Americorps VISTA alum / NCE usage

Hi everyone, I am a recent alum of Americorps VISTA and am looking to enter the federal system using my NCE. I am looking at USDA, NRCS, or EPA for the most part. Curious if anyone in here has entered in the same way and if they have any advice? I’ve heard I can work directly with a recruiter/HR to get into positions if you have NCE, but I don’t know if that is true? Any advice is welcome