Your steps to apply
Recreation Therapist
Veterans Health Administration · Battle Creek, Michigan · Closes in 3 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
Open to the public, but only U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or people who owe allegiance to the U.S. Veterans' preference rules apply.
Experience: For GS-9, you need at least 1 year of experience at the GS-7 level as a professional recreation therapist, or a master's degree in recreation therapy can replace that year. For GS-11, you need at least 1 year of creditable experience at the GS-9 level, plus the skills listed in the announcement.
Education: A bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college in therapeutic recreation or recreation/leisure, with a therapeutic recreation option or emphasis, approved by the National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification (NCTRC). Or, any bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college, approved by NCTRC, if you also hold CTRS certification. Current VHA employees in this occupation may qualify under a grandfathering provision if they meet its criteria.
Licenses and certifications:
- Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) from NCTRC
- CTRS certification is required for GS-11 and above; a temporary exception applies at GS-7 and GS-9 for non-certified applicants
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: You will be rated on how well you meet the qualifications listed. Your application, resume, CV, and supporting documents will be verified, and errors or missing required 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:
- Make sure your transcript shows a degree from an accredited school and an NCTRC-approved program.
- Check that your CTRS certification is current, since it cannot be waived if you are hired under the education route.
- If you are a veteran, claim preference in the questionnaire and attach your DD-214, plus an SF-15 if you are 10-point eligible.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.