How to get a federal job with no experience: grades, Pathways and the 2-page resume

How many jobs are open to people outside government

Every announcement says who can apply. On October 31, 2026, 4,870 of the 7,032 open announcements (69%) were open to the public, which means any U.S. citizen or national can apply. The others were reserved for current federal employees, veterans, military spouses or other groups. Almost all federal jobs require U.S. citizenship.

The biggest employers of jobs open to the public were Veterans Affairs (1,373 announcements) and the military departments: Defense (683), Army (657), Air Force (643) and Navy (435). Homeland Security had 314.

1,826 of the public announcements use the General Schedule (GS), the pay scale of most office, technical and professional jobs. The rest use other scales, such as the VA's medical pay plans or the hourly Wage Grade (WG) scale for trades: 399 trades jobs were open to the public.

Your education decides your starting grade

For many GS jobs, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lets education replace experience. These are OPM's general rules for clerical, administrative and management jobs:

Typical starting pay: the median of the lowest annual salary in the open public announcements at that starting grade, which already includes the locality pay of the duty station. Some occupations, such as engineering, nursing or law enforcement, have their own education rules: the announcement always says what is needed.

Good grades, no degree, or work outside government

• Superior Academic Achievement (for GS-7 with a bachelor's) means one of three things: a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0 overall, or 3.5 or higher in your major; class standing in the upper third of your graduating class; or election to a national scholastic honor society on OPM's list (freshman honor societies do not count).
• Without a degree you can qualify with experience. At the lowest grades OPM asks for general experience: 3 months for GS-2, 6 months for GS-3, 1 year for GS-4 in clerical jobs. From GS-5 up, jobs usually ask for 1 year of specialized experience at the next lower grade.
• Experience does not have to be federal: OPM counts work from any employer, and unpaid or volunteer work, if it shows the right type and level of skills. Part-time work is counted in proportion: 20 hours a week for 12 months counts as 6 months.

Where the entry-level jobs are

Of the 1,826 GS announcements open to the public, 794 (43%) start at GS-7 or below. The occupations with the most of them were practical nurses (65), medical support assistants (50), general business and industry (47), health aids and technicians (45), store clerks in military commissaries (40), police officers (32), general clerks and assistants (24), security guards (22), and nursing and dental assistants (21 each).

Many are at VA medical centers and military bases, often outside big cities. Only 15 of the public announcements were fully remote.

Pathways: programs for students and recent graduates

The Pathways Programs let agencies hire students and recent graduates outside the normal competition. On October 31, 2026 there were 142 open announcements for students and 77 for recent graduates.

• Internship Program: for students enrolled at least part-time (or accepted) in a qualifying high school, college, trade school or other program. Internships can lead to a permanent job after graduation.
• Recent Graduates Program: you must apply within two years of finishing your degree or certificate. Veterans who could not apply in time because of military service have up to six years.
• The Presidential Management Fellows program for advanced degrees is being ended: an executive order of February 19, 2025 directed its termination.

Other hiring paths that skip the line

Some groups can apply to jobs that are not open to the public. On October 31, 2026 there were 953 open announcements for veterans, 920 for military spouses, 526 for people with disabilities and 352 for returned Peace Corps volunteers and similar programs.

People with a disability can be hired through the Schedule A authority without competing with the public. You usually need a letter that documents the disability, from a doctor, a licensed professional or a vocational rehabilitation agency. On Kandidatu you can filter jobs by these paths with the “I am” choices.

How to apply on USAJOBS

• Create a USAJOBS account (you sign in through Login.gov) and fill in your profile.
• Write a resume of no more than two pages. Since September 27, 2025, USAJOBS limits resumes to two pages for most jobs, and OPM tells agencies not to consider applicants whose only resume is longer.
• For each job on your resume, give the start and end month and year and the hours per week: HR uses them to count your experience, and part-time work is counted in proportion.
• If you qualify through education, upload your transcripts. If you claim veterans' preference or a special hiring path, upload the proof the announcement asks for (for example a DD-214 or a Schedule A letter).
• Answer the questionnaire honestly and make sure your resume backs up every answer. Many announcements also include short essay questions from OPM's Merit Hiring Plan; OPM says answering them is optional.
• Apply early: 91 of the 201 announcements we summarized warned that they could close before the deadline once they reach a set number of applications.

Tips

• Read “Who may apply” and “Qualifications” first: they decide whether your application will even be read.
• Use the words of the announcement in your resume: the duties and skills it lists are what HR checks.
• Do not wait for the perfect job: entry grades such as GS-5 and GS-7 often have a “promotion potential” to GS-9 or GS-11 without a new competition.
• Track your application in USAJOBS: status updates and requests for documents arrive there.