Office of Human Capital Management - DHRD - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Frequently
Asked Questions
(FAQs)
Staffing
Q. How do
I know if an announcement
is open competitive
or merit promotion? A. The vacancy
announcement will
specify at the top
of the announcement
whether the announcement
is open competitive
or merit promotion.
Open competitive
announcements allow
anyone to apply.
Merit Promotion
announcements require
applicants to have
attained status
as a Federal employee
or eligibility under
a special placement
program.
Q. What
are special placement
programs? A. Special
placement programs
are hiring methods
authorized by the
Office of Personnel
Management that
permit candidates
to be considered
along with merit
promotion candidates.
Examples of special
placement Programs
include Individuals
with disabilities,
former Peace Corps,
Vista, and Action
Cooperative volunteers,
VRA eligibles, Veteran's
Preference eligibles,
and 30% Disabled
Veterans.
Q. Is it
recommended that
Federal employees
apply under both
merit promotion
and competitive
vacancy announcements? A. This is
a personal decision;
however, this provides
employees the opportunity
to be considered
for the same position
twice. We require
the submission of
two application
packages to be considered
under both methods.
Employees should
read the vacancy
announcement (s)
carefully and submit
all required information.
Q. What
is the effect of
being selected off
an open competitive
certificate? A. Normally,
candidates selected
off an open competitive
certificate must
complete a new probationary
period. The new
probationary period
is not required
if the employee
remains in the same
agency, in the same
line of work and
contains no more
than a single break
in service that
does not exceed
30 calendar days.
Q. When
applying for a vacancy
utilizing USA Staffing,
what is the difference
between an Occupational
Questionnaire, Form
C and an on-line
application? A. None.
They are one and
the same.
Q. Will
I receive additional
points for veterans'
preference when
applying for a merit
promotion vacancy? A. No. Additional
points for veterans'
preference are only
awarded under open
competitive procedures.
Q. What
is a bargaining
unit vacancy? A. A bargaining
unit vacancy is
a vacancy within
an organization
that is covered
by a negotiated
union/management
contract.
Q. May I
submit application
materials after
the closing date
of the vacancy announcement? A. Vacancy
announcements specifically
state all application
materials must be
received by the
time and closing
date listed in the
vacancy announcement.
Application materials
received after the
closing date will
not be considered.
Q. Can I
fax or E-mail my
application? A. Only if
the vacancy announcement
permits this option.
Q. I am
a current Federal
employee in a professional
Accountant position
and recently competed
for a professional
Accountant position
under merit promotion
procedures that
had an educational
prerequisite. I
was not considered
because I failed
to submit my college
transcripts. Isn't
this found in my
Official Personnel
Folder (OPF)? A. Under
the Merit Promotion
Plan, the OPF is
not reviewed to
determine qualifications.
The vacancy announcement
clearly states that
all employees must
submit their college
transcript to receive
consideration. It
is important to
remember to review
the vacancy announcement
carefully and submit
all required materials.
Q. When
is a college transcript
required? A. Education
serves as a substitution
for experience for
many positions.
If you are using
your college education
to substitute for
experience, it is
necessary to submit
your college transcript.
In addition, some
positions, i.e.,
Accountants, Contract
Specialists, Economists,
require a specific
degree or a certain
amount of college
course work.
Q. When
I apply for a position,
does my application
get filed in my
OPF? A. No. Your
application remains
in the vacancy announcement
case file. You must
submit a separate
application and
annotate "OPF
update" to
ensure inclusion
in your OPF.
Q. Why do
some announcements
require a SF-50,
Notification of
Personnel Action,
and others do not? A. There
are many variations
to the merit promotion
procedures. Applicants
are encouraged to
read each vacancy
announcement (s)
carefully and follow
all instructions
included in that
particular vacancy
announcement. Procedures
may vary significantly
from one announcement
to the next announcement
for which you may
apply.
Q. What
is a selective placement
factor? A. Selective
placement factors
are special qualifications
that are in addition
to the minimum requirements
for a position.
Applicants who do
not meet these requirements
are ineligible for
further consideration.
An example of a
selective placement
factor for an Information
Technology position
might be experience
programming in C++.
Q. What
information is available
to me concerning
a merit promotion
vacancy that I applied
for? A. Applicants
may be advised of
the following information:
· Explanations
and supporting regulations
concerning the Merit
Promotion Plan.
· Qualification
requirements for
the position.
· If you
were considered
and basically qualified.
· Whether
you were among the
best qualified and
how you were evaluated
by the Merit Promotion
Panel or Human Resources
Specialist.
· Cut-off
score of best qualified.
· Scores
of other candidates
(not identified
by name).
· Number
of qualified candidates.
· Number
of candidates certified
as best qualified.
· Who was
selected
Q. Who do
I contact if I have
questions about
a vacancy? A. Each announcement
includes a point
of contact that
may be utilized
to obtain additional
information.
