Veterans'
Job Opportunities
/ VRA / Federal Jobs / Civil Service Jobs
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There are several special emphasis civil service employment programs
available to veterans. Veterans Preference, discussed in this section,
and the Veterans Readjustment Act (VRA) are two of the better known
programs. Unknown to many, dependents and spouses of active duty
personnel receive hiring preference for government jobs under the
Military Spouse Preference program and the Family Member Preference
Program.
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs
describes the entire federal employment process and includes easy to use
checklists and sample applications with over 1,000 resources.
Recommended by Library Journal.
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Veterans’ Preference gives eligible veterans preference in
appointment over many other applicants. Veterans’ Preference applies to
virtually all new appointments in the Competitive Service and many in
the Excepted Service. Veterans’ Preference does not guarantee veterans a
job and it does not apply to internal agency actions such as promotions,
transfers, reassignments, and reinstatements.
Not all veterans receive preference for federal civilian employment,
and not all active duty service qualifies for Veterans’ Preference. Only
veterans discharged or released from active duty in the Armed Forces
under honorable conditions are eligible for Veterans’ Preference.
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This means
preference eligibles must have been discharged under an honorable or general
discharge. If you are a “retired member of the Armed Forces,” you are not
included in the definition of preference eligible unless you are a disabled
veteran, or you retired below the rank of major or its equivalent.
Generally when you apply to a Federal position there are two separate
referral lists:
1. External - with applicants who are not Federal employees. If
there are a few veterans on this list the supervisor cannot select a
non-veteran. If the agency is using a point system, the 5 or 10 points
is added to the overall point total assigned to the applicant. Often
higher qualified applicants are not “within reach” on this list.
2. Internal – with applicants who are current or prior Federal
employees. On the internal list, there is no veterans’
preference. All applicants compete on a level playing field based on
resume, past performance, interviews or other relevant criteria.
There are two types of preference eligibles: those with a
service-connected disability (formerly titled 10 point preference) and those
without (formerly titled 5 point preference). Under hiring reform the point
system is being replaced with a category rating system. Until hiring reform
is fully implemented you may encounter the old terminology of 5 and 10 point
preference. Preference eligibles are divided into four basic groups as
follows:
- CPS – Disability rating of 30% or more (10 points)
- CP – Disability rating of at least 10% but less than 30% (10 points)
- XP – Disability rating less than 10% (10 points)
- TP – Preference eligibles with no disability rating (5 points)
When agencies used a numerical rating and ranking system to determine the
best qualified applicants for a position, an additional 5 or 10 points were
added to the numerical score of qualified preference eligible veterans.
The category rating system places preference eligibles who have a
com-pensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS, CP) at
the top of the highest category on the referral list (except for scientific
or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). XP and TP preference
eligibles are placed above non-preference eligibles within their assigned
category.
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs
(Federal Resume Guide)
Verteran's preference and VRA appointments are covered in Chapter 7
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Vets Without a Service Connected Disability — (Five Point Preference)
If your active duty service meets any of the following, and you do not
have a disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of 10%
or more, you have preference. This preference entitles you to be hired
before a non-veteran whose application is rated in your same category. To
meet this criterion, your service must meet one of the following conditions:
- 180 or more consecutive days, any part of which occurred during the
period beginning September 11, 2001 and ending on a future date
prescribed by Presidential proclamation or law as the last date of
Operation Iraqi Freedom, OR
- Between August 2, 1990 and January 2, 1992, OR
- 180 or more consecutive days, any part of which occurred after
January 31, 1955 and before October 15, 1976.
- In a war, campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been
authorized or between April 28, 1952 and July 1, 1955.
Vets with a Service Connected Disability — (Ten-Point Preference)
You are a 10 point preference eligible if you served at any time, and you:
- Have a service connected disability
- Received a Purple Heart (Purple Heart recipients are awarded the
same preference category as those with a service-connected disability)
- Are the spouse, widow, widower, or mother of a deceased or disabled
veteran (derived preference)
When applying for federal jobs, eligible veterans should claim preference
on their application or résumé. Applicants claiming disability, 10-point
preference, must complete form SF-15, Application for 10-Point Veteran
Preference. Veterans who are still in the service may be granted five points
tentative preference on the basis of information contained in their
applications, but they must produce a DD Form 214 prior to appointment to
document their entitlement to preference.
Note: Reservist who are separated from the reserves but don’t currently
receive retired pay aren’t considered “retired military” for purposes of
veterans’ preference. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit
the the following OPM websites:
You can also contact the designated veterans’ hiring program coordinator
for your agency of interest; agency coordinator contact information can be
found at the end of chapter 7 in
The Book of U.S.
Government Jobs.
A preference eligible who is passed over on a list of eligibles is
entitled, upon request, to a copy of the agency’s reasons for the pass-over
and the examining office’s response.
If the preference eligible is a 30 percent or more disabled veteran, the
agency must notify the veteran and OPM of the proposed pass-over. The
veteran has 15 days from the date of notification to respond to OPM. OPM
then decides whether to approve the pass-over based on all the facts
available and notifies the agency and the veteran.
NOTE: Entitlement to veterans’ preference does not
guarantee a job. There are many ways an agency can fill a vacancy other than
by appointment from a list of eligibles. For more inforamtion on this
subject and to learn how to apply pick up a copy of
The Book of U.S.
Government Jobs, 11th edition at your local bookstore or check out
a copy from your local library.
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Veterans Job Opportunities / VRA / Federal
Jobs / Civil
Service Jobs
1/10/2012
