The Dreaded KSAs—Your Tickets to a Federal Job

According to Karol Taylor, a guru on getting a government job who has many years in government HR behind her, KSAs are going to be changed. Speaking to a Washington, DC job hunters support organization in February, she said it’s in the works to replace KSAs with another assessment tool, but she said they will really just reappear in a new form with a new name. In the meantime, in order to land a federal job, you have to master the dreaded KSAs.

What the heck are KSAs?

K=Knowledge • S=Skills • A=Abilities

In up to 4,000-character answers to a series of questions specific to a job opening, you are asked to describe your successes to demonstrate these three attributes. Your answers are read by real people, who then score your response. If your KSA score combined with your application score is higher than 90, you are more likely to be asked to meet for an interview.

There are many keys to being one of those who rises to the top of the heap. Here are some resources to help you get started:

Washington Post online article by Derrick Dortch, career counselor: Common Mistakes in Applying for Federal Jobs

AARP Webinar: The Ins and Outs of Applying for a Federal Job

Tips on writing a KSA from Making the Difference

Downloadable PDF guide to writing KSAs from Our Public Service

Ten tips for applications from USA Jobs

• See a full report in a February post on Karol Taylor's presentation, including her many helpful tips on applying for a federal job.

Capturing a Federal Job—Tips from an Expert

On Monday, Karol Taylor, a career adviser with more than 28 years of federal service, told a standing-room-only crowd at 40Plus of Greater Washington that the federal government is likely to lose more than 60% of its aging workforce by 2019. The government is poised to hire about 273,000 mission-critical workers by 2013.

How do you apply for one of those jobs? Taylor offered many practical tips, including:

• Check out the Partnership for Public Service 2009 Report. It shows the projected number of employees to be hired and by which agencies.
• Federal jobs must be posted for at least three days but not necessarily on USA Jobs. So, be sure to check all the agencies that interest you, not just USA Jobs.
• It takes on average 12 to 15 hours to complete a federal job application.
• Follow directions exactly, or you are wasting your time.
• Before you apply to a job, read these tips offered by USA Jobs.
• Even with the federal government, networking is important. However, you need to get your resume on the desk of the hiring managers and have informational interviews before a job is even posted.
• Be sure to put the same key words in your resume that are used to describe the job and qualification requirements. You need to include them only once. Taylor emphasized that if you do not meet 80% of the qualifications, you should not apply.
• Your goal is to earn at least 95 rating points for your application package. Everything in your resume and application can potentially earn you points.
• Maybe it’s been a while since you were in college, maybe not, but in your application you should list your relevant upper level undergraduate and graduate courses because they earn you points. Also list all the webinars, online courses, seminars, workshops, and other training that relate in some way to the job for which you are applying. Internships and volunteer activities and skills are also relevant to include.
• As with any resume or application, numbers count, so quantify everything you can, using real or approximate data, percentages, frequency rates (daily, weekly, etc.), people (supervised, etc.).
• The two-page standard for resumes doesn’t apply to government applications. They can be 3-5 pages and should cover as much relevant detail as you can supply.
• Remember that what you write will be read initially by human resources personnel, not subject matter experts.
• After applying, wait three weeks before making contact by phone or email with the hiring official to check on your status and how well you scored. Wait another three weeks before calling or writing again.
• The hiring process takes 6 months on average, so don’t hold your breath. Keep looking, networking and applying.