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

Agency Practices

It is a priority of President George W. Bush, and it is my personal mission, to see that each and every veteran who wants to serve his or her country as public servants be given the chance to do so. Veterans have served our country with distinction; they have put their civilian lives on hold to defend our democratic principles and protect our friends around the world; and, they have sacrificed in ways we cannot begin to understand.

• Use special hiring authorities.
• Use an open-continuous announcement for VRA eligibles.
• Establish a continuous recruitment method.
• Target veterans organizations.
• Attract departing military personnel.

Use special hiring authorities. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) established a new recruitment and hiring procedure designed to increase the hiring of disabled veterans. RRB uses the special hiring authority for 30 percent or more disabled veterans, with recruitment targeted to veterans employment offices and organizations.

Use an open-continuous announcement for VRA eligibles. The Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, CO, found that competitive examining certificate candidates often did not have the necessary qualifications. The best candidates seemed to be applicants who were finishing their military duty in Colorado Springs. The HR staff decided to create an open-continuous Corrections Officer announcement for VRA eligibles only to reach these qualified candidates.

Select this link to learn more about the Bureau of Prisons' use of VRA.

Establish a continuous recruitment method. The U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) has built a pipeline of qualified veterans for its information technology support positions by partnering with OPM for recruiting and examining assistance. AMC wanted to strengthen its career transition efforts and leverage the competencies of its existing military workforce by implementing a continuous recruiting method with minimal administrative effort. AMC has found that standing inventories can be an effective means of maintaining quality candidate pools for positions with regularly recurring vacancies. The large number of IT support positions and the relatively high turnover rate in this field made the standing inventory solution the right one for AMC.

Select this link to learn more about the AMC's use of veteran preferences.

Target veterans organizations. Agencies including the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives provide job announcements to national and community-based veterans organizations and request their participation in agency-sponsored activities. They also network with local veterans community centers, VA hospitals, and referral services.

Attract departing military personnel. The Department of State provides recruitment information to military installations and organizations using technology, as well as by advertising in the "Army/Navy Times Group Worldwide" newspapers.

The U.S. Coast Guard found that many traditional recruiting solutions did not yield candidates with required maritime/Coast Guard expertise. The Coast Guard needed an effective vehicle to hire former active duty service members into selected positions. It found this vehicle through the VEOA.

Select this link to learn more about the Coast Guard's use of veteran preferences.

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