Empowering agencies to hire top talent

USA Hire is an innovative assessment platform designed to provide valid, reliable, and fair skills-based assessments to help federal agencies identify top talent. We help agencies hire the best and brightest to transform government, one hire at a time.

• Proven expertise: Purpose-built for federal hiring, USA Hire assessments are developed by OPM’s expert industrial-organizational psychologists to ensure accuracy and fairness.
• Flexible delivery: Assessments can be completed anytime, anywhere, on multiple devices—or offered in secure, proctored environments.
• User-friendly experience: Both applicants and HR professionals agree: USA Hire is intuitive, accessible, and easy to navigate.
• Demonstrated effectiveness: USA Hire advances merit-based hiring through valid, skills- and competency-based assessments that meet the technical requirements of the Chance to Compete Act and the Merit Hiring Plan.
• Nationwide impact: Trusted by more than 80 federal agencies, USA Hire evaluates nearly one million applicants each year—and continues to expand with new assessments to meet evolving hiring needs.

USA Hire in action

USA Hire uses assessment methods that are better predictors of job performance and meet the technical assessment requirements of the Chance to Compete Act and Merit Hiring Plan. USA Hire assessments are incorporated into the federal job announcement process through a streamlined process:

1. Applicants are invited to complete their USA Hire assessment after submitting an application through USA Staffing.
2. Applicants complete their assessment when and where they like by the due date.
3. Agencies may combine USA Hire with other assessments for an in-depth look at an applicant’s range of skills and capabilities.
4. USA Hire assessments are automatically scored, for easy use. 

Standard assessments

• Available for all General Schedule (GS) and GS-equivalent non-supervisory positions by March 2026.
• Includes the Early Career Talent Assessment (ECTA) developed for student trainee positions.
• Measure general competencies, such as decision-making ability; interpersonal, math, and reasoning skills; reading comprehension; and stress tolerance.
• Can be paired with other assessments to measure technical skills important for the position.

Leadership assessments

• Measure key competencies needed for successful leadership in supervisory or senior executive positions.
• Three leadership assessments are available – Executive Assessment, Federal Supervisor Assessment, and the Supervisory Situational Judgment Test.

Additional assessments

• Writing Assessment: Applicants provide a free text response to a prompt, which is then automatically scored.
• Data Skills Assessment: A simulation-style assessment that evaluates the applicant’s ability to manage, analyze, and interpret data.
• Program and Project Management Assessment: Measure core program and project management skills.

Custom assessments

• OPM can develop innovative, customized assessments to meet your hiring needs.
• USA Hire can host your previously developed assessment on the USA Hire platform.

Resource center

Applicants may visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and  assessment preparation information.

Success stories

View real examples of how USA Hire has helped agencies across the federal government achieve their hiring goals:

• Achieving high-quality hires with USA Hire assessments: The Department of Interior used robust assessment tools to meet legislative requirements that align with assessment best practices.
• Hiring superior supervisors by implementing the Supervisor Situational Judgment Test: The SSJT is helping hiring managers at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management access the best and brightest in the applicant pool.
• Custom, online assessments for mission-critical positions: U.S. Customs and Border Protection reduced processing timelines from 16 weeks to 11 weeks.
• Entry-level testing at a small agency: USA Hire has been a tremendous time saver for HR staff at the Railroad Retirement Board.

Additional resources

• How Federal Managers Make Better Hires with USA Hire(Video)
• What is USA Hire? (Video)
• Improving Federal Hiring Through Better Assessment – MSPB Perspectives Brief (White paper)