As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), most government agencies are committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all external announcements.
Therefore, as an applicant for external announcements, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response to each KSA listed on the vacancy announcement.
The reality is that if you simply fill out the on-line application form without providing a KSA narrative responses in your work history, you will not be considered for any government job. If you want extraordinary results out of your federal application process, then I suggest you put in some extraordinary effort in the process.
You have to be able to provide specific work history examples and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate. So, what are KSAs?
- Ranking and rating factors
- Evaluation factors, criteria
- Job ranking elements
- Supplemental statements
- A written test
- An elimination tool
KSAs can be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT in the applicant evaluation process since they are scored. Poor responses may prevent you, as an applicant, from being considered among the "best qualified" group. Your score for experience is based solely on your responses to the KSAs, not the information included in your USAJOBS on-line resume, OF-612 (Optional Application for Federal Employment) or your personal resume. There’s an easy way to decide when to pay attention to KSAs. In a word, ALWAYS.
The federal resume or application is the information that tells the position selection decision-maker if you are qualified for the job and KSAs describe your skills using concrete examples so that the hiring manager can determine if you can perform their job. The application review is a three-step consideration process.
The Human Resources Review Process for determining your qualifications and for rating and ranking your KSAs goes as follows:
Your total application will be sent to the federal agency. This will include your federal-style resume or OF-612 and KSAs for a specific announcement. The announcement might ask for other information as well. You have to read the instructions to determine what they want, i.e., college transcripts, DD-215, your last supervisory evaluation, etc.
KSA Example
Ability to communicate effectively with customers and vendors
In my current job as a Supply Technician, I talk with customers and vendors every day. I help customers choose products and I answer their questions. I often help to solve problems.
In one case, a researcher needed a discontinued item. He had received the notice that the item was being discontinued and knew about the replacement item, but needed to make sure the same materials were used throughout his experiment. He really wanted more of the old item. I explained that I could get him some of the replacement item within 24 hours, but he was very upset that his experiment would not be valid if he used different equipment. Although he was very upset and sometimes yelling on the phone, I stayed calm and tried to help him. I remembered that another customer had chosen to return her old stock of the discontinued item. I checked to see if we still had it and we did. I was able to help the researcher by sending him the last of the discontinued item. I also asked him if he wanted to place an order for the new item for future use. He was very grateful and wrote a letter to my manager saying how helpful I had been.
In another case, I was assigned to help coordinate a vendor product trade show. It was my job to collect all of the vendor information, how much space they would need, if they needed electrical outlets or if they needed any special equipment. One of the vendors called and complained to me that the last trade show didn’t go well for him because the space he was given was smaller than what he requested. He had a big piece of equipment to display and it wouldn’t fit. It took several hours to fix the problem. He lost time and it disrupted the event for other vendors around him who had to be moved around. I listened to all of his concerns and told him I could fax him the page with all of the requirements he had given me so he could make sure it was correct. I also told him he could call me two days before the show so he could verify that everything he needed was in place. He was very happy with this solution and, on the day of the show, he introduced himself to me and thanked me for making sure that everything was set up properly for him.
I have also taken the following classes at Some State University:
- “Creating Distinctive Customer Service,” Course Number: 1323, October, 2011.
- “Assertive Communication,” Course Number: 8107, February 2012.
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