Your steps to apply

Social Worker (PACT)
Veterans Health Administration · McAllen, Texas · Closes in 2 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.

The job is open to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and people who owe allegiance to the U.S. It is open to the public and to current or former VHA or affiliate Health Profession Trainee program participants.

Experience: For GS-9, no experience beyond the basic requirements is needed. For GS-11, you need at least one year of experience after your master's degree in social work, equal to GS-9 level, in health care or social work settings, plus a state license to practice independently. Two years of medical social work experience, including work with veterans and caregivers, is preferred.

Education: You need a master's degree in social work from a school fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). A doctoral degree in social work cannot replace the master's degree. A doctoral degree in social work can replace the one year of clinical experience for GS-11.

Licenses and certifications:

State license or certification to practice social work independently at the master's level (for GS-9, this may be waived while you finish state exam prerequisites)

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 Long-form resume or CV that clearly shows how you meet each required KSA Transcript, required if you use your education to qualify Certification of foreign equivalency if you used foreign education Documentation of CSWE accreditation if your school is no longer listed Cover letter, DD-214, or other documents if they apply to you

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes in 2 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 are rated on how well you meet the listed qualifications and the KSAs for your grade. The VA verifies your experience and may check references, and missing or unclear information may lead to an ineligible rating or a lower rating.

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:

Show each required KSA in your resume with specific examples, since the VA will not assume your experience.
If you qualify through your master's degree, include an official transcript and confirm the school's CSWE accreditation.
Use a long-form resume or CV; the 2-page resume rule does not apply to this job.

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