Careers Questions and Answers

Everyone hired for a federal job undergoes a basic background check of his or her criminal and/or credit histories to ensure that all federal employees are “reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character and loyal to the United States.” The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, a central agency that serves as the corporate human resources organization for the federal government, performs the majority of background checks. In addition, federal positions that include access to sensitive information generally require a security clearance. This clearance must be obtained to determine the applicant’s trustworthiness and reliability before granting him or her access to national security information.

Types of Security Clearances and Background Checks

Positions in the federal government are classified in three ways: Non-Sensitive Positions, Public Trust Positions and National Security Positions. Each of these positions requires some level of background investigation. The elements that make up a background investigation vary depending on the level of clearance that is deemed necessary for a position. Background investigations for lower risk levels generally rely on automated checks of an individual’s history. For a secret clearance in a national security position, the investigation requires agents to interview people who have lived or worked with the candidate at some point in the last seven (or more) years.

Once the agency has selected a candidate to hire, the applicant will typically receive a job offer contingent upon successfully obtaining a security clearance. The extensive background investigation takes place after the initial offer has been accepted.

The length and depth of the background investigation will depend on the position’s requirements, as well as the type of security clearance needed (if applicable) for a particular job or internship. This process may take several months or up to a year depending on backlog, need for more information, depth of the investigation process and other factors.

In order to help speed the process along, begin to gather relevant information now. Once you are offered the position, you’ll be asked to submit a series of forms and information about yourself. Gather this information now so you can save time on your end. You can view the forms for background checks (SF-85: Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) and security clearances (SF-86: Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) on the Office of Personnel Management’s website.

Once you have submitted the documentation, the designated agency will proceed with the investigation, depending on backlog and priority.

The announcement will list details to help you determine whether you are qualified for the position. We encourage you to pay close care to these descriptions and guidelines so that you are fully aware of the specifics of the position and desired qualifications/requirements. We highly encourage you address the specialized experience requirements in your resume. Do not copy and paste the specialized experience into your resume; provide examples, illustrations and achievements instead, so we can better assess your experience.

Applicants or selectees who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. An evaluation is required before human resources can make an official job offer. We will only accept the completed foreign education evaluation.

The amount of experience required varies for each job. Some entry-level jobs require no specialized experience, while other jobs require years of specialized experience.

If you have questions related to how much experience you need for a job, review the Job Requirements > Qualifications section of the job announcement. For additional questions, contact the hiring agency listed in the job opportunity announcement.

The Basics

Like any employer, the federal government needs individuals to be well-qualified for the jobs they hold. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes qualification standards to help ensure federal employees can successfully and safely perform the work of the position. Whatever your background has been, it is likely that you are basically qualified for many different jobs, and highly qualified for some.

When meeting the basic eligibility requirements, the agency evaluates and then ranks your work experience, accomplishments, education, training and overall qualifications background against the qualification requirements of the position. You will receive a score or ranking based on how closely your background matches with the requirements of the position. Job applicants who receive the highest scores or rank in the top category are referred to the selecting official.

Qualifying With Higher Education

Some federal occupations require a college degree with a certain major field of study or completion of specific academic courses at the baccalaureate or graduate level. Such occupations tend to involve research, scientific or professional work (such as a specialist in contracts, medicine, engineering, biology, psychology or accounting). To qualify, all college-level courses must have been completed at a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

There are many occupations where a baccalaureate degree in any field is acceptable. Job applicants usually enter such occupations at the entry grade levels (typically GS-5 or GS-7 grade levels [or equivalent]) and acquire on-the-job training and work experience before advancing to higher grade levels. Such occupations are sometimes advertised as “trainee,” “intern” or “student program” positions.

You may qualify for a GS-9 grade (or equivalent) level position on the basis of a master’s degree, and for the GS-11 grade (or equivalent) level on the basis of a doctoral degree. At these levels, however, the advanced degree must be directly related to the work of the job to be filled.

