Your steps to apply

Information Technology Specialist (PLCYPLN)
Defense Security Cooperation Agency · Arlington, Virginia · Closes tomorrow

1 Check you can apply
2 Resume and documents
3 Apply on USAJOBS
4 After you apply

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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 to apply. The announcement says all U.S. citizens may apply.

Experience: You need 1 year of specialized experience (work directly related to this job) at the GS-12 level in federal service. Examples include serving as an operational Product Owner, supporting IT governance boards, or summarizing program metrics for senior leaders. Paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, counts. This qualifies you at GS-13.

Education: Education cannot replace experience at this grade.

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.

Resume ready: dates, hours per week, duties Resume of no more than two pages showing work schedule, hours per week, dates, and duties Most recent SF-50 if you are or were a federal employee DD-214 and other veteran documents if you claim veterans' preference Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist if you claim military spouse preference Signed Retained Grade PPP Self-Certification Checklist and SF-50 or RIF notice if you claim DoD Retained Grade Preference Documents proving ICTAP eligibility if you claim it Answers to the online questionnaire

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes tomorrow (November 4, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).

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: Your resume and documents are first checked for the minimum qualifications. Qualified applicants are rated on their experience and on competencies such as attention to detail, teamwork, and reading comprehension, then placed in Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Missing required documents can make your application incomplete, and a resume over two pages is removed from consideration.

Apply on USAJOBS ↗

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, a security clearance (Secret), then the final offer with your start date.

Tips for this job:

Keep your resume to two pages or less, because longer resumes are removed.
List the hours per week and dates for each job, since the resume must include them.
If you claim any preference, select it in the application and attach its documents, or it may not count.

Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.