Understanding Eligibility vs Qualifications in Federal Hiring

The following post take a closer look at Understanding Eligibility vs Qualifications in Federal Hiring.

The federal hiring timeline is slow enough. The last thing you need to do is spend time on jobs you’re not eligible for. That’s why it’s important to determine if you are eligible and qualified before applying.

Read: Understanding Federal Employment Service Types (Competitive, Excepted, and SES)

Related: Best Federal Resume Writing Services

If you want to avoid wasting time on jobs you’re not eligible for – it’s important to determine whether you’re eligible and qualified (before you start searching and applying for federal jobs).

Here’s what you need to know.

Eligibility

The federal government seeks to hire individuals that represent the diversity of our society. As such, the federal government has established 12 different categories of eligibility in the federal hiring process.

Eligibility is not related to your work experience, skills, or other qualifications. Eligibility simply establishes whether you are permitted to even submit an application for a given job (or not).

FYI, your application will be rejected 100% of the time if you don’t meet the minimum eligibility requirements (regardless of your qualifications).

Here’s a screenshot from the USAJOBS account on LinkedIn about this topic.

Pictured: screenshot of the USAJOBS post on LinkedIn.

Eligibility Categories

In no particular order, here are the 12 categories of eligibility (colloquially known as ‘hiring paths’) on USAJOBS.

• Open to the Public
• Federal Employees
• Veterans
• Military Spouses
• National Guard and Reserves
• Students and Recent Graduates
• Senior Executives
• Individuals with Disabilities
• Family of Overseas Employees
• Native Americans
• Peace Corps and AmeriCorps VISTA
• Special Authorities

Here is a screenshot from USAJOBS picturing the different categories of eligibility.

Pictured: Screenshot of the 12 hiring paths (aka eligibility types) on USAJOBS.gov

Qualifications

Whereas eligibility grants permission to apply – qualifications are used for determining your suitability to do the job. Qualifications refer to total years of experience, specializations, certifications, and more.

The hiring agency looks at your Federal Resume in order to assess your qualifications. That’s why it’s so important that your Federal Resume provides a clear portrayal of your skills and experience for that job.

Before applying to a federal job, you should read the qualifications section of the job announcement to verify that you meet the specialized experience, education, and other requirements outlined for the position.

In Conclusion

I hope this article helps you understand the difference between eligibility and qualifications when applying to federal jobs. In a nutshell, eligibility determines whether you’re allowed to apply for a position, while qualifications assess how well you meet the specific requirements for the job.