Knowledge Skills and Abilities - Steps to Success
Step 1: Gather information about yourself.
- Your employment background (an up-to-date federal application).
- Your accomplishments (concrete evidence that proves your knowlwdge, skills, and abilities).
- Did you resolve a long-standing problem?
- Did you discover a new and better approach for getting things done?
- What was solved, created, changed for the better or improved because you were there?
- Did you take on any extra responsibilities above and beyond your job description?
- What have your supervisors commended/cited/awarded you for?
- All of the training and education you have received.
- All training and education you have provided to others.
- Special assignments, details, team responsibilities, acting positions.
- Any publications, products, or research to which you contributed, whether as part of a team or independently.
- Presentations and briefings you have made, whether in-house to key people, to other agencies, or at conferences.
- Honors/awards (within the past three years).
- Performance awards (they serve as "memory joggers" for your accomplishments).
Step 2: Learn as much about the position as possible.
Step 3: Compare the KSA's (Evaluation/Rating/Ranking Factors) with the vacancy announcement and the position description.
Classify each "duty and responsibility" according to which KSA (Evaluation/Rating/Ranking Factors) it reflects.
Step 4: Match your skills to the KSA (Evaluation/Rating/Ranking Factors) requirements.
List all related experience, accomplishments, education, training, and honors/awards that directly relate to each KSA (Evaluation/Rating/Ranking Factors).
Step 5: Write your narratives, revisit them, polish them.
