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USAJobs Assistance

USAJobs Assistance

Vacancy Announcement Policy Requirements

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e-Verify


NOTICE: Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States. This employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.

IMPORTANT: If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to provide you written instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment.

Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or to re-verify current employees and may not limit or influence the choice of documents presented for use on the Form I-9. In order to determine whether Form I-9 documentation is valid, this employer uses E-Verify s photo screening tool to match the photograph appearing on some permanent resident and employment authorization cards with the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) photograph.

If you believe that your employer has violated its responsibilities under this program or has discriminated against you during the verification process based upon your national origin or citizenship status, please call the Office of Special Counsel at 1-800-255-7688 (TDD: 1-800-237-2515).

Selective Service


If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. http://www.sss.gov.

CTAP


Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP). The CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. Well-qualified is a score of 85. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Information about CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

ICTAP


Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility, you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. Well-qualified is a score of 85. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Note: If you are claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, you must submit proof by the closing date of the announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP or you will not receive priority consideration. The proof includes a copy of the agency notice, your most recent Performance Rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty station. To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, you must earn a minimum score of 85 or above (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference) on the rating criteria for this position.

Education


Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet degree/educational requirements. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=General-Policies and/or U.S. Department of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. Your claim of college-level education may be checked against Federal government and/or accrediting organization databases.

Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp.

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to veteran's preference, indicate the type of preference you are claiming on your resume and in the assessment questionnaire. Your veteran's preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. For more information visit: http://www.fedshirevets.gov.

Special Appointing Authority Documentation


If you are eligible to be hired under a Special Hiring Authority such as those authorized for persons with disabilities; disabled veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more; certain other veterans; spouses of certain members of the armed forces; and returning Peace Corps volunteers (for more information see http://www.opm.gov/employ/students/fedhire.asp#authorities). You must submit relevant supporting documentation (e.g., certification from state Office of Vocational Rehabilitation; DD-214 and VA letter; Peace Corps letter, etc).

Upload Documents to USAJobs


To upload a document in USAJOBS: Log-in at MY USAJOBS. Click on the Portfolio link found under the tabs near the top. Click browse and select a file stored on your computer to include in your portfolio. Once you have selected your file, enter a name for the attachment, making sure to be as accurate in your description as possible. For example, Undergraduate Transcripts versus Graduate Transcripts. Once selected and named, click Upload. After you have successfully uploaded a document, you can click to View or Delete your document(s) at any time.

Part-time Work Experience


Only experience described in the qualifications section of the vacancy announcement is credited towards meeting the requirements for the position. We will prorate your part-time work that meets the qualification requirements as stated in the announcement for this position. For example, if you work 20 hours per week for a 12-month period, you would receive credit for six months of experience. Your total experience would need to add up to at least one year of full-time experience when qualifying based on your work. We highly recommend that your part-time work be clearly listed on your resume with the actual weekly hours worked, begin and end dates of employment, so that we may fully credit all of the experience that we can for you!

Application Process


Your resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements as stated in this vacancy announcement and OPM qualification standards for each grade level(s) for which you are applying. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

We strongly recommended that you use the USAJobs Resume Builder as it was designed to ensure that your resume includes the standard information needed. The Resume Builder is available at https://my.usajobs.gov/ResourceCenter/Index/Interactive/ResumeAndApplicationTips#icc

Interview Process


Interviews are not required. However, if they are conducted, you will be contacted by the selecting official or his/her representative to schedule the interview.

Background Investigation Process


The agency has an established pre-employment security process, contingent on the risk level of the position. New hires must undergo this process prior to the official letter of employment being issued with the report for duty date. All conditions of the pre-employment process must be met by a tentative selectee in order to be hired.

A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.

Job Offer Process


Official job offers to tentative hires can only be extended by the Human Resources Office issuing the vacancy announcement. Additional paperwork will be required from candidates.

How do I know if I'm eligible for a particular position? Each job announcement will state who may be considered and who may apply. Look under the 'Who May Be Considered', 'Qualifications Required' and 'Key Requirements' sections of each announcement. In addition, you can review basic qualifying information for federal jobs by visiting the Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards website.

Are there special hiring processes for certain candidates? Yes:

  • Some positions may only be open to candidates who have “status” based on current or previous federal employment. Federal employees are usually hired initially as 'career-conditional employees,' meaning they must work continuously for three years, when they 'reach status', gaining career tenure under permanent employment. They are then referred to as 'career employees' or 'career permanent employees.' The first year of a career-conditional appointment is a probationary period, which allows your supervisor to evaluate your performance and fire you without undue formality, if necessary.
  • Veterans' preference: We proudly welcomes applications from veterans. Under the recently established Veterans Employment Initiative we are working with the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to better serve our men and women in uniform. For more information on Veterans' Preference visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-services/vet-guide/
  • Noncompetitive eligibility (NCE): Returning Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers, Public Health Service Officers, and 30%-or-more-disabled veterans are considered to have a certification of NCE.Candidates are not guaranteed a job, but agencies can hire them outside of a formal competitive announcement process for a vacant position. Under NCE, an agency can hire a returning volunteer who meets the minimum qualifications for the position, without going through all of the formalities of the competitive process (including posting a vacancy announcement, screening or interviewing candidates, or going through the others steps that are involved in the standard recruitment process). All that is required is that the agency has a classified position and an available opening, and that the candidate meet the minimum qualifications for that position.

Note that the ability to be non-competitively hired to a traditionally competitive position lasts for just one year after you have left Peace Corps or AmeriCorps VISTA (in certain cases, the allotted one year time limit can be extended for two more years if you are in military service or decide to pursue a higher educational degree).

For more information: