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RecentNews
Government Expansion
The federal sector is growing at its fastest pace in decades. Over the past
two years total federal civil service employment has increased 10%, an
additional 182,629 workers. Jobs are available nationwide and overseas and
additional growth is projected due to recent legislation.
The new health care legislation calls for the formation of 150 new regulatory
agencies and commissions and many more federal regulators are needed to manage
failed banks and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds.
The federal government now owns 60% of General Motors, all of Fanny Mae and
Freddie Mac plus they took over 100% of the student loan program recently! There
are many more jobs projected and those who start the process early will have a
better chance of success.
Civil Service
Exams
Civil
Service Exams / Government Jobs Exams / Postal Exams
Tests are required for specific groups including foreign service
officers, customs, some secretarial and clerical, air traffic control,
law enforcement, postal service, and for certain entry level jobs. The
majority — approximately 80% — of government jobs are filled through a
competitive examination of your background, work experience, and
education, not through a written test.
Many administrative and clerical exams have been replaced with
Occupational Questionnaires. OPM and individual agencies announce job
vacancies and interested people typically apply online. Applicants
complete the application, federal style resume,
and questionnaire and it is submitted direct to the hiring agency. If an
actual exam is required, you will be notified of the testing date and
location.
About 100 professional and administrative job series were originally filled
using one of two options:
A written examination; (no longer mandatory) or
An application based on scholastic achievement, reflected by your grade
point average (GPA), and work experience.
Entry level grades generally start at the GS-5 and GS-7 levels.
Entry-level professional and administrative job applicants now earn
eligibility by passing an examination of your education and/or experience for a
specific job vacancy. Agencies may use the original written tests to assess
an applicants’ abilities prior to appointment.
Basic Qualification
It's important to note that a college degree isn't required to qualify for
most of these jobs. Equivalent experience is acceptable as an alternative to a
college degree. For example, to qualify for a GS-5 position you would require
four years of education leading to a bachelor's degree, 3 years of responsible
experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Applicants have three avenues to explore. If you don't have three years of
experience or a bachelor's degree you may be able to use a combination of
education and experience to qualify.
Responsible Experience
You can combine education and experience to meet the qualification
requirements. One academic year of full-time study (30 semester hours or 45
quarter hours) is equivalent to nine months of responsible experience. A
bachelor's degree is equivalent to three years of responsible experience. To be
considered as qualifying experience, your experience must be related to the
position applied for.
COURSES TAKEN AT NONACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS ARE ACCEPTABLE IF THEY MEET THE
QUALIFYING CONDITIONS:
The courses are accepted for advanced credit at an accredited
institution.
The institution is one whose transcript is given full credit by a State
University.
The courses have been evaluated and approved by a State Department of
Education.
The course work has been evaluated by an organization recognized for
accreditation by the Council of Post secondary Accreditation.
A sample clerical exam is included in The Book
of U.S. Government Jobs. You will also find exams in this book for
vocabulary, reading, tabular, and arithmetic reasoning questions. When an exam
is required the testing agency will notify when and where the exam will be
administered. Many exams are being replaced with Occupational Questionnaires
that confirm your knowledge, skills and abilities for the job.
To find a clerical job announcement review the Administrative
& Clerical GS-300 Job Series for clerical job vacancy announcements. You first must
identify a
clerical job announcement in your area and then you apply online. You will
be notified by the agency if an exam is required or they will direct you to
complete an Occupational Questionnaire online. If an exam is required you must
bring the following items with you:
1) An eraser
2) a pen, three median No. 2 lead pencils
3) any other documents or forms that are requested.
General Experience: High school graduation or the
equivalent may be substituted for experience at the GS-2 level for all listed
occupations except Clerk-Stenographer, where it maybe substituted for experience
at the GS-3 level. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed education
and experience requirements may be used to meet total experience requirements at
grades GS-5 and below.
Table 4-3 lists all of the positions and grades covered under the Clerical and
Administrative Support Positions test. Positions at higher grade levels in
listed occupations are covered under separate examinations.
Typing Proficiency
Typing proficiency is determined one of several ways. You can present a speed
certification statement from a typing course, take a typing test with OPM, or
personally certify that you type 40 or more words per minute and later take a
test upon reporting
for duty.
Testing Process
The written clerical test consists of two parts, clerical aptitude and verbal
abilities. To pass the written test, applicants must make a minimum score of 33
on the verbal abilities and a minimum combined total score of 80 on both the
clerical and verbal parts. A score of 80 converts to a numerical rating of 70.
In addition to written tests, applicants must complete the Occupational
Supplement for Clerical Positions (OPM Form 1203-A1). With this form OPM will be
able to determine an applicants' minimum qualifications based on a review of
their education and work experience.
A final rating results from the written examination and Form 1203-Al, with 5 or
10 additional points added for veterans preference. After taking the exam and
filling out the additional forms OPM will send you a Notice of Rating (NOR)
within 5 to 10 work days of testing.
