Finally Got Approval to Hire - Now What?

From announcement to onboarding: How to hire the right people in a bureaucratic world

A comprehensive guide to federal hiring from position development to first-day success

So you finally got the green light to fill a position. Whether it's backfilling a vacancy or adding headcount, this is where you shift from "doing" to "building."

But hiring in the federal government isn't like private sector recruiting. It's a layered, rule-driven, sometimes maddening process that trips up even experienced supervisors. This is where most supervisors go on autopilot. They recycle old job descriptions, post and pray, then wonder why they end up with mediocre candidates or empty chairs.

If you understand how to shape the position early and drive the process strategically, you're already ahead of 90% of federal managers. This module gives you the tools to avoid the common missteps that derail good hiring decisions and help you build the team your mission deserves.

Your Hiring Roadmap

Everything you need to master federal hiring from position development to first-day success.

📋 Position Development: Set It Up Right

You can't hire the right person if you don't define the job correctly. This is where it all begins and where many supervisors blow it.

Your Role in Position Development

You don't write the final job classification, but you absolutely drive the content and shape of the position. This is your chance to build the role your team actually needs.

Write the Position Description Like It Matters

✅ What Smart Managers Do ❌ What Most Managers Do
Tailor the duties to what the team actually needs now
  • Major duties: Think outcomes, not tasks
  • Critical skills: What makes someone sink or swim in your office?
  • Future focus: Build in capacity for change
 Copy the old position description and change the date

This gets you:

  • Outdated duties that don't reflect current needs
  • Generic language that attracts generic candidates
  • Missing critical skills for today's challenges

Example: Better vs. Worse

Bad: "Maintains files and performs administrative tasks."

Better: "Manages a multi-state grant tracking system and ensures audit-readiness through standardized documentation protocols."

Why it works: The second version tells candidates exactly what they'll be doing and what success looks like.

⚠️ Pro Tip: Managing HR Pushback

HR will push back if you're too far outside existing classifications. Be ready to explain the work not just in abstract terms, but with real examples of what the person will actually do day-to-day.

📊 Grade Level and Series: Know Your Lanes

HR owns classification, but you need to speak the lingo to get what you want.

The Classification Basics

  • Series: The occupational field (e.g., 0343 for Management Analysts, 0201 for HR Specialists, 2210 for IT Specialists)
  • Grade: The level of responsibility, independence, and complexity

Your job: Justify the level in terms HR understands: complexity, scope, impact, and supervision. Use benchmark position descriptions or OPM's Factor Evaluation System language if you have to.

❌ Don't Say ✅ Do Say
  • "Because they'll be doing a lot."
  • "It's a really important position."
  • "We need someone good."
  • "This position requires independent decision-making affecting cross-agency operations. That aligns with GS-13 complexity under Factor 4."
  • "The scope includes oversight of $2M in contracts and coordination with 5 field offices."

🎯 Qualifications: Get Specific

Minimum qualifications are set by OPM, but the specialized experience language in the announcement is your tool to control quality.

✅ Important: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) Are Gone

You don't need to ask for separate Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) anymore. That system has been gone for over a decade. Instead, you define what matters through the 'Qualifications' and 'How You Will Be Evaluated' sections.

The Keyword Strategy Reality

What Most Hiring Managers Don't Understand

Much of the rating and ranking is now done by computer programs and HR assistants with checklists who've never done the actual job.

When you write your announcement, candidates will literally copy your exact language into their resumes. If the announcement says "must display leadership in complex multi-jurisdictional operations," smart candidates will write "I have displayed leadership in complex multi-jurisdictional operations by..."

This means: Use the specific terms and phrases you want to see in applications. Don't get creative with synonyms. If you want someone with "project management" experience, say "project management," not "initiative coordination."

The computer and HR screener are looking for those specific words and phrases. If candidates can't mirror your language, they won't make it to your desk even if their experience is perfect.

Examples That Get Results

  • Bad: "Must have experience in administrative tasks."
  • Better: "Must have independently managed time-sensitive actions tracking across multiple stakeholders using SharePoint and Excel."
  • Even Better: "Must have managed and tracked time-sensitive actions for multiple senior leaders using automated workflow systems and interagency coordination."

📝 Building the USAJOBS Announcement

Federal job announcements follow a very specific format on USAJOBS. As the hiring manager, you work with HR to shape the content.

Summary

A brief, plain-language paragraph describing the job and mission. Make it human and compelling.

Duties

Usually 3-5 key responsibilities in clear English. Avoid bureaucratic word salad.

Qualifications

This is where your specialized experience language goes. Be specific about what you need.

How You Will Be Evaluated

Usually mentions resume and online assessment. May list key competencies you'll assess.

Creating Announcements That Don't Suck

Most job announcements are garbage: robotic, unreadable, and no help to the kind of people you actually want.

