Definition and how you can use your KSAs:
KSAs are totally unique to the Federal application process. While they take some getting used to for the applicant from private industry, once you get the hang of them, they provide an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate what you bring to the advertised position.
What is a KSA?
"KSA" stands for "Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities." The KSAs are essentially essays accompanying your Federal Resume that answer specific questions identified in the job announcement. While occasionally the questions may be specific in nature ("Describe your knowledge about the laws relative to Federal procurements"), in most cases they are very open ended questions that allow you to describe some of the intangibles in your professional experience. Questions will often allow you the opportunity to demonstrate how you tackle complex projects and difficult human interaction issues on the job. Sometimes they are exceptionally general ("Ability to communicate effectively") and in many cases several of the KSAs will even appear to ask the same question in different ways. By the way, sometimes they are not even called "KSAs." You may see terms such as "Technical Qualification Factors," "Narrative Factors," "Quality Ranking Factors," or even "Supplemental Statements" – but regardless, if an essay is required, this is essentially a KSA!
How many KSAs do most job announcements require?
This can vary from none to as many as 9 or 10. This is why it is so important to read the job announcement carefully. In many cases, there will be 4 to 5 KSAs required as separate essays. Recently in many of the on-line applications, you will notice 20 or more questions, many of which are multiple-choice or even yes/no answers; but buried in the list may be 6 or 7 essays based on your answers to the short answer questions. Be careful. In some cases, there may even be a list of Core Competencies and you will be requested to write one two-page consolidated essay that addresses all of the competencies.
How long should each KSA be?
First of all, read the announcement carefully or log into the website to see if there are any stated character limits. It is common to see a limit anywhere from 2000 to 8000 characters (watch out – this almost always includes spaces!). This will give you some idea of how long the essay should be. A very common length is one page; however the length can be more or less depending on the seniority of the job and the number of essays. For a GS-7 position with six KSAs, ½ page each might be sufficient. For a GS-15 position with 4-5 KSAs, we would probably recommend 1 to 1 ¼ page in length. One more note here – the shorter essays can in fact be an even greater challenge than the longer ones in that you will need to provide a comprehensive answer in a very concise manner.
How do you write them?
What you want to avoid is presenting a "laundry list" of your qualifications! This is where The Resume Place can really assist you in developing an effective narrative that first of all meets the specific requirements of the posted job announcement but also presents and tailors your job experience to the KSA requested. In most cases, we write these using the "CCAR" format. That stands for "Context—Challenge—Actions—Results." We will work with you to identify one to two good examples of your professional experience that exemplify the knowledge, skills, or abilities identified for the essay and then build an essay around the specific challenge you faced, what you did to meet the challenge, and what resulted from it. The best narratives will not only convey your examples in the context of a theme, they will also present something about you as an employee and as a person. Our goal is for the Federal reviewer to leave the essay with the thought, "I would really like to meet this person!"
NEED HELP? What we need from you:
For the Resume Place to assist you in developing and preparing your KSAs we will first need to review your Federal Resume and the job announcement you want to apply for in order to determine the appropriate format and length for your response. Then, we will work with you to map out the examples you should use for each KSA. In most cases, the examples used in the KSAs should be briefly referenced in your Federal Resume so we will want to make sure that that reference is in place. Identifying all the examples to be used before the writing starts is a good idea as you will find that your best workplace examples frequently demonstrate more than one KSA, but ideally we will want to use it once and for the most pertinent KSA. We will then work with you to collect the details needed to tell "your story." We customize our methods to suit each client. Many clients are most comfortable to pull out this information during an interview; others prefer to develop an outline on their own or to use our on-line Resume Builder to develop each section of the CCAR format. In any case, your assigned writer will make sure that we have the basics of a good narrative and then iterate with you in building the final written KSA. You will receive a draft for each KSA and then work with the writer to adjust any details or wording to make sure it "feels right."
Your Final Product:
Your final product will be customized to the specific requirements of the posted job announcement. In most cases, we will provide you with a softcopy of the KSAs in Microsoft Word format, suitable for printing. We can also convert this to a text-only document that is best suited to cut & paste for an on-line application. Within two to three weeks of completing your project, the Resume Place will send you a formal package with a high quality paper version of your KSAs as well as a disk copy.
The Way We Work our KSA Writing Services:
We will ask you to provide us with your vacancy announcement, along with your existing Federal Resume or Private Sector Resume, SF 171, or OP612. You can also provide us with any other supporting documentation, such as Performance Appraisals, Letters of Commendation, etc. that might assist us in selecting good examples for your KSAs.
Our Experience:
The Resume Place can maximize your opportunity to present your experience and qualifications through the KSAs. Consider the KSAs as a "pre-interview" with the caveat that you are allowed time to think about the questions and your answer in advance. With Federal workplace experts on board at The Resume Place, we can guide you through the entire process, from evaluating your competitiveness for the position given your ability to provide pertinent answers, through selecting and developing appropriate examples for each KSA. After working with a professional writer from The Resume Place, many of our clients look at the final product with the realization that they do in fact have very impressive and pertinent qualifications but just needed assistance in translating them to what the announcement was looking for. (A common response we hear is, "I didn't realize I looked this good!")
Broad Estimate for Cost:
We give individual project estimates, but generally development of a standard one-page KSA takes approximately two hours, which includes 30 minutes for interview. Again, because each announcement is different and what each client brings to the table is different, your specific estimate could be slightly more or less, but two hours is a good average estimate per KSA.
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