On this page
- Non-GS Pay Scale and Pay Banding Announcements
- Open-Continuous Announcements and Standing Registers
- Direct Hire Authority Announcements
- Multiple Specialty Announcements
- Interdisciplinary Announcements
Non-GS Pay Scale and Pay Banding Announcements
For Non-GS Pay Scale or Pay Banding JOAs, the GS equivalent assessment must be used in the vacancy’s Assessment Plan. If the pay band covers multiple GS-equivalent grades, only the USA Hire assessment for the lowest GS-equivalent grade should be used. Agencies need to include language in the JOA concerning the equivalence, so that applicants are aware that their test results will apply to the equivalent GS job series and grade. Agencies are responsible for verifying the GS equivalence. The USA Hire Program does not govern or otherwise manage alternative classification and pay systems. Agencies considering the use of USA Hire Core Assessments with alternative systems need to verify that the assessments are appropriate for use, which entails 1) verifying the competencies being measured are important and required at entry to the job and 2) verifying the alternative job series and grade is equivalent to the GS series and grade for which the assessment is designed. OPM does not require approval or sign-off regarding an agency’s use of USA Hire Standard Assessments with alternative classification and pay systems. Agencies may contact USA Hire if additional consultation and guidance is needed.
The following guidance should be used when building a job announcement for an alternate pay scale or pay banding position that includes a USA Hire assessment.
- Create the USA Staffing request and vacancy using the non-GS pay plan and grade(s).
- Set up an assessment questionnaire for minimum qualifications. Additional instructions are in Chapter 5: Build the Assessment Package.
- Add the USA Hire battery for the lowest GS grade level covered by the vacancy rating combination(s). To do so, follow the instructions in the Chapter 5: Build the Assessment Package: Add the external USA Hire assessment. Depending on your pay-band and vacancy grade, one of the following screens may appear:
- Building Assessment Strategy - Prompts you to choose an appropriate technical or alternative assessment. Select Select a template from the library.
- Additional Assessment Available - Indicates that a USA Hire assessment is available. Select Select a USA Hire assessment.
Both options will provide the ability to select the USA Hire assessment.
A. The system will automatically apply filters for the series and grade(s) included in the Vacancy. Modify the Grade filter value from the vacancy grade to the lowest GS-equivalent grade.
B. Click Search.
C. Select the appropriate USA Hire Assessment template which will use the following naming convention:
Standard USA Hire Series-Grade. If you have questions on which template to select, contact your agency USA Hire POC.
D. A window will appear asking to Confirm Grade Level Equivalency before proceeding. If the vacancy has only one grade, it will automatically be selected. If the vacancy has multiple grades, you will be able to select the correct Vacancy Rating Combination to map to the USA Hire Template Rating Combination.
- If you are announcing a position with multiple grades, you will need to repeat the steps above for each vacancy grade. Use the instructions in Chapter 5: Build the Assessment Package for adding multiple grades.
Open-Continuous Announcements and Standing Registers
Open continuous announcements and standing registers may benefit from using a USA Hire Standard Assessment under certain circumstances. Use the guidance below to determine if USA Hire is a good fit for any upcoming open-continuous announcements.
A recording of USA Hire's Open Continuous Learning Session is available. Contact the USA Hire Program Office for additional guidance.
Premium and Custom Assessments: Please contact your USA Hire project managers to discuss your intended use with an open continuous announcement with these types of assessments.
USA Hire Only for Rating
The assessment plan cannot use a second assessment for rating. USA Hire must be weighted 100% for rating. When USA Hire only is used for rating, final ratings will immediately appear when an applicant completes the assessment. If a second assessment is used in Hurdle 1, it should be used for screen-outs only.
When another assessment is used in Hurdle 1 in addition to USA Hire for rating purposes, then USA Staffing standardizes, weights, and combines all individual assessment ratings to generate each applicants' final rating 48 hours after the announcement closes. As a result, applicants will not have a final rating during the open period, so it is generally not possible to create an applicant list based on ratings during the open period.
Dynamic Assessment Windows Recommended
Dynamic assessment windows provide all applicants an assessment completion deadline which is a pre-defined number of days from their application date. This assessment window type decouples assessment windows from the job announcement open and close dates. This allows applicants to be considered in a timely fashion and ensures RA claims are adjudicated efficiently, so these applicants are not delayed until the end of the open period. Agencies may use their discretion to determine the length of the dynamic assessment window. USA Hire advises to make an assessment window at least 2 days at a minimum. Agencies may determine the assessment window length that works best for their recruitment.
Using dynamic assessment windows aids in keeping a fresh applicant pool, since applicants who do not complete the USA Hire assessment in the allotted time will not remain active in the applicant pool. Dynamic assessment windows also help Reasonable Accommodation claims to be adjudicated in an efficient timeframe, so applicants may be considered and referred before the end of the open announcement period. Please note that approval to use an open continuous vacancy with a custom assessment battery should be vetted with the RA Adjudication Team first, since such use will impact the RA Adjudication Team’s business processes and workload.
