The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday announced it has launched a new tool that will enable federal agencies to find top candidates for the most commonly hired positions, including those in information technology.
In a memo to agency leaders, OPM Director John Berry said the agency currently has shared registers up for 12 of the 14 top hiring areas, including financial management, contracting, human resources, IT, office support and security. Once an agency identifies a critical hiring need, its HR director submits a request to OPM, upon which OPM will filter through the 100,000-plus certified applicants for the appropriate location and grade, apply veterans preference and determine who is in the highest category. This takes OPM only two to three business days and should save agencies about three weeks in the hiring process, he said.
"This is a great opportunity for you to address some of your staffing challenges," Berry wrote. "There are over 100,000 great applicants on these registers, and I urge you to request certificates as soon as possible."
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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