Specialized experience, or experience closely related to the work to be performed in the job for which you are applying, can often be substituted for an educational requirement or qualify you for a higher grade. Generally, for jobs at the GS-7 grade (or equivalent) level and higher, your background must have included specialized experience. At least one year of the specialized experience must have been equivalent to the level of the next lower grade in the federal service. This means, for example, to qualify for a GS-12 grade (or equivalent) level, you must have had a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-11 grade (or equivalent) level.

Qualifying for a Non-Degreed Job

If you have been in the job market for a while and have accumulated an extensive work history, you may be well qualified for many positions even without a college degree. Except for certain professional and scientific positions, a college education may not be necessary. The nature of your work experience is what really counts.

Job applicants can qualify for most federal occupations based on job-related work experience. If you are just starting out, you can qualify for jobs at the GS-2 level with just a high school diploma or as little as three months of general work experience for most clerical and assistant positions. “General experience” is a type of work experience that is not necessarily directly related to the position but demonstrates the ability to acquire the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the work of the position.

At higher grade (or equivalent) levels, additional work experience is required. Starting at the GS-5 grade (or equivalent) level, positions generally require one year of specialized experience equal to the next lower grade. “Specialized experience” is a type of work experience that is directly related to the position for which you are applying. This means, for example, to qualify for a GS-6 grade (or equivalent) level, you must have had a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to a GS-5 grade (or equivalent) level.

For more information, consult the General Schedule qualification standards.

If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying on the basis of education, you need to list your education history including the type of degree and your major of study. If the position requires a certain number of credit hours, you are strongly encouraged to list the relevant courses in your resume. Unless specified in the announcement, ATF typically does not require transcripts at the time of application, but you are encouraged to provide unofficial copies as it can help with your determination.

Your resume must thoroughly describe how your skills and experiences align to the criteria defined in the qualifications section of the job announcement and support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Over including is generally not an issue but elaborating on irrelevant experience may distract reviewers and hurt your chances. Avoid adding information just to make your resume longer. Our reviewers at ATF are very experienced. Adding filler or buzz words without providing any context (who, where, what, when, why and how) will not help your chances. Our reviewers are trained to not consider this type of experience qualifying.

Do not include a photograph or video of yourself, or any sensitive information (age, date of birth, marital status, protected health information, religious affiliation, social security number, etc.) on your resume or cover letter or anywhere in your application package. We will not access web pages linked on your resume or cover letter to determine your qualifications. If you have information on a web page you want us to review, copy and paste it into a cover letter and submit it with your application.

Please do not submit any other supplementary documentation that is not requested of you in the announcement. To protect your personal information, we will only send your resume and cover letter to the selecting official or hiring manager.

When reviewing resumes, we review the entire applicant’s experience, which also includes an analysis of all valuable experience (i.e., experience gained in religious, civic, welfare, service and organizational activities, regardless of whether pay was received). It is ultimately your decision what to include and what to exclude from your resume. However, not including certain work experiences may raise questions and a selecting official may wonder why you left off periods of employment. Whatever decision you make, ensure that you thoroughly address the qualifications of the announcement. Please note that during your background investigation, you will be required to provide a full and detailed description of all your work experiences. If we discover that you intentionally omitted work experience in your resume to avoid a negative reference check during the selection process, this may be grounds for removing you after you begin employment.

Applicants may apply to any job they wish to be considered for. However, to make the best use of your time and the agency’s time, we recommend reviewing the qualifications and the entire announcement before you apply. If you feel that you meet the requirements of the job, then apply!

All suitability issues are reviewed on a case-by-case basis during the pre-employment screening process.

Under current hiring authority applicants apply to specific duty locations listed in the vacancy announcement. Application for duty location could change in the future based on changes in hiring authority.

Due to the large volume of applications processed by ATF, we will be unable to assist with individual status checks. Applicants are considered to be in the hiring process unless they receive written notification that they are no longer under consideration. As noted in each special agent vacancy announcement, the ATF hiring process can be very lengthy. Applicants are forwarded through the hiring process on an as needed basis and not on any set schedule. Budget issues, staffing issues and previously existing pool(s) of applicants may significantly affect the time it takes to complete the hiring process.

All special agent applicants must take and pass the ATF special agent exam and an applicant assessment test. Results from an ATF sponsored exam are valid for three years from the date of the exam. Sample questions for the ATF special agent exam can be found at the “Careers” section of this website.

