One of the most confusing topics in federal hiring is the difference between Veteran’s preference and Veteran’s status.
There is a subtle and distinct difference between Veteran’s preference and Veteran’s status. This difference is solely dependent on the area of consideration of the job announcement. The area of consideration that makes all the difference in the preference vs status debate is, to the public, or “all US citizens”.
What makes this area of consideration so important is that it defines preference. Veteran’s preference is only applicable when the area of consideration is “all US citizens”, because Veteran’s only receive preference over US citizens that are not Veterans. US citizens that are not Veterans are only welcome to apply to the “all US citizens” area.
What we mean by preference is that, under the specified area of consideration, a Veteran must be referred ahead of any non-Veteran. This means that, if qualified, a single Veteran would need to be considered over the countless other applicants with no way to bypass without good reason and stringent approval.
Preference differs from status because under all other areas of consideration, facility only, agency only, status candidates, etc., Veterans use their “status” to meet the area of consideration, but are not given “preference” over another applicant.
In the case of status candidates, a person would need to meet the area of consideration to be eligible for consideration, with being a Veteran as one of those methods. Then all Veterans would be issued on a list with other Veterans, while other lists are developed and issued for the other statuses.
An example would be that all 30% or more disabled Veterans would be on one list, all facility employees would be on a separate list, all agency employees on a separate list, and so on. Then all lists are sent together, with none having preference over the other. Just to further clear the fog, preference is to command first look over another group of applicants, where status is to be required for consideration in the first place.
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