Q. I recently
applied for a vacancy;
when will I hear
something? A. Normally,
candidates will
receive notification
as to the status
of their application
30 days after the
closing date of
the announcement.
Q. I received
notification that
I was placed on
the best qualified
list for a merit
promotion vacancy;
what does that mean? A. Best qualified
candidates are those
applicants who receive
the highest ratings
above a discernable
level in the evaluation
process.
Q. I received
notification that
I was placed on
a merit promotion
certificate as a
non-competitive
referral; what does
that mean? A. A non-competitive
referral candidate
is a candidate who
is not required
to compete for an
advertised vacancy.
A non-competitive
referral candidate
is currently at
the full performance
level of the advertised
vacancy or has previously
served in a position
with the same full
performance level
as the advertised
vacancy.
Q. How do
I know what the
full performance
level of my position
is? A. Typically,
the full performance
level is contained
in the introduction
of your position
description.
Q. I received
notification that
I was placed on
a merit promotion
certificate; will
I be called for
an interview? A. The selecting
official is provided
a promotion certificate
with a list of names.
Normally, supervisors
will interview those
candidates and make
a selection within
90 days.
Q. I received
notification that
I was placed on
an open competitive
certificate; will
I be called for
an interview? A. The selecting
official is not
required to interview
candidates on an
open competitive
certificate. Generally,
supervisors have
the option to interview
or not interview
open competitive
candidates. Regardless
of whether you are
called for an interview,
all candidates who
apply for a position
should be notified
that a selection
was made.
Q. Is a
selecting official
required to make
a selection? A. No. A
selecting official
may decide to cancel
a position, re-advertise
at a different grade
level, or utilize
other recruitment
methods.
Q. How can
I learn more about
the qualification
requirements for
various occupations? A. The Qualification
Standards for General
Schedule Positions
may be found on
the Office of Personnel
Management's web-site
at www.opm.gov/qualifications/index.htm.
Classification
Q.
I’d like
to promote an
employee who has
been performing
additional assignments
that are not currently
a part of the
existing duties
in his/her PD.
What do I have
to do?
A. This
is called an "Accretion
of Duties".
Submit an "Accretion
Package"
to your HRSD that
consists of the
following:
Request for
Personnel Action
(SF-52)
The revised
PD which includes
and describes
the additional
work and knowledge,
skills and abilities
required to
perform them
Q. I’d
like to make minor
changes to an
existing PD. What
do I have to do?
A. Pen
and ink changes
or PD amendments
are minor changes
which do not impact
the title, series,
or grade of the
position (such
as discontinuation
of a task occupying
less than 5% of
time, or minor
changes in procedures)
PD amendments
are also minor
changes, but involve
more than the
pen and ink changes
and are usually
a paragraph or
more in length
but should be
limited to one
page.
Submit the following
to your HRSD:
An
e-mail requesting
a pen and ink
change indicating
the changes
to be made to
an existing
PD; or the amendment
to be added
to an existing
PD.
Q. I’d
like HRSD to review
a draft PD and tell
me what series and
grade level it is.
What do I have to
do?
A. This
is called an advisory
classification.
Submit the following:
An SF-52—on
page 4 annotate
"advisory"
and indicate
your proposed
pay plan,
series, grade.
Attach the draft
PD to the SF-52.
No. OF-8 (PD
coversheet)
needed.
Q. I need
to write a PD.
Where do I start?
A. First
check with your
HRSD advisor to
see if the same
or similar position
already exists
at your activity
so that you may
be able to use
or modify.
Q.
How can there
be positions with
similar work but
different classifications?
A.
Agencies are required
to grade positions
according to the
work done in them;
that is, positions
are graded based
on the content
of the work and
not on the employee's
qualifications.
There are two
reasons why positions
that seem to involve
the same kind
of work are classified
differently:
Because the positions
are actually different.
While the tasks
might seem to
be similar, the
complexity of
the work, as well
as the level of
responsibility,
authority, level
of contacts, purpose
of contacts, and
so on, could be
different and
justify different
classifications.
Classification
authority is delegated
to agencies, and
the classification
decision is made
by the agency
officials on the
scene with the
most information
on the positions
in question.
Because one or
more of the positions
are not classified
correctly. OPM
classification
standards may
have been interpreted
differently by
whomever classified
the positions.
When OPM learns
of such situations,
we remind the
agency or agencies
of their responsibility
to classify similar
positions consistently.
Q. If my
position is upgraded,
am I entitled
to back pay?
A. If
your position
is upgraded, you
cannot get back
pay for the period
of time your position
was misclassified.
(There is only
one situation
in which a classification
action may be
made effective
retroactively
and an employee
be given back
pay. This highlighted
link will take
you to an explanation
of classification
appeals, retroactive
effective dates,
and back pay.)
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