Operating Manual

Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions

GENERAL POLICIES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Part E.1- E.3.(c)

E. APPLICATION OF QUALIFICATION STANDARDS

1. Selecting the Appropriate Qualification Standard

Agencies and examining offices should select the qualification standard that covers the occupational series to which a position has been classified. If there is more than one standard for an occupational series, they should select the standard for the applicable position(s), as designated in Sections III and IV of this Manual.

For competitive appointments, OPM or agency examining offices will have determined the appropriate qualification standard to apply.

For appointments outside the register, agencies should apply the appropriate standards and instructions in this Manual. However, in a geographical area where there is an open competitive examination with qualification requirements different from those in the qualification standard, agencies must apply the requirements in the examination until the announcement is closed.

For inservice placement actions, agencies should apply the appropriate standards and instructions in this Manual. If, however, at the time of an inservice placement action, the qualification requirements in an open competitive examination for an occupation are different from those in this Manual, agencies can apply the requirements in either the competitive examination or in this Manual.

For details, employees do not have to meet the qualification requirements for the position to which they are detailed, except for any minimum educational, licensure and certification requirements.

2. Implementing New or Revised Standards

New or revised qualification standards issued by OPM must be implemented within 6 months of the transmittal date of the published standard, unless otherwise specified by OPM.

3. Experience Requirements

Experience is typically described in a qualification standard as either general or specialized experience.

(a) General experience is usually required at grade levels where the knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of a specific position are not a prerequisite, but where applicants must have demonstrated the ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills.

(b) Specialized experience is typically required for positions above the entry level where applicants must have demonstrated that they possess the ability to perform successfully the duties of a position after a normal orientation period. Specialized experience is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

(c) Describing experience in vacancy announcements--The following factors should be considered in describing experience in vacancy announcements:

• Since a published OPM qualification standard may cover hundreds of positions in dozens of organizations, it must be broad enough to cover the range of work classified to the occupational series. Therefore, agencies and examining offices should clearly describe the specific experience or education required to qualify for the positions covered by an examination or vacancy announcement. This will better attract applicants with appropriate qualifications to agencies, thereby greatly improving the effectiveness of the examination process.

• The description of qualifying general experience will vary in its degree of specificity from one series to another. For some occupational series, any progressively responsible work experience may be qualifying. Others may require experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupational series. For example, an entry level medical technician position may require general experience that provided a basic knowledge of the procedures and equipment in a chemical or clinical laboratory.

• A position description or a position classification standard can usually provide information related to the duties and responsibilities typical of work in an occupational series or position. This information is useful in the staffing process in identifying specialized experience requirements and also in determining the level of experience possessed by applicants.
  1. Determining level of experience--Most qualification standards require that a certain amount of the qualifying experience be at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the next lower or second lower grade. The grade-level criteria in the position classification standard or guide help in making this determination, particularly for applicants with experience outside the Federal Government.

  2. Identifying specialized experience--As indicated in (b) above, many qualification standards describe specialized experience as experience "related to the work of the position." This is to allow agencies to pinpoint the specific requirements in the vacancy announcements for their positions. For example, to meet the specialized experience requirements for a medical technician position, the applicant would likely be required to have a specific level of experience performing duties such as preparing culture media and stains and performing certain laboratory tests. The description of duties and responsibilities contained in the position classification standard, along with the position description, help in identifying the kinds of work experience that would meet this requirement. In addition, the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work may also be described.

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