HOW FEDERAL
JOBS ARE FILLED
Many Federal agencies fill their jobs like private industry by allowing
applicants to contact the agency directly for job information and application
processing. Previously the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) maintained
large standing registers of eligibles and required applicants to take
standardized written tests. In addition, applicants completed a standard
application form, the SF-171 to apply for all jobs. Today OPM no longer
maintains registers of eligibles and only a few positions require a written
test. The SF-171 is obsolete and no longer accepted by most Federal agencies.
The new Federal application form is Optional Application for Federal
Employment, OF-612. In lieu of submitting an OF-612, applicants may submit a
resume. Another change is that job seekers do not need a rating from OPM to
enable them to apply for non-clerical vacancies. But, while the process is now
very similar to that in private industry, there are still significant
differences due to the many laws, executive orders, and regulations that govern
Federal employment.
COMPETITIVE AND EXCEPTED SERVICE
There are two classes of jobs in the Federal Government: 1) those that are in
the competitive civil service, and 2) those that are in the excepted service.
Competitive service jobs are under OPM's jurisdiction and subject to the civil
service laws passed by Congress to ensure that applicants and employees receive
fair and equal treatment in the hiring process. These laws give selecting
officials broad authority to review more than one applicant source before
determining the best-qualified candidate based on job-related criteria. A basic
principle of Federal employment is that all candidates must meet the
qualification requirements for the position for which they receive an
appointment.
Excepted service agencies set their own qualification requirements and are not
subject to the appointment, pay, and classification rules in title 5, United
States Code. However, they are subject to veterans' preference. Some Federal
agencies, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) have only excepted service positions. In other
instances, certain organizations within an agency, or even specific jobs may be
excepted from civil service procedures. Positions may be in the excepted
service by law, by executive order, or by action of OPM.
SOURCES OF ELIGIBLES
In filling competitive service jobs, agencies can generally choose from among 3
groups of candidates:
-
A competitive list of eligibles administered by OPM or by an agency under OPM's
direction. This list consists of applicants who have applied and met the
qualification requirements for a specific vacancy announcement. It is the most
common method of entry for new employees.
-
A list of eligibles who have civil service status consist of applicants who are
eligible for noncompetitive movement within the competitive service because
they either now are or were serving under career-type appointments in the
competitive service. These individuals are selected under agency merit
promotion procedures and can receive an appointment by promotion, reassignment,
transfer, or reinstatement.
-
A list of eligibles that qualify for a special noncompetitive appointing
authority established by law or executive order. Examples of special
noncompetitive appointing authorities include the Veterans' Readjustment
Appointment (VRA), the special authority for 30% or more disabled veterans, and
the Peace Corps.
Agencies in the competitive service are required by law and OPM regulation to
post vacancies with OPM whenever they are seeking candidates from outside their
own workforce for positions lasting more than 120 days. (Agency, in this
context, means the parent agency -- i.e., Treasury, not the Internal Revenue
Service.) These vacancies are posted on OPM's USAJOBS and posted with State
Employment Service Offices.
USAJOBS, the Federal Government's Employment Information System, provides
worldwide job vacancy information, employment information fact sheets, job
applications and forms on-line. It has on-line resume development and
electronic transmission capabilities. Job seekers can apply for some positions
on-line. USAJOBS is updated every business day from a database of more than
16,000 worldwide job opportunities and is available to job seekers in a variety
of formats to ensure access for customers with differing physical and
technological capabilities. It is convenient, user friendly, accessible through
the computer or telephone and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
USAJOBS consists of:
Internet - The official world wide web site for jobs and employment information
is http://www.USAJOBS.opm.gov.
The Online Resume Builder feature allows job seekers to create on-line resumes
specifically designed for applying for Federal jobs. Applicants can use the
resume builder to create, print, save, edit for future use, or send by fax or
mail to employers. Many of the hiring agencies will accept electronic
submissions of resumes created through USAJOBS for vacancies listed on the web
site.
Automated Telephone System
An interactive voice response telephone system which can be reached at 703-724-1850 or TDD 978-461-8404. By telephone, job seekers can access current
job vacancies, employment information fact sheets, applications, forms, and
apply for some jobs.
A posted vacancy is an agency's decision to seek qualified candidates for a
particular vacancy. The agency is under no obligation to make a selection. In
some instances, an agency may cancel the posting and choose to reannounce the
vacancy later.
AREA OF CONSIDERATION
The area of consideration is listed on the vacancy announcement and is the
source from which the agency will consider candidates. The agency may designate
whatever area of consideration it considers appropriate. A candidate who is
outside the area of consideration will not be considered.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE
Veterans' preference recognizes the economic loss suffered by citizens who have
served their country in uniform in times of strife, restores veterans to a
favorable competitive position for Government employment, and acknowledges the
larger obligation owed to disabled veterans. Historically, Congress has
reserved preference for those who were either disabled, who served in combat
areas or during certain periods of time.
Veterans who qualify as preference eligibles (meaning they typically must have
served on active duty for at least 2 years during a period of war or in a
campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge is authorized, or be
disabled) are entitled to an additional 5 or 10 points added onto their earned
rating in a competitive civil service examination. In all other situations (for
example, selection from a merit promotion list or other "internal" action such
as reassignment, transfer, or reinstatement), veterans' preference is not a
factor.
Veterans' preference was intended to give eligible veterans an extra assist in
getting a job with the Government and in keeping it in the event of a reduction
in force. Veterans' preference does not guarantee the veteran a job. Veterans'
preference should not be confused with the special appointing authorities such
as the VRA which allow eligible veterans to be appointed noncompetitively to
the competitive service.
THE VETERANS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ACT (VEOA)
This act gave veterans who qualify as preference eligibles and veterans with 3
or more years of continuous active service access to jobs that might otherwise
be closed to them. When an agency advertises for candidates outside its own
workforce under merit promotion procedures, it must allow these veterans to
apply. Of course, all applications are subject to any area of consideration
that the agency has specified on the vacancy announcement. Thus, if the agency
will only accept applications from status candidates within the local commuting
area, veterans who are outside the commuting area are not eligible. AS OF:
10-30-00
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