The frequently asked questions below are intended to assist agencies and Human Resources (HR) users in gaining a better understanding of the Structured Resume Review functionality in the USA Staffing system (USAS).
If you have additional questions that are not addressed, please contact your USAS Account Manager.
1. For highly specialized or technical jobs that have a Basic Education Requirement (BER), the HR Specialist would need to make BER determination along with eligibility to apply prior to sending resumes for the Structured Resume Review?
Yes. The HR Specialist generally would make BER/Individual Occupational Requirement determination along with eligibility (and Veterans Preference, if applicable) prior to the Structured Resume Review. This helps to ensure the SMEs are only using their time to review resumes of applicants who are eligible to be considered.
Furthermore, SMEs can only see applicant documents designated as resumes and only respond to the specific questions identified in the assessment.
2. To verify eligibility prior to sending the Structured Resume Review, it is assumed that an applicant list will be created separately?
That tends to be the quickest way, but a user can also do this from the applicant overview page, by applicant.
3. If also using a USA Hire assessment, how does HR know it's time to send the Structured Resume Review out?
The system is flexible. The only requirement is there is at least one applicant in PA status AND the Hurdle with the SME Evaluation assessment is active. It will be an agency decision regarding the timing of when they want to release the SME Review. We recommend proceeding with caution if the JOA is still open as applicants may be submitting new resumes. Even if the USA Hire assessment is completed and the applicant is out of PA, you will want to wait until the announcement close date to ensure you're allowing for the most recent application/resume. The queue of applicants to be reviewed updates as other applicants reach the appropriate status to be included in the Structured Resume Review. The Review remains assigned to the SMEs until HR determines it is complete, after they have accepted all evaluations for all applicants eligible for this assessment. If using a Hurdle (i.e., cut point based on a business necessity rationale), it is imperative that all applicants have completed the previous assessment. You can check this by using assessment filters to see who completed the first hurdle and who did not (i.e., check for any still in pending status).