The federal government is the single largest employer of Veterans in the country. It's also the most accessible big employer for Veterans because Congress wrote multiple hiring authorities into law specifically to give you a structural advantage. The civilian public cannot use any of these. They're yours.
Most vets either don't know about them or only know one. Here's the full set, who qualifies, and how to actually use them.
1. Veterans' preference, the points system
This is the one most vets have heard of. When a federal job is filled through "competitive examination" (i.e., scored applicants are ranked), eligible Veterans get extra points added to their score.
- 5 points (TP), Served on active duty during a war, in a campaign, or during specific peacetime periods. Most post-9/11 vets, Gulf War vets, Korean and Vietnam vets qualify.
- 10 points (CP), Service-connected disability rating of at least 10% but less than 30%.
- 10 points (CPS), Service-connected disability rating of 30%+. Also entitles you to be considered AHEAD of non-preference candidates with higher scores in some cases.
- 10 points (XP), Service-connected disability rating of less than 10%, OR a Purple Heart recipient, OR derived preference (the spouse, widow/widower, or mother of certain Veterans who can't use preference themselves).
The catch: preference points only matter when a job is filled "competitively." Many federal jobs (especially senior ones, technical specialties, and excepted-service roles) are filled through other paths that don't use the point system. Preference is also a tiebreaker, not a guaranteed hire, it improves your standing on the certificate of eligible candidates the HR specialist sends to the hiring manager.
Where you tell them: On every USAJOBS application, the questionnaire asks about preference. You attach your DD-214 (member-4 copy preferred) and, if claiming CP/CPS, your VA disability award letter. The system computes preference automatically from your answers.
2. Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)
This one is bigger than preference for most vets and almost nobody talks about it.
VRA is an excepted-service hiring authority that lets an agency hire an eligible Veteran without competition at GS-11 and below. No competitive certificate. No 5-point queue. The hiring manager picks you directly because you're VRA-eligible.
You qualify if you are any of:
- A disabled Veteran (any compensable rating).
- A Veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized.
- A Veteran who, while serving on active duty, participated in a U.S. military operation for which an Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded.
- A recently separated Veteran (separated within the last 3 years).
You start at the GS level matching your education + experience, up to GS-11. After 2 years of satisfactory performance, the role converts to competitive service.
How to use it: When you apply on USAJOBS, the questionnaire specifically asks about VRA eligibility. If the job posting includes VRA as a hiring authority (look for it in the "Open & Closing Dates" and "Hiring Path" sections), check that box. The hiring manager sees a separate list of VRA-eligible candidates they can hire from non-competitively.
You can also walk this in cold. If you've networked your way into a federal hiring manager and you're VRA-eligible, they can request a VRA appointment for you outside the normal USAJOBS posting process. This is especially common at smaller agencies.
3. 30%-or-More Disabled Veteran direct-hire authority
This is the single biggest hiring lever for higher-rated vets and it's the least known.
If your VA combined disability rating is 30% or more, any federal agency can hire you non-competitively at any grade level. No GS cap. No competitive certificate. No public posting required.
Eligible:
- Veterans with a 30%+ service-connected disability rating, OR
- Veterans rated by the military as having a 30%+ disability at the time of separation (i.e., medical retirees / TDRL).
How agencies use it: They can convert an existing competitive vacancy to non-competitive direct-hire by your eligibility. They can also create a position specifically for you outside the normal hiring queue. Hiring managers who want a known specific candidate use this constantly.
How you use it: Same drill as VRA, the questionnaire asks. If you're applying to a job that doesn't list it as a hiring path, you can still email the HR contact and ask whether they'll accept a 30%+ direct-hire application for that position. The answer is sometimes yes, especially at agencies competing for talent.
If you're networking with federal hiring managers and you're 30%+ rated, lead with this. It's the only legal way for them to bring you in without running a competitive announcement, which is a huge friction-cutter for them.
4. Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA)
VEOA lets eligible Veterans apply to internal "merit promotion" job announcements that are otherwise only open to current federal employees.
You qualify if you are:
- A preference-eligible Veteran (anyone who'd get 5 or 10 points under preference), OR
- A Veteran who served 3+ years of continuous active duty (regardless of preference eligibility).
VEOA matters because a big chunk of mid-career federal hiring happens through internal merit-promotion announcements that are not posted to the general public. As a VEOA-eligible vet, you get to apply to those announcements as if you were already a federal employee. Your competition is internal candidates, which is often a much smaller and more knowable pool than a public posting.
How to use it: When you see a USAJOBS posting marked "Status candidates only" or "Current federal employees only" or "Merit Promotion," check whether VEOA is listed in the hiring paths. If it is, you can apply. If it's not but the posting is merit-promotion, contact the HR specialist named on the posting and ask, sometimes the posting failed to list VEOA but the authority still applies.
5. Schedule A (disability-based hiring)
Schedule A is technically not Veteran-specific, it's for anyone with a qualifying disability documented by a medical professional. But it works in parallel with VRA and the 30%+ authority and is worth knowing about because some federal positions list Schedule A as an accepted hiring path even when they don't list Veteran-specific ones.
To use Schedule A, you need a letter from a licensed medical professional, vocational rehabilitation specialist, or any federal/state/D.C. agency that issues disability benefits. The letter says you have a disability and are able to perform the essential duties of the position. That's it.
For a service-connected Veteran with a VA rating decision, a copy of your VA rating decision plus a letter from your VRE counselor is often enough. The 30%+ direct-hire authority is usually easier to use, but Schedule A is a useful alternative for vets with non-compensable conditions or for positions where the hiring manager is more familiar with the Schedule A path.
Putting it together, which path for which Veteran
Recently separated, no disability rating yet: Use preference (probably 5-point) + VRA. Network into smaller agencies that hire VRA frequently.
Service-connected at 10–20%: Preference (probably 10-point CP) + VRA. The disability rating boosts your preference and unlocks VR&E as a separate career-funding path. Also see VR&E vs the GI Bill.
Service-connected at 30%+: The 30%+ direct-hire authority is your headline path. Network into hiring managers directly. Also keep preference + VRA in your back pocket for competitive postings.
Service-connected at 30%+ AND already a federal employee: Direct-hire + VEOA for internal merit-promotion announcements at other agencies. You have the full federal hiring toolkit available to you.
Former federal civilian back from active military service: USERRA gives you specific reinstatement rights to your old position. Separate from these hiring authorities. Talk to your former agency's HR.
The networking layer
Federal hiring runs on relationships at least as much as on USAJOBS. A hiring manager with a budget and a clearance-cleared position they need filled fast will reach out through their network first. Three things that make you findable:
- Public LinkedIn. Include "Veteran," your highest clearance level (if active or recently lapsed), and your civilian-translated MOS. Federal recruiters search LinkedIn aggressively.
- Veteran-specific job boards, RecruitMilitary, Hire Heroes USA, Veterati. These pair you with federal recruiters and contractor recruiters specifically targeting vets.
- SkillBridge during your last 180 days of AD. Many SkillBridge placements convert directly to a federal civilian role, often via VRA or 30%+ direct-hire.
What this app does
The Ask Benefitry AI page knows your branch, MOS, rating, and clearance. When you ask job questions, it surfaces the specific hiring authority that fits your situation, not a generic recap. The /app/jobs page pulls current federal listings from USAJOBS daily, plus a separate query for cleared roles. The "Cleared roles" tab populates the moment you add your clearance to your profile.
If you've been applying federal jobs the same way a civilian does, uploading a resume and hoping, you've been competing without using the edge Congress already gave you. Pick one of these authorities, frame your USAJOBS application around it, and apply to roles where the authority is explicitly listed. Hit rate goes up.