Friday, January 23, 2009

KSA Writing Fundamentals

By Chucky Bronson

KSA's stand for Knowledge, Skills and abilities and are narrative essays that are requested, along government resumes, for Federal job applications. KSA's are mandatory and essential being, in some cases, more determinant than a resume to land you a job.

Here is what KSA means: Knowledge refers to an organized body of information usually of a factual or procedural nature. Skills refer to the mental, manual or verbal manipulation of data, things or people. Abilities refer to the ability to perform a mental or physical activity at the present time.

KSA's feature 3 to 5 questions, each question being answered with an essay written in a narrative style. The purpose of KSA answers is to demonstrate that you are a good candidate for the opening. You can use examples found in your past experience, education, trainings, awards and activities as long as they are relevant to the question and job.

KSA's are graded from 1 to 10. Your total score must be above the job announcement's minimum educational and experience requirements (selective factors) to be eligible for a Federal position. However, you can get a higher grade if you meet or exceed quality ranking factors, which will demonstrate that you are a great match for the job.

Regarding the format, each KSA essay should not be longer than one page and should list in order the job title, the announcement number, your name, the KSA number and then the essay that answers one KSA point.

Because KSA's are so essential, you must ensure you have flawless KSA answers. Before you get started, take the time to brainstorm to find great examples from your past experience and education that could be used to illustrate your answers.

Also your writing should be clear, concise, very detailed and written in a pro-active style to make it easy for the HR manager to see you are qualified for the job. Also make sure grammar and spelling are correct to sound professional. Once you're done with your first draft, wait for a while and read it again to see how you can improve it. Also ask a relative or a friend to read your answers; they might catch mistakes that you missed.

Writing KSA answers requires being a good writer. If you're not sure you can prepare flawless KSA answers, don't risk jeopardizing your career. It is recommended to get professional KSA writers to prepare your KSA's, as not only they have years of experience writing top-scoring KSA answers but they are also aware of the latest Federal government hiring guidelines. - 16755

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