site to further enhance the advertisement process.

In recruiting for your position, you will need to decide whether to place an ad for the position using other sources (print media or online) to reach potential candidates. To increase the likelihood that your announcement will reach the type of applicant pool you are seeking, you should consider advertising your position:

• In local newspapers
  
• In college or university newspapers
• In major scientific and technical publications (for example, Science magazine)
  
• On job boards hosted by professional societies
  
• On job boards hosted by private companies (for example, monster.com)
  
• On job boards hosted by colleges and universities
  
• With disability and veterans organizations
  
• With minority-serving organizations
  

While there are many resources available to use in advertising both print and online, you will be the best person to decide how to reach the audience you are seeking to interest in your position. For example, if you are advertising a Research Chemist position, you may decide that the best source for advertising the position is through the American Chemical Society. If you are advertising a Biological Science Laboratory Technician position, you may decide that there are sufficient candidates in the localcommuting area, and place an advertisement in a local or college newspaper and contact local disability, veterans, and minority-serving organizations.

Whatever your decision, you should be working in conjunction with your servicing Human Resources Specialist to appropriately time your advertisement with the opening and closing dates of your vacancy announcement.

A. Advertisements.

To establish a consistent and implied corporate image for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the guidance provided below will be used when employment advertisements are placed in print media (scientific and technical publications and newspapers) and through online job boards.

Typically, publications charge by the line or word. Use concise but understandable language. Your advertisements should simply alert potential applicants on where they can get details about the position and how to apply. Judicious use of white space makes an advertisement more attractive to potential applicants and makes the advertisement much easier to read.

The guidance in this bulletin provides a brief explanation on the types of information to include in advertisements. The samples provided show how advertisements should be prepared but do not cover items such as font size, spacing, etc., which are typically addressed in the advertisement criteria provided by each publication or web site being used.

B. Include in ARS Employment Advertisements.

1. USDA/ARS Logo {Mandatory for ads in scientific and technical publications} - to present a consistent corporate image of USDA/ARS, the logo should be used in all classified ads, unless a publication prohibits its use. If a publication prohibits the use of logos, use the sample ad without the USDA/ARS logo to prepare your text. The USDA/ARS logo used in the attached samples is included as a downloadable file from this web site.
   
   
2. Position Title/Grade {Mandatory} - if the Federal job title is not descriptive for non-Federal applicants, consider using an accepted title in the occupational field with the official title in parentheses below. For example, Meat Microbiologist (Research Microbiologist, GS-11/12) or Laboratory Technician (Biological Science Laboratory Technician, GS-5/6/7).
   
   
3. Salary of Position {Mandatory} - include the salary range for the step 1 of the lowest grade being advertised through the step 10 of the highest grade being advertised. Include the statement “Salary range of $XX,XXX to $XX,XXX.”
   
   
4. Location of Position {Mandatory} - when using the USDA/ARS logo, your opening sentence should read, “The (name of lab/office), (city and state), is ...” When the USDA/ARS logo is not used, your opening sentence should read, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), (name of lab/office), (city and state), is ...”
   
   
5. Type of Position {Mandatory} - indicate whether the position is permanent full-time, permanent part-time, temporary full-time, temporary part-time.
   
   
6. Brief Statements Describing Job {Mandatory} - include 3 to 5 SHORT statements only; use plain English; express the assignment in a way to interest the applicant. These statements do not need to be complete sentences.
   
   
7. Information on Where to Find or Get a Copy of the Announcement {Mandatory} - include the web address which will take the potential applicant directly to the vacancy announcement <www.afm.ars.usda.gov/jobs/(insert- announcement-number).htm> and a phone number to call for a printed copy.
   
   
8. Citizenship Requirement {Mandatory for all permanent positions} - include the statement, “U.S. citizenship is required.” For ARS Postdoctoral Research Associate position advertisements, include the statement “Citizenship Restrictions Apply.”
   
   
9. Closing Date of Announcement - include the statement, “Vacancy closes XX/XX/XX (date).”
   
   
10. EEO Statement {Mandatory} - include the statement, “USDA/ARS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.” The type size may be such that the statement fits on one line. You do not have to say “Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.”
    
    
11. Education Requirements - you may include a statement such as, “Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degree is desirable.” You cannot say that a degree is required unless the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standard being used indicates that a degree is required. For example, while we typically seek to hire permanent research scientists with a doctorate degree, the qualification standards for most research scientist positions do not require that applicants have a doctorate degree; therefore, we should not be indicating that aPh.D. is required. (Note: the ARS Postdoctoral Research Associate appointing authority requires that candidates possess a Ph.D. degree. For these positions, you should indicate that a “Ph.D. is required.”) Your servicing Human Resources Specialist can advise you on appropriate language to use in your ad.
    
    
12. Benefits - you may include a statement such as “Benefits package available for qualifying positions.”

C. Responsibilities.

Supervisor/Selecting Official - prepares advertisements for use in print media or for online job boards in cooperation with the servicing Human Resources Specialist. The supervisor/selecting official is responsible for submitting the advertisement text to the servicing Human Resources Specialist for review and approval prior to placing the advertisement. Ensures that any area/office established procedures are followed in the process.

Servicing Human Resources Specialist - works in cooperation with the supervisor/selecting official in the preparation of advertisements for use in print media or for online job boards. Reviews and approves all advertisements for use in print media or for online job boards prior to the advertisement being placed. Annotates the advertisement copy by initialing and dating, and maintains a copy of the approved advertisement in the case file for the position.

D. Enclosures.

CECELIA. A. STORTZUM
Director
ARS Recruitment Office

                                            Enclosure 1

Sample Ads Using the USDA/ARS Logo

 

Berry Disease Specialist (Research Plant Pathologist, GS-11/12) Salary Range of $XX,XXX to $XX,XXX

The Fruit Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, is seeking a permanent full-time scientist to: (1) develop classical and molecular approaches to blueberry and cranberry disease control; (2) conduct field hand pollination; and (3) publish and present findings of research. For details and application directions, see www.afm.ars.usda.gov/jobs/announcement- number.htm. To have a printed copy mailed, call XXX-XXX-XXXX. U.S. citizenship is required. Announce ment closes XX/XX/XX. USDA/AR S is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

 

Graphic Designer (Visual Information Specialist, GS-7/9) Salary Range of $XX,XXX to $XX,XXX

The Design Unit, Information Staff, Beltsville, Maryland, is seeking a permanent full-time designer to: (1) design graphics using computer assisted design software for publications and (2) work in a team environment with editors and clients. For details and application directions, see www.afm.ars.usda.gov/jobs/announcement- number.htm. To have a printed copy mailed, call XXX-XXX-XXXX. U.S. citizenship is required. Announcement closes XX-XX-XX. USDA/ARS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

                                            Enclosure 2

Enclosure 3

Download and save the USDA/ARS logo file below for use in print advertisements by copying and pasting the logo to a directory the user can easily locate
(e.g. H:\wpdocs\filename).