Your steps to apply
Social Worker (Suicide Prevention Coordinator)
Veterans Health Administration · White River Junction, Vermont · Closes in 9 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
Open to U.S. citizens only. Veterans' preference does not apply because the VA waived it due to a critical staffing shortage.
Experience: One year of experience at the GS-11 level that shows advanced social work skills and judgment. The announcement also asks for at least two years of experience after advanced practice licensure in a specialized area of social work, including clinical assessment, crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment.
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. Certification or post-master's training from a nationally recognized organization may count toward the experience requirement.
Licenses and certifications:
- State license or certification to practice social work independently at the master's level
- License or certification at the advanced practice level, with the ability to provide supervision for licensure
- Grandfathering provision may apply to current VHA employees in this occupation who meet its criteria
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 9 days (November 13, 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 listed qualifications, using the occupational questionnaire. Your application, resume and documents will be verified, and errors or omissions may affect consideration. An incomplete application package receives an ineligible rating.
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 resume lists month and year start and end dates, plus hours per week, for each job.
- Describe your crisis intervention and suicide risk assessment work in detail, since at least two years of it is required.
- Use a master's degree from a CSWE-accredited program, and send your transcript if you use it to qualify.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.