FAQs for DFC Careers

Career Paths

Careers paths are occupational groupings that exist at DFC. While not exhaustive, our list of career paths is designed to introduce you to the types of roles that comprise DFC's workforce.

Hiring Paths

The federal government offers a variety of hiring paths to help job seekers identify jobs that match their eligibility status and apply to jobs that match their background and experience. Hiring paths are listed under the "This job is open to" section of an announcement and describe who may apply and what special appointing authorities the agency can use to hire applicants.

Hiring paths listed on DFC Careers are the most common hiring paths used by DFC to appoint employees, but the list is not exhaustive. It is advisable to review the full list of hiring paths on USAJOBS to better understand your eligibility so you can readily identify opportunities for which you are eligible to apply.

If you have no prior federal civilian service and are not eligible for any special appointing authority, you may only be considered for announcements that are open to the public. If you meet the criteria for a special appointing authority, you may apply under that authority as well; however, you may have to submit separate applications if you wish to be considered under more than one appointing authority.

Each announcement will include qualification criteria outlining the minimum education and/or experience requirements an applicant must possess to be considered qualified. Follow the instructions in the "How to Apply" section of each announcement and verify your application includes all documents listed under the "Required Documents" section. You will be competing against other applicants based on the information provided in your application and job-specific questionnaire responses; therefore, it is important you provide a complete and accurate explanation of your experience and qualifications.

It depends on the position. Some positions at DFC require a college degree with a certain major field of study or specific academic courses at the baccalaureate or graduate level. Others may require a degree in any field of study, and some don't require a college degree at all.

Positions that require a college degree tend to involve research, scientific, or professional work (e.g., Contract Specialists, Accountants, International Economists, and Attorneys). To qualify, you must have completed all college- or graduate-level courses at an accredited (or with pre-accredited status) college recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

Each announcement will specify which documents are required with your application under the "Required Documents" section. Résumés are always required when applying and must include work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed for each period of experience. You may also choose to include a cover letter if there is additional information you wish to express that is outside of what is normally included in a résumé. Please note, we are generally unable to use cover letters to qualify you for a position because they lack the necessary details to determine length and level of experience. Therefore, you must ensure all specialized experience requirements have been highlighted in your résumé.

Other documents that may be required include:

• Licenses or certifications
• College transcripts (if you are qualifying based on education)
• Mandatory Technical Qualifications
• SF-50
• DD-214
• VA Letter
• Most recent performance appraisal
• Noncompetitive appointment authority documentation (e.g., Schedule A Letter, Peace Corps Description of Service (DOS) document, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders, etc.)

Important: If any of your submitted documents include a photograph or other inappropriate material or content (e.g., SSN or DOB), you may be disqualified from consideration.

Typically, no. You do not need prior federal government experience to apply for a job or internship at DFC. If an announcement is advertised as open to the public, it means the agency is considering applications from candidates without prior federal government experience.

Yes, all positions at DFC require employees to be U.S. citizens or nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island).

While green card and/or work visa holders can live and work in the United States, they are not considered U.S. citizens or nationals and are therefore ineligible to apply for positions with DFC.

Yes, you will need to undergo a background investigation and possibly a security clearance to work or intern at DFC.

Background Investigation-All federal employees and contractors must undergo a background investigation. The investigation will look at your employment history, criminal record, and past illegal drug use. The type of investigation and amount of information you'll need to provide depends on the job.

Security Clearance-Some jobs require a security clearance, which is a separate process from the background investigation. The need for a security clearance and level of the security clearance required is based on the position, the need to access sensitive or classified materials, and the level of sensitivity of the information you'll be working with.

Yes, dual nationals are eligible to apply for opportunities at DFC.

A rating instrument will be developed by a Human Resources professional with input and in conjunction with the hiring official(s). There are various rating instruments and/or methods available for use by hiring officials, but the most common rating instruments used are occupational questionnaires, structured interviews, tests, and work samples. Occupational questionnaires are assessments used to screen, rate, and rank job applicants. Occupational questionnaires will contain a series of questions specific to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies related to the position. The responses to the occupational questionnaire consist of self-ratings of the applicant's training and experience. Each response has a corresponding numeric score assigned. The total score from all the questions will be used to determine the Best Qualified applicant list. Direct Hire Authorities permit hiring without completion of a standardized assessment.

After submitting a job application through USAJOBS, you can expect the following:

Application Status-Your application status will be updated in your USAJOBS profile, usually within a few hours.

Agency Review-We will review your application to determine if you meet the job qualifications and are eligible. All qualified candidates will be assigned a quality category (Best Qualified, Well Qualified, Qualified). The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for the position.

Referral-After the agency review is completed, applications of candidates eligible for referral will be sent to the hiring official(s) for consideration.

Interview-The hiring official(s) will review referred applications and select if they wish to interview any applicants. The hiring official(s) or designee(s) will contact applicants directly to schedule interviews.

Notification-You will receive notifications through USAJOBS at various points in the process, including when your application is received, when qualifications determinations have been made, if/when your application is referred to the hiring official(s), and when the outcome of the recruitment process is completed (selection/non-selection).

DFC has a 45-day timeline goal for hiring, but the time it takes to be contacted to schedule an interview or to be notified of non-selection for a position may vary. It is recommended that you maintain the vacancy point-of-contact information so you can obtain the status of your application and the position for which you applied.

Please note that interviews and number of interviews are determined at the discretion of the hiring official(s). Hiring official(s) may interview applicants in person, through video conferencing, or by telephone. The hiring official may also choose not to conduct interviews. They may choose to make a selection based on experience, and/or education found within the résumés submitted at the time of application.

Generally, you will receive a status update on your application within 15-20 days after the JOA. If you have not received a status update on your application, you may contact the point of contact listed on the JOA under the "How to Apply" section. If the JOA has closed and no longer appears on the USAJOBS website, you may contact recruiter@dfc.gov for additional information and assistance.

You may contact the point of contact listed on the JOA under the "How to Apply" section. If the JOA has closed and no longer appears on the USAJOBS website, you may contact recruiter@dfc.gov for additional information and assistance.

No, there is no way to accelerate a decision on your application. However, we encourage you to keep the hiring official(s) informed if your availability for a position changes during the hiring process.

DFC offers employees the ability to establish a Flexible Work Schedule (FWS) with their supervisors, provided they meet eligibility requirements (eligibility criteria typically assess business needs, office coverage, and/or employee performance). FWS consist of workdays with core hours and flexible hours. Core hours are the designated period of the day when all employees must be at work (DFC's core hours are 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. and these times are based on the local time of the employee's duty station). Flexible hours are the part of the workday when employees may (within limits) choose their time of arrival and departure.

Yes, DFC employs Overseas Officers who are responsible for proactively sourcing hard-to-find deals in priority sectors, providing on-the-ground support to existing deals, and facilitating interagency coordination at their designated post. DFC hires Overseas Officers through contract opportunities and U.S. direct hires.

Yes, DFC may offer recruitment and/or relocation incentives. The availability of these compensation flexibilities is dependent on the position being filled and will be specified in the "Additional Information" section of the JOA.

No, DFC does not currently participate in the OPM Student Loan Repayment program. However, we are an eligible employer under the Public Service Logan Forgiveness program.