Have you ever asked yourself why hiring takes so long? Why do the Human Resources Specialists have to ask for multiple KSA statements and questions? Why do they want your Social Security Number? Isn’t it time to stop asking WHY and advocate for CHANGE in some of these arcane requirements!

Senator Akaka of Hawaii and Senator Voinovich of Ohio have some great new ideas about changing the federal hiring and application processes. This Bill was introduced to Congress this past March. The Bill is only 14 pages, and it is written in Plain Language. The full text is available here: http://www.govexec.com/pdfs/033109ar1.pdf. There are only 14 Sections, of which 11 affect changes in federal hiring and application processes.

Sections 4, 5, 6 and 8 will be critical for reducing the stress involved in applying for federal jobs. In another article, I will write about sections 7, 9 and 10, which will improve the quality of work life and job satisfaction of hiring managers and supervisors. The changes the Senators are recommending are exciting and can result in a faster hiring and easier application process.

Here’s my first piece of BREAKING NEWS:  Section 6 of the Bill is the best, newest and hottest idea for federal Hiring: The Applicant Inventory. This will enable OPM to create a searchable database of resumes of people who want federal jobs! There are quite a few Best Practices for Resume Databases available for OPM and USAJOBS to follow. Let’s see what happens with this great idea for federal hiring!

Here’s my second piece of BREAKING NEWS:  If passed, the Bill would allow for resume and cover letter (no KSAs) for the first-time applicant. Plus no SSN number required on first-time application.

These are my Top 9 favorite recommendations in this Bill to change and improve federal hiring:

1. PLAIN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT  (This is not a new idea, but it still a good idea.)

Section 4 of the Bill is intended to improve Federal Job Vacancy Announcements.

PLAIN WRITING REQUIREMENT DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘plain writing’’ means writing that the intended audience can readily understand and use because that writing is clear, concise, well-organized and follows other best practices of plain writing.

2. ALLOW APPLICANTS TO SUBMIT COVER LETTER AND RESUME AND BRIEF PROFILE QUESTIONS AS THE FIRST APPLICATION.

SEC. 5 of the Bill addresses the APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.  Under subsection (4), one proposed fix will allow applicants to submit a cover letter, resume, and answers to brief questions, such as questions relating to United States citizenship and veterans status, to complete an application.

3. ALLOW APPLICANTS TO SUBMIT A RESUME IN WORD PROCESSING FORMATS.

Subsection (5) of SEC. 5 of the Bill (APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS), will allow applicants to submit application materials in a variety of formats, including word processing documents and portable document format.

4. ELIMINATE REQUIREMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NO.

Subsection (6) of SEC. 5 of the Bill (APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS), proposes to not require any applicant to provide a Social Security number or any other personal identifying information unnecessary for the initial review of an applicant for a position.

5. ELIMINATE KSAS FOR THE INITIAL APPLICATION.

Subsection (7) of SEC. 5 of the Bill (APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS), will not require lengthy writing requirements such as knowledge, skills and ability essays as part of an initial application.

6. ELIMINATE REQUIREMENT OF ATTACHMENTS WITH INITIAL APPLICATION.

Subsection (8) under SEC. 5 of the Bill (APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS), will not require the submission of additional material in support of an application, such as educational transcript, proof of veterans status, and professional certifications, unless necessary to complete the application process.

7. ALLOW APPLICANTS TO SUBMIT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AFTER RESUME IS SUBMITTED.

And subsection (9) of SEC. 5 of the Bill (APPLICATION PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS), will ensure that applicants are given a reasonable amount of time after the closing date of the job announcement to provide additional necessary information.

8. CREATE A NEW APPLICANT INVENTORY/DATABASE WHERE MANAGERS CAN SEARCH FOR APPLICANTS.

            This could be the hottest new idea of all.  Under SEC. 6. (APPLICANT INVENTORY), the Bill will do the following:

(1) The Office of Personnel Management shall establish and keep current a comprehensive inventory of individuals seeking employment in the Federal Government.

(2) The inventory under this subsection shall—

(A) be made available to agencies for use in filling vacancies;

(B) contain information voluntarily provided by applicants for employment, including

(i) the resume and contact information provided by the applicant; and  (ii) any other information which the Office considers appropriate;

(C) retain information for no longer than 1 calendar year;

(D) not include information relating to the application of the applicant for a specific vacancy announcement; or (ii) any other information relating to vacancy announcements; and

(E) shall provide for a mechanism to allow — applicants to update resume contact information; and agency officials to search information in the inventory by agency and job classification.

9. IDENTIFY JOBS AND HIRE WITHIN 80 DAYS.

My last favorite recommendation to come out of the proposed Bill is SEC. 8. REDUCTION IN THE LENGTH OF THE HIRING PROCESS.  Under this Section, the Bill proposes to:

 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—To the extent practical, the plan shall require that each agency fill identified vacancies not later than an average of 80 calendar days after the date of identification of the vacancy.

This proposed legislation is the best I’ve seen since Reinvention of Government in 1995, when then Vice President Al Gore said that “the government should accept resumes like the rest of the world.”  In 1995, it did take an Act of Congress to eliminate the SF-171 and demand the acceptance of a resume as a federal application. Now, it’s time – through legislation, obviously – to change federal hiring again. 

I really like the idea of a Section 6, Applicant Inventory. I hope that OPM and USAJOBS can look at best practices and implement this database right away.  I believe that the USAJOBS application process and an Applicant Inventory would be successful for both supervisors and applicants.  I also agree that requiring KSAs from every first application is burdensome for applicants and human resources reviewers. If the KSAs and other documents can become a 2^nd assessment step for those who are qualified, that would be a real improvement to making the hiring process more efficient.  Finally, social security numbers should not be used in online databases any longer because of security and privacy concerns.

This is an outstanding piece of legislation and I hope that all or most of it comes to pass for the sake of human resources specialists, applicants and the supervisors who want to hire the best and the brightest.

What are your favorite sections of this Bill and why?  Write to me here at fedmanager.com .