General

For many veterans, Federal Civil Service is a natural transition and therefore, highly competitive.  You are competing against other highly skilled, highly educated, and highly qualified individuals, including veterans.

Veterans' preference does not require an agency to use any particular appointment process. Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligible including special appointing authorities.  An agency may consider candidates already in the civil service from an agency-developed merit promotion list or it may reassign a current employee, transfer an employee from another agency, or reinstate a former Federal employee. In addition, agencies are to give priority to displaced employees before using civil service examinations and similar hiring methods.