Internal Revenue Service Logo
Position Title
Secretary (Office Automation)
Agency
Internal Revenue Service
Announcement Number
25-12600010K-TAX-0318-5T7 Opens in new window
Open Period
Tuesday, November 5, 2024 to Wednesday, November 20, 2024
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1. Do you claim Veterans’ Preference? (limit characters)
2. IRS CTAP Candidate - Are you a current displaced or surplus IRS employee and:
  • you are located either within or outside the local commuting area of this vacancy, AND
  • your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of this vacancy, AND
  • your position has the same or higher promotion potential of this vacancy, AND
  • your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent?

If you indicate "Yes" for this question, you MUST submit supporting documentation to validate your claim of CTAP eligibility such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES) AND a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal AND a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action).

For more information, review Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). (limit characters)
3. Treasury CTAP Candidate - Are you a current displaced or surplus Department of Treasury (non-IRS) employee and:
 
  • you are located within the same local commuting area of this vacancy, AND
  • your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of this vacancy, AND
  • your position has the same or higher promotion potential of this vacancy, AND
  • your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent?

If you indicate "Yes" for this question, you MUST submit supporting documentation to validate your claim of CTAP eligibility such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES) AND a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal AND a copy of your latest SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action).

For more information, review Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). (limit characters)
4. ICTAP Candidate - Are you a current or former federal employee displaced from a position in a federal agency other than the agency hiring for this position and:
 
  • you are located within the same local commuting area of this vacancy, AND
  • your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of this vacancy, AND
  • your position has the same or higher promotion potential of this vacancy, AND
  • your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent?
If you indicate "Yes" for this question, you MUST submit supporting documentation to validate your claim of ICTAP eligibility such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice AND a copy of your most recent annual performance appraisal, AND a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or equivalent personnel action form.
 
For more information, review Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). (limit characters)
5. U.S. Citizen Candidate - Are you a U.S. citizen (either by birth or naturalization) or national of the United States? (limit characters)
Preferences
1. Select the lowest grade you are willing to accept for this position. (limit characters)
2. Employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must demonstrate the highest level of ethics and integrity. Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior performance and conduct with the Service, and all other applicants may be subject to reference checks of prior employment. Your responses to the following questions will be verified; Applicants providing false information may be made ineligible and will be subject to debarment for future employment opportunities with the IRS.

Please select the response that best describes your current or prior employment with the IRS. If you never worked for the Internal Revenue Service, you must select the last response "Not applicable." (limit characters)
3. Employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must demonstrate the highest level of ethics and integrity, and must be in compliance with all Federal Tax requirements. Applicants being considered for employment with the IRS will be subject to a tax check. You can "Get Your Tax Record" at http://www.irs.gov/ (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript) and check the status of your account, balance owed, payment history, make a payment, or review answers to tax questions. Applicants not in compliance will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS. Your responses to the following questions will be verified; Applicants providing false information may be made ineligible and will be subject to debarment for future employment opportunities with the IRS.

Please select the response that best describes your compliance with all Federal Tax requirements. You will be subject to a tax check that will verify your response to this question. (limit characters)
4. The following question is regarding your Selective Service status. If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, and are at least 18 years of age, civil service employment law (5 U.S.C. 3328) requires that you must be registered with the Selective Service System, unless you meet certain exemptions under Selective Service law. If you are required to register but knowingly and willfully fail to do so, you are ineligible for appointment by executive agencies of the Federal Government (5 CFR 300.704). Visit http://www.sss.gov/ for additional information. (limit characters)
5. If you are a current Federal employee, by what agency and organization are you employed? (limit characters)
6. If you selected "Other", please enter the agency and organization. (limit characters)
7. If you are a current Federal employee, what is your duty station? [City, State] (limit characters)
8. If you are a Federal employee, under what type of appointment are you currently serving? (limit characters)
9. If you are, or ever were a Federal civilian employee, please provide your current or last pay plan, series, and grade level or pay band. For example: GS-0303-05, IR-0343-02, WG-5400-04. (limit 250 characters)
10. If you are, or ever were a Federal civilian employee, indicate the pay plan and grade level or pay band of the highest graded position you have ever held. For example: GS-05, IR-02, WG-04. (limit characters)
11. Are you a current or former Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility? (limit characters)
12. Are you a retiree receiving a Federal annuity, either military or civilian?

Note: If you are an annuitant, your salary or annuity may be reduced upon employment. (limit characters)
13. Have you accepted a buyout from a Federal agency within the past 5 years? (limit characters)
14. Regarding the effectiveness of our recruitment strategies; how did you first hear about this job? (limit characters)
15. If you answered "Posting on a job board or search agent other than USAJOBS (Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, LinkUp, etc." in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the job board or search agent other than USAJOBS you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Social Media posting (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, on-line job fairs, etc.)" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the Social Media platform you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Attended a recruitment event (Job/Career Fair, Open House, Meet & Greet, Meetup, etc.)" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name and state of the recruiting event.

