USGS Student Application Tips

Applying for a job is similar to applying for college. It can be scary and exciting. The application process is new and you learn as you go. The USGS Student Application Tips are designed to make the student application process less confusing.

Locate student vacancies which interest you and which fit your geographic needs and work schedule availability.

• Remember that if you are only interested in the SCEP program, you need to select job titles which begin with "Student Trainee." If you are interested in the STEP program, you can select any other job titles. If you are interested in both the STEP and SCEP programs, select any titles.
• Keep in mind that USGS does not typically pay relocation expenses for students, so you will want to select geographic locations which are convenient to your home or school, or for which you are willing to pay your own relocation expenses.

Understand the vacancy announcement(s) and determine which ones you wish to apply for.

• Thoroughly read each announcement. Check to see if there are any special qualifications needed. For example, if the announcement indicates that you must be a certified scuba diver and you do not hold a current certification, you are not eligible and you will receive notification that you were not qualified for the position.
• After reading through the announcement(s), you may determine that one or more really don't interest you. Do not submit your resume to jobs that you feel would not be a good match for you. Once you have decided which vacancies interest you, click on the "Create/Retrieve Resume" button to submit your online resume.

Complete the online resume.

• Please complete every information block completely and thoroughly. Be concise, but be complete. Describe in detail the work and/or educational experiences you have had.
  • In order to create a resume or update a current resume online, you must first select a vacancy for which you would like to apply.
  • A major benefit of our site is that once you have submitted a resume, you can enter your social security number and date of birth to retrieve your most currently saved resume from the system. You can then edit it and apply for additional vacancies.
• Some of our vacancies require very specific knowledges, skills, abilities or other characteristics (KASOC's). Please see How to Prepare a Narrative Statement of KASOC's for further information.

• If you need assistance in determining whether or not you may claim veteran's preference, please see this information on Veteran's Preference.

Await further notification

• Once the closing date has passed, all online resumes will be reviewed. All resumes that meet the qualifications of the position will be forwarded to the selecting official for review. The selecting official may or may not schedule interviews to determine who will be selected for the position. Once the selecting official has made a selection, all applicants will receive notification of their selection or non-selection. This process can take anywhere from a few days to many weeks depending on the current workload and availability of the selecting official and applicants for interviews, should the selecting official choose to conduct an interview.