Your steps to apply
Clinical Laboratory Scientist
Veterans Health Administration · Augusta, Maine · Closes in 31 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
The job is open to the public, but you must be a U.S. citizen, national, or someone who owes allegiance to the U.S. Veterans' preference is waived for this announcement.
Experience: For GS-7 (entry level), no experience beyond the basic requirements is needed. For GS-9, you need 1 year of experience equal to GS-7 level work, or you can qualify with education. For GS-11 (the full level), you need 1 year of experience equal to GS-9 level work, or you can qualify with education.
Education: A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university is a basic requirement. For GS-9, a master's degree or two academic years of graduate study in medical technology or a directly related science can qualify you instead of experience. For GS-11, three full years of graduate study, or a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in medical technology or a directly related science, can qualify you instead of experience.
Licenses and certifications:
- Generalist certification as a Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) from ASCP BOC or AMT, or as a Medical Technologist (MT) from ASCP BOR or AMT
- Categorical or specialist certification from ASCP or AMT, accepted only for certain higher-graded or related positions
Experience can be paid or unpaid, volunteer work included: if it matches the duties, it counts. The full rules are in the announcement.
2 Resume and documents
Write a federal resume for this job. For each job you held, give the month and year you started and ended, your hours per week and what you did, using the words of the experience the announcement asks for. Many announcements accept resumes of up to 2 pages: check this one.
3 Apply on USAJOBS
Closes in 31 days (December 4, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).
Referrals begin after an initial cut-off date of 11/9/2026, with reviews every other week after that until positions are filled.
You sign in to USAJOBS with a Login.gov account, answer the questionnaire and upload your documents, then you submit. Answer the questionnaire honestly: your resume must show what you claim.
How they rate you: You will be rated on how well you meet the listed qualifications, based on an online occupational questionnaire. The VA verifies your experience and will not make assumptions, so unclear or missing details can lower your rating; if selected, you may also need to submit written answers about your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
4 After you apply
In USAJOBS, under Applications, you can see where your application stands: received, reviewed, referred to the hiring manager or not, then selected or not. It can take a few weeks.
For the interview, prepare three examples with the STAR method: the Situation, the Task, what you did (Action) and the Result.
If they choose you: a tentative offer, then a background check, then the final offer with your start date.
Tips for this job:
- Make your long-form resume or CV clear and specific about dates, duties, and hours; the 2-page resume limit does not apply here.
- If you use education to qualify, include an official transcript from an accredited school.
- Check that your certification matches the type of position you apply for, since categorical or specialist certifications are not accepted for all roles.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.