Your steps to apply

Mechanical Engineer
U.S. Coast Guard · Birmingham, Alabama · Closes in 4 days

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, Veterans, Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

U.S. citizens, nationals, or people who owe allegiance to the U.S. may apply. The job is also open to career transition candidates (CTAP/ICTAP), federal employees whose job was eliminated, and veterans or eligible family members of veterans.

Experience: You need at least 1 full year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level or higher in the federal sector. Specialized experience means work in or closely related to this job, such as mechanical engineering design, reviewing contractor designs, or construction oversight.

Education: A bachelor's degree in engineering from a program accredited by ABET, or a degree with required calculus and engineering science courses, can qualify you. Other options include current EI or EIT registration, a PE license, passing the FE exam, 60 semester hours of science and engineering courses, or a related science degree plus 1 year of professional engineering experience. 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 2 pages showing start and end dates (mm/yy) and hours per week Unofficial college transcripts by the closing date if you qualify through education; official transcripts before appointment DD-214 and signed SF-15 with VA letter if you claim veterans' preference CTAP or ICTAP eligibility documents if applicable Responses to any USA Hire assessments Proof of political appointee status (such as SF-50) if applicable

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes in 4 days (November 7, 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: You are rated on how well your experience, education, and training meet the requirements, plus a USA Hire online assessment with a minimum cut score. Scoring below the cut score, not finishing the assessment, cheating, or overstating your qualifications can remove you 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, then the final offer with your start date.

Tips for this job:

If you qualify through education, submit unofficial transcripts with your application by the closing date, or you will be disqualified.
Your resume must show start and end dates in mm/yy format and hours per week, and it cannot be longer than 2 pages.
If you claim veterans' preference, send DD-214s, a signed SF-15, and any VA letter with your application.

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