Frequently Asked Questions

By law, employment at most U.S. Government agencies, including the Administration on Aging (AoA) is limited to U.S. citizens. However, non-citizens may be hired provided they meet certain legal requirements, as described by the United States Office of Personnel Management at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/EI9.asp.

Generally, AoA positions are filled through the competitive hiring process under delegated examining (DE) or merit promotion (MP) procedures. AoA may also fill positions thorough excepted service appointments.
Delegated Examining (DE)

• Positions are open to all U.S. citizens. Prior Federal experience is not required
• Allows consideration of the top three ranked candidates
• Veterans' preference rules apply
• U.S. citizenship is required

Merit Promotion (MP)

• Positions are open to current Federal employees serving under a career or career conditional appointment; former federal employees with reinstatement eligibility; or employees eligible for appointment under special hiring authorities (e.g., certain veterans, persons withdisabilities, Peace Corps volunteers, etc)
• Allows consideration of the top ranked candidates
• Veterans’ preference points are not applied
• U.S. citizenship is required

Veterans’ Preference

• Candidates who served on active duty in the United States military and were separated under honorable or general conditions may be eligible for veterans' preference.
• AoA adjudicates veteran preference claims based on the documentation submitted (e.g., DD-214, Report of Separation).
• Veterans’ preference points are applied to all jobs announced under Delegated Examining procedures.

Yes. You must submit a separate application for each position which you would like to be considered.

No. You must be a current employee of AoA (serving on a career or career conditional appointment) to apply for positions open to AoA employees only.

Instructions for how to apply for a position are included in each AoA job announcement. In most cases, you must apply for a position using the automated system. Contact the Human Resources Customer Service Center at quickquestions@psc.gov or 888-478-4340 [TTY/TDD 800-877-8339] three business days before the closing date of the announcement if applying for a job online poses a hardship to you and you require assistance or reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations will be provided on an individual basis.

Read the job announcement thoroughly to determine which documents are required. The required documents are listed under the How to Apply tab of the job announcement.

An SF-50 is the standard form for Notification of Personnel Action. If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must include a copy of your latest SF-50 with your application as proof of your Federal service and civil service status.

If you are a current Federal employee, you may obtain a copy of your latest SF-50 from your agency's human resources office.

If you are a former Federal employee, you may obtain a copy of your SF-50 by contacting the:

National Personnel Records Center
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, MO 63118-4126
Phone: 314-801-9250

You can check the status of your application by selecting the My USAJobs tab at http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov/a9hhs.asp

You must re-apply if the job is re-announced.

Only qualified veterans may receive consideration for a position once the job announcement has closed.

We do not consider applications submitted past the closing date listed on the job announcement. Your application and supporting materials must be received by the closing date noted on the job announcement for you to receive consideration.

You must follow the instructions listed in the application under How to Apply.

We do our best to make hiring decisions within 45 business days of the closing date of the job announcement.

In most cases, the selecting official or a member of his/her staff will call you to arrange an interview.

You will be interviewed either by the selecting official or by an interview panel consisting of three to five individuals familiar with the job.

The selecting official or a member of the interview panel should be able to provide you with a projected time frame for filling the position.

Once the selecting official has made a final selection, he/she will contact the human resources office. The human resources office will contact the selected candidate over the telephone and extend a "tentative" offer of employment. Tentative offers are followed by a formal letter outlining the terms and conditions of employment. Candidates who were interviewed but not selected are notified after the selected candidate has accepted the official offer.

We recommend that you wait until you receive the official offer before giving notice to your present employer or making financial commitments to relocate.

Yes. We conduct a standard background check on all new hires and employees transferring from another Federal agency. For most positions, this is a fairly straightforward process that takes approximately three - five weeks to complete. For positions that require a higher-level "security clearance", the background investigation process is more extensive. The job announcement will indicate whether or not a position requires a security clearance. If you are selected for a position that requires a security clearance, you will receive specific guidance and instructions from us about what to expect during the investigation process.

Most new hires and employees transferring from another federal agency start work two to four weeks after receiving their official offer of employment.

Yes, most of our positions require the completion of a one-year probationary period.

The decision to pay for moving/relocation expenses is made before a position is posted and is reflected in the job announcement.

Each job announcement specifies the pay system (e.g., GS, WG, RS, AD, ES, etc.) and salary range for the position being advertised.

Federal salaries are not negotiable in the same manner as private sector salaries. Federal rules and regulations prescribe how Federal salaries are determined.

If you have never worked for the federal government, your pay most likely will be set at Step 1 of the salary range.

If you are a current or former employee of another Federal agency and you are transferring to the Administration on Aging (AoA) at the same grade level, your pay will usually remain the same. If you are transferring into a higher graded position, we will assign your pay in accordance with federal pay regulations.

No. Prior to advertising the job, the hiring organization determines the grade-level at which the position is needed and that is the only grade-level at which the position can be filled.

We offer a comprehensive Federal benefits package. Click here for more information on federal benefits.

It depends on the type of benefit. Certain benefits are available to all Federal employees and will transfer with you from agency to agency. These benefits are:

• health insurance
• life insurance
• retirement benefits/thrift savings plan allocations
• sick and annual leave
• long-term care insurance
• flexible spending accounts

Other benefits (e.g., transit subsidy, alternative work schedules, telecommuting, child care subsidies, etc.) are unique to particular agencies and may or may not be the same at AoA. These benefits do not automatically transfer — as a new employee at AoA you will have to apply for these types of benefits when you report to work.