USA STAFFING: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

(FAQS)

NBR QUESTION ANSWER

1 Two different systems, USAJOBS and USA 

STAFFING, are involved in the application 

process. What is the difference between the two

sites? 

USAJOBS is used to search for 

Federal jobs, store resumes for later 

applications, and to get application 

status information for positions you’ve 

applied for. The USAJOBS website is 

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov 

USA STAFFING is used to apply for 

vacant positions. 

If you are searching for a job, establish 

an account in USAJOBS, establish a 

resume, and set up ‘search agents’ 

that will send you emails when JOAs 

open in the field and geographic 

location you are interested in.

When you actually apply for a job, the 

How to Apply section in the JOA will 

route you to the USA STAFFING site 

where you answer questions and 

complete the application requirements.

The USA STAFFING website is:

https://applicationmanager.gov/ 

2 Where do I find USAJOBS help? For the most up to date and complete 

assistance for using USAJOBS - 

1. Go to the USAJOBS website:

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov 

2. Click on the ‘Info Center’ link at 

the top of the page.

3. Select the topic you wish to 

review. The site includes 

tutorials and FAQs on all 

aspects of using USAJOBS and 

tips for applying for jobs. 

3 Where do I find USA STAFFING help? For the most up to date and complete 

assistance for using USA STAFFING -
1. Go to the USA STAFFING

website:

https://applicationmanager.gov/ 

2. Click on the ‘Help’ link at the 

top of the page.

3. You can take a ‘guided tour’, or 

select a topic from their menu 

to review. 

4 If I can’t find an answer in the help 

documentation, how do I contact the USAJOBS 

or USA STAFFING help desks? 

For questions related to the position 

being advertised in the Job 

Opportunity Announcement (JOA), 

contact the agency POC listed in the 

How to Apply tab. 

Both USAJOBS and USA STAFFING

have extensive on-line user help 

sections, and in most cases an answer

can be found there. If you are 

unsuccessful in locating an answer 

and wish to contact the site help desk, 

here is where the contact information 

can be found:

For technical questions about 

USAJOBS, see the Contact Us link on 

the USAJOBS home page. 

For technical questions about USA 

STAFFING, click on ‘Important Links’ 

on the upper right of the USA 

STAFFING home page. On the lower 

part of the page there is a ‘Was this 

helpful to you’ section. Click on the 

‘More Details’ link. The information 

needed to contact the USA STAFFING

help desk can be found in the section 

titled ‘Questions about how to use 

Application Manager’.

5 I think I put in the wrong Social Security Number 

(SSN) (or other personal information) in my USA 

STAFFING or USAJOBS account. How do I fix 

it? 

USA STAFFING: Once you login to 

USA STAFFING, find the ‘My Profile’ 

section of the main page. Select the 

‘Edit Profile’ link. Go to the ‘Confirm 

Social Security Number’ tab, enter 

your SSN, and click on update. The 

correct SSN will be stored with your 

account. You can also review and 

update your other personal information 

in this area. 
USAJOBS: Once you log into your 

USAJOBS account, click on the ‘Edit 

Profile’ link to update your personal 

information. To update your SSN, 

you must edit a USAJOBS resume, 

and update the SSN in the resume 

personal data section. 

6 USAJOBS has an area where applicants can 

upload supporting documents such as SF-50s, 

Veteran information, etc. Will current DLA 

employees be required to provide supporting 

documents? 

If the required documents are in your 

electronic Official Personnel Folder 

(eOPF), you will not be required to 

submit new copies. You should 

review the ‘How to Apply’ section in 

the JOA you are applying for and 

submit/upload any required 

documents that are not in your eOPF. 

7 Can supporting documents be faxed in rather 

than uploaded? 

Yes. Uploading documents into 

USAJOBS is strongly encouraged, but 

there are faxing instructions on each 

Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA) 

in the ‘How to Apply’ Section. 

8 Is there a character limit within the USAJOBS 

resume builder? 

Yes. There is a 3000 character limit in 

the duties statement for each position 

you describe. There is an ‘Additional 

Information’ section at the end of the 

resume that provides for up to 20,000 

characters. 

9 How do I transfer the resume I currently have in 

the Automated Staffing Program (ASP) into a 

USAJOBS resume?

There is no automated way to transfer 

a resume from ASP into the 

USAJOBS resume. You can ‘copy 

and paste’ information from your ASP 

resume into like fields in the 

USAJOBS resume. Open both your 

ASP resume and the USAJOBS 

resume builder at the same time in 

different browser windows. 

You can also copy your ASP resume 

from the ASP ‘View Resume’ area into 

a MS Word or similar format and store 

it on your computer for later use. 

10 What information is stored in the USAJOBS 

application status, and how long is the 

application status history visible? 

The Application Status section will 

store information about the JOA you 

applied for (with a link to the JOA), the 

date you applied, and the ‘Application 

Status’. Click on the ‘More 

Information’ link to get the details on 

your application status. 
Application status information is kept 

for 18 months after posting. 

11 What is the size limit on an uploaded resume in 

USAJOBS? 

What file formats does USAJOBS accept for an 

uploaded resume? 

The size limit for uploaded resumes in 

USAJOBS is 3 MB.

Accepted file formats include:

MS Word (DOC or DOCX), GIF, JPG, 

JPEG, PNG, RTF, or PDF. 

12 Is there a character limit in the space where a

narrative is to be provided in response to a 

question from the questionnaire in USA 

STAFFING? 

Yes. When a question is created a

character limit is set on the response, 

and the applicant can see that limit on 

the on-line questionnaire (you will see 

a statement below the question 

response that reads “You have x 

number of characters”.)

13 Will applicants receive points for experience, 

training, education, and awards like they do in 

ASP?

Applicants receive points in both 

systems for experience, training, 

education and awards, but the 

processes are a little different. 

The ASP system ‘reads’ the resume, 

looking for skills that match those 

identified as required for the job. ASP 

then assigned points based on the 

number and types of skills matched. 

In USA STAFFING, experience points 

will be awarded based on the answers 

to experience related questions. 

14 Is it possible for a user to remove supporting 

documents they have submitted for a specific 

vacancy announcement?

You would be required to reapply for 

the job again without the documents

while it is still open. This would 

overwrite the original application.

15 I share an email address with another person. 

Can I set up two USAJOBS accounts with the 

same email address?

No, the email address is part of the 

USA STAFFING account record. You 

would be required to establish another 

email address. 

16 I forgot my USA STAFFING password. The 

system asks for my password in the Forgot 

Password section and I don’t have it. What do I 

do?

Click on the “Forgot Username or 

Password” link on the main login 

screen. 

The next screen asks you to input your

email address. Input the email 

address and click the “Submit email 

address” button.

At the next screen enter something in 

the password block (even if it is the 

wrong password) and click on ‘Submit 
Password’. You will then see an 

option to select an “I don’t know my 

password” button. 

17 USAJOBS says my resume is ‘unsearchable’. 

What does that mean and how do I fix it? 

Uploaded resumes cannot be made 

‘searchable’. For resumes entered 

directly into USAJOBS, there are links 

within the USAJOBS user account in 

the resume section that can make a 

resume ‘searchable’.

Making a resume ‘searchable’ opens it 

up for agencies to view if they choose 

to search for job candidates through 

resume scans. It’s a new and limited 

use feature, and applicants should not 

expect to receive job offers simply by 

making a resume searchable. 

Instead, you should apply for those 

positions you are interested in through 

the JOA process.