Your steps to apply
Staff Psychologist
Veterans Health Administration · Mather AFB, California and 1 more · Closes in 7 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
Only U.S. citizens can apply. The job is open to the public, including current employees of VA and other federal agencies, and current VA health professional trainees.
Experience: No experience beyond the basic requirements is needed at GS-11. GS-12 needs 1 year as a professional psychologist at the GS-11 level, and GS-13 needs 2 years, with at least 1 year at the GS-12 level.
Education: A doctoral degree in psychology from an APA, PCSAS or CPA accredited program, with a specialty that matches the job, plus a professional psychology internship accredited by APA or CPA. Other paths are allowed, such as a respecialization program or a doctoral degree awarded from 1951 to 1978 with a psychology dissertation.
Licenses and certifications:
- Full, current, unrestricted license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in a U.S. state, territory, D.C. or Commonwealth
- Exception: non-licensed applicants may get a temporary 'graduate psychologist' appointment at GS-11 or GS-12 for up to 2 years, working only under a licensed psychologist's supervision
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 7 days (November 10, 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, based on your application, resume, CV and supporting documents, which will be verified. Errors or omissions may affect consideration, and missing required information may result in 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 your resume or CV long and specific, with dates and hours for each psychology job that matches the grade you want.
- Include your official transcript, since it is required and you need it to qualify through education.
- If you are not yet licensed, state your licensure status and exam dates clearly on your resume or cover letter.
- Submit the full application and all documents by 11:59 PM ET on 11/10/2026, because incomplete packages can be rated ineligible.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.