Job Opportunities - Applying for a Job - Applicants - Guide to KSA Response - Frequently Asked Questions

Why Respond to KSA's?

The Code of Federal Regulations requires that selection procedures provide management a right to select or not select from among a group of best qualified candidates.

Responses to KSA's are used in the process of identifying best qualified applicants from a group of persons basically qualified for a position.

They serve as a written documentation regarding your experiences that will provide information about your relevant knowledge, qualifications and personal attributes. As a general rule, KSA's can be categorized under four broad areas:

(1)

occupational and subject matter knowledge and skills;

(2)

ability to plan and organize;

(3)

person-to-person relationships, including leadership; and

(4)

communication skills

How are KSA's Developed?

Hiring managers and personellists work together to identify appropriate KSA's for each position when competitive announcement procedures are used. All KSA's must be job related and clearly supported by the position description.

How Should I Respond to a KSA?

State your experience, give clear examples of how and in what environment in which you accomplished the experience. For example, if you developed a way to make a difficult task easier, state the past difficulty, what and how you researched a better way to handle the task, how you were able to resolve the problem, and state if any recommendations were adopted and by whom. While it is important that you give enough information in your narrative, try to be concise, and be sure you do not embellish the truth.

Related Topics

(1)	occupational and subject matter knowledge and skills;
(2)	ability to plan and organize;
(3)	person-to-person relationships, including leadership; and
(4)	communication skills