If you answered "School/University announcement/career counselor" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the school/university of the announcement where you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Third party referral, such as diversity or community organization, or employment office (Federal, state or local)" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the third party referral and the state you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Newspaper (print/online)" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the newspaper and the state you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Radio" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the radio station and state you heard the advertisement.

If you answered "Transit/Bus Advertisement" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the city and state you saw the advertisement.

If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Major News Websites" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the website.

If you answered "Banner Advertisement - Movie Theater Websites" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the website.

If you answered "Classified Advertisement Website (Craigslist, Angie's List, etc.)" in the previous question, please indicate in the box below the name of the website, city and state.

If you answered "Other" in the previous question, please specify in the box below. (limit characters)
16. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently employed, or have been employed within the last 5 years, in any one of the categories below, you must disclose this information. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Are you a current or former political appointee as described under 5 U.S.C. sections 5312 through 5316 (relating to the Executive Schedule)?
-OR-
Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, or an individual who serves or served in a political capacity under agency-specific authority in the Executive Branch?
-OR-
Are you a current or former noncareer SES appointee, or an individual who serves or served in a political capacity under Limited Term SES or Limited Emergency SES appointment in the Executive Branch? (limit characters)
17. If yes, identify the position held, the employing agency/organization, and the dates of the appointment. Please provide SF-50s showing your political appointment and, if applicable, resignation/termination SF-50. (limit characters)
18. For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, are you aware that you must submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent as specified in this announcement? An official transcript will be required if you are selected. (limit characters)
19. Have you attended any of Treasury's information sessions? (Please click all that apply) (limit characters)
Assessment 1
QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:  To qualify for this position, you must meet the qualification requirements outlined below:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-05: To be eligible for this position at this grade level, you must meet the basic requirements below:
One year or twelve (12) months of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-04) in the Federal government. Specialized experience is experience that is related to the work of this position and has provided you with the competencies required for successful job performance. Examples of specialized experience include: providing telephone and receptionist services; Maintaining records; Requisitioning office supplies; Filing material and maintaining office filing system; Receiving and controlling incoming and outgoing correspondence and reports for format, grammar, and punctuation; Writing simple or repetitive, non-technical correspondence such as letters of acknowledgment; Scheduling appointments and preparing notes regarding topics to be discussed; Ability to operate a variety of office hardware and software systems and knowledge and skill applying grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
OR A Bachelor's degree or four (4) years of education above high school in any field of study from an accredited college or university. 
OR An equivalent amount of combined education and experience. Only education in excess of 60 semester hours, 90 quarter hours or 1440 classroom hours is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement for the GS-5 level. For example, one full year of academic study (30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or 720 formal classroom hours) beyond the second year is equal to 6 months of specialized experience. To be creditable, education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, college or university.


SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-06: To be eligible for this position at this grade level, you must meet the basic requirements below.
You must meet have one year or twelve (12) months of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal government. Specialized experience is experience that is related to the work of this position and has provided you with the competencies required for successful job performance.
You may have gained this experience in a full-time secretary, senior clerk, management assistant, personnel assistant, legal assistant position, and other similar positions where you independently provided clerical support, typing, maintaining files, records, screening material, establishing procedures, following up action items, editing correspondence, requisitioning supplies, equipment, and services for office chief and staff.


SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-07: To be eligible for this position at this grade level, you must meet the basic requirements below.
You must meet have one year or twelve (12) months of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-06) in the Federal government. Specialized experience is experience that is related to the work of this position and has provided you with the competencies required for successful job performance. You may have gained this experience in a full-time secretary, management assistant, personnel assistant, legal assistant position, and other similar positions where you use your technical and administrative knowledge to schedule supervisor's activities, compose correspondence, resolve problems, locate information, prepare travel arrangements, including travel vouchers, and organized the workflow of the office.
 (limit characters)
Thank you for your interest in applying for this position. Your responses to the following questions supplement the information provided in your resume. (limit characters)
1.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-05:
Which of the following is true about your education and/or experience?

 (limit characters)
2.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-06:
Which of the following is true about your experience?

 (limit characters)
3.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-07:
Which of the following is true about your specialized experience?

 (limit characters)
4.

Applicants must be a qualified typist with a minimum typing speed of 40 words per minute (based on a 5-minute sample with three or fewer errors). Applicants may meet these requirements by passing the appropriate performance test, presenting a certificate of proficiency from a school or other organization authorized to issue such certificates by the Office of Personnel Management local office, or by self-certifying their proficiency. Performance test results and certificates of proficiency are acceptable for three years. We may verify proficiency skills of self-certified applicants by administering the appropriate performance test.

Please select the response that is true regarding your typing proficiency.

