Myths and Truths
The below describes common myths associated with USA Hire and their associated truths.
1) MYTH: “USA Hire standard assessments alone help identify quality applicants at any grade level.”
3) MYTH: "USA Hire can only be used for Delegated Examining (DE)/Public announcements."
4) MYTH: “USA Hire cannot be used with Direct Hire Authority announcements.”
6) MYTH: “It takes 3 hours to complete a USA Hire assessment.”
7) MYTH: “Most applicants abandon a USA Hire assessment in the middle of testing.”
8) MYTH: “Applicants cannot get their score information.”
12) MYTH: “USA Hire assessments have to be completed in one sitting.”
13) MYTH: “The USA Hire invitation URL may go to junk mail or spam and applicants may never see it.”
1) MYTH: “USA Hire standard assessments alone help identify quality applicants at any grade level.”
TRUTH: USA Hire standard assessments are high quality assessments that measure general competencies. While using USA Hire standard assessments alone for entry-level types of positions is often an effective assessment strategy, USA Hire standard assessments do not measure technical skills. For positions where current technical skills play an important part in determining who is a high-quality applicant, USA Hire standard assessments will not provide this information. We recommend combining USA Hire with an additional assessment to rate technical competencies to assess the “whole person” for such positions. For expert consultation on your assessment strategy, please contact your USA Staffing Account Manager.
2) MYTH: “USA Hire standard assessments can be used for any position for which a standard assessment is available.”
TRUTH: USA Hire standard assessments are valid for non-supervisory positions only. Based on government-wide job analysis and a content validation approach, the assessment batteries are appropriate for use off-the-shelf for non-supervisory positions. The Federal Supervisor Assessment will be included with the USA Hire Standard Assessment Package by June 1, 2026 and is valid for supervisory positions only. Other premium assessments are available to measure technical skills across a multitude of job series, such as the Writing Skills Assessment (WSA) or Program and Project Management Assessment (PAPMA). Premium assessments are available through a separate interagency agreement (IAA). To learn more about the various assessment available through USA Hire, contact USAHire@opm.gov.
3) MYTH: "USA Hire can only be used for Delegated Examining (DE)/Public announcements."
TRUTH: USA Hire assessments can be used with any form of hiring including Merit Promotion and Direct Hire Authority. In fact, USA Hire assessments can be used across a variety of hiring authorities to help identify qualified applicants for further consideration.
4) MYTH: “USA Hire cannot be used with Direct Hire Authority announcements.”
TRUTH: The Guidance on Use of Hiring Assessments when Utilizing Direct Hire Authority provides guidance on aligning assessment practices for Direct Hire Authority (DHA) announcements with the Chance to Compete Act of 2024 and the Merit Hiring Plan. USA Hire recommends reading the DHA thoroughly to understand the requirements and restrictions, then create an assessment strategy that is appropriate for your direct hiring need. Using a high-quality assessment, such as those offered by USA Hire, is a competitive advantage to an agency desiring to make high quality selections. Agencies should evaluate each situation to determine the most effective assessment strategy for that hiring engagement.
5) MYTH: “HR staff cannot review applicants for minimum qualifications until all Reasonable Accommodation (RA) claims have been adjudicated and all applicants have a USA Hire score.”
TRUTH: The minimum qualifications review may begin as soon as the announcement closes. However, certificates should not be issued until all applicants have been rated. Once all RA claims have been adjudicated for that vacancy, the RA warning banner will disappear, and the Announcement Internal Contact will be notified by an alert.
6) MYTH: “It takes 3 hours to complete a USA Hire assessment.”
TRUTH: On average, most applicants complete their USA Hire standard assessment battery in 1 ½ hours. For Situational Judgment Tests (e.g. – Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT), Management Situational Judgment Test (MSJT)), most applicants complete the assessment in about one hour.
7) MYTH: “Most applicants abandon a USA Hire assessment in the middle of testing.”
