Human Resources Specialist (Recent Graduate)

Summary

Interested in a career in Human Resources? Join the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, as a Human Resources Specialist (Recent Graduate). You do not need a degree in Human Resources to apply. If selected, you will receive formal training, mentoring, and on-the-job experience while building the knowledge and skills needed for a rewarding career in federal human resources.

Duties

As a GS-0201-07, your typical work assignments may include the following: Supporting the delivery of human resources services to employees, supervisors, HR staff, and program offices. Researching HR questions, gathering information, and assisting with recommendations consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and policies. Preparing and updating HR documents related to personnel actions, organizational changes, policy updates, and workforce activities. Collecting, verifying, entering, and maintaining personnel information in automated HR systems. Running reports to support workforce planning, compliance, and operational decision-making. Responding to customer inquiries and coordinating HR actions with internal stakeholders. Using spreadsheets, collaboration tools, dashboards, automation tools, and approved AI-enabled tools, when authorized, to support research, drafting, reporting, data organization, and workflow improvements. As a GS-0201-09, your typical work assignment may include the following: Applying federal human resources principles and Merit System Principles to support employees, supervisors, and hiring managers. Collaborating with hiring managers and administrative staff to support recruitment and staffing activities. Preparing Requests for Personnel Action (SF-52s) and processing personnel actions. Assisting with recruitment, performance management, awards, and other HR programs. Participating in projects to improve HR processes and customer service. Preparing correspondence, memoranda, reports, and other HR documents. Maintaining personnel data using automated HR systems and spreadsheets. Responding to inquiries regarding HR policies, procedures, and personnel actions. Qualifications

To qualify for the position of Human Resources Specialist (Recent Graduate), GS-0201-7/9you must meet both the eligibility requirements for the Pathways Recent Graduate Program and the minimum qualifications for the grade level(s) for which you apply. Pathways Recent Graduate Eligibility. You must meet one of the following requirements: Have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctoral, vocational, or technical degree, certificate, or other qualifying postsecondary credential from an accredited educational institution. OR Be a preference-eligible veteran whose military service prevented you from applying during the standard eligibility period. In this case, eligibility may extend up to six years after completing the qualifying degree or certificate. You must submit a DD-214 documenting the qualifying period of military service. You do not need a degree in Human Resources to qualify for this position. We welcome applicants from many backgrounds! We encourage applicants from a wide variety of academic disciplines to apply, provided they meet the qualification requirements. Successful Human Resources Specialists come from many educational backgrounds, bringing diverse perspectives and experiences to the profession. Relevant experience may have been gained through: Coursework Internships Student employment Full-time or part-time work Military service Volunteer service Apprenticeships Research projects Leadership roles in student organizations Community involvement Other academic, professional, or life experiences that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to succeed If selected, you will receive formal training, structured on-the-job learning, mentoring from experienced HR professionals, and ongoing professional development to help you build a successful career in federal human resources. Strong candidates typically demonstrate: Strong written and verbal communication skills Sound judgment, integrity, and attention to detail Strong customer service and interpersonal skills Ability to learn new systems, technology, policies, and procedures Critical thinking and problem-solving skills Initiative, adaptability, and a commitment to public service Grade-specific requirements: Applicants must meet Minimum Qualifications for the grade level(s) for which they are applying. Applicants may qualify at the GS-07 level based on one of the following: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level that demonstrates experience performing administrative or human resources-related work, such as assisting with personnel actions, staffing activities, document preparation, records management, customer service, maintaining data, or performing similar support functions; OR Education: One full year of graduate education or Superior Academic Achievement: A bachelor's degree, AND meet one of the following: Grade point average of 3.0 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) for all undergraduate coursework or courses completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. Grade point average of 3.45 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. Class standing in the upper one-third of your graduating class, college, university, or major subdivision. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies; OR Combination: A combination of qualifying graduate education and specialized experience. Applicants may qualify at the GS-09 level based on one of the following: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level that demonstrates experience supporting recruitment, staffing, personnel administration, HR advisory services, organizational management, business operations, or related administrative work involving research, analysis, customer service, document preparation, or process improvement; OR Education: Two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree, or a master's, LL.B., or J.D; OR Combination: A combination of qualifying graduate education and specialized experience. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/30/2026. Your resume must clearly demonstrate how you meet the qualification requirements and support your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important information about resume requirements.

