The Best Sites to Download Sample KSAs

There are a lot of great aspects about government jobs—which is probably why there’s such stiff competition for them—but one thing you may not enjoy is the application process. In addition to sweating over the usual resume and cover letter, you’ll probably have to tackle at least one KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities). It’s kind of the governmental equivalent of the essay portion of the SATs. If you’re looking into a federal job for the first time, you may wonder whether KSAs are required—or whether they apply to you. The answer is yes. They’re not optional, at least not if you want to land the job.

But unlike the SAT, help is available with writing your KSA response. There are KSA writing services that will utilize the information in your resume, together with expert knowledge of the government hiring process, to craft KSA answers for you. These services can be fairly expensive, however. Another option is to download a sample KSA response that has previously been written for someone else applying for a similar government job. KSA samples are much more affordable than custom written KSA answers yet contain the same style of professional writing and formatting. Of course you will need to tailor the sample KSA to your particular background, but doing this is much easier than starting your writing from scratch.

Having written dozens of KSAs over my government career, I have utilized sample KSAs many times and have found that the best ones are available from the following sources:

KSA Doctor. Site has dozens of sample KSAs from all position types and levels. The sample KSAs were professionally written for previous clients, and are now made available to as samples. The quality is high and they can be immediately downloaded for a small fee.

ResumeEdge. Great samples give an excellent idea of the type of detail to provide when answering KSA questions.

Aspirations. Another excellent source of KSA samples that are expertly written and formatted.

CDC website. Several government website include helpful tips for writing KSA responses. The Centers for Disease Control website is among the best. http://www.cdc.gov/hrmo/ksahowto.htm

Internet search. You can find many KSA samples by simply doing a Google search for “KSA samples”.


Using KSA samples is a great way to obtain high quality KSA responses without spending lots of money. Just be sure to revise them by including details from your own education, training, and experience. Remember, KSAs separate those who are qualified for the job from those who are best qualified. So there’s a lot of weight given to how you answer these questions. Be sure to provide specific examples of how you meet the KSA being asked for. And of course be very meticulous with your spelling, grammar, and editing.