Careers at NIH: Navigating USAJobs as an Academic Scientist is designed as a web-based toolkit addressing the need to acquire and retain top talent for the federal workforce. It is intended to assist applicants translate academic achievements into outcomes measured by USAJobs and provide working knowledge of key words and phrases within federal job announcements. The goal of this toolkit is to help candidates develop more competitive USAJobs application packages, which in turn will improve the ability of qualified applicants to be selected for Ph.D.-level, STEM positions that match their qualifications, competencies, and experiences.
The toolkit is comprised of three components:
The Common Questions & Answers portion provides common scientific questions found within USAJobs applications and examples of potential answers to help guide applicants in showcasing their current experiences and talents when applying to federal jobs. It also provides examples at the Grad Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Faculty level responses and translates those qualifications and experiences related to the job’s federal grade level (GS12-15). They are grouped into similar topic areas for ease of use: Scientific Expertise, Scientific Merit, Scientific Trends, Forward Thinking, and Identifying Gaps in Scientific Literature.
The Glossary is designed to assist in provide academic-friendly definitions to common key terms found within federal job applications. These terms are commonly found when applying to Ph.D. jobs within NIH. These definitions will assist applicants in understanding the types of jobs, requirements of the job, and pertinent details they are applying for. The intent is to increase the understanding of available jobs PhDs are eligible to apply to. There is also additional glossary resources provided on USAJOBs, NIH, and NARA.