Unlike the private sector, federal agencies are required to announce, rate, rank, interview/assess and investigate applicants before they can be selected. All applicants must be given consideration too. Additionally, before an announcement is posted, Federal Human Resources professionals and the associated supervisor must work together to define and describe the position with a long narrative and then evaluate the description against Office of Personnel Management standards. Then qualification and assessment criteria must be professionally developed.

Selecting an individual for a federal position is a huge investment too. Over the course of a 30- year career, selecting an individual for a career appointment can be a multi-million-dollar investment. Federal jobs are not gigs; they are careers where individuals make a commitment to public service. To ensure someone is the best candidate for the job, multiple interviews and/or screenings may be needed.

Yes. Check your application status in USAJobs. You can also find and filter your applications.

Yes. The announcement always includes a point of contact available to answer any questions you may have. Be sure to consult the announcement for that person’s name and contact information.

This is a legal requirement. Federal employees are often asked to handle sensitive, personally identifiable or medical information. If selected for a federal job, you must at least go through a basic background check to make sure you are reliable, trustworthy and suitable for the job. The background check process starts after you accept a job offer.

We use both at ATF. The automated system helps us collect, organize, filter, rank and communicate with applicants. Real human beings, who are knowledgeable in the federal HR process and with the position, review applicants manually before they are sent to selecting officials. Automated systems help make the process easier, but it does not replace the need of having a real person review the applicants.

There is no limit to the number of jobs or timeframe you must adhere to in your federal job search. However, in order to maximize your time and the agency’s resources, we encourage you to apply to positions that you are truly interested in and feel qualified for.

ATF is committed to fostering a positive, healthy environment for our employees. Part of this environment is comprised by flexible work schedules in many of our positions. Please pay special attention to the announcement you are applying to, as it will touch upon any work schedules and flexibilities available. This is also a good conversation to have with the hiring manager to gain greater insight into the position of interest.

If a hiring manager is willing to consider paying for relocation expenses, it will be listed in the job announcement. Relocation expenses are typically reserved for higher-level (senior) positions that are hard to fill.

The following conditions must usually be met to justify the payment of a SLRP benefit based on recruitment needs:

1. The candidate must be highly qualified for the position.
2. In the absence of a SLRP incentive, the candidate would be unwilling to accept the position.
3. ATF would have difficulty filling the position if the candidate declines the position.

SLRP is typically reserved for hard to fill positions where a low number of highly qualified applicants apply. The job announcement will typically indicate if the hiring manager is willing offer an SLRP to an applicant as well. Offering this incentive is at the discretion of the hiring manager. Recipients will be determined on a case-by-case basis based on organizational need, specific case justification and budget limitations. You can read more about the Student Loan Repayment Program on OPM’s website.

Due to the large volume of applications processed, ATF recruitment and hiring personnel will be unable to assist with individual status checks. Applicants are considered to be in the hiring process unless they receive written notification that they are no longer under consideration. As noted in each industry operations investigator vacancy announcement, the ATF hiring process can be very lengthy. Applicants are forwarded through the hiring process on an as needed basis and not on any set schedule. Budget issues, staffing issues and previously existing pool(s) of applicants may significantly affect the time it takes to complete the hiring process.

The following informational packet provides detailed information about the ATF industry operations investigator position to include major duties, basic qualifications, conditions of employment and specific requirements: Industry Operations Investigator Informational Packet

If applying based on the education requirement you must already have completed your degree at the time of application. Industry Operations Investigator vacancy announcements are posted at www.USAJobs.gov.

Time in grade is a requirement for a specified amount of time that an employee must spend in a grade before they are eligible for promotion. Essentially a federal employee must spend 52 weeks at their grade before being promoted to the next highest grade. For detailed information reference 5 CFR 300.604. If an applicant applies under Direct Hire or Delegated Examining procedures (i.e., jobs open to the public), they can use prior or non-government experience to qualify even if that applicant does not meet Time in Grade requirements. Additionally, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. However, experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager or human resources director, SF-52, or other documentation). When applying you need to submit this documentation with your application package to be given credit.