Federal Hiring & Pay Guides
Every pay figure and hiring rule on this site traces to an official source, with the date we last verified it.
Veteran hiring authorities
What Is a Protected Veteran? The Four Categories, From the Statute
The four VEVRAA protected veteran categories quoted from 38 U.S.C. §§ 4211 and 4212 — and why the 10% disability threshold nearly every ranking page cites belongs to a different paragraph of the statute.
Read guideCampaign Badge Veteran: The War Periods and Operations That Qualify
The active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran category, with the statutory war periods and their exact dates — and why the test is that a badge was authorized, not that you received one.
Read guideCompetitive vs Excepted Service: What Actually Differs
The difference between competitive and excepted service, from 5 U.S.C. § 2102 and 5 CFR part 302 — including why the common claim that veterans’ preference does not apply to excepted service is wrong.
Read guideWhat Is a Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)?
VRA is an excepted appointment made without competition to a position otherwise in the competitive service, up to GS-11 or equivalent, converting to career after two years — quoted from 5 CFR part 307.
Read guideUSAJOBS Application Status Meanings: Referred, Not Referred, Not Retained, Not Indicated
What each USAJOBS status actually means — and why no official glossary exists for most of them. USAJOBS defines only five job statuses; every application status is set by the hiring agency.
Read guideTentative vs Final Job Offer: TJO, FJO and EOD in Federal Hiring
FJO is the final job offer, TJO the tentative one, EOD your start date. What each is contingent on, what can still go wrong, and why no governmentwide timeline exists.
Read guideDirect Hire Authority: What It Means for a Veteran Applicant
Direct hire authority lets an agency skip rating, ranking and veterans’ preference. OPM’s own guidance says preference does not apply — which makes your resume the only gate.
Read guideMilitary Spouse Federal Hiring: The Appointing Authority vs MSP
The 5 CFR 315.612 appointing authority and DoD’s military spouse preference are two different mechanisms. One appoints you noncompetitively; the other blocks a competitive selection.
Read guideVeterans’ Preference in a Federal RIF Changed on 2 September 2026
OPM’s final rule rewrote the retention order. Veterans’ preference is no longer a tier above length of service — it is 3 or 5 points added to a performance score. What that means arithmetically.
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Federal resume writing
Federal qualifications
Security clearance
Interim Security Clearance: What It Is, and the One-Year Limit
An interim clearance is now called temporary eligibility. It runs up to one year, not 180 days — and the 180-day figure everyone cites comes from a different section of the executive order.
Read guideHow to List a Security Clearance on a Resume (Without Overstating It)
What you may say about your clearance, what your NDA actually restricts, and why “active TS/SCI” is usually the wrong phrase once you have separated.
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