USA Hire – Frequently Asked Questions

If an applicant abandons their assessment for an announcement, does that mean they are not able to apply for any other similar announcement with the same series/grade within 1 year as they would not have received a score for that USA Hire assessment?

ANSWER: No, the applicant would be able to finish that USA Hire assessment for another announcement. USA Hire saves the applicant's previous responses and they would be able to pick up where they last left off within the assessment.

For more information see: OPM USA Hire Myth #4

Does an applicant have to complete the USA Hire assessment in one sitting or can the start and stop the assessment to finish at a later time?

ANSWER: An applicant can start and stop the assessment while the assessment window is still open; typically, the window ends 48 hours after the announcement closes.

For more information see: OPM USA Hire Myth #7

What is the Hiring Managers role with USA Hire Assessments?

ANSWER: The USA Hire Assessments have already been created by OPM (for specific series and grades) so Hiring Managers do not need to do anything additional

Can an applicant re-take or modify their USA Hire assessment within the one year?

ANSWER: No they are not able to re-take the USA Hire assessment for that particular series & grade for one year from when the assessment was submitted

For more information see: USA Hire FAQs for DOI #s 13 & 14

How does USA Hire impact applicants when qualifying based on education?

ANSWER: USA Hire does not prevent an applicant from qualifying based on education.

In DOI's Guidance outlining the criteria when to use USA Hire; does the low applicant pool (i.e. 20 or less) refer to each grade level when recruiting for multiple grades?

ANSWER: No, the low applicant pool is speaking to the overall applicant count for the entire announcement

For more information see: USA Hire FAQs for DOI # 1

What do I do if there is not a USA Hire Assessment for a particular series and grade?

ANSWER: If a recruitment does not meet the USA Hire criteria, another multi-hurdle assessment should be used. There is not a general or catch-all USA Hire assessment that can be used. HROD is currently working on rolling out these additional multi-hurdle assessment options by December 2021

For more information see: USA Hire FAQs for DOI #s 1 & 3

How is the applicant notified of the USA Hire Assessments?

ANSWER: If an applicant has not completed the USA Hire assessment for that particular series and grade(s) then they will receive an email notifying them that they need to complete the USA Hire Assessment, including the link to the assessment, to be completed up to 48 hours after the vacancy announcement has closed. Or they can also access the link via USA Jobs if they aren't able to locate the email.

If an applicant has already completed the USA Hire assessment for that particular series and grade(s) then they will not receive a notification to complete the assessment since their current assessment is still valid

For more information see: OPM USA Hire Myth #8, OPM USA Hire Frequently Asked Questions #18, and USA Hire FAQs for DOI # 12

How many of IBC’s job series are covered by a USA Hire Assessment?

ANSWER: See the Available Series and Grades.

Does USA Hire apply to Supervisory positions?

ANSWER: No, USA Hire Standard Assessments do not apply to supervisory positions

For more information see: OPM USA Hire Frequently Asked Questions #3

How does the assessment show up in the announcements?

ANSWER: The HR Specialist adds the applicable USA Hire assessments into the announcement

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