U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Frequently Asked Questions about Hiring for the Federal Government

1. What information is required for job announcements?
You must include the following items in your job announcement, in accordance with 5 CFR 330.707 and Executive Order 13078:

• Your agency name
• Announcement number
• Title of position
• Series
• Grade(s) and entrance pay
• Opening and closing dates (including cut-off dates, if any)
• Duty location
• Number of vacancies
• Description of duties
• Qualification requirements (competencies/KSAs, selective placement factors, etc.)
• Basis for rating:
• Type of rating procedure, either numeric rating or category rating
• Type of assessment(s) to be used
• If using interview, whether the interview is pass/fail or scored
• Whether a drug test is required
• How to apply (including point of contact, telephone number, and email address, if appropriate)
• What to file (i.e., required application materials, such as resume, etc.)
• Agency's definition of "Well-Qualified" (Career Transition Assistance Plan/Interagency Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP/ICTAP)/Reemployment Priority List (RPL)
• Information on how to claim veterans' preference
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statement
• Reasonable accommodation statement

Refer to Chapter 3 of the Delegated Examining Operations Handbook (DEOH) for additional information

2. What is required for agencies to use category rating?
To begin using category rating, an agency must establish or already have established a delegated examining agreement with the Office of Personnel Management, and must have a category rating policy for the agency.

Refer to Chapter 5 of the DEOH for information on category rating. Additional information is in this Category Rating Fact Sheet.

3. Does targeted recruitment violate merit principles?
Targeted recruitment activities, i.e., actively reaching out to highly qualified candidates to solicit their interest in applying for a position, do not violate merit principles. Agencies are encouraged to actively engage in recruitment activities. Posting a job is not the same as recruiting for it.

See Chapter 3 of the DEOH for information on effective recruiting strategies and practices, including an overview of incentives programs and special hiring authorities.

4. Is there a standard, Governmentwide probationary period for new hires?
Generally, the probationary period for new hires lasts one year. This probationary period is intended and should be viewed as the last step in the examination process.

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5. What is the role of the hiring manager in the hiring process?
The hiring manager plays a central role in a successful hiring process. The most critical element of the manager's role is the front-end investment - taking the time to critically consider and then effectively communicate to the HR partner the critical skills, experience, and abilities required for success on the job. A thoughtful, strategic front-end conversation furnishes information that will enable you to more effectively market vacancies and assess applicants. When there are multiple candidates, hiring managers could use structured interviews as the last step in the assessment process.

6. Which parts of the end-to-end ("soup to nuts") hiring process are included in OPM's 45-day hiring model?
In OPM's 45-day hiring model, the clock starts when the vacancy announcement closes and stops when an offer is extended to a candidate.

7. What are some suggested metrics for measuring the effectiveness of my agency's hiring process?
While there has been an increasing focus on time-to-hire measurements in the federal government, it is at least as important to keep tabs on measures of quality.

The appropriate "dashboard" of hiring metrics will vary somewhat from agency to agency depending on hiring goals and business necessities, and it is up to an agency's human capital function to determine which metrics are most important for that organization.

Please see the toolkit section on Metrics [241 kb] for a more comprehensive list of suggested measures and advice for using metrics effectively. A few examples of quality metrics are:

• Quality of applicant pools (based on assessment scores, manager appraisal or other measures)
• Quality of hires (based on employee performance on-the-job)
• Quality of customer service (manager appraisal)
• Quality of applicant experience (new hire and/or applicant survey)
• Retention rate of new hires

• Quantity and quality of candidates from targeted sources such as universities and publications in which you advertise
• Recruitment incentives (frequency and outcomes)

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8. What is the ideal number of steps in a hiring process?
There is no universally correct number of steps for an efficient and effective hiring process. Every agency is different and may be subject to different requirements, assessment needs, and other considerations.

To determine whether your hiring process is optimally efficient, consider the following characteristics of a streamlined hiring process:

• Avoids duplication of efforts
• Consolidates the flow of information between the hiring manager and HR
• Encourages results-focused meetings rather than handoffs and email chains

To further analyze your hiring process, try this interactive hiring timeline tool.
Flash [284 kb] | HTML [12 kb]

9. Should the HR practitioner conduct a job analysis to fill a position that already has a classified position description?
Job analysis is the foundation of human resources management and is vital to selecting employees. Identifying the best person for the job requires that you fully understand the nature and essential duties of the job. By conducting a job analysis, you can systematically identify the competencies/KSAs necessary for success on the job. Then you can develop valid and effective selection tools.

You may not need to conduct a new job analysis every time you want to fill a job. If job openings within the same occupation recur frequently, you may rely on selection tools developed from recent job analyses of that occupation. Selection tools may include structured interview, written test, assessment center, and work sample. Whether a new job analysis should be conducted for a particular position depends on how new position is and how current the existing job analysis is for that occupation.

For example, if the position you seek to fill is unlike any other position in your agency, you should conduct a job analysis. Similarly, if the nature of the position is such that its requirements are likely to change with relative frequency (for example, information technology positions), you should review the position frequently to ensure your selection tools are still valid. However, if the requirements of the position are relatively static, the position may need to be reviewed less frequently.

Comprehensive guidance on how to conduct job analysis, including tools to support the process, can be found in the DEOH, Appendix G.

10. What are some of the best approaches to recruiting?
Focus on ready audiences that are likely to include talented individuals who possess the competencies, skills, and experience required for the position(s) for which you are hiring.

Recruiting sources:

• Colleges and universities that have strong undergraduate and/or graduate programs in relevant areas
• Job fairs
• Career development offices
• Academic departments
• Professional organizations
• Advertisements in professional association publications
• In-person presentations at professional gatherings (luncheons, conferences, etc.)
• Job announcements on listservs
• Internet
• Resume banks on job sites (conduct targeted outreach to individuals whose resumes are promising)
• Passive candidates identified through search engines
• Industry-specific publications (advertise)

To help you develop an informative, eye-catching job announcement, try this interactive tool, the Job Posting Wizard.
Flash [71 kb] | HTML [7 kb]

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