Overview
The overview section is in the right-hand rail and gives an at-a-glance view of the job. This information appears on the search results card and entices a job seeker to open the job announcement.
Current fields
This section may contain the following:
- Actions
- Job status
- Announcement closing type
- Open and closing dates
- Application cut-off
- Open continuous
- Salary
- Pay scale and grade
- Location
- Vacancies
- Location within area
- Telework eligible
- Travel required
- Relocation expenses reimbursed
- Appointment type
- Work schedule
- Service
- Promotional potential
- Job family
- Supervisory status
- Security clearance
- Drug test
- Position sensitivity and risk
- Trust determination process
- Job announcement number
- Control number
Actions
Located above the Overview, this section includes an Apply button that will start the application process.
The actions section also includes controls for:
- Save
- Share
Job status
Indicates where the job announcement is in the hiring process for job seekers. Includes one of the options:
- Accepting applications
- Reviewing applications
- Hiring complete
- Job canceled
Two of the statuses are triggered automatically. The accepting applications status appears when the announcement is open, and reviewing applications status appears when the announcement closes.
The staffing specialist is responsible for triggering the hiring complete or job canceled status through their Talent Acquisition System. Once a hiring manager selects a candidate to hire, the staffing specialist should move the announcement status to hiring complete. If the hiring manager makes no selection and the announcement is canceled, the staffing specialist should move the announcement status to job canceled. Timely status updates are important, so the job seeker is aware of where the job is in the hiring process.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Announcement closing type
Indicates the closing type and includes the options:
- Open and closing dates
- Application cut-off
- Open continuous
Open and closing dates
The open date is the first day an applicant can submit an application. The closing date is the last day an applicant can submit an application.
The job announcement will automatically close at 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Application cut-off
If you are using an application limit, you must clearly state this in the job announcement. You will enter this manually.
Open continuous
If you are posting an open continuous job announcement, you must clearly say this in the job announcement. You will enter this manually.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Use the following date format: MM/DD/YY
Do Not
- Include play plan, series, grade or any other information that is available elsewhere in the job announcement.
- Include additional information in parenthesis.
Salary
The salary range of the job. USAJOBS displays the starting salary in the search results and the full salary range in the job announcement.
You can enter a per year or hourly salary.
If the salary is hourly, the value can’t exceed $220 per hour.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- You must include a salary with a numeric value other than “0”.
- Include a minimum and maximum salary.
- Include an hourly wage, if relevant—the system will map hourly wages to a per-year salary using the pay filter in the USAJOBS search.
Do Not
- Leave the salary blank.
- Set the maximum salary to “$0”.
- Include the pay scale or grade—this information is captured in the pay scale and grade field.
Pay scale and grade
Describes the grade level and pay scale that the job falls under.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Only include the pay scale and grade.
Do Not
- Include the salary—this information is captured in the salary field.
Location
Indicates the street address (if provided), city and state of the work location.
Required by USAJOBS
Conditional—the city and state are required, but the street address is optional.
Required by policy
Yes
Remote jobs
Indicates if the applicant is not expected to report to an official agency worksite regularly. Instead, the applicant will work from their home or other alternative worksite in or outside of the commuting area of an agency’s official worksite.
Remote jobs will have a location of Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job).
Required by USAJOBS
Yes, if applicable.
Required by policy
Yes, if applicable.
Vacancies
Indicates the number of vacancies at that location or the total number of vacancies across all locations.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes. The total number of vacancies is required, but not the number of vacancies at each location.
Required by policy
Yes
Location within area
Indicates if the applicant must live within the associated location(s). When true, you must specify the commute distance of that area.
The commute distance defines the area in miles from the center of the location that the agency has identified in their merit promotion plan.
Required by USAJOBS
No. If you include this, you must include the commute distance too.
Required by policy
Yes, if applicable.
Do
- Use this field only when absolutely necessary. Applicants are often confused about whether they must move to the area before applying or after they accept the job.
Do Not
- Use the commuting area to deter applicants.
Telework eligible
Indicates if the applicant may telework.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
No. However, it is strongly encouraged to include this in the job announcement.
Do
- Use this field to provide telework information.
Do Not
- Include this information in other sections of the job announcement.
Travel required
This tells the job seeker if the job requires travel.
