Your steps to apply
Medical Support Assistant (Advanced)
Veterans Health Administration · Saint Louis, Missouri · Closes in 56 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
The job is open to U.S. citizens and current permanent federal employees of other agencies, according to the agency's clarification. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and current VHA employees in this occupation may qualify under a grandfathering provision.
Experience: You need one year of creditable experience equal to the next lower grade, which is GS-5. You must also show advanced knowledge of medical terminology, scheduling, and patient flow, and the ability to work with many types of clinicians.
Education: A high school diploma, a GED, or a proficiency certificate from a state or territory board of education can qualify you.
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 56 days (December 31, 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 will be rated on how well you meet the qualifications, based on your application materials, your questionnaire answers, and your USA Hire assessments. Competencies assessed include customer service, teamwork, reading comprehension, and reasoning; errors or missing information may lower your rating or make you ineligible.
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:
- Use a long-form resume or CV with clear dates and hours for each job, since the agency verifies everything and does not make assumptions.
- Set aside at least 3 hours to complete the USA Hire assessments, and finish them within the testing window you are given.
- If you are using education to qualify, include a transcript and list only schools accredited by a Department of Education-recognized accrediting body.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.