Submitting an application

You will have to submit your resume through the on-line system at
www.usajobs.opm.gov. To prepare to apply, you may want to create an
account on this website now. Doing so will allow you to receive
automated job alerts and to post your resume online so that you have it
ready to submit easily once the announcement is released.

During the application process, be sure to indicate that you ARE
eligible for "noncompetitive appointment," appointment under "Schedule
A," "excepted service appointment," or appointment under
"5CFR213.3120(u)" whenever asked. This will ensure that we can use the
simplified procedures for hiring you.

Preparing your application

Be sure to write "Eligible for excepted service appointment under 5 CFR
213.3102(u)" on the resume that you submit.

You must meet all required qualifications for the position in order to
be hired. Applications are pre-screened by personnel officers
unfamiliar with variations in terminology used by the field. They must
be able to tell from your application that you meet the minimal required
qualifications in order to pass your name on to us for possible hiring.
Therefore, in preparing your application, be careful to use the same
words used in the vacancy announcement to describe your qualifications.
For example, if the vacancy announcement asks about your experience in
working with people with mental illnesses, be sure to use the phrase
"people with mental illnesses" in your response, rather than just
discussing, for example, your work with "children with serious emotional
disturbances"-the personnel officer might not realize that the latter
counts toward the qualification.

Providing "proof of disability" documentation and "certification of job
readiness"

Proof of the disability and certification of job readiness are required
for excepted service appointments of persons with psychiatric
disabilities. The following is a list of some examples of documents
that you can submit as proof of psychiatric disability:

- Statements or letters on a licensed physician's/medical
professional's
letterhead stationary.
- Statements, records or letters from a Federal Government agency that
issues or provides disability benefits (e.g., the Social Security
Administration).
- Statements, records or letters from a State Vocational Rehabilitation
Agency counselor.
- Certification from a licensed private Vocational Rehabilitation or
other
Counselor that issues or provides disability benefits.
- Certification, statements, records or letters from a State agency, or
agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or
provides disability benefits.

Certification of job readiness is a determination that applicants with
disabilities are likely to succeed in the performance of the duties of
the position he or she is seeking. The same entities who may provide
proof of disability may also certify an individual's job readiness.

For more information about Schedule A and other "excepted service" or
"non-competitive" appointments

Much of the information presented here is paraphrased from information
presented on two sections of the Federal Office of Personnel Management
website. You can go directly to these sections through the following
links:

http://www.opm.gov/Strategic_Management_of_Human_Capital/fhfrc/FLX05020.
asp#itemA1

http://www.opm.gov/disability/hrpro_3-02.asp

If you don't want to go through this process, you can still apply like anybody else. However, we will not be able to use the special hiring authority that would make it easier for us to hire you.