Your steps to apply

Physical Scientist
National Gallery of Art · Washington, District of Columbia · Closes in 19 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.

Open to all U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals only. More than one person may be selected from this announcement.

Experience: You need at least 1 year of experience at a level comparable to GS-14, which is a senior federal grade. The experience must involve scientific methods and equipment used to study materials found in artwork.

Education: A degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. You can also combine education and experience.

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, no more than 2 pages, showing name, email, work schedule, hours per week, employment dates, duties, and pay plan, series, and grade for federal jobs Unofficial school transcripts if you use education to qualify; official transcripts are required before appointment Veterans' preference documents if you claim it, such as a DD-214 Optional: cover letter and most recent performance appraisal

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes in 19 days (November 16, 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 is rated on your experience, education, and training, and on four skills: managing a research organization, planning research on artworks, knowledge of artists' materials and techniques, and conducting and publishing research. A subject matter expert reviews your application, and you may be asked for writing or work samples. Overstating your qualifications or cheating on an assessment can get you 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 (Other), then the final offer with your start date.

Tips for this job:

Your resume must list the month and year and the hours per week for all qualifying experience, including volunteer work.
Include the pay plan, series, and grade for any federal experience, or the reviewers cannot count it.
Upload unofficial transcripts that show at least 24 semester hours in physical science or related engineering if you use education to qualify.

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