About This Position
This vacancy is for a Program Analyst (Recent Graduate) position in the Department of Commerce located at the U.S. Census Bureau Headquarters in Suitland, Maryland. The Census Bureau is accessible from the Metro Rail Green Line - Suitland Station.
This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Program Analyst (Recent Graduate), 0343-7/9, FPL GS-12, positions within the Census Bureau in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.
Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: You must meet the Basic Entry Requirements and Specialized Experience to qualify for the Recent Graduate as described below. Basic Entry Requirements for All Grade Levels: Applicants must have graduated, within the past two years, with an associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree, or a certificate from a qualifying educational institution. Veterans precluded by their military service obligation have up to six years to apply.
Students with a transcript with a degree confer date on or before May 17, 2026 will be considered for the Recent Graduate Program. Graduation/expected graduation date MUST be indicated on your resume.
NOTE: To show proof of meeting the Basic Entry Requirements, all applicants MUST submit a copy of their college transcripts. See the Required Documents section for more information. AND - Specialized Experience Specialized Experience: For the GS-07, you must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 in the Federal service.
Experience for this position includes: conducting management studies; supporting higher-level analysts in the completion of requested studies and reviews; analyzing issues for effectiveness, efficiency and productivity; and providing tentative recommendations to improve processes.
OR
Education: Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement, or 1 full year of graduate level education Superior Academic Achievement: Bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement is defined as:(1) Class standing -- You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision based on completed courses, (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- You must have 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or(3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- You are a member of one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achshonor.org/) OR Combination of Education and Experience. Specialized Experience: For the GS-09, you must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Experience for this position includes: conducting management studies of work processes and procedures; reviewing reports and studies to ensure user requirements are met; supporting higher-level analysts in the completion of requested studies and reviews; analyzing issues for effectiveness, efficiency and productivity; and providing recommendations to modify, revise, or update processes and procedures.
OR
Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B.
OR
J.D.
OR
Combination of Education and Experience. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.
You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer.
Major Duties
Prepare initial work plans and draft reports.
Review operational plans and current incoming work projects.
Make recommendations for improving methods.
Determine the need for work standards and control systems.
Review reports and studies to ensure appropriate rules and regulations are utilized.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.
You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, 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 Online Assessment: Applicants must complete the online USA Hire Competency Based Assessments measuring critical general competencies required to perform the job. Examples used in the assessment may include general situations not directly related to this position. The USA Hire Assessments 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. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
Rule of Many Rating Procedures: Applicants will be ranked in score order based on their assessment rating plus veterans' preference points, as applicable. All applicants with a score of 80 or higher, including veterans' preference points, will be referred to the hiring official. How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: In the Rule of Many, only the CP/CPS veterans are listed at the top of the certificate.
All other preference eligibles will be placed in score order. In the event of a tie, other preference eligibles will be placed ahead of non-preference eligibles. We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.
Do NOT include the following types of information in your application, if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position: Social Security Number (SSN) Date of Birth (DOB) Photos of yourself Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12887992.
Additional Information
The Census Bureau is seeking bright, innovative, results-oriented individuals to join our Recent Graduates Program (RGP). RGP is a one-year program that targets individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs. Successful applicants will be placed in a dynamic, one-year career development program.
Throughout the program, you will participate in formal training, job assignments and receive a mentor to develop competencies applicable to the Census Bureau's mission and needs. These positions are at the grade 7/9 entry levels, with an opportunity for permanent appointment upon successful completion of the program. At the Agency's discretion, individuals hired under the Pathways Program may be non-competitively converted to a term, career, or career-conditional appointment with varying Full Performance Levels (FPL) based on hiring department.
To be eligible for conversion to a permanent or term position, Recent Graduates must: Successfully completed at least 1-year of continuous service
in addition to all requirements of the Program. Demonstrate successful job performance. Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.
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 that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a 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.
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 if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) Recent Graduates and their supervisors must sign Pathways Agreements setting forth expectations for the program. To find additional information regarding the Pathways Recent Graduate Program, please visit the following website: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/students/.
The Department of Commerce provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Office. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.
TTY users can contact the Human Resources Office via the Federal Relay Service, 1-800-877-8339.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/17/2026 to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email.
The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link.
Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments.
You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/.
Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online; however, if you are unable to apply online, please contact Jordan Watley at [email protected]
Required Documents
The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply.
Your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
Your application package should include the following documents: Resume: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be deemed disqualified and removed from consideration.
Your resume must include your educational and relevant work experience for the position for which you are applying to include the title and dates (mm/yy) of employment along with the number of hours worked per week. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you will not receive consideration for this position. Veterans' Preference Documentation: Please indicate on your resume the type of veterans' preference you are claiming and provide the appropriate supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.) to validate your claim.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please go to: Veteran's Resource Page. Education Documentation: If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. This also applies to Census Bureau employees.
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to OPM's Qualification Policy for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.
Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.
You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration. For further information on the evaluation of foreign education, refer to the U.S. Department of Education's web site at Academic and Professional Mobility | International Affairs Office (ed.gov). It is the applicant's responsibility to provide documentation or proof that he or she has met the applicable educational provisions described.
NOTE: You will not be considered if you fail to provide all required documents. Resume Transcript