Welcome or Title

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.

KSAOs - Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, & Other Characteristics

KSAs are also referred to as Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other Characteristics (KSAOs). They are required for the selecting official to identify the best qualified candidate for the position. Most look at writing KSAOs as drudgery, however it is a necessary part of your employment application, if requested on the job announcement. To qualify for a position you must meet two types of factors; Selective Factors and Quality Ranking Factors.

KSAOs are attributes needed to perform a specific job function that are demonstrate through qualifying training, education and experience. The following definitions will help you understand what the selecting official is looking for when reviewing your submissions:

If you prefer, our professional federal resume writing service can complete your resume, KSAs and cover letters for you. Click HERE for complete information.

Knowledge - An organized body of information, usually of a factual or procedural nature, which if applied, makes adequate performance on the job possible. Examples include knowledge of:

• Federal Regulations and Directives
• Operational systems and procedures
• Budget and accounting principals
• Engineering practices
• Environmental Compliance Law
• Administrative practices

Skill - The manipulation of date, things, or people through manual, mental or verbal means. Skills are measurable through testing, can be observed, and quantifiable. Often referred to expertness that comes from training, practice, etc. Examples include skill in:

• Keyboard data entry
• Motor vehicle operation
• Computer software proficiency
• Electronic or computer repair
• Carpentry, plumbing and/or HVAC repair
• Second language proficiency

Ability - The capacity to perform a physical or mental activity at the present time. Typically abilities are apparent through functions completed on the job. Abilities and skills are often interchange in KSAOs. The main difference is that ability is the capacity to perform where a skill is the actual manipulation of data, things or people. You may have the ability but unless observed through actions that ability may not transfer to a skill set. Examples include the ability to:

• Organize and plan work (observed at work)
• Analyze situations, programs and problems
• Communicate orally and in writing
• Coach and mentor others

Other Characteristics - Mental or physical attributes or characteristics that don’t fall under the other areas.
Examples are:

• Proactive - takes initiative to get things done without prompting
• Copes well in stressful environments - handles complex tasks
• Reliability - assigned work is completed ahead of schedule and the quality of work is exceptional
• Multiple work assignments - capable of successfully handling various and sundry tasks

This factor is required for jobs that to a greater degree encounter these characteristics such as jobs with the Federal Aviation Administration in air traffic control, work at nuclear power plants, and careers in law enforcement.

This information is excerpted from The Book of U.S. Government Jobs. This title provides specific guidance on how to assess each job announcement and write effective KSAs that will get the selecting officials attention. This book will help you complete a dynamic and professional application.

Return to top of page

RESUMIX

RESUMIX® generally refers to the products of Resumix corporation. These products are designed to use software and artificial intelligence to review large amounts of resumes, index them, and determine which ones meet the requirements of a position and are suitable for further review.

Resumix is being used for filing most U.S. Appropriated Fund positions within the Department of Defense, the Air Force, and the Veteran’s Administration. It is designed to streamline and expedite recruiting. The system is being used successfully in many larger private sector organizations including Continental Airlines and Disney Corporation. The DOD intends to use RESUMIX for recruiting current federal employees within the DOD, transferees from other federal agencies, or former federal employees seeking reinstatement. The DOD recently announced that it will no longer accept any other forms of applications for recruitment of status employees, current federal workers. U.S. Citizens currently not employed by the U.S. Government would use the traditional competitive application methods mentioned earlier in this chapter.

With RESUMIX resumes are E-mailed to a dedicated computer where the format is reviewed. After the review, properly formatted resumes are forwarded to the RESUMIX database. The same procedure applies to resumes received via mail except those are scanned directly into the database. The computer reads your resume and identifies information such as your name, address, education, and your unique skills.

Return to top of page