Student Trainee (Human Resources/Office Automation) Job in Sacramento, CA

Vacancy No. 25-CAE-12771970-PP Department Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Office of the U.S. Attorneys
Salary $19.15 to $19.15 Grade 4 to 4
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Part-time
Open Date 7/25/2025 Close Date 8/15/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Sacramento, CA


Summary

For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao

As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

"All Enrolled Students who are United States Citizens/Nationals"

Duties

If selected, you will serve as a Human Resources student trainee performing a-variety of support and developmental assignments under the direct supervision of the Human Resources Manager in the United States Attorney's Office (USAO), Eastern District of California (EDCA). You will receive formal and/or on-the-job training as needed.

Duties include, but are not limited to:
- Assists senior Human Resources Specialists with staffing and recruitment functions.
- Assists in the personnel security process.
- Performs routine benefits processing for new and separating employees.
- Responds to routine inquiries from employees regarding human resources programs and policies.
- Assists employees in accessing and using automated human resources processing functions.
- Performs special projects and office support assignments as directed.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen or National.
  • Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation
  • You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
  • You must meet half-time student enrollment requirements.
  • You must submit a transcript or proof of enrollment with your application.
  • You must be at least 16 years of age or older.
  • You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
  • If selected, you may be required to serve a trial period.

Qualifications

To be eligible for this internship ALL of the following requirements must be met:
  • Student Status: Definition of a student - applicant must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate/professional school, or certificate program equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study (go to http://www.ed.gov/accreditation to verify accreditation status) pursuant to 5 CFR 362. You must be considered in good academic standings by the school. Individuals must be taking at least a half-time academic, vocational, or technical course load leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate. "Half-time" is defined by the school in which the student is enrolled.
  • Grade Point Average: You must have at least a 2.5 GPA.
  • Citizenship: Student Interns must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States. (Currently, natives of American Samoa, Swains Island and certain inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are the only groups that owe permanent allegiance to the United States.)Background Investigation: You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
  • Pathways Participant Agreement: All interns are required to sign the Participant Agreement.
  • Qualification requirements as outlined below.
Note: In order to be considered "qualified" for this position, your specialized experience must be described in your resume. Please be sure that your resume clearly states any and all of the specialized experience that you may have. If your specialized experience is not clearly detailed in your resume, you will not be considered for this position.

GS-4: To be eligible at the GS-4 level, you must have: at least one (1) year of general experience; or two (2) years of education above the high school level; or a combination of both general experience and education as explained below. One year of full-time academic
study is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business, secretarial, or technical school.

General Experience is defined as progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work that indicates the ability to perform the duties of a student trainee. Examples of general experience include: data entry; filing material in alphabetical, numerical or chronological
order; operating a copying machine; collating and stapling materials; and producing a variety of written documents utilizing varied and advanced word processing software functions.

Combining Education and Experience: Successfully completed education above the high school level and general experience may be combined to meet the qualification requirements at the GS-04 grade level. To determine if you qualify based on a combination of education and experience, first determine your education as a percentage (e.g., 30 semester hours divided by 60 equals 50%); then determine your experience as a percentage (e.g., 6 months general experience divided by 12 equals 50%); finally, add the two percentages and if the total equals 100% or more, you qualify (e.g., 50% + 50% = 100%)

To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required.)

Education

All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov.

Foreign Education Note: You may use foreign education to meet qualification requirements if you send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency in with your transcript. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized.

If selected, you will be eligible for annual and sick leave, and after one year of continuous service, you will be eligible to enroll in the health benefits program at full cost.

Selectees for this position are ineligible for life insurance, retirement (including the Thrift Savings Plan), long term care insurance, and within grade increases.

Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the documentation as specified in the "Required Documents" section of this vacancy announcement.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

EEO Statement: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.

Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the Occupational Questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If it is determined you meet minimum qualification requirements you may be referred to the selecting official or if Veterans' Preference must to be adjudicated, your application will be placed in one of three grouping categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified, or Qualified. Within each of these groupings, applicants eligible for Veterans' Preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles. All CP/CPS preference eligibles that meet minimum qualification and eligibility requirements will be included in the "Best Qualified" grouping.

You will be rated on the following Competencies:
Accountability, Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Personnel and Human Resources, Reading Comprehension, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork

Go to OPM Website for the definition of each competency.

The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

  • Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
  • Required: Your resume showing relevant experience and dates (for full consideration you must include month/day/year) of employment and work schedule for each (e.g., part-time XX hours per week or full-time). Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). 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. (cover letter optional)
  • Required: Current Unofficial transcript and proof of current enrollment, e.g., recent letter from the registrar's office. (Note: If you are selected for this position, an official transcript will be required prior to your first day.)
  • Required, if applicable: Veterans' Preference documentation. (See also required Veterans' Preference Documentation below.) Please note, if you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the required documentation as specified below.
Required Veterans' Preference Documentation:
-In order to verify your Veterans' Preference entitlement, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); or if you are a current Active Duty member you must submit a certification on appropriate military branch letterhead that indicates: 1) your service dates, 2) expected discharge or release date from active duty with a release/discharge date no later than 120 days from the closing date of this announcement, and 3) the character of service (e.g., Honorable); In addition, if you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or widow/widower if a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," dated October 2013 and the required documentation identified on the reverse side of the SF-15 to support your preference claim.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/15/2025 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.)
3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, http://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12771970

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online, contact Katie Montoya at (916) 554-2700 or Katie.Montoya@usdoj.gov as soon as possible to arrange an alternative application process.

Agency contact information

Katie Montoya
Address
Eastern District of California
501 I Street, 10th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
US

Next steps

We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit check, and a drug test by urinalysis. We expect to make a final job offer within 80 days after the closing date of the announcement.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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