✅ Work with HR to Ensure

  • The duties sound real, not copied from 1997
  • The assessment questions match what you actually need
  • The tone is welcoming, not bureaucratic word salad

Pro tip: Add a Manager's Note (if allowed): A short paragraph from you directly to applicants. Make it human. ("We're a fast-paced team focused on mission. We value initiative and strong writing. This role will have direct impact on...")

Research Before You Write

Always read a few live USAJOBS postings for similar positions. Then model yours using current language and formatting. Don't reinvent the wheel, but don't copy outdated language either.

📢 Outreach That Actually Works

Posting and hoping isn't enough. The best announcements go hand-in-hand with active outreach.

Professional Networks

LinkedIn and professional associations. Leverage alumni networks. Even Reddit can work for specialized roles.

Internal Channels

Agency listservs, internal newsletters, and employee groups. Your current team probably knows good candidates.

Diversity Pipelines

HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Women in STEM groups, veteran organizations. Cast a wide net.

Special Authorities

Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA), Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA), Schedule A, Pathways, Direct Hire Authority. These aren't shortcuts, they're tools for smart, lawful hiring.

⚠️ Know Your Hiring Flexibilities

Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA), Schedule A, Pathways, and Direct Hire Authority can make your life easier, but only if used correctly. Work with HR to apply them lawfully. Don't assume HR will suggest these options; you need to ask.

The Modern Contact Dilemma

Then vs. Now

The old advice: "Call the hiring manager" used to work well. It showed initiative and gave candidates a chance to demonstrate interest beyond just submitting paperwork.

Today's reality: Federal hiring has become much more standardized and risk-averse. Many modern managers will not take these calls, viewing them as potential compliance risks rather than signs of initiative.

As a hiring manager, you need to decide: Will you take calls from candidates? While there are no federal regulations prohibiting applicants from contacting hiring managers, many agencies have internal policies discouraging this practice. Check your agency's guidance before deciding your approach.

If you do take calls: Keep conversations general about the role and agency, not specific about what you're looking for in candidates. Be prepared to give the same information to anyone who calls.

The safer approach for everyone: Focus on creating clear, comprehensive announcements that answer candidates' likely questions upfront.

⏰ Timeline Management

From position description development to Entry on Duty, hiring takes time. Don't let delays kill your momentum or lose your top candidate.

Weeks 1-2: Position Development

Write position description, work with HR to classify the position, and prep the announcement. This is where you define what you actually need versus what HR thinks you should want. Expect pushback if you're trying to innovate beyond the 1995 template they have on file.

Weeks 3-4 (Or Weeks 3-16): The Announcement Goes Live

What's supposed to happen: Announcement opens (usually 7-14 days). Start your outreach efforts now because posting and praying doesn't work. Send the link to your networks, professional associations, and anyone who might know good candidates. Monitor applications as they come in.

What actually happens: Good luck, unless your HR Specialist has nothing else to do, OR you've established a really good working relationship with them and your stuff goes to the top of their pile. Many agencies sit in this stage for MONTHS before HR actually posts your opening on USAJOBS. Some agencies even have standing meetings with senior leadership every month just to get things moving through the HR pipeline.

Your move: Build that relationship with HR early. Check in regularly (but not annoyingly) on status. If your agency has chronic delays, factor that into your timeline planning. And yes, keep working your networks during the wait - good candidates don't pause their job searches for federal bureaucracy.

Weeks 5-6: HR Does Their Thing

HR reviews minimum qualifications and weeds out the obviously unqualified. This is where the computer screening and keyword matching happens. Hope you wrote your specialized experience language well, because candidates who didn't mirror your exact phrases just got filtered out.

Weeks 7-8: The Black Box

Ranking and referral lists are generated. This is largely out of your hands now. HR scores applications, applies veterans preference, and creates the certification lists. You're basically waiting for the phone to ring.

Weeks 9-12: The 30-Day Reality Crash

You get the certification of eligibles and now everything happens at once. Actually, you might get MULTIPLE certifications for the same position. For a GS-1811 Special Agent 09/11/12 position, you could get 6-9 separate cert lists: one for each grade level for outside candidates, one for each grade for veterans, one for each grade for merit/internal candidates. Some candidates appear on multiple lists depending on how they applied and what grades they'll accept.

Here's the hierarchy reality: You can choose which cert list to hire from. If you get both a Merit Promotion (MP) cert and a Delegated Examining Unit (DEU) cert, you can use either list to make your selection, or both. Merit Promotion certs are for current federal employees and select others. Delegated Examining Unit certs are for the general public - anyone can apply. You can elect not to use the DEU list entirely - even if veterans are at the top of the DEU cert - and hire off the Merit Promotion cert without violating veterans' preference law. However, many hiring managers don't realize they have this flexibility and feel obligated to consider every cert in a specific order.

