Page 4-2
employment to the applicant or a specific exception has been requested and approved
by OPM. See “Timing of Suitability Inquiries in Competitive Hiring” below.)
• Administer assessments (e.g., job knowledge tests, written tests, etc.) either online or
via another method at the time of the initial application. Applicants who meet the
minimum qualification requirements established for the position
1
should be invited to
participate in the assessment phase, following the initial application. Exception: You
may administer a self-report assessment (e.g., occupational questionnaire) during the
initial application phase if it is limited to closed-ended responses, such as multiple
choice or yes/no answers.
• Ask applicants to provide written responses to address competencies/KSAs at the time
of the initial application. Written responses may not be used to make a qualifications
eligibility determination but may be used in the assessment phase of the rating and
ranking process.
While the format (including length) of a résumé cannot be restricted, you may place a
reasonable limit on the number of pages of a résumé that will be reviewed as part of your initial
qualification determination. This limit must be clearly explained in the job opportunity
announcement. You may not automatically screen-out applicants who submit résumés of longer
lengths. For example, you may state in your job opportunity announcement, “Please limit your
résumé to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed
to determine your eligibility/qualifications.”
Also, you do have control over the content of the applicant’s résumé. You may require certain
information to be included in the résumé, that is, only information that demonstrates an
individual’s eligibility for competitive service employment, such as citizenship and the
qualifications for the job. For example, while you may not require applicants to provide
narrative or essay-style responses to competency/KSA statements at the time of the initial
application, you may ask applicants to answer a set of job-related questions designed to
determine eligibility/qualifications. Your agency must have a policy on how to handle
applications whose experience claimed in the occupational questionnaire is not substantiated in
their résumé, e.g., making ineligible determinations or lowering applicant scores.
In addition, as part of the occupational questionnaire, you may ask applicants to provide brief
verifying information such as in which job certain experience was gained or a point of contact
to verify experience claimed. Information on certification, licensure, or education may also be
collected in a short response.
Examples of a Verification Box:
• Indicate the position(s) and dates you performed this work and ensure your submitted
résumé reflects these types of experience. (Maximum length of 250 characters.)
1
Minimum qualifications are not the same as a passing grade, which is the score under an assessment
instrument or set of quality indicators the agency establishes as necessary for the particular position at that agency.
Those attributes, however, are normally addressed during the assessment process. An individual who does not
meet those attributes cannot receive additional points for veterans’ preference, in a rule-of-three competition, and is
not placed in a quality category at the end of a category rating process.