OPM wants “verve” in vacancy announcements

Federal job announcements need some sprucing, an Office of Personnel Management official said in a recent letter to the government's human resources leaders. Richard Whitford, head of OPM's Employment Service, urged vacancy announcement writers to stop producing long, bureaucratic job postings and replace them with straightforward, plain English descriptions that entice people to work for federal agencies. "Remember that the announcement represents your agency-long, unedited documents that are full of bureaucratic terms and phrases don't reflect well," Whitford said in his July letter. "Try putting some excitement in recruitment!" Federal vacancy announcements are often filled with terms and phrases that only a current federal employee, or someone who knows a current federal employee, would be able to decipher. For example, the phrase "One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level" is meaningless to someone who isn't familiar with the federal job classification system. Over the past year, there has been a growing chorus of calls for agencies to make their vacancy announcements easier for outsiders to understand. Whitford's tips include:

• Highlight the value of the job. Tell readers what makes the job meaningful and how it affects Americans.
• Use the second person "you," as in "Provide a copy of your college transcript when applying."
• Format the announcement simply. Use bullets and white space.
• Tell candidates how to find out more information.

Federal managers who have rewritten their vacancy announcements report that they get more outside applicants for their job openings. Kerry Weems, deputy assistant secretary for budget at Health and Human Services, increased the number of job applicants for budget analyst positions fivefold by rewriting announcements and posting them in places familiar to nonfederal workers. While agencies have some latitude in writing vacancy announcements, federal regulations require some elements to be included. For example, announcements must include an explanation of veterans preference and inform candidates that agencies will provide reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities. Whitford's push for clearer vacancy announcements is an initial step in OPM's push to improve federal recruiting. OPM has also put together a team to improve USAJobs, the government's central job vacancy Web site, and has solicited ideas from private sector firms on how to make the site better.