Note: Some agencies have additional preference systems that create even more cert lists. For example, certain Department of Interior agencies deal with Indian Preference lists that can trump other hiring preferences. Check with your HR specialist about agency-specific hiring authorities that might apply to your position.

Does it sound confusing? Clear as mud?

You're right. It absolutely is sometimes, even for me who was the hiring manager for a dozen years.

HR is your friend here. Hopefully you established that relationship with them before all this.

You have 30 days from when the FIRST cert hits your inbox (whether HR tells you or not) to work through ALL of them:

  • Week 9: Sort through multiple cert lists, figure out who's on what and why, decide which certs you want to use, finalize interview questions, assemble your panel, and coordinate everyone's schedules (good luck with that)
  • Week 10: Call candidates (some may be on multiple lists), schedule interviews, and conduct all interviews while your panel members mysteriously become unavailable
  • Week 11: Score interviews, call references, make decisions, figure out which cert list your preferred candidate came from, and argue with your panel about who was actually the best candidate
  • Week 12: Select primary and backup candidates, mark everyone else as "not selected" on ALL cert lists, and return all certifications to HR before your 30 days expire

⚠️ The 30-Day Reality Check

Pro tip: This timeline assumes everything goes perfectly. It won't. Start preparing your interview questions and panel before you even get the cert list. Time starts ticking the moment it hits your inbox, and it doesn't stop for holidays, sick leave, or the fact that your best panel member is traveling that week.

That whole process doesn't realistically give you a lot of time, so you need to get on it ASAP. Track which candidates came from which cert lists for your selection documentation - you'll need this detail later.

Extension Lifeline: Sometimes life happens. HR usually sends the cert to both you AND your boss, but sometimes your boss misses it and you're on annual leave. You come back to find you have 9 days left on the whole thing. You can ask for an extension if you run into trouble - it's usually automatic, but use this sparingly or you risk looking like you can't manage timelines.

Weeks 13-14: The Offer

Tentative job offer made. Your selectee gets the good news, but it's conditional on background checks, medical exams, and whatever other hoops your agency requires. Don't celebrate yet.

Weeks 15 - whenever: The Background Check Black Hole

Security/Suitability clearance process begins. This is where time becomes meaningless. Could be 3 months, could be 18 months. Your perfect candidate might take another job while waiting. You might forget why you hired them by the time they actually start. Stay in touch or lose them to the void.

Pro Tip: Plan Backwards

Work backwards from when you need the person to start. Keep HR and candidates informed throughout the process. And remember: HR works for you, but you have to drive the process.

⚠️ The Background Check Black Hole

Stay in touch with your selectee during the clearance process. While DCSA has made progress reducing the massive backlog from 2019, processing times remain lengthy. As of early 2025, the average end-to-end processing time for background investigations is 243 days (about 8 months), though this varies significantly by clearance level. For security clearances specifically, Top Secret investigations averaged 249 days and Secret investigations averaged 138 days in late 2024. The reality is that many people still can't wait that long for employment to begin.

They get a tentative offer pending background after selection. Then we wait for the background which can honestly take 6 months to a year. Then after that year when we can offer a start date... people are already in the wind. The reality is, many people can't wait that long.

You would be shocked at how many times we finally got clearance and called with a start date, only to hear they'd moved on long ago. Then yes... we started all over.

A quick monthly "how are things going" call can keep your preferred candidate engaged.

🎤 The Selection Process

Interviews That Reveal the Truth

Ditch the softball questions. Use behavior-based interview questions that reveal how people actually perform under pressure.

Situational Questions

  • "Tell me about a time you had to deliver bad news to a stakeholder."
  • "Give an example of a project that went off-track. How did you respond?"

Leadership Assessment

  • "Describe a time when you had to influence someone without authority."
  • "Tell us about a time you had to manage competing priorities."

Judgment Calls

  • "Walk us through a difficult decision you had to make with incomplete information."
  • "Tell us about a time you disagreed with your supervisor."

Team Dynamics

  • "Describe a time you had to work with a difficult colleague."
  • "Tell us about a time you had to deliver feedback to a peer."

✅ Interview Best Practices

  • Use structured scoring rubrics; don't wing it
  • Panel interviews are standard (3-5 members, scripted questions)
  • Evaluate on leadership readiness, judgment, communication clarity
  • Involve others if possible, but keep the panel tight and trained

What You're Really Looking For

Straight Shooters vs. BS Artists

Remember, it may not be that they know EXACTLY the answer, but you are looking for demeanor, thinking under pressure, and the ability to articulate as much as the perfect answer. If they are standing before you, a customer can they talk?

