USAJOBS

To deliver the quality services and results the American people expect and deserve, the Federal Government must recruit and hire highly qualified employees, and public service should be a career of choice for the most talented Americans. After years of talking about reform, we're taking action. We're making it quicker and easier to connect the best candidates with Federal jobs. Watch a short video explaining the changes.

Eliminating Narrative Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) Essay-Style Questions

To start, we're switching to resumes. You will be able to apply to almost any Federal job with just a resume and an optional cover letter. This will save applicants millions of person hours and money, too. Starting immediately, some agencies will no longer require narrative responses as a part of the initial application and all agencies will comply with this mandate by November 1, 2010. When applying to different types of jobs, you may still be required to answer a questionnaire or submit an online form so please pay close attention to the information listed under "How to Apply" in each job opportunity announcement.

Flexibility for Managers

We've also eliminated red tape so hiring managers can view and select more applicants. No longer will hiring managers be limited to view only the top three candidates (known as the Rule of 3), they will be presented with a pool of all of the best qualified candidates. Veterans will still be eligible for preference and encouraged to apply.

We've also launched shared lists of best qualified applicants for commonly filled government-wide occupations, which can speed up agency hiring by eliminating the need for applicants to apply more than once to a range of similar positions.

For more information

Visit the Hiring Reform website at http://www.opm.gov/HiringReform.

Download the PDF file