Application Essays

In the federal government, application essays are typically known as KSA's — an acronym for Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. These are a set of questions to help determine if you are a good fit for a job, based on (you guessed it!) your combined set of job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Applicants are not required to submit these short essays when they initially apply for a position. However, they may appear later on in the application process and it is important that you know what agencies are looking for.

Vacancy announcements list the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities an agency wants to see in a candidate. In your application you need to describe in writing how your experiences match the desired KSA factors. KSAs are very important to federal employers — how far you get in the application process will likely be determined by your ability to convincingly address these factors. Be sure to include as much information as you can that responds to each KSA factor, even if that information is already included on your federal resume.

Decoding KSAs

Think of KSAs as a set of interview questions. This way, you can look at the KSAs as an opportunity to use real-life examples to sell the experiences, education, and activities listed on your resume. Below are examples of real job openings and their associated KSAs from USAJOBS.gov, plus a question that an interviewer might ask to get at the same information.

A Job Announcement For	…Includes a KSA That Reads	…Which is Like an Interviewer Asking
Investigative Assistant GS 5/6	Ability to gather facts and communicate findings clearly, both orally and in writing.	“Tell me about a project you worked on in school or in a previous job in which you had to write a report and present the findings to an audience.”
Accountant GS 5-12	Professional knowledge of accounting methods, principles and procedures in order to evaluate, design, implement and modify systems for adequacy and accuracy of accounting information.	“What accounting methods and principles have you learned that will enable you to evaluate or modify accounting systems? Also, can you tell me about any internships or school projects in which you utilized accounting methods and principles, and how you used them?”
Park Ranger GS 7	Knowledge of recreation site operation and maintenance techniques and ability to apply them to work.	“I see you volunteered regularly at the regional nature center during your four years in college, and that you worked as a life guard for a few summers. What did you learn in those experiences and how would you apply it to this job?”
Microbiologist GS 7-9	Knowledge of safety procedures and safe handling of hazardous biological agents.	“What experience do you have working in a lab with hazardous biological agents? If somebody in your lab accidentally knocked over a hazardous sample, what procedures would you follow?”
Intelligence Specialist GS-9	Skill at making presentations in front of a group.	“Tell me about a time when you had to make a persuasive argument, perhaps for a class project or internship. Tell me about another time when you had to make a presentation for a large audience and the tools and techniques you used.”

Writing an Application Essay

Apply the same rules when writing KSAs that you would in submitting an essay response or writing sample — use the active tense, don’t ramble, and make sure you are answering the question being asked. Most importantly, don’t forget to read it over before submitting your responses!

Essay Tips

Read the job announcement carefully, highlighting key words or phrases describing the position responsibilities so you remember to address those points in your KSA responses.
Go back to your résumé and outline a list of experiences you’ve had that address each KSA. Review each list and select the items that best illustrate a link between your experience and each KSA as you compose your responses.
Add information relevant to each KSA that may not be included in your resume — such as any specialized training, publications, leadership roles, student activities, and awards. Make sure you take credit for your entire range of experiences including volunteer work, internships, school projects, and extracurricular activities.
Link all these different examples explicitly to the KSA questions. Whether you’ve worked as a waitress or cashier, served as a student club officer, or volunteered at a nursing home, the key is to tie these experiences back to the KSAs in a way that demonstrates that you are the best candidate for the job being advertised.
Write your KSAs in the first person, and use concrete examples to illustrate your skills. This is your opportunity to more fully elaborate on skills and responsibilities outlined in your resume, and examples are much more compelling than simple assertions.
Be sure to include examples that demonstrate your ability to take initiative.
Focus on any outcomes to which you directly contributed, citing quantitative data where possible. For example, use data that measures how much (like how much money or time you generated or saved), or how many (like how many people attended, how many units you produced), and point to positive change (percentage growth or savings) wherever possible.
Make sure your answers reflect your level of responsibility. Similarly, clearly identify who you interacted with and how (e.g., providing key information to a manager, working with a group of peers, or supervising a team).
Tailor each KSA answer to read between half a page and a page in length. Remember that a busy person will be reading through your application, so it is important to find the right balance between providing compelling information and information overload.
Review your answers to ensure they are succinct and easy to read. Always use plain language and don’t use acronyms. Focus on content, and don’t forget to proofread.
Ask a friend who knows you well to read over your finished answers. Your reader should make sure that you have included all of your relevant experiences, that your responses flow well, and that the answers don’t contain any typos or grammatical errors.

A Sample KSA

Below are examples of answers to a common KSA, “skill in written communication.” It should be clear to you which is the stronger response.

Example of a Poor Response

My communication skills are excellent. I am often asked to help out in this regard and have been commended for my work.

Example of a Better Response

In the past 10 months, I have taken over a number of writing assignments previously held by my supervisor:

I have been drafting monthly reports on leasing activities under the purview of our office. These are routinely approved by my supervisor without change and are circulated to 10 field offices and Regional Directors.

I have assumed the responsibility of reporter for the quarterly meeting of the bureau’s Research Directors. Reports of these meetings are reviewed by the Director’s Office prior to distribution to all participants.

In January, I completed the course, “Writing Analytical Reports,” offered through the National Independent Study Center. This was a six-month course involving 24 hours of training and covering such areas as: planning an analytical report; collecting and analyzing data; identifying possible solutions to problems addressed in the report; and organizing, writing, and editing the report.

In addition, while I was a student in college I developed and was recognized for my strong written communication skills in a variety of capacities:

After my junior year, I was selected for a summer internship with my state representative, for whom I drafted constituent correspondence and press releases. Though I was an intern, the majority of the letters and press releases I wrote were sent out without modification.

During my senior year, I served as the chapter president of my honor society, and routinely wrote progress reports to send to the headquarters of the honor society.

Throughout college I was a staff writer for the student daily newspaper. As a reporter I wrote both short news stories as well as in-depth feature articles on a weekly basis, and was selected for the feature writing award by the editorial board my junior year.