The SES Overhaul: Why Everything You Read About ECQs Before 2025 Is Wrong

If you Google "how to write SES ECQs" right now, you'll get pages and pages of advice about crafting 10-page narratives around five executive core qualifications: Leading Change, Leading People, Results Driven, Business Acumen, and Building Coalitions.

That advice is completely wrong. All of it. Every word.

In mid-2025, OPM issued directives that gutted the entire SES hiring and appraisal system. The 10-page narrative essays were banned. The five ECQs were replaced with five new ones that look nothing like the originals. And the Qualifications Review Board, the final gate between you and an SES appointment, stopped reading essays entirely. It's now a structured interview.

If you're preparing an SES application using any guide published before July 2025, you're building a house on a foundation that no longer exists.

The Old ECQs Are Gone. Here's What Replaced Them.

The original five ECQs were broad leadership categories. The replacements are more specific, more operational, and more aligned with the current administration's priorities.

Look at that table carefully. The competencies under each ECQ are completely different from the 28 sub-competencies that used to exist. If you're still writing about "leveraging diversity" or "political savvy" or "entrepreneurship" in your SES application, you're speaking a language OPM no longer recognizes.

How the SES Hiring Process Actually Works Now

The mechanics changed as much as the content. Here's the current pipeline:

Where Candidates Are Failing (And It's Not Where You Think)

The trap is step 3. Candidates who survive the ERB often fail the QRB because they prepare for the wrong thing.

Here's the pattern: A GS-15 with 25 years of experience walks into the QRB interview confident because they've been running a division for a decade. They talk about their technical accomplishments. They describe the programs they built. They detail the budgets they managed.

And they fail. Because the QRB panel isn't asking "are you a good scientist" or "are you a good lawyer." They're asking: "Can you demonstrate Fiscal Responsibility as OPM defines it? Can you demonstrate Accountability? Can you demonstrate Leading High-Performance Cultures?"

The new ECQs have specific competencies with specific definitions. If your answers don't map to those competencies using language the QRB recognizes, you won't pass. It doesn't matter how impressive your career is.

The 2-Page Mandate: What It Actually Requires

The 2-page limit applies to the resume you submit through the application system. It is not optional. It is not "preferred." Announcements that require it will reject applications that exceed it.

But here's what most people miss: the 2-page resume is your entry ticket, not your whole case. The ERB interview is where you make the full argument. And the QRB structured interview is where you prove it. The resume gets your foot in the door. The interviews are where the real evaluation happens.

This means your 2-page resume has to do two things simultaneously: (1) demonstrate enough executive qualification to survive the initial screen, and (2) set up talking points you can expand on during interviews. Every line on that resume should be a seed for a story you're ready to tell.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the old ECQ narratives still required anywhere?

Some agency announcements may still reference the old format during the transition period. Always read the specific announcement requirements. But the OPM-level QRB certification process has moved to structured interviews. If an announcement still asks for narrative ECQs, it may be using a pre-2025 template that hasn't been updated.

What's the difference between the ERB and the QRB?

The ERB (Executive Resources Board) is agency-level. Your agency's ERB decides whether to put you forward for certification. The QRB (Qualifications Review Board) is government-wide, administered by OPM, and staffed by SES members from other agencies. The ERB asks "do we want this person?" The QRB asks "does this person meet the government-wide executive standard?"

Can I reuse my old ECQ narratives for the new system?

The content may be useful as raw material, but the framing needs to change completely. The old competencies (like "Political Savvy" or "Entrepreneurship") no longer exist. You need to reframe your experience around the new competencies (like "Civic-Mindedness" or "Fiscal Responsibility"). Copy-pasting old narratives into the new framework will not work.

How do I prepare for a QRB structured interview?

Build a story bank mapped to each of the five new ECQs and their sub-competencies. Each story should follow a clear structure: the situation, what you did, the measurable result. Practice delivering each one in under 3 minutes. The panel will ask behavioral questions designed to test specific competencies. If you can't connect your answer to a named competency, the panel won't credit it.

What This Means for Your SES Application

The SES path changed more in 2025 than it had in the previous two decades. If you're targeting an SES role in 2026, you need three things: a 2-page resume engineered around the five new ECQs, an ERB interview strategy tailored to your target agency, and a QRB preparation plan built on the new competency definitions.

Getting all three right on your own is possible. But the margin for error is thin, and the consequences of getting it wrong are a failed QRB certification that goes on your record.

Sources: OPM, Merit Hiring Plan (May 29, 2025) | OPM, SES Hiring Information | OPM, Executive Core Qualifications

Related reading: The full federal hiring map | The FBI's SES system works differently | How HR screens applications at the staff level