Frequently Asked Questions about Applicant Flow

When you fill a vacancy, you must keep a record of the number and the race/sex/ethnicity of the people who applied.  This information enables you to review the general effectiveness of your recruiting process and to identify areas where greater recruiting efforts are needed. Of course, you must also keep a record of the race/sex/ethnicity of the person(s) appointed.  “Applicant Flow” tracks the count of applicants from the beginning of the process - who applied, through the steps that bring it to conclusion – who was appointed.

In your agency’s annual Affirmative Action Plan, you are asked to present data showing at least the first and last steps: who applied compared to who was appointed.  You must summarize this information for all jobs filled during the year.

In a Civil Service Human Resources Evaluation, you are asked to show documentation of all steps of the selection process for selected positions:

·         How was the vacancy advertised (posted on Job Search, SF9’s sent to certifiable score candidates, etc.

·         Which applicants met/failed to meet minimum qualification requirements or “preferred qualification” requirements

·         Which applicants were forwarded to the hiring manager for consideration

·         Which applicants were interviewed

·         Which applicants were appointed

The questions and answers below outline the minimum applicant documentation required by the Department of State Civil Service. 

Which actions require Applicant Flow records?

Applicant flow records should be kept for all Probational Appointments, Job Appointments and Promotions.  Applicant flow records are recommended but not required for Restricted Appointments.

Who must be counted as an Applicant?

An applicant is anyone who submits an application in response to a posting or advertisement of a job, whether that person meets the minimum qualification or “preferred qualification” requirements for the job or not.

Why must Applicants who do not meet Minimum Qualifications or “Preferred Qualifications” be counted?

According to federal regulations, minimum qualification or “preferred qualification” requirements are considered to be a selection procedure (just like a test).  Therefore, employers must keep a record of the race/sex/ethnicity of applicants who are screened out based on minimum qualification or “preferred qualification” requirements. 

What records must be kept about which applicants meet minimum qualifications or “preferred qualifications?”

In any situation where the qualification screen was made by agency personnel, rather than by Civil Service, the agency must keep a record of the number and race/sex/ethnicity of the applicants who did meet the minimum qualification or “preferred qualification” requirements and those who did not.  This applies to promotions below AS-615, MS-517, PS-115, TS-311 or SS-414, appointments to shortage or non-competitive jobs, etc.  Documentation must also identify who decided which applicants did or did not meet the minimum qualification requirements.

Who may be excluded from the Applicant count?

While you may not exclude applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications or “preferred qualifications” from your applicant count, you may exclude applicants who do not meet other types of criteria.  For example, if you post a promotional vacancy, you may exclude applicants who are not employees, or who do not hold permanent status.  If that posting required applicants to have a grade on a written test that is open continuously to state employees, you may exclude any applicant who does not possess such a grade.

What about candidates who decline or fail to respond?

If you send inquiries of availability to all candidates reasonably within reach on a certificate, or to all certifiable score candidates, you should only count the candidates who say they would like to be considered.  You do NOT need to count candidates who decline or fail to respond as applicants.  This is true if you make your inquiries of availability by phone instead of by mail.

However, if you choose to contact only a portion of the eligible candidates, you must include those you did not contact in your total applicant count.  For example, if there are 50 candidates with certifiable scores on a list and you choose to contact only 10 of them, you must include the 40 you chose not to consider in your total applicant count. 

What about posting a certifiable score job to Job Search?

A posting to the Civil Service Job Search web-site can be used to contact certifiable score candidates instead of SF-9’s.  If you use such a posting, you only count as applicants the individuals who respond to your posting.

What about jobs we continuously recruit for?

For high activity jobs, the HR office may accept applications constantly, screening for minimum qualifications or “preferred qualifications” and keeping a ready pool of screened applicants to refer to hiring supervisors when vacancies occur.  For these jobs, you may find it more practical to record some information as annual totals.  You still need to capture all five parts of the selection process listed below.   However, you may choose to record the first two items (applications received & rejected) as annual totals, while recording items 3, 4 and 5 (applicants referred, interviewed and selected) by individual vacancy.

1.  Applications received (by race/sex)

2.  Applicants rejected for lack of minimum qualifications or “preferred qualifications” (by race/sex)

3.  Race/sex of applicants referred to the hiring supervisor for consideration

4.  Which applicants were interviewed (race/sex)

5.  Which applicants were appointed (race/sex)