Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible for an appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be a recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, or who will complete by June 30, 2025, an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution such as an accredited technical or vocational school; a 2-year or 4-year college or university; a graduate or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school); or a post-secondary home school curriculum. Note: Certificate program is defined as post-secondary education in a qualifying educational institution equal to at least one academic year of full-time study that's part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.
- Veterans who were precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their 2-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty; however, eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed 6 years from the date on which the degree or certificate was obtained. The date of release or discharge from active duty should be later than the date the degree or certificate was obtained.
Qualification Requirements
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected
To qualify for this position, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement (or by June 30, 2025, if applicable) as designated for the specified grade level.
BASIC REQUIREMENT (GS-07; GS-09): In accordance with OPM's Individual Occupational Requirements for the GS-0511 series, applicants must meet the following basic requirement:
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Degree (bachelor's or higher): auditing; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, public administration or accounting.
-OR-
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Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in Performance Auditing, or an equivalent combination of performance auditing experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional auditing knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following:
- A certificate as a Certified Internal Auditor or a Certified Public Accountant, obtained through written examination; -OR-
- Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in auditing or accounting, e.g., 15 semester hours.
-AND-
EXPERIENCE (GS-07): A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes experience which demonstrates a basic knowledge of accounting and auditing principles, concepts, and techniques; and the ability to work as part of a team involved in audit work.
-OR-
EDUCATION (GS-07): Successful completion of at least one (1) year of graduate-level education in a related field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
-OR- A bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement in a related field.
Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.
- Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses.
- Grade-point average - Applicants must have a grade-point average of: 2.95 rounded to 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final two years of the curriculum; OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
- Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Find approved national scholastic honor societies here.
You must include transcripts and/or verification of your class standing.
-OR- Successful completion of a
combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of graduate credit hours earned and divide by the number of semester hours or quarter hours equivalent to one full year of graduate level study at the academic institution (i.e. 18 semester hours; 27 quarter hours); Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the Percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
EXPERIENCE (GS-09): Aqualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes experience verifying reports against source accounts and records, reconciling accounts, and verifying the detail of recorded transactions; preparing routine audit work papers; and researching and applying laws, regulations, guidelines, and procedures to assist with audit assignments.
EDUCATION (GS-09): A master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position; or two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.
-OR- Successful completion of a
combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of graduate credit hours earned in excess of the number of semester hours or quarter hours equivalent to one full year of study at the academic institution (i.e. 18 semester hours; 27 quarter hours) and divide by that same value. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the Percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined above by the closing date of the announcement (or by June 30, 2025). Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: Auditing Series 0511
Volunteer Experience: "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.