At this time, USA Hire assessments (regardless of type) can only be included in Hurdle 1 in the USA Staffing Assessment Package. However, agencies can use the USA Hire Hold functionality to determine the timing of sending candidates through to USA Hire (e.g., after completing qualification reviews).

How much time does it take for OPM to develop a custom assessment for an Agency?

It depends on the specific type of assessment, delivery mechanism, whether job analysis data exists, etc. In general, a custom assessment project (assuming comprehensive job analysis data exists that can be used) typically would run 6-12 months, with one of the main drivers of the timeframe being access to agency SMEs.

Are applicants able to keep the score for a year as well with Data Skills and Custom, or do they need to retake assessment with each application?

The Data Skills Assessment will adhere to the default 12-month reuse period in USA Hire. This reuse period will be re-evaluated after sufficient administrations of the assessment. For custom assessments, the reuse period can vary based on the assessment and what is being measured, albeit most custom assessments adhere to the default 12 months.

Once a custom assessment is developed, is the agency able to use this assessment on an unlimited basis anytime we have that vacancy?

Once developed, customs assessments are available for future use by the sponsoring agency. Use of custom assessments require an agreement with OPM to cover costs associated with delivery and maintenance.

Can a Custom Assessment be developed/tailored for a series for which a Standard Assessments already exists, in considering OPM's current customization services?

OPM encourages agencies to use the available standard assessments. These are based on governmentwide job analysis data and offer an efficient and effective method to objectively assess applicants and meet the requirements of the Merit Hiring Plan. If an agency has a unique need for a custom assessment or would like OPM to develop a second hurdle assessment for a series already covered by USA Hire Standard, please contact usahire@opm.gov.

USA Hire Interview

Does applicant rescheduling incur additional costs? Can this platform be used to schedule in-person interviews?

Rescheduling does not result in an additional cost, each applicant interview is only charged once, regardless of the number of reschedules.

USA Hire Interview cannot be used as a scheduling tool for an in-person screening assessment. It can only be used for online interview assessments.

Is the USA Hire Interview available for purchase on its own, without requiring the Standard or Premium USA Hire Assessments?

Yes, USA Hire Interview is available for purchased through an Interagency Agreement (IAA) with the USA Hire Program Office. USA Hire Interview can be purchased independently of any other USA Hire assessment types the agency may also implement. Agencies must use USA Staffing as their talent acquisition system to use USA Hire Interview.

Can agencies use this or is this only for agencies to hire OPM to use? If so, is this under standard or premium?

Agencies do not hire OPM to use the USA Hire Interview platform on behalf of the agency. Each agency has direct access to the platform. The USA Hire team will work with an agency to implement the Interview configurations/templates and train the agency's staff in using the platform.

The USA Hire Interview is a Custom USA Hire assessment type. Once configured, there is an assessment delivery cost associated with its usage.

Does each rater see their own rating and notes page to be independent of each other?

Yes, each rater has their own rating and notes section for each interview question. During the interview, raters cannot see other raters’ notes. Raters will see the ratings submitted by every rater on the panel during the consensus stage of the interview, if consensus is required.

Is USA Hire Interview available post-certificate?

Yes, the USA Hire Interview is available to be used either pre-cert or post-cert.

**Do interview scores flow into USA Staffing if used AFTER certs are issued?**

No, if USA Hire Interview is used post-cert, scores will not flow into the applicant record in USA Staffing. The results of the interview can be captured using the applicant's certificate audit status, as an onboarding task, notes, etc.

For pre-certificate interviews, final overall interview ratings will flow automatically into USA Staffing for rating and ranking if the interviews were set up to leverage the interconnection between USA Staffing and USA Hire Interview. If a pre-certificate interview was set up as a manual assessment, the final overall interview ratings will not automatically flow into USA Staffing.

Will this information change the look of the final certificate shared with hiring managers?

If USA Hire Interview is administered pre-cert, then yes, it can be used to determine which candidates will be on the certificate of eligibles.

Do applicants and interviewers have the option for audio only live or on-demand interviews?

On-demand interviews can be set up as audio-only. Live interviews will always give the applicant and interview panel the option to turn their video on. If you wish to deliver an audio-only live interview, this would need to be communicated to the applicant prior to the interview. Be aware that the platform cannot prevent participants from turning on their video during the live interview.

How long is the information kept in the system for record management and audit purposes?

In accordance with our record retention schedule, applicant data is stored in USA Hire Interview for 2 years after a selection certificate is closed or final settlement of any associated litigation, whichever is later.

Is there reporting plans/capabilities as it relates to Applicant Flow Data and USA Hire Interview data?

