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Monday, January 26, 2009

Federal Government KSA Writing 101

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By Chucky Bronson

Also known as Knowledge, Skills and abilities, KSA's are narrative statements that must accompany your Federal resume when applying to government jobs. A determinant factor in the Federal hiring process, they are not optional and shouldn't be underestimated as they sometime have more influence than your resume as to getting you the job.

A Knowledge is a factual or procedural data applied to the job. A Skill is a competence in managing data, things or people. An Ability is a competence in performing a mental or physical action.

KSA must usually answer 3 to 5 questions through short essays written in the first person. KSA answers aim at showcasing what a good fit you would be for the job. You can use elements from your work experience, education, trainings, awards, and volunteer activities as long as they are relevant to the question.

KSA's are graded from 1 to 10. Your total score must be above the job announcement's minimum educational and experience requirements (selective factors) to be eligible for a Federal position. However, you can get a higher grade if you meet or exceed quality ranking factors, which will demonstrate that you are a great match for the job.

As for the format, the essays should one page long and feature the job title, the announcement number, your name, the KSA number, followed by the essay answering one KSA question.

Because KSA's are so essential, you must ensure you have flawless KSA answers. Before you get started, take the time to brainstorm to find great examples from your past experience and education that could be used to illustrate your answers.

Also your writing should be clear, concise, very detailed and written in a pro-active style to make it easy for the HR manager to see you are qualified for the job. Also make sure grammar and spelling are correct to sound professional. Once you're done with your first draft, wait for a while and read it again to see how you can improve it. Also ask a relative or a friend to read your answers; they might catch mistakes that you missed.

One thing that you should know is that you need to be a good writer if you're considering preparing your KSA's yourself. If it's not the case, do not hesitate hiring professional KSA writers who, for an affordable price, can prepare top-scoring KSA answers for you and make your application stand out from the crowd.

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