Monday, January 25, 2010

Top Five Questions about KSA Writing

When you are attempting to obtain Government employment, more time than not you will be required to complete KSAs and turn them in with your Government resume. KSAs are a very important piece of the Government job puzzle as they will be looked at by reviewers in order to determine who the best candidates for a specific job posting are and this will determine who gets an interview and who gets left out in the cold.

While there are many questions that arise about KSA writing there are five that usually crop up more often than not. The top five KSA writing questions are:

1. What are KSAs: KSAs stand for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities and are a sort of sub-application that needs to be completed in order to obtain Government work. The KSAs will delve into your qualifications for a specific job posting by having you answer questions about yourself and your background.

2. What Questions are asked on the KSAs: The questions you will have to answer for the KSAs all depend on the job in which you are applying for. Each job posting will carry a different set of KSA questions that will be relevant to that specific job posting.

3. How Long Should Each Answer be: Unless it is stated, there is no minimum or maximum that is required, but a good rule of thumb is making sure that every answer is between half of a page to a full page in length. But remember, KSAs are an intricate part of obtaining Government work and the answers you give must be enough to set you apart from the other applicants which can reach the hundreds depending on the job posing. Only put in the answer what is important and avoid adding filler or fluff to make the answer longer.

4. What Should be Included in a KSA Answer: Again this depends on the job posting. Any answer you give needs to show relevancy towards the job in which you are trying to obtain. Your answers need to be clear and concise and you should avoid such costly mistakes as acronyms and slang. Be sure that the answers read intelligently, but stay away from using words and phrases that are too big as this will not fit properly into the answers. The last thing you want with you KSAs is to come off sounding too much like a know it all.

5. Where can Help be Found: Because KSAs are so important you absolutely have to be sure that your answers are top drawer. If you do not feel comfortable answering some of the questions it may be in your best interest to employ the use of a KSA writing service. These professionals will have had many years of experience and will know what the KSA reviewers are looking for.

When it comes to obtaining Government work you will have an abundance of competition. Government jobs are highly sought after and because of that many times you will have hundreds of applicant competing for the same posting. To ensure that you stand out from the large crowd you have to be sure that your Government resume is sparking and that your KSAs are as well.

No comments: