Finding it Impossible to Qualify for Federal Employment?

Barbara Adams, CPRW, CEIP, CFRWC
service@careerproplus.com

Not impossible, just daunting. However, gaining federal employment can be tricky, especially if you’ve never gone through the process before.

Unlike the private sector, the Federal government is almost constantly hiring. Every day there are at least 23,000 listed vacancy announcements in virtually every profession. In addition, not only is the pay competitive, the benefits just can’t be beat.

Below are ten of the most common reasons why qualified candidates do not qualify for federal jobs:

1. Your application package was not complete. Unlike the civilian job search process where you simply submit a resume and cover letter to introduce yourself to a prospective employer, a federal resume functions as a job application; as such it needs to be very detailed and contain information not ordinarily found on civilian resumes. This includes your last salary at each position held, your supervisor’s name and contact information, your employer’s complete address, the number of hours you worked per week at each job and your social security number.
2. You did not submit the required KSA statements. Following up on point one, KSAs, or "Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Statements" are usually one page narratives in which the applicant provides evidence supporting their background in the stated objective. The KSAs vary from the information contained in the resume because they focus on a specific area and they are written as a narrative. The preferred method to develop your KSAs is in a Context, Challenge, Action, Result (CCAR) narratives. Read your vacancy announcement carefully to see if KSAs are required.
3. Your resume was not submitted according to agency specifications. Many federal government agencies use different on-line resume builders. For example there is USAjobs, Quickhire, Army CPOL, Navy Resumix, Air Force Resumix AVUE and many more that essentially to do talk to each other. Each on-line resume builder has specific character limitations so populate your resume builder maximizing the use of keywords and core competencies. In short, one resume does not fit all agencies.
4. You did not meet the job status requirements. Every announcement is required to specify the eligibility requirements for the candidate pool. If, for example, an announcement requests only ‘status’ candidate and you are not an existing federal employee, you will not be considered for that position. But, if you are a veteran with VEOA and other veteran’s preference you are eligible to apply. Sometimes vacancy announcements are only open to folks within a specific geographic location, or look for other screen out factors. Read the qualification criteria very carefully.
5. You lost out to someone with veteran’s point’s preference. The federal Veteran’s Preference Act provides a preference for qualified veterans to recognize that training and experience in the military services of the government as well as loyalty, and sacrifice for the government are qualifications of merit that cannot be readily assessed by examination. Preference points are given to qualified veterans who meet the minimum qualifications for the job to increase the likelihood that they will receive a job interview. While veteran’s preference points do not guarantee a former member of the military a job, what occasionally happens is if 50 people apply for a position and of those 50, 40 have at least five veteran’s preference points; they are going to score higher on their initial qualification review than someone with no veteran’s preference points. Do not forget to include your preference points.
6. The announcement closed prematurely or canceled. Like anything else in life, the government can change its mind regarding its staffing requirements. As such, vacancy announcements can suddenly disappear from the system for any number of reasons, including cancellation or internal promotion of an existing employee.
7. You were not qualified for the position. I can’t stress this enough. It’s important to read the entire announcement to make sure you are truly a fit for a position. You might, for example, find the notion of being a program analyst appealing, but if you are lacking financial skills or training, chances are you won’t get as high a qualification ranking as someone who does have all of the key qualifications requested in the announcement.
8. You did not have the proper clearance level. Most members of the military go through some sort of security clearance investigation in which they’re granted one of three security levels: Confidential, which is applied to information or material the unauthorized disclosure of which could be reasonably expected to cause damage to the national security; It is strongly advised that you read the vacancy announcement to confirm that you possess the correct security level, if necessary, prior to completing your application package.
9. You are not a U.S. citizen. This is probably the top reason why many civilians looking to transfer to the government are rejected. With a very few exceptions, all federal positions require the candidate to be a citizen of the United States.
10. You did not submit the required documentation along with your resume package. Remember, the federal application process is just that – you are applying for a job rather than simply sending a resume to gauge interest. As such, the federal government often requires different types of documents in addition to your resume and KSA statements. Some examples of required documentation include official college transcripts, DD-214 (if claiming veteran’s preference), Form SF-50 (the federal government’s personnel action form), and copies of professional certifications and licensures, as warranted by the announcement. Again, read the announcement carefully to make sure you are able to provide all of the information requested.
11. You missed the application deadline. In most cases, the application deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern to submit your application online. It is strongly advised that you not wait until the last minute to apply for a job, as you will not have sufficient time to prepare a strong application package.

There’s no big secret to getting a job with the federal government its just time consuming and you must be focused. If you read the announcement carefully and follow all instructions, you should be able to qualify for positions for which your background is a match. Moreover, if you ever have any questions about what’s required, there is always a contact name and phone number and/or email address in the vacancy announcement.

Good luck in your federal job search.

About the Author
Barbara Adams, President & CEO of CareerPro Global, the parent company of www.careerproplus.com and www.militaryresumewriters.com, Ms. Adams has been a member of the careers community for the past 16 years. She holds three prestigious industry certifications. CareerProPlus is one the fastest growing Military, Federal and Civilian Resume Writing and Careers Coaching companies in the industry. Barbara’s team of Certified Professional and Federal Writers assist thousands of veterans applying for and gaining Federal employment each year. Questions may be emailed to service@careerproplus.com.

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