Applying to Federal jobs is about to get much much easier!

Obama just signed an hiring reform memorandum that will make it easier to apply to Fed jobs and for them to hire in a way that is similar to how it's done in the private sector.

From GovExec | By Elizabeth Newell
enewell@govexec.com
May 11, 2010

President Obama on Tuesday released a long-anticipated hiring reform memorandum,
replacing requirements that federal job applicants respond to essay
questions with a résumé-based approach more in line with private
sector practices.

The human capital officials in the audience erupted in applause
when Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry
announced the elimination of knowledge, skills and abilities statements.

"Now, for the first time in history, you will be able to apply
for almost every federal job with a simple résumé and a cover letter,"
Berry said. "This will save applicants millions of person hours as well
as money."

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Berry said Monster, the company OPM hired to run the USAJobs website,
has prepared the site to accept résumés immediately.

The memo also does away with the rule of three, where managers
must choose hires from among the top three applicants, as determined by
an earlier scoring and selection process. Instead, agencies must use a
category rating approach to keep the best qualified applicants in a pool
of potential hires even if officials have selected another candidate
for the vacancy in question.

"Right now, once you made it through the meat grinder of this
process, all these good candidates, who are well qualified -- they're
best qualified -- we throw them out and make them start over again,"
Berry said. "We're going to stop that and now allow departments to
immediately draw out of that pool."

Under the order, the candidates would be available for positions
within the department where they applied. Berry will seek congressional
approval to allow agencies governmentwide to draw from the pool.

In addition, the memo outlines responsibilities for managers and
supervisors. They are to be more fully involved in the hiring process,
including planning current and future workforce requirements,
identifying the skills required for the job, and actively engaging in
recruitment and interviews.

Managers will be held accountable for finding and hiring
qualified employees and supporting their transition into their new
federal job. Beginning on Nov. 1, officials must provide the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel
Management with timelines and targets to improve the quality and
speed of agency hiring.

Agencies will be required to fill mission-critical and commonly
needed positions faster, measure progress of reforms, analyze the causes
of problems and identify remedial actions, and train hiring managers on
effective recruitment and hiring practices. Berry said the president
has set forth "very simple and straightforward metrics," including
cutting the average hiring time in half to 80 days.

"The other bottom line is quality and making sure we get the
right candidate for the right job," Berry said. "That's a tougher one to
measure, but we're working with the [Chief Human Capital Officers
Council] and OMB and others to develop metrics."

One option is to use manager interviews, where OPM or OMB
officials talk to hiring supervisors to get a sense of whether or not
they're happy with their choice, Berry said.

The memo also states the government must keep applicants who
apply for federal positions through USAJobs updated on the status of
their inquiry at key stages in the process.

OPM will take ownership of a number of the memo's directives,
including establishing a governmentwide performance review and
improvement process for hiring reform. This will include a timeline,
benchmarks and indicators of progress, as well as a data-driven system
for holding agencies accountable for improving the speed and quality of
the process, achieving targets and satisfying merit system principles
and veterans' preference requirements. Scott Gould, deputy secretary
at the Veterans Affairs Department, said he believes the move will help
veterans as well as hiring managers.

"This reform is going to make it easier for veterans to seek and
obtain federal jobs," Gould said. "It does for veterans what it does for
every federal job seeker -- it speeds up the whole process. You don't
have to submit a book to be able to apply for a job."

Gould said eliminating the rule of three greatly expands
opportunities for veterans who are placed at the top of the hiring pile.

In addition, OPM must develop a plan to promote diversity in the
workforce while adhering to merit principles, and it must review the
Federal Career Intern Program and provide recommendations on FCIP's
future.

OPM will submit an annual report to the president on the impact
of hiring initiatives set forth in the memo, including recommendations
for further improving the hiring process.

The National Treasury Employees Union expressed cautious support
for the overhaul.

"NTEU supports prompt and efficient federal hiring practices, but
we also want to ensure that merit remains the linchpin of the hiring
process," NTEU President Colleen Kelley said in a statement. "We will be
monitoring the changes advanced in the White House memorandum,
particularly category hiring and the creation of new assessment tools,
to make sure there is no abuse by agencies."

Kelley said, however, reforms to the hiring process will
"accomplish little" as long as agencies are allowed to avoid competitive
hiring by misusing excepted service hiring authorities, particularly
the Federal Career Intern Program.

"NTEU wants the FCIP ended now, and is working to accomplish that
goal," she said. "While the White House memorandum does not end the
FCIP, I am pleased to see that it has directed the Office of Personnel
Management to evaluate agency use of the FCIP and make recommendations
about that program to the president within 90 days."

Kelley said she is confident a fair review will result in a
recommendation to end the program. The American Federation of Government
Employees also released a statement expressing cautious support for the
overall memo, but was disappointed it did not include restrictions on
the use of FCIP.