Education

To be eligible for an appointment, you must meet Education requirement A or B. A. Completed all requirements for a diploma, associate, bachelor, master, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or career or technical education program (including registered Apprenticeship Programs, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Job Corps, Climate Corps) within the previous two years. OR B. Was released or discharged from active duty within the previous two years, where the applicant is a veteran who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying for a recent graduate position during any portion of the two-year eligibility period following completion of his/her degree or certificate requirements, provided that not more than six years have transpired since the applicant completed the requirements for a degree or certification. You must submit an academic transcript from your academic institution showing the date that you most recently completed the academic requirements described above. *For Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions, click Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs *For Registered State Apprenticeship Programs Information, click State Apprenticeship Programs *For Other Apprenticeship Programs, click Apprenticeship Programs *For Industry-Endorsed Certificate Programs, click Career One Stop Certificate Finder Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. 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. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. How You Will Be Evaluated

Once the job opportunity announcement closes (at 11:59 pm ET on 10/30/2026, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted, the information will be compared against your responses to the application questionnaire to determine your eligibility for Federal employment, and then whether you are qualified for this particular position. Applicants will be required to complete a USA Hire Assessment. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and other characteristics): Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Scenario Based Writing Assessment: This vacancy utilizes a multi-hurdle approach. The first assessment includes a passing score of 80 based on the minimum level of required proficiency across critical competencies. You must meet or exceed the passing score to move on to the next hurdle. Applicants who score 80 or better on the first assessment, will be contacted via email by Human Resources (HR) one week after the vacancy announcement closes (Friday, November 6, 2026, at 10:00 AM EST), to complete a scenario-based writing assessment. At the scheduled assessment time, HR will email the applicant a Microsoft Word document containing the writing prompt. Applicants must use the provided Word document to prepare their response and return the completed document to HR by replying to the same email. Applicants will have 30 minutes from the time HR transmits the document to complete and return their response. If the assessment is not received within the allotted 30 minutes, you will be rated as ineligible. The assessment will be scored on a 100-point scale. Scoring will be based on grammer, spelling and puntuation. Applicants must receive a score of at least 80 out of 100 to pass. Applicants must complete the assessment independently, using only their own knowledge, judgment, and writing skills. They may not receive assistance from another person or use outside resources or tools to prepare, develop, edit, or revise any part of their response. Prohibited assistance includes, but is not limited to, assistance from friends, family members, colleagues, or other individuals; internet searches; reference materials; writing or editing services; and artificial intelligence (AI) or similar tools (SI). Use of prohibited assistance will result in disqualification. Suspected use of prohibited assistance will be reviewed and handled on a case-by-case basis and may result in disqualification. If you would like to preview the application questionnaire, please see: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13092877. Other Information

Additional selections may be made from this announcement. Probationary or Trial Period (as applicable): As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:1) your performance and conduct;2) the needs and interests of the agency;3) whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and4) whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. USA Hire Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request an RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. To determine if you need an RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire. Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation to complete the writing assessment must notify HR by email before the scheduled assessment time and before HR transmits the writing prompt. Applicants should contact HR as early as possible to allow sufficient time to coordinate the accommodation. EEO Statement/Policy: 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. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Selective Service: If you were born male, on or 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. Additional information is found at: www.sss.gov. Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs: The Fair Chance Act prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOJ employee or Federal contractor acting on its behalf has violated your rights under this Act, you may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to Jenna Solorzano at [email protected]. Note: In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201(b) certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance Act.