Watch for these telltale signs:

  • The straight shooter: "I don't know that exactly, but I will find out for sure and get back to you."
  • The BS artist: Some long, meandering "spray and pray" answer hoping something sticks.

The truth: I'd much rather have a straight shooter than someone trying to BS their way through my questions. We all know they don't know the answer, but we have to sit through their floundering. The person who can admit what they don't know and explain how they'd find out? That's someone I can work with.

The Hidden Gem Philosophy

Sometimes even though folks don't have a stellar resume, doesn't mean they may not be your guy.

If time allowed, I tried to interview as many folks as I could for two reasons:

A. You never know who's in this stack. It could be your next all-star. That resume that looks average on paper might belong to someone with incredible potential, unique perspectives, or drive that doesn't translate well to federal resume format.

B. It gives people a chance to understand the interview process. If it's their first time, realize they will be nervous, but they might surprise you with their authentic responses. If it's their fourth time applying, they may really be polished now, but not interviewing them means they'll never get that chance to demonstrate their growth.

The flip side: Some people who according to their resume should be the ones on the panel conducting the interviews do horribly, and you can very much tell they fluffed up their resume like a huge pillow. They talk a great game on paper but can't back it up when pressed for specifics.

The bottom line: Don't put all your eggs in that resume basket. Some of the best hires I've made didn't have the strongest resumes but showed exceptional character, judgment, and potential during interviews.

Documentation and the "Wired" Position Reality

✅ Good Documentation ❌ Avoid Vague Language
  • "Selected due to direct experience managing team operations using X system and clear alignment with mission needs."
  • "Candidate demonstrated superior problem-solving abilities and concrete examples of leadership under pressure."
  • "Seemed like a good fit."
  • "Had a good feeling about them."
  • "Really liked their energy."
  • This won't hold up in litigation.

Be Careful About "Wiring" Positions

Even though you might feel you have your ideal candidate in mind, preselection violates federal regulations. Prohibited Personnel Practice #6 prohibits agencies from granting "any preference or advantage not authorized by law, rule, or regulation to any employee or applicant for employment (including defining the scope or manner of competition or the requirements for any position) for the purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any particular person for employment."

Knowing who you might like to select is fine. Cooking the process to make certain it happens is illegal. More practically, you could be overlooking your grail candidate who's sitting right there in the applicant stack.

Real world example: I was hiring for a support position, and although the position wasn't "pre-selected," I had thoughts on who would be a good candidate, and it would be tough to beat them. Guess what... we got an applicant that was honestly what I call a "ringer." That person just blew the panel away. The absolute ideal candidate, and yes, I hired them, because they were absolutely the best for that job.

The lesson: Even when you think you know who should get the job, conduct a thorough, fair process. The best candidate might be someone you never expected, and they deserve the chance to compete on merit. Don't let your assumptions blind you to better options.

Reference Checks: Do Them Right

Never skip this step.

Always call references, not just the ones they listed. Use backdoor checks if you know former supervisors.

Questions That Matter:

  • "Would you hire them again?"
  • "What kind of supervision did they require?"
  • "What should we be aware of when bringing them onboard?"
  • "What were their blind spots?"
  • "How did they handle conflict or pressure?"

Document the answers. HR won't do this for you, and you'll need it if questions arise later.

🚀 Onboarding: The Real First Impression

Congratulations, you made the hire. Now don't fumble the handoff. The offer is made, background check is underway, but you're not done.

Set the Tone Early

Your goal: They should walk in feeling like part of the team, not like a lost contractor trying to figure out where the bathroom is.

Personal Welcome

Call them personally to welcome them to the team. Don't delegate this to HR.

Assign a Buddy

Pair them with a peer sponsor who can answer the informal questions and help with culture adjustment.

Pre-boarding Prep

Give them access to systems, rosters, and mission documents early so they can hit the ground running.

Clear Expectations

Clarify performance expectations in week one. No surprises, no guessing games.

⚠️ Don't Wait for HR

HR will handle the administrative onboarding, but the cultural and mission onboarding is your job. Don't assume someone else will make your new hire feel welcome and prepared.

Remember: You hired them because they were already showing leadership potential. Don't smother that spark. Set tone and trust on day one.

✅ The Bottom Line

Federal hiring doesn't have to be a bureaucratic nightmare. When you understand the system and drive the process strategically, you can hire excellent people who actually want to work for you.

The difference between supervisors who build strong teams and those who struggle with vacancies often comes down to how seriously they take the hiring process. Every step matters from writing the position description to that first-week check-in.

You're not just filling a slot. You're building a team. You're shaping culture. You're bringing in someone who could be with your organization for decades.

Take the time to do it right. Your future self and your team will thank you.

Ready to build your team?

Great hiring leads to great management. Your next hire could be the person who transforms your organization.

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