Application Process FAQs

NARA offers a variety of opportunities for all kinds of professionals, paraprofessionals, and administrative workers in many cities across the US. Here are our most popular:

• Acquisitions
• Administration
• Archives Specialists
• Archives Technicians
• Archivists
• Budget, Finance and Accounting
• Clerical, Administrative, and Office Support
• Communications and Public Affairs
• Conservators and Preservationists
• Education and Outreach
• Engineering
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Facilities and Property Management
• Human Resources Management
• Information Technology Management
• Investigation
• Legal
• Management and Program Analysis and
• Museum Staff
• Physical Sciences
• Program Analysts Quality Assurance
• Safety and Security
• Sales and Marketing
• Social Sciences
• Student Trainees
• Technical Writers/Editors in the Federal Register
• Trade and Labor

By law, employment at most U.S. Government agencies, including the National Archives, is limited to U.S. Citizens. However, non-citizens may be hired provided they meet certain legal requirements.

You must submit a separate application for each vacancy.

No. Prior to advertising the vacancy, the hiring organization establishes the “area of consideration” . Applications received from individuals outside the area of consideration will not be considered.

Yes. You must submit your application package electronically via the USAJOBS Resume Builder. Instructions for how to apply online will be included in every NARA vacancy announcement. Please read vacancy announcements carefully. Application requirements may vary by the position and some application materials may still need to be submitted on paper.

Because application requirements can vary by position, you should carefully review the entire vacancy announcement for detailed instructions on “How to Apply”.

You are not required to provide the form as part of your application package and it will not impact you being considered for employment. In order to accurately determine whether or not we are meeting our objective of attracting a highly-qualified diverse applicant pool, we encourage applicants to complete the form. This information is treated in a highly confidential manner and is used for statistical purposes only. The information is not released to the Selecting Official, Interview Panel members or anyone else involved in the application process.

If it has been more than 30-days since you submitted your application and you have not heard from us, please call the contact listed on the vacancy announcement. You may also wish to check your status by logging into USAJOBS and clicking on the "My USAJOBS" tab. Then click on "Application" to track your online job application. Please note that you’ll need to provide your USAJOBS User ID and password to access the "Track Online Job Application" feature.

The best way to discover what it’s like to work with us is to hear what some of our professionals have to say. See our employee profiles.

Just talk to one of our content designers (link to an email account). Although we’re sorry we can’t help you with all of the questions you may have about that vacancy announcement you are reading or the application you submitted, we’ll gladly listen to your suggestions about ways we can do a better job of giving you the information you need about working here at NARA.

Additionally, the U.S. Office of Personnel Mangement maintains a complete list of Federal employment FAQ’s, including but not limited to, how to locate and apply to Federal vacancies, required documentation and how to check the status of your application.