True or False: The Federal Hiring Process Favors Candidates who Apply First?

False, except when it's true...

The majority of vacancy announcements posted to USAJobs allow for human resources and/or the hiring manager to review all applications and select the most highly-qualified candidate(s) who will then receive a job offer. This post will focus on the different rules governing use of direct-hire authority under 5 U.S.C. § 3304, but before we get there, let's take a look at a couple of other types of vacancy announcements on USAJobs where the timing of your application matters.

One common vacancy announcement closing type is the "Applicant cut-off." As described on USAJobs:

"Some job announcements close when the hiring agency receives a certain number of applications. If the ‘cut-off’ number is reached during the day, the job announcement will usually close that night at midnight. For example, a job announcement may say it will close after the hiring agency receives 200 applications. If they receive 200 applications by 1:30 p.m. ET, the job will close that same day at 11:59 p.m. ET."

It's worth noting that even where the applicant cut-off is invoked, applications received after the announcement-specified threshold number is reached but before 11:59 p.m. ET should still be considered unless otherwise stated in the vacancy announcement.

Here's an example of this type of USAJobs announcement:

Another common vacancy announcement closing type is "Open continuous." As described on USAJobs:

"Some job announcements stay open indefinitely. You can submit your application at any time, but the job announcement will usually include a date (or several dates) when the hiring agency will select a group of applicants to review. For example, the job announcement may say it will review applications on July 30, August 30 and so on. If you submit an application on August 1, the hiring agency will review your application starting on August 30."

Here's an example of this type of USAJobs announcement:

Now that we've covered these mundane scenarios, let's talk about the elephant in the room, another type of USAJobs vacancy announcement where the timing of your application absolutely matters*. Per OPM's October 2018 Memorandum Announcing Government-wide Direct Hire Appointing Authorities:

"Agencies must identify and use proper assessment tools for the positions being filled with these direct hire authorities to determine who is qualified for the covered positions. Agencies should not conduct additional rating to determine relative degrees of qualifications when using this authority. Agencies should assess applicants in the order in which the applications were received [emphasis mine], and select any qualified applicant in an order that approximates order of receipt [emphasis mine]. Qualified candidates with veterans’ preference should be selected as they are found, just as any qualified non-preference eligible candidate would be."

So, what's the big deal? We're talking about thousands of vacancy announcements, and in some instances, we're talking about thousands of people applying for a single position associated with one vacancy announcement. What's your level of confidence that direct hire authority under 5 U.S.C. § 3304 is being applied consistently and fairly?

If agencies invoking this direct hire authority are interested in picking the best qualified candidates to fill vacancies, there is a pre-existing, very well-established hiring process for that: it's called the merit system.

Direct-Hire Authority under 5 U.S.C. § 3304

If you know you were qualified for a 5 U.S.C. § 3304 direct hire authority position* AND you applied very shortly after the vacancy announcement was first posted to USAJobs AND you were not called to interview (or did not receive a job offer, etc.), I want to hear from you! Documenting individual cases where the use of this hiring authority did not align with OPM's intent could be essential to ensuring that this hiring authority will not be abused in the future. Please use the contact form below to reach out to me (DO NOT use your government computer).

Please also reach out if you're aware of a direct hire vacancy announcement advertised under 5 U.S.C. § 3304 where the hiring agency explicitly stated in the text of the announcement that applicants will be assessed in the order in which applications are received.

Last but certainly not least, if you are a current or former HR professional for a federal agency that has recruited applicants to a job series covered by the direct hire authority under 5 U.S.C. § 3304*, yet your agency has opted not to use this direct hire authority, please get in touch (DO NOT use your government computer). I would like to learn more about your federal agency's reasoning. Importantly, if you are a current or former federal HR professional aware of past misuse of this hiring authority, I encourage you to contact your agency's Inspector General directly. The integrity of the federal hiring process could depend on it.

*Excluding Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs vacancies

Get in touch

For more information about direct-hire authority under 5 U.S.C. § 3304, please see this OPM fact sheet, or take a look at this excellent Research Brief the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board Office of Policy and Evaluation published in February 2021.

The topic of direct-hire authority was most recently discussed by Federal Ferret in the blog post: Comprehensive List of Non-Competitive Hiring Authorities.

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