Your steps to apply
Loan Assistant/Specialist (Agricultural)
Farm Service Agency · Location Negotiable After Selection · Closes in 3 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), The public.
The job is open to the public. You must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, or owe allegiance to the U.S. Federal employees eligible under CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP get selection priority if they meet all requirements.
Experience: For GS-7, you need one year of specialized experience equal to GS-5 level, such as reviewing agricultural loan applications or servicing an agricultural loan portfolio, plus basic knowledge of farm operations and markets. For GS-9 and GS-11, the experience must be more advanced agricultural loan work, and GS-11 also requires knowledge of farm financing and credit.
Education: For GS-7, one full year of graduate study in a related field, or a combination of education and experience, can qualify you. Superior academic achievement also counts, such as top third of your class, a GPA of 3.0 or higher, or honor society membership. For GS-9, you need a master's degree or 2 full years of graduate study. For GS-11, you need a Ph.D. or 3 full years of graduate study. Related fields include finance, business, economics, accounting, and agriculture.
Licenses and certifications:
- Agricultural Loan Approval Authority (required for GS-11; proof due within 7 days of a tentative job offer)
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 3 days (November 6, 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: Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications, then complete an application questionnaire and USA Hire online assessments that rate competencies such as attention to detail, customer service, and teamwork. You must meet the assessment cut score to be considered, and qualified applicants are placed in Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified categories. Overstating your experience or cheating on an assessment can get you removed.
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 (Other), then the final offer with your start date.
Tips for this job:
- Make your resume show hours per week and exact dates for each job, and keep it to 2 pages or fewer.
- If you use education to qualify, get transcripts ready with course numbers, titles, credit hours, and grades.
- For GS-11, have proof of Agricultural Loan Approval Authority ready, since it is due within 7 days of a tentative offer.
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