There are existing out-of-the-box reports available in USA Hire Interview that include overall scores for each applicant, as well as the notes documented by the interview panel. The USA Hire program office can work with individual customers during requirements gathering to understand all reporting needs for USA Hire Interview and determine how best to deliver the needed information to the customer.

Can additional agency specific forms be uploaded into the system?

Customer agencies are expected to use agency-developed interview content on the platform to build interviews. USA Hire Interview has a standard set of email templates that are sent to both applicants and interview panelists, which can be customized by the customer agency.

Can an applicant reschedule if previously scheduled?

USA Hire Interview can be configured to allow applicants to reschedule themselves if they were invited to self-schedule. The timeframe in which applicants can reschedule themselves can be customized (e.g., applicants can self-reschedule up to one calendar day before the interview). Customer agencies always have the ability to reschedule applicants, at any time.

Can the Recording/Replay Interview feature be toggled on/off?

On-Demand interviews are always recorded, by nature of the interview type. Live interviews cannot be recorded, so the replay feature is already unavailable.

What happens if a candidate loses connectivity during the interview?

If a candidate loses connectivity or closes out of the browser, they can re-join the interview through their link. Candidates are blocked from re-joining the interview if they specifically select the “Leave Interview” button (a warning message is provided) or if they are dismissed from the interview by the interview panel.

Is the USA Hire Interview feature something the agency has to pay for in order for it to be available for use? How many agencies use USA Hire Interviews?

Correct, USA Hire Interview is a custom implementation and therefore comes with its own cost. This service offering is new and was piloted last year by OPM.

How much does this cost? Is there a flat fee, or do you pay per interview? Can you utilize agency branding for the interview process?

USA Hire Interview includes an initial setup fee that varies based on the complexity of the intended use of the interviewing platform. Following the initial setup, agencies pay for use of the interviewing platform on a per-interview basis. There are some options for agency branding that can be discussed during requirements gathering.

Are the interviews recorded should there be a need for a panel member to review at a later time?

At present, only raters assigned to an On-Demand interview can review the recorded interview to take notes and rate the interview responses.

Can you review the resume in the system and during the interview to help probe?

USA Hire Interview does not have a resume upload option. Should an agency wish for panelists to review applicant resumes prior to scheduled interviews, that would need to be coordinated outside of USA Hire Interview.

Do you have the ability to see a comparison rating for all candidates.

USA Hire Interview has an out-of-the-box report that can be exported that includes the overall ratings and competency-level ratings for all applicants who completed a specific interview.

Can handwritten notes be uploaded into the system? How many competencies are available (i.e., have questions and scoring rubrics)? How many different interview questions are available for each competency? Are all the scoring rubrics the same or do they differ by criteria such as series or grade? Can custom questions/competencies be added by a user (without new programming/interaction with by OPM/PDRI)?

Handwritten notes cannot be uploaded into the system. If an interview panelist wishes to capture notes outside of the platform, they may do so during the interview but must copy and paste those notes into the system before submitting initial and/or final ratings.

USA Hire Interview does not include standardized interview content, rather, the expectation is for agencies to use their own agency-owned content on the platform to build interviews. This includes competency model content (competencies, competency definitions, interview questions, rating criteria) and other instructional language that is built into interview scripts. Competency models can be built to include any number of associated interview questions per competency. The platform supports 3, 5, 7, and 10-point rating scales. USA Hire Interview does not currently support a binary pass/fail scoring approach. Agencies could impose this locally by, for example, requiring an applicant to achieve a minimum score of 3 on a 5 point score to pass the question.

During implementation, the USA Hire program office will work with the customer agency and the vendor to upload their competency model content onto the platform for use. Customer agencies may modify, create, or delete competency model content at any time and do not need USA Hire or vendor interaction to do so. Agencies can also engage in an agreement with OPM to have OPM develop and load content into USA Hire Interview.

Is there a way to score a candidate at 0 on an interview question? For instance, if you ask a question and the candidate can't answer due to lack of experience, etc.

USA Hire Interview supports a lowest rating of “1” regardless of which rating scale is used (3, 5, 7, or 10-point). We advise agencies to review their existing interview rating protocols to determine whether adjustments can be made to deliver interviews using USA Hire Interview functionality.

What are the options regarding time slots for scheduling interviews for panelists? You mention that USA Hire handles scheduling, does that require that panelists adhere to the options USA Hire offers or is that also customizable (assuming that panelists are agency employees, not USA Hire staff)?

USA Hire staff are not panelists. To leverage self-scheduling (also referred to as candidate-driven scheduling), interview panelists will log into their USA Hire Interview profiles and build their availability. Availability can be added as an indefinite schedule or for a specific period of time. Panelists will input their availability in 30-minute increments. When candidates are sent invitations to self-schedule, the platform will display scheduling options based upon the availability all of the panelists input into their profiles. Availability can be adjusted at any time.