TRUTH: There are some applicants who choose to discontinue at different points during the application and consideration process. With USA Hire, what is commonly experienced is that about 20% of applicants do not complete their assessment. USA Hire has been working to engage applicants through making user-friendly enhancements, such as mobile enabling the USA Hire standard assessments and Federal Supervisor Assessment (FSA) and sending automatic email reminders to applicants. These enhancements are having a positive effect and are resulting in an increase of applicants who complete their assessment. If you're interested in learning more, these articles present further research on this topic:
The Surprising Relationship Between Assessment Length and Candidate Dropout Rates - Forbes
Candidate Completion Rates and Test Length - How to Get it Right - Employment Technologies
8) MYTH: “Applicants cannot get their score information.”
TRUTH: You may share category assignment or final rating information with applicants who meet all minimum requirements according to your Agency policies. The USA Hire helpdesk does not provide results to applicants.
9) MYTH: “Applicants who do not complete their USA Hire assessment have a “failed” score for 12 months.”
TRUTH: If an applicant does not complete the USA Hire assessment, the applicant will be rated ineligible for not completing the required assessment for only that applicable announcement. If an applicant subsequently applies to a different announcement and self-asserts they meet the minimum qualifications, the applicant will receive an invitation to complete the USA Hire assessment. If the applicant has already completed portions of the assessment, he/she will only need to complete the portions not yet taken.
10) MYTH: “If an applicant is not referred for one position, he/she will not be referred for subsequent job applications for the same position requiring USA Hire because scores are used for 12 months (standard assessments).”
TRUTH: While an applicant’s responses to the USA Hire assessments are reused for 12 months, there are several factors that ultimately determine whether an applicant is referred for consideration – different category rating cut-offs, different hiring authorities, different numbers of vacancies to fill, different technical assessment questionnaires, etc. All these factors make it possible for an applicant who was not referred for one announcement, to be referred for another announcement.
11) MYTH: “For USA Hire assessments that include a cut score, if an applicant scores below the cut score, he/she will not be eligible for subsequent job vacancy announcements that use USA Hire because scores are used for 12 months.”
TRUTH: While an applicant’s responses to the USA Hire assessments are reused for 12 months, scores are calculated independently for each series and grade combination. Further, the assessments used, and the weighting of those assessments are different across the various series and grade combinations. Finally, cut scores are established to reflect the minimum level of proficiency for a given series and grade combination. Given these factors, applicants may score below the cut score for some series and grade combinations, while scoring above the cut score for other series and grade combinations. For example, if an applicant scores below the cut score for a 2210-13, the applicant will not be eligible for other 2210-13 announcements that use USA Hire with a cut score for a period of one year (at which point, the applicant may retest). Cut scores are always turned on for delegated examining (DE) announcements but are optional for status (merit promotion) announcements. As a result, an applicant may not meet the cut score when applying to a DE announcement but be considered eligible when applying to a merit promotion announcement. Additionally, the same applicant may score above the cut score for other grades within 2210 or for other series and grade combinations outside of the 2210 job series.
12) MYTH: “USA Hire assessments have to be completed in one sitting.”
TRUTH: For unproctored assessments, applicants have the opportunity to log out of a USA Hire assessment battery and log back in to complete the battery at a later time. Applicants are required to complete all assessments in the battery before the assessment window closes, which is typically within 48 hours of the announcement closing. Applicants may be required to complete an assessment in one sitting for certain proctored custom assessments.
13) MYTH: “The USA Hire invitation URL may go to junk mail or spam and applicants may never see it.”
TRUTH: Most applicants invited to complete a USA Hire assessment receive their USA Hire URL on screen when the applicants submit their initial application. Applicants also receive the USA Hire URL by email, sent by the USA Staffing system, reducing the number that had go directly to junk mail or spam folders. Finally, this URL is also available to applicants in their USAJOBS account, so even if the applicant cannot find the sent email, they can access the URL through USAJOBS.