Options include:
- Not required
- Occasional travel
- 25% or less
- 50% or less
- 75% or less
- 76% or greater
Read more about travel percentages.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- You must enter a value. If the job requires no travel, enter Not required.
- Only enter one value.
- May include supplemental text to explain the type of travel, such as two weeks of training.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Indicates if the applicant will be reimbursed for moving expenses related to relocation for this job.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
No, but strongly recommended.
Do
- Use this field to provide relocation expenses information.
Do Not
- Include this information in other sections of the job announcement.
Appointment type
Tells the applicant the type of appointment. Appointment types can be:
- Multiple
- Permanent
- Temporary
- Detail
- Intermittent
- Seasonal
- Temporary
- Term
- Student
- Internships
- Recent graduate
- Presidential Management Fellows
Learn more about appointment types in the Help Center.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Only include the appointment type.
Do Not
- Include the service type—this is captured in the Service field.
- Repeat the appointment types in supplemental text. The value of the appointment type field will appear next to the supplemental text you provide.
- Avoid the Multiple option whenever possible. Job seekers have difficulty understanding what this term means. When using the Multiple option, use the supplemental text to explain which appointment types are possible for this job.
Work schedule
Tells the applicant the work schedule they can expect for this job. The work schedule can be:
- Full-time
- Part-time
- Shift work
- Intermittent
- Job sharing
- Multiple
See the definitions for work schedules in the Help Center.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Only include the work schedule.
- When choosing the Multiple appointment option, use the supplemental text to explain which work schedules are possible for this job.
Do Not
- Include the appointment type—this is captured in the Appointment type field.
- Repeat the work schedule in supplemental text. The value of the work schedule field will appear next to the supplemental text you provide.
- Define the work schedule hours in supplemental text. Applicants can read more about the definitions in the Help Center.
- Do not use Multiple whenever possible. Job seekers have difficulty understanding what this term means.
Service
Tells the applicant what service the job is in:
- Competitive
- Excepted
- Senior Executive Service
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
No
Do
- Only include the service type.
Do Not
- Include the appointment type—this is captured in the Appointment type field.
- Include the work schedule—this is captured in the Work schedule field.
Promotional potential
This tells the job seeker if there’s an opportunity to move up in the grade level.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Always enter a value—enter “No” if there is no promotion potential.
- Enter the highest GS level of the potential job promotion.
Do Not
- Repeat this information elsewhere.
Job family
Tells the applicant the job family or category to which the job belongs. The codes and titles for the job family are the Office of Personnel Management occupational series.
The job family link directs the applicant to the search results page, where the results are filtered by that series.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Supervisory status
This tells the job seeker if job requires supervising others.
Options include:
- Yes
- No
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Enter a value—don’t leave it blank.
Security clearance
Indicates the level of security clearance necessary for the job.
The value in this field will always link to the security clearances page in the Help Center.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Indicate the level of security clearance.
Do Not
- Repeat this information elsewhere.
Drug test
Tells the applicant if a drug test is required. It will display as Yes or No.
Required by USAJOBS
Yes
Required by policy
Yes
Do
- Tell the applicant if a drug test is required.
Do Not
- Repeat this information elsewhere.
Position sensitivity and risk
Indicates the sensitivity level of the job—whether the job responsibilities and duties have the potential to adversely impact national security.
The options are:
- 1—Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
- 2—Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
- 3—Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
- 4—Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
- 5—Moderate Risk (MR)
- 6—High Risk (HR)
- 7—NCS/High Risk
You can only select one option.
Required by USAJOBS
No
Required by policy
No
Do
- Indicate the position sensitivity and risk level of the job.
- Only select one option if applicable.
Do Not
- Repeat this information elsewhere.
Trust determination process
Indicates the type of investigation the applicant will undergo (in addition to a background check).
The options are:
- Credentialing
- Suitability/fitness
- National security
You can include one or all options.
If you include a level for the position sensitivity and risk, then you need to include the trust determination process.
Required by USAJOBS
No, but this field is conditionally required if a value is provided for Position sensitivity and risk.
Required by policy
No
Do
- Indicate the investigation type.
- Only include if you’ve included Position sensitivity and risk.
Do Not
- Repeat this information elsewhere.
Job announcement number
The announcement number is in the overview section which lives in the right-hand sidebar. Hiring agencies determine the announcement number.
Control number
The control number is in the overview section which lives in the right-hand sidebar. This number is a unique one assigned by USAJOBS.
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.