Student Volunteer

GAO seeks non-paid student volunteers to encourage interest in public service careers and provide valuable work experience
Description:  As a non-paid volunteer, a student will gain first-hand experience with GAO’s work environment, learn about the federal government and perform a variety of tasks related to supporting GAO activities.



Student volunteers may work during the school year and/or during summer or school vacation periods. The nature of the volunteer assignment as well as the work schedule will be established once on-board.



Voted one of the best places to work in the federal government since 2005. We foster an inclusive work environment that emphasizes continuous learning, personal and professional development, and incentives for exceptional performance.



We promote equal opportunity for all staff without regard to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. GAO's success in embracing and leveraging the diversity of its employees is central to our mission of serving a diverse American population through its congressional representatives. To learn more about GAO please visit us on the web at http://www.gao.gov/careers/index.html.

KEY REQUIREMENTS
U.S. Citizenship
Enrollment at least half-time in an accredited academic institution
In good academic standing
Completion of a satisfactory background investigation
Selective Service registration if you are a male born after Dec. 31, 1959
Work permit if required by state for high school students
DUTIES:
Please note that the specific duties and responsibilities associated with this position will vary based on the team or office assignments. The following list is intended to provide applicants with a general overview of the duties and responsibilities.

Plan and complete work assignments on time
Collect and analyze relevant information
Prepare quality draft documents
Communicate relevant and accurate information, clearly and concisely during formal or informal meetings
Collaborate with others to accomplish goals
Contribute to team efforts.
Use various enterprise tools and technology to prepare and share documents
Provide essential support such as arranging meetings, taking notes, responding to routine inquiries

Qualifications:
In addition to the Key Requirements listed in this vacancy announcement the Student Volunteer must also possess the following qualities:



Ability to work well in a team environment.

Ability to communicate orally and in writing to a variety of audiences.

Excellent interpersonal skills.

Ability to organize a variety of assignments simultaneously to meet deadlines.

A working knowledge of computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.




Student Status: Definition of a student - applicant must be enrolled in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate or professional school. You must be considered in good academic standing by the school. Individuals must be taking at least a half-time academic, vocational, or technical course load leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate. "Half-time" is defined by the school in which the student is enrolled.

To be considered for the Student Volunteer Program, you must:

apply via the on-line application,
be a U.S. Citizen,
be at least 16 years of age
provide a work permit if you are under the age of 18 before you can start work
actively be enrolled as a part-time degree-seeking student at an accredited educational institution,
be in good academic standing, provide transcript (unofficial is acceptable) or class schedule
be available to work at least 20 hours a week
be able to start the volunteer position to work a minimum of 6 weeks (GAO will accept volunteers on a rolling basis with flexible starting and ending dates)
free from conflict of interest, pass a valid background check and willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement
continue enrollment in your program for the duration of volunteer service

Apply by:
Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position.

You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps.
Step 1: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button on the right side of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account and submit your resume. If you are not registered with USAJOBS, click on the "create your account now!" button to obtain access and electronically build your resume. You will not be able to begin the actual job application without first having a resume built (not uploaded) in the USAJOBS system. Resumes that are uploaded into USAJOBS will not successfully transmit into GAO's application system.

Step 2: Once you submit your resume, you will be redirected to the Career Connector website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Career Connector, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements.

Step 3: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Click on "Submit" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Career Connector or MY USAJOBS account.

Step 4: Career Connector offers three options that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement.

(1) You may select a document that you have already uploaded to USAJOBS for a previous announcement.

(2) You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS.

(3) You may follow the "Faxing Supporting Documentation" instructions within the online application, which will provide the necessary cover sheets for each of your documents so that they will be correctly submitted. The fax number will be available on the cover sheet.

Please note that each cover sheet and corresponding document must be faxed separately. Be certain to review your complete fax transmittal confirmation to ensure that all pages have been received.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer or in your USAJOBS profile before uploading them. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. Likewise, if sending them by fax, be sure and include both of them behind the respective fax cover sheet and send them as one fax. If you send them individually with the same cover sheet, each one will overwrite the other. Finally, if you upload a document, e.g. your undergraduate transcript, do not also fax that same document (or fax another undergraduate transcript), because whichever one you send last will be the only one that is visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date.

Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., DD-214, SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement.

If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE 5 PM ON THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues encountered after 5 PM on the closing date, please contact CareerConnectorHelp@do.treas.gov. Requests for extensions will not be granted.

GAO provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees (and interns) with disabilities. To request an accommodation, please email ReasonableAccommodations@gao.gov.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
You must submit your high school, college or university transcript (official or unofficial) or report card that supports the number of hours completed. If you are a first-year college student and do not yet have a transcript, you may submit a class schedule from the college or university's registration system or Registrar's Office instead. If you are submitting a transcript from a non-US educational institution, applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. For additional information please visit http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp

If you are a high school student, you must also submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor or school administrator.

In addition, you must submit the following documents:

On-line Resume
Answers to vacancy questions
A work permit, if you are under the age of 16. (Some states require students under 16 to obtain a work permit in order to work or volunteer. High school students should check with their school guidance counselors or other school administrators about the requirement. If your state requires a work permit, please bring it with you to GAO when you report for your first day.)

Failure to submit any of these documents within the prescribed time frame will result in the disqualification of your application.