Federal agencies post job announcements on USAJOBS to advertise their current job openings. While these job announcements can be lengthy, they include valuable information about the job and it's important you read each section before applying.
Who can apply
The Who can apply section lists who can apply to the job. We call these hiring paths. What are hiring paths and how they can help you.
How to understand the second announcement
Sometimes there are two job announcements for the same job. If there is a second job announcement, you will see a link to it under the This job is open to section.
Usually, one job announcement will be open to the public and the other job announcement will be open to a set of other hiring paths.
Overview
The details on the right side of the job announcement give you important information such as the application deadline, the salary, pay scale, locations, telework eligibility and more.
Open and closing date
The open date is the first day you can submit an application for the job. The closing date is the last day you can submit an application for the job—you can't submit an application after 11:59 p.m. ET (Eastern Time) on that date. Learn more about closing date types.
Salary
Each job announcement shows the starting salary and sometimes it will show a salary range. How to filter your search results by pay.
Pay scale and grade
This tells you the type of pay system. The federal government has different pay systems, which helps determine the salary. Learn more about pay scales and grade.
Locations and vacancies
This section lists the work location(s). Many jobs have multiple locations. It's important you verify the location is somewhere you want to work.
Some jobs have more than one vacancy per location. The number of vacancies is listed above each location.
How to filter results by location.
Remote job
Some jobs are only remote work. A remote job means you will work all the time at an approved alternative worksite away from the agency worksite. Remote jobs have the location Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job) listed.
How to filter results by remote jobs.
Telework-eligible jobs
Many federal jobs offer the option to work from home and from an office location. Sometimes this is referred to as a hybrid schedule or hybrid work, but the federal government calls this telework. How often you are required to report to an office depends on the agency and the job duties.
Travel required
This section describes the amount of travel the job requires.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
This tells you if the job will pay for you to relocate. Each agency has different rules for reimbursing, so it's important to ask the hiring agency which expenses are covered.
Appointment type
The appointment type tells you how long the job will last. Permanent jobs don't have a time-limit. Temporary jobs do have a time-limit, which could be two years, four years or some other amount of time. How to filter jobs by type.
Work schedule
This tells you how often you will work. Learn more about work schedules.
Service
There are three different services in the federal government; competitive, excepted and Senior Executive Service. Each service type has different rules for how they classify jobs and hire and pay employees.
Promotion potential
Some federal jobs have multiple grade levels. This section tells you if there's an opportunity to move up to the next grade level within your pay scale.
Job family (series)
The federal government categorizes jobs as professional or trade, crafts or labor. These groups are further categorized into series—a family of similar jobs. The series is a numbered system to categorizing jobs. This section tells you what family or series a job belongs to.
Supervisory status
This section tells you if you will supervise other employees. Yes means you will supervise at least one other person.
Security clearance
The level of security clearance required to hold this position. What are background checks and security clearances?.
Drug test
This tells you if you will have to take a drug test to be considered for the job.
Position sensitivity and risk
Most federal jobs are assigned sensitivity and risk levels, based on their responsibilities and duties. Sensitivity has to do with the position's potential impact on the national security. Risk level is the position's potential to damage the public's trust. Learn more about position sensitivity and risk.
Trust determination process
This tells you the type of background investigation you will undergo to determine your trustworthiness. What are background checks and security clearances?.
Duties
The job duties section describes the job's daily activities and responsibilities.
Requirements
The Requirements section describes the type of experience you need, certain conditions you need to agree to for the job and how the hiring agency will evaluate your application.
Conditions of Employment
This section lists 'conditions' that you must agree to, or qualify for, if you get hired and accept the job. The conditions may vary from job to job. A few examples include:
- Type of citizenship
- Specific resume instructions
- The need for a background investigation
Qualifications
The Qualifications section describes the experience, skills and other job related criteria. You must meet these qualifications to be considered for the job. It's important that you read the entire section; some job announcements include multiple qualifications.
Read more about the General Schedule qualification standards or the Federal Wage System qualifications .
Benefits
The benefits section describes the range of benefits available as an employee with the agency. Learn more about benefits.
How you'll be evaluated
The How you will be evaluated section describes how the agency will evaluate your application. This section may include additional evaluation criteria, such as including a writing sample or completing a job assessment.
How to understand how to apply to the job announcement
The How to Apply section explains:
- The application steps, including a link to the job questionnaire, if it's required.
- Other ways to apply for the job if you can't apply online.
- What happens next, after you apply.
What is the application or job questionnaire?
Some jobs require you to answer several questions as part of the application process. You will see a link to preview the job assessment questions—read these questions before you apply to the job. Your resume must support your answers to the job questionnaire.
Start your application
Once you read the entire announcement and are ready to apply, select the Apply button to begin the application process. If you're not ready to apply, select the Save link to add the job announcement to your Saved Jobs in your USAJOBS account.
Share and print the job announcement
- Select the Share link to send or promote job announcements via email or social media.
- Select the Print link to open a printer friendly version of the job announcement in a new tab.