Schedule A Flashcards
Learn to use Schedule A
Schedule A is a special federal hiring authority that allows you, as an NSEP award recipient, to be hired for certain federal positions without competition and for a period of up to four years.
Learn to use Schedule A
Schedule A is a special federal hiring authority that allows you, as an NSEP award recipient, to be hired for certain federal positions without competition and for a period of up to four years. This special hiring authority is in the Code of Federal Regulations, (CFR) 213.3102(r), and under certain circumstances, it can be extremely advantageous to mention this option to hiring officials and to be able to explain what it means. Here we explain the two primary ways you can use this hiring benefit:
First, you can use Schedule A to apply for advertised positions that are open to only to individuals with non-competitive eligibility. On USAJobs that generally means you can apply to any position in addition to regular, publicly open positions for which the announcement specifies that “non-competitive” or “excepted service” or “temporary” appointments are eligible. Note that some job announcements are open only to “certain non-competitive appointments”. In those cases, the announcement will usually list somewhere which appointments are eligible. You want to look for something about Schedule A or “fellowships and related programs” or “NSEP”.
The second way to use Schedule A is in applying for jobs that are not advertised at all or are not publicly advertised. This means that you can actually create your own position within a department of an agency, so long as you have a hiring official inside that department or agency who is willing to support you.
Some important points about Schedule A: Most agencies have a limit on the number of civilian staff they may hire; however, if funds and an agency’s regulations allow, a Schedule A hire may be brought on board without counting against that limit. Many hiring officials find this aspect of the Schedule A hiring authority especially attractive. At the same time, keep in mind that the department or agency must pay for a Schedule A hire, so you must be able to make a compelling case as to how you can be a unique asset to the office and you must confirm with the office that they have the money to pay for you. Use this advantage only as a complement to looking for a position through regular advertised postings, such as those on USAJobs.
