What is Veteran's Preference?

This topic is something that always gets a little misunderstood by prospective federal job seekers, so naturally I wanted to talk about it for a few minutes while we’re on the subject of applications.  It might surprise some people who’ve never served in the military, but there’s a good chance your application might not even be considered because some prior service folks (with the exact same qualifications) applied for the job as well!

Veteran’s preference points were designed to give former military service members an extra boost when applying for federal jobs, and this is because of two major reasons.   First, it’s a nice way to say thanks to people who risk their behinds, or at least who are willing to risk their behinds, in defense of our country.  Second, these extra points acknowledge the fact that it’s very hard to focus on career development when you’re serving on active duty.  A lot of military personnel can’t work on graduate degrees or extra training programs simply because of their demanding work schedules or their deployment rotations.

But with that being said, veteran’s preference is hardly a golden ticket to landing a federal job.  When applicants’ resumes are screened after the vacancy announcement closes, they’re rated from 0-100 based on how qualified they are for the position.  At that point, veterans with more than 180 consecutive days of active duty service get an additional 5 points added onto their score, and veterans with a significant disability can rate 10 extra points.  (Attention Vets:  If you’re not sure what kind of preference you’d qualify for, make sure to contact your local VA office for assistance!)

Once the final qualification scores are compiled, the best qualified candidates are sent to the hiring manager so that he can review their resumes.  If you’ve ever submitted an application that said you scored 100 out of 100 but were not among the best qualified candidates, it’s probable that a group of veterans with similar qualifications applied for the same opening.  This is increasingly common lately due t the challenging economy, especially in areas with large military populations.

Besides alerting you to the existence of veterans’ preference points, I wanted to share a couple strategies you can use here.  You veterans out there, make sure you have all your paperwork in order and that your most recent DD214 form shows all periods of active duty service.  Also, if you have any form of disability, be sure that you’ve been properly rated as such through the VA.

Non-veterans, you guys need to keep hope alive.  It might be very challenging for you to get hired in a community with a large number of prior service military personnel, so stay open to relocation.  Serving a year or so in a less-desirable posting will at least help you get your foot in the door, and I’ll be sure to go over some more job hunting strategies in a future post!