Editing Competitive service (section)

=== Competitive examining ===
Competitive examining is the "traditional" method for making appointments to competitive service positions.  It requires adherence to the full range of procedures and protections listed in [[Title 5 of the United States Code]].<ref name="Competitive Hiring">{{Cite web|url=https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/|title=Competitive Hiring|website=U.S. Office of Personnel Management|access-date=2019-03-26}}</ref>

Prior to 1996, the process of examining was largely centralized in the [[United States Civil Service Commission|Civil Service Commission]] and later the [[United States Office of Personnel Management|Office of Personnel Management]] (OPM).  Two amendments in that year allowed examination authority to be delegated to individual federal agencies, and allowed OPM to charge fees to agencies for staffing services.  As a result, by 2001 there were nearly 700 examining units across the government with OPM periodically reviewing their activity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mspb.gov/MSPBSEARCH/viewdocs.aspx?docnumber=253638&version=253925|title=Assessing Federal Job-Seekers in a Delegated Examining Environment|date=2001-12-01|website=[[United States Merit Systems Protection Board|U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board]]|pages=vii–viii|access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref>

Prior to 2010, competitive examining was subject to the "rule of three" where hiring managers could only select from the top three rated applicants.  This was replaced in 2010 with "category rating", where applicants are sorted into two or more categories, and agencies make selections from within the highest quality category regardless of the number of candidates.<ref name="Competitive Hiring"/>