OPM in June refocused SES candidate development and hiring programs toward carrying out Trump administration policies, including revising the standards used to evaluate candidates to stress producing results that align with “stated goals from superiors.” Image: T. Schneider / Shutterstock.com
By: Nancy SegalOPM has issued new process for applying for Senior Executive Service (SES) positions, along with new Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs).
Effective immediately, all applications for the SES are limited to a 2 page SES resume. No separate ECQs or TQs may be required. ECQs and any Technical Qualifications should be reflected in the two page resume.
OPM in June refocused SES candidate development and hiring programs toward carrying out Trump administration policies, including revising the standards used to evaluate candidates to stress producing results that align with “stated goals from superiors.”
In a memo it said programs for developing candidates for the executive cadre—the highest level to which career federal employees normally can reach—have “failed to deliver results for the American people in alignment with administration priorities.” The memo also expands on executive orders and OPM guidance to agencies to give the SES cadre of about 8,800, which is about 90 percent career, a more political orientation in the name of making them “knowledgeable regarding Administration priorities and prepared to execute them efficiently and effectively.”
Beginning October 1, 2025, the new ECQs are in effect (although agencies are encouraged to implement them sooner).
The new ECQs are:
• Commitment to the Rule of Law & the Principles of the American Founding
• Driving Efficiency
• Merit & Competence
• Leading People
• Achieving Results
Additional changes effective October 1 include:
• The use of executive assessments (USAHIRE, Situational Judgement Test, Accomplishment Record, Work Simulation, or another validated assessment) in the qualifications and selection process
• 80 calendar day timeframe from the close of the posting to send the selectee to OPM (current timeframe is 90 business days)
• Department Executive Resources Boards (ERB) will be reconstituted with a political appointee as Chair and a majority membership of political appointees (for cabinet and other agencies with more than 75 SES).
• Selectees’ candidacy will be assessed by an OPM Qualifications Review Board (QRB) through a structured interview about the new ECQs
• A new Executive Development Plan for all new SES which includes an 80-hour training, Senior Executive Orientation Briefing, and SES Leading Edge Program
Other nuances:
• If you have already received SES certification under the existing system, there is no need for recertification under the new ECQs
• To ease the transition, for announcements posted up to July 13, may have selectees complete the traditional 10 page ECQs OR opt for the Structured Interview.
• All postings after July 13 must use the new ECQs (in the resume) and the structured interview for OPM certification.
There are still some details pending for the new SES process but the above is pretty well set. So, for those of you who are SES aspirational, it is time to convert your existing resume into the new 2 page SES format—and include the new ECQs.
Nancy H. Segal is a federal job search expert. Following her own senior-level federal HR career, she founded Solutions for the Workplace LLC to provide a HR management perspective to astute applicants to U.S. government positions.
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