For This Issue

IRS Launches
Drive For Revenue
Agents, Contact Reps

Depending on location salaries start for Agents
from $30,772 to as much as $86,525

Openings nationwide. Some hiring bonuses to $5000. Jobs in other occupations with IRS also open.

The IRS has launched a major recruitment drive. Ads are running for the Agency on web recruitment sites. They say, “The IRS is hiring hundreds of Internal Revenue Agents – It’s a great time to join the Agency!” In some hard-to-recruit areas signing bonuses up to $5000 are being awarded. The Agency needs to hire Revenue Agents, GS-0512, to fill ‘many vacancies nationwide’. Some 200 or more additional Agents are needed in the next several years.

The Revenue Agent job pays up to $86,525 after initial experience is obtained.

The Agency also needs:
• Contact Reps
• Secretaries
• Examination Technicians

The Agency rates as one of the top 5 employers hiring of new college grads in the U.S. based on hiring figures. A college degree qualifies for many IRS jobs. Relevant experience also qualifies applicants for many positions.

Disabled Applicants
The IRS is proud of its special commitment to hiring the disabled: "The IRS has long sought, not just to meet its legal obligations, but to create a working environment characterized by inclusiveness, in order to attract and retain the most capable and talented people.

Revenue Agents
Revenue Agents resolve examination and collection issues with Small Business/Self Employed customers. Agents provide customer assistance and resolve compliance issues such as filing and payment delinquencies and accuracy of filing. They conduct examinations and take enforcement actions. The work involves extensive contact with tax payers, tax attorneys and certified public accounts.

Qualifications
Job candidates must be U.S. citizens and have 30 college credits in accounting of which at least 24 must be in accounting itself and the remaining 6 can be in related subjects such as business law, economics, statistics, or finance, plus a bachelor’s degree. Four years of related business experience can substitute for the college degree. Such business experience can be of a professional, administrative, technical, or investigative nature. The experience should have provided the candidate with an ability “to recognize, identify, analyze and evaluate data, to plan organize and prioritize work and to communicate effectively both orally and in writing”.

Self Assessment Test
Candidates for the Revenue Agent job must take an on-line exam called a “job-simulation”. The simulation measures the following Internal Revenue Agent competencies: Decision Making, Interpersonal Skills, and Accounting Knowledge. The test takes about 45 minutes to complete. Candidates who pass the on-line assessment, will be placed into a tentative category and move on to the 2nd part of the hiring process, the interview.

Oral Exam
Eligible candidates must also pass the IRS Revenue Agent “structured oral exam”. The exam takes several hours to complete. Applicants will receive their test schedule notices approximately two weeks prior to the test date. A five-point veterans preference will be awarded to applicable veterans. Disabled veterans will be awarded a ten-point preference.

Contact Reps
Contact Reps, GS-0962 , for the IRS earn $15.30 to $27.29 per hour depending on experience. Reps provide technical assistance to individuals and/or businesses by phone and in face-to-face contact. This involves using sound judgment to resolve taxpayer disputes and delinquency issues.

Qualifications
A college degree or 120 credit hours of study qualifies applicants. A year of relevant specialized experience also qualifies for those not having college. Specialized experience includes tasks such as:
• Applying laws, rules or regulations
   and written guidelines
• Negotiating with others to resolve
   issue
• Writing correspondence in response
   to inquiries

Secretaries
Secretaries, GS-0318 , with the Agency earn $31,934 to $41,516 annually. IRS Secretaries work in every area of the Agency to provide a wide range of administrative and secretarial services. These include using a variety of computer applications, organizing and maintaining files, providing telephone and receptionist services, arranging conferences and meetings, typing and reviewing correspondence and meeting minutes, arranging travel itineraries, and briefing the manager on important issues.

Qualifications
Again a college degree or 4 years of education beyond high school qualifies. Also qualifying is at least 1 year of relevant previous job experience. Examples of relevant experience include: preparing, receiving, reviewing, and verifying documents; processing transactions; maintaining office records; and locating and compiling data or information from files and other data sources.

Examination Technicians
The IRS pays Examination Technicians, GS-0503 , $30,772 - $40,005 annually. These technicians examine tax returns and communicate with taxpayers through phone or
correspondence. They also provide support to tax compliance officers and revenue agents during their examinations.

Qualifications
A college degree or 4 years of education beyond high school qualifies. A year of relevant specialized experience also qualifies. This includes preparing, receiving, reviewing, and verifying documents; processing transactions; maintaining office records; and locating and compiling data or information from files and other data sources

Hiring Schedules
Because it has so many jobs to fill regularly, the Agency maintains applicant supply files from which it can drawn on candidates who have been pre-approved and are ready to start. For this reason the pipe-line for Revenue Agent positions may be several months long. Applicants for other positions may be able to start more quickly.

How To Apply
Candidates should scan this site for current vacancies. Interested job candidates can also visit the Agency’s recruitment website .

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