Your steps to apply

Soil Conservationist (District Conservationist)
Natural Resources Conservation Service · Champaign, Illinois · Closes in 2 days

1 Check you can apply
2 Resume and documents
3 Apply on USAJOBS
4 After you apply

Sign in to save your progress. Free, with just your email. You can read all the steps without an account.

1 Check you can apply You are here

Who can apply: The public, Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Open to the public, but you must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, or owe allegiance to the U.S. Veterans' preference applies if you qualify.

Experience: You need at least 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-11 level or higher in federal service, or comparable experience outside federal service. The experience must include soil and water conservation principles and identifying conservation problems, such as directing technical help to landowners or preparing complex conservation plans.

Education: A degree in soil conservation or a related agricultural or natural resource field can qualify you. The study must include at least 30 semester hours in such a field, including at least 12 semester hours in soils and crops or plant science (minimum 3 in soils and 3 in crops or plant science). Education cannot replace experience at this grade.

Licenses and certifications:

Valid state motor vehicle operator's license
Conservation Planning Certification (you must obtain it)

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 dates, hours per week, and duties for each job College transcripts if you qualify through education (unofficial copies are fine at first; official ones are needed before starting) Course syllabus or detailed course description for unclear course titles DD-214 if claiming veterans' preference SF-15 for 10-point veterans' preference (recommended, not required) Proof of eligibility and SF-50 if applying under CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP

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: Applicants are placed in Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified categories based on their application materials, questionnaire, and USA Hire assessments. You must meet the assessment cut score to be considered. Overstating your experience or cheating on an assessment can get you removed.

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:

Show dates, hours per week, and duties for each past job on your resume, and keep it to 2 pages or less.
If you use education to qualify, list course numbers, titles, credit hours, and grades on your transcript.
Plan time for the USA Hire assessments, which have a cut score you must meet to be considered.

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