Use the directions in Appendix E-5. Dynamic Assessment Testing Windows for additional guidance in setting up Dynamic Assessment Windows and for recommended verbiage for the "How to Apply" section of the job announcement.
No Automatic Reminders with Dynamic Assessment Windows
The automatic reminders to applicants who have not yet completed their assessments will not be sent when using dynamic assessment windows. HR users may manually send out the "Manual USA Hire Reminder" notification email template to all applicants who haven’t tested before the agency plans to issue certificates. This includes applicants with a USA Hire Status of Pending Completion or Partially Complete. The "Manual USA Hire Reminder" notification is available for all agencies to use for this purpose, which includes the applicant's unique USA Hire link. Typically, such reminders should be sent a few days before the agency plans to issue the certificates.
To send manual reminders:
-
Create an applicant list and filter for PA applicants with a USA Hire Status of Pending Completion and Partially Complete.
- Once the list is created, Select All applicants, then Send Notifications. Select the "Manual USA Hire Reminder" template.
Applicant Record Considerations
USA Staffing’s default vacancy settings allow applicants to reapply at any time to update their biographic data, eligibilities, announcement questionnaire items, assessment questionnaire items, or supporting documents. This may occur after HR reviews an applicant. Reapplications will clear out any toggles, eligibility adjudications, veterans’ preference adjudications and overrides HR has applied and “reset” the application, which may require another HR review based on the most current application. To assist in identifying these cases, USA Staffing will automatically send an alert to the HR user who initially reviewed the applicant.
Agencies have the option to mitigate this issue by limiting application submission updates in Vacancy-Settings. However, this may lead to increased applicant inquiries to update an application or may lead applicants to create a new USAJOBS account in an attempt to have a second opportunity to test and complete assessments. USA Staffing will automatically flag applications that are potential duplicates for HR action. Visit Appendix E-6. Locking Assessment Responses Following Application Submission (Vacancy-Application Processing) for additional information.
Agencies also have the option to define the Period of Eligibility. Activate this functionality by checking the box Expire applications following the period of eligibility. If this box is not checked, applicants will remain active for the entire open period of the announcement.
Creating Applicant Lists
HR Users should use additional filters when creating a list to identify applicants who have completed the USA Hire assessment.
Option 1: Use the USA Hire Status as an additional filter when creating a list to identify applicants whose USA Hire status is "Complete" or "Partially Complete". Note: This will include any eligible applicants who completed the USA Hire assessment at any time during the announcement open period.
Option 2: Use the the Application Date – USA Hire Completed to identify the date range when applicants completed the USA Hire assessment. Note: This filter will exclude any eligible applications if the USA Hire assessment was completed outside the specified date range. If the “Do not apply “To” filter to 10-pt Vets” option is enabled, veterans adjudicated as 10-point preference eligibles (or those who claimed 10-point preference eligibility but have not yet been adjudicated) who completed their USA Hire assessments after the specified date range will also be included in the list.
Direct Hire Authority Announcements
USA Hire assessments may be used with Direct Hire Authority. Use the following information to incorporate a USA Hire assessment with your Direct Hire Authority hiring action.
VACANCY
Use the USA Hire Acknowledgement Template for the application received notification.
ASSESSMENT
Include a USA Hire assessment using the Build the Assessment Package instructions.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Include both USA Hire announcement template language as well as your agency's required Direct Hire language in the announcement.
CERTIFICATE
The instructions below are a guide for government-wide direct hire authorities. If an agency-specific Direct Hire Authority includes unique provisions, follow your agency's specific guidance for filtering and referring applicants. Additional criteria are available, such as using the "Original Submission Date" or "Latest Submission Date", if applicable for a specific Direct Hire Authority.
To create a certificate,
- For Certificate Type, select Ranking List
- Under Rank By, select Eligibles Only
- Under Priority Order, select Float Priority Referrals and identify your CTAP/ICATP Well Qualified Score.
- Under Refer Method, select All
- Under Order, select Name
Even though applicants will have a score from completing the assessment, it will not be visible on the certificate, since applicants were ranked by Eligibles Only. Instead of displaying a score, applicants will have "EL" listed under rating. See the example screenshot below.
Multiple Specialty Announcements
USA Hire assessments can be used in conjunction with specialties without any additional configuration. First, add specialties on the Vacancy – Position Information page.
After importing the USA Hire assessment battery, USA Staffing will automatically map that battery to each series and grade combination.
Interdisciplinary Announcements
USA Hire Standard assessments cannot be used in conjunction with interdisciplinary positions, since the scoring is based on the job series and applicants may receive different scores for different job series at the same grade level.
The Federal Supervisor Assessment (FSA) may be used for supervisory interdisciplinary positions, since the FSA scoring does not differ for different job series at the same grade level. The FSA must be available for all job series in the interdisciplinary position in order to be used. First, select Supervisory Position on the Vacancy – Position Information page.
Then, select Enable custom USA Hire interdisciplinary settings on the Vacancy-Settings page.
Finally, select the FSA assessment as appropriate as the external assessment in the Assessment Package Search.