Re: Actually

Hear, Hear!

Re: Questionable need for KSAs

It is not a Federal requirement to request KSAs be included on a resume. It depends on the agency.

Re: Questionable need for KSAs

It isn't that your resume is insufficient; it's that going over resume's to look for skills and abilities is time-consuming and inaccurate.

Re: Questionable need for KSAs

Actually, addressing KSA's identifies the strong candidates. If you cut and paste your position description onto your resume (believe me, HR Specialists can tell RIGHT AWAY that you did) what happens if the other 200 applicants do the same thing? Do you really think a manager is going to interview 200 people? How do you make a judgement as to who is probably best-qualified? KSA's. Those responses tell any reader the length and depth of your experience as it pertains to the job being filled.

Especially if you are applying for a vacancy announcement open to all U.S. citizens, there are a LOT of applicants who do not address KSA's. The ones who do (as long as they are otherwise qualified for the position) are the ones who get higher scores and are referred for selection. One other thing, most private sector people "rate" you at the interview, at least with the Feds, you've already written the KSA down, you should remember some of it when interviewed.

Re: KSA Writing

these seem like really good points, thanks.

Re: KSA Writing

Yes, good point about the standard interview questions. Seems many more agencies are moving toward a "Behavioral Interview" format. The questions of providing real-life examples of how you handled a particular situation are a move toward more status-quo private sector practices.

Re: KSAs

You MAY be right that they're a waste of time. That's ultimately up to the selecting official/hiring supervisor to decide. However, as long as you're the one applying for a job, it's not your call to determine whether they should be included or not; "if you're smart" and you're serious about that job or announcement, you won't waste your time arguing about "what employers should be reading". Give them what is asked for and also write a good resume (if a private sector job) or federal application (if for a government job, either internally or to another agency).

Re: KSAs

Yeah, HR spec/VA --- and don't forget to "if you're smart" to understand that no matter how GOOD the KSAs are, how GOOD you do on the interview and how QUALIFIED you are for a position ---IF the division CHIEF doesn't LIKE you (for personal reasons) you can just FORGET about getting the position.
I speak from personal experience, having been the TOP qualified for a position on ALL counts and not being the candidate selected.
So WHO gets held accountable??????

Re: KSAs

Please remember that your resume lists your duties, generally the ones that are listed in your position description and some applicants have been known to cut and paste. The HR reviewer can tell what your duties are, but do you actually do them?

That is where the KSA's come in. You have to tell the reviewer HOW you apply your knowledges, skills and abilities. For example:

Resume: I am responsible for providing HR advice and assistance to managers and employees about the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBA)

KSA: I use my knowledge of FEHBA regulations to counsel employees on how to pick a good plan, where to go for more information, when should you change to self-only coverage, when does your child have to come off of your FEHBA policy and where can I find private health insurance if my child doesn't have a job, the ramifications of part-time employment on health benefit premiums, etc.

Hope this illustration is helpful to you.

Re: KSAs

Another fed, you may be exactly right - in which case, why would you WANT to work for a boss, immediate or otherwise, who "doesn't like you"? Especially since someone of your obvious abilities can surely get a better offer from a more reasonable, fair-minded boss? Particularly since there may be others who also have good qualifications, including KSA's, whom the boss likes better. Nobody, or very few people, gets hired for everything they apply to; use the non-selections as a learning experience for next time, not as an excuse to wallow in self-pity. Who gets held accountable? Ultimately, my friend, there is only one person most important to your career advancement; it's not the hiring manager or HR specialist.

Re: KSAs

If your KSA answers are just a repeat of your resume, you're not doing it right. The resume is a quick description of you past job duties, your KSA answers should detail exactly HOW you applied your knowledge and experience to achieve a postive result. Don't just say that you did it, use a specific example to tell exactly how your employer and customer benefitted and what the positive results were for the organization. Think: PROBLEM-ACTION-RESULT. Be specific!!

I can't speak for everybody else out there, but in getting my current job, my KSA answers were key. If the boss doing the hiring isn't reading them, he's not the kind of boss that you'd want to work for anyway.

Re: KSAs

HR Spec/VA---
in theory I totally agree with you--working for someone who apparently has biased unpleasant opinions of me would not be an ideal situation. However, when the position itself is something that a person has worked towards and aspired for during the course of their career (as in my case, 17 years to be exact) and then to have been determined the BEST qualified within the parameters of the selecting criteria it makes it rather difficult to remain open-minded and driven to try much else. This kind of action on behalf of INDIVIDUALS --i.e. to be allowed to squash a qualified, excellant candidate just because of personal feelings that a Chief SHOULD have a handle on (just by virtue of their position) is why the government ends up with A LOT of unqualified, losers on the top end of the spectrum.

What is the SENSE in knocking yourself out applying (the KSAs alone have sent many an individual screaming for sanity) if you don't stand any chance anyway???