 (limit characters)
Your responses to the following questions supplement the information provided in your resume.       
The next set of questions draws primarily on your experiences in working with and relating to others in a work setting. In each of the questions in this section, you are asked to indicate how you would be most likely to respond in a given situation. No special training or experience is required to answer these questions. Identify from the response options the one that best represents how you would handle the situation. Select the response that is closest to how you would be most likely to actually handle the situation, not the response that you think others might select or the response that you think is expected.  
 (limit characters)
5. A new employee just reported to your unit within the last week. One of his duties is to access taxpayer records using one of the IRS computer systems. He has yet to receive his login ID and password. He asks you if he can use your logon ID and password so he can start his duties right away. What would you do? (limit characters)
6. You are entering time into the time and attendance database when an employee asks you to include two hours of overtime for the previous night and indicates that they will get their timesheet signed by their supervisor at a later time. You would:
(limit characters)
7. One of your primary responsibilities as a secretary is to ensure that time worked by employees is input by close of business every other Friday. If you fail to complete this task accurately and timely some of your employees will not get paid correctly. You have 15 employees in your group and one of the employees is chronically late in getting his timecard to you each pay period. What would you do? (limit characters)
8. You will be responsible for answering the phone for your work unit, taking messages, routing calls to the appropriate staff and determining the nature of the call. There are three phone calls at the same time for your supervisor, who has explicitly state that he is not to be interrupted. One caller is the Director (your supervisor's boss), one caller is your supervisor's spouse and one call is the auto mechanic. What would you do? (limit characters)
9. You were sent to pick up an important package from another office by your supervisor. Upon arriving at the designated office, you are told that the package is not ready to be picked up. What would you do? (limit characters)
10. You have prepared a presentation for secretaries explaining office procedures. An hour before the presentation you learn that in addition to the secretaries there will also be office clerks and supervisors attending. What will you do? (limit characters)
11. You received a request from a Congressional aide asking for a meeting with your supervisor. His calendar is full and the request for a meeting is unable to be accommodated. What would you do? (limit characters)
12. An employee needs to get his parking pass renewed. The passes have arrived in your office but your office does not renew parking passes. What would you do? (limit characters)
13. It is almost time for you to leave for the day when an upset taxpayer enters the office. The taxpayer asks for someone who is not in the office. What would you do? (limit characters)
14. You are responsible for written correspondence in response to a taxpayer inquiry. You notice an error in the completed product that is ready to be sent out to the taxpayer. What would you do? (limit characters)
15. It's Thursday afternoon and you are entering time and attendance data for your unit. It must be completed by Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. and submitted to your supervisor for approval. There is one employee who says he's too busy to give you his timesheet. What do you do? (limit characters)
16. You are assigned to an office where there are ten groups and six of them have been assigned secretaries. That leaves four groups without secretaries. You notice that the clerical tasks in the four other groups are not getting done or are being completed by the supervisors of the groups. What would you do? (limit characters)
17. A confidential letter is received in the office on Friday at 11:30 a.m. for your supervisor. The envelope indicates that an immediate response is required by close of business that day. Your supervisor left the office at 11:00 a.m. and will not return until the following Tuesday. What would you do? (limit characters)
18. You have established a suspense file for an action document for your supervisor. The response is due by close of business tomorrow. As you are leaving for your scheduled lunch break, you conduct a follow-up check with your supervisor regarding the response status, and he/she has no recollection of the document in question. What would you do?
(limit characters)
19. You are responsible for a weekly report on the productivity of the group. The agents in the group are to provide you with the technical contents for the report; you compile the data and produce the final report. This week two of the agents fail to provide you with the required data. What would you do? (limit characters)
20. Your supervisor is on vacation. A clerk from another section comes in and requests a personnel file on another employee from your supervisor's file cabinet. What will you do? (limit characters)
21. One of the duties is to open incoming mail, review the contents and give to the addressee. When reviewing the contents you realize there are several requests for information that you can handle. What would you do? (limit characters)
22. Which software applications do you have experience with? (limit characters)
23. Select the description below that best describes your experience. (limit characters)
24. Select the description below that best describes your experience. (limit characters)
25. You have been asked to do a review of the written correspondence procedures and make any needed updates to the procedures. What would you do? (limit characters)
26. You are responsible for tracking the travel budget. The current process is being done manually on paper. You know it would be easier to maintain if it was automated but you do not have computer training. What would you do? (limit characters)
27. You are responsible for training new secretaries. You have recently attended training on a new procedure that you are required to share with these secretaries. The training was informative but there are slides and a video that does not include realistic examples. You are concerned that the training will not be effective and could be very confusing for a new secretary. What would you do? (limit characters)
28. Please select the answer that best describes your reading skills. (limit characters)
29. To qualify for this position and receive full credit for your relevant experience you must list the month/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. Your resume must support your responses to the questions. Do you understand that failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination? (limit characters)
30. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of the information included in this questionnaire is true, correct, and provided in good faith. I understand if I make an intentional false statement, or commit deception or fraud in this application and its supporting materials, or in any document or interview associated with the examination process, I may be fined or imprisoned (18 U.S.C. 1001); my eligibilities may be cancelled, I may be denied an appointment, or I may be removed and debarred from Federal service (5 C.F.R. part 731). I understand any information I give may be investigated. I understand that responding "No" to this item will result in my not being considered for this position.

Failure to agree or respond to the statement below will disqualify you from further consideration for the position. Select the most appropriate response below.
 (limit characters)
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