Header
The header is at the top of the page and includes the job title, as well as the department and agency posting the job.
Current fields
This section may contain the following:
Job title
The name of the job.
The job title is the first thing a job seeker will see in the search results. Make sure the job title is easy to understand and descriptive of what the job is.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Only include the job title.
- Use plain language.
- Spell check your titles and your job announcement. Your TAS may provide this capability.
Do Not
- Include pay plan, series, grade or any other information that is available elsewhere in the job announcement.
- Include additional information in parenthesis.
Myth: Job announcement titles are dictated by policy and must follow a specific format.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) policy
Organizational and functional titles do not replace official position titles, they complement them. Agencies may establish organizational and functional titles for internal administration, program management or similar purposes.
Examples of organizational titles are branch chief or division chief. Examples of functional titles are chief of network management and director of policy development.
Impact
If job seekers don’t understand the job title, they are less likely to read the job announcement. For example, job titles that use grade levels or series numbers are confusing and can be misleading.
Job announcements should include a job title that best describes the position, attracts candidates and makes the job easier to find. For example, titling a job java developer instead of APPSW makes it easier for job seekers to understand.
Department name
The name of the department posting the job announcement.
The department name is purely informational. Many of those new to government do not know the hierarchy of departments and agencies.
Required by USAJOBS
No
Required by policy
No
Agency name
The name of the agency that is posting the job announcement.
Clicking Learn more about this agency shows the job seeker additional information including the agency details text and the agency careers page URL, as well as the agency contact information for this announcement.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Agency sub-element name
The name of the unit within the agency posting the job announcement.
The agency sub-element name is purely informational. Many of those new to government do not know the hierarchy of departments, agencies and agency elements.
Required by USAJOBS
No
Required by policy
No
Questions? Concerns?
This site is a work in progress. We will continue to work on this content until it is as complete as possible. If you have questions or concerns about anything you read here, please reach out to your human resources director who can contact the Office of Personnel Management policy.
If you have comments about the site itself or suggestions on content to add please write to recruiter-help@opm.gov.