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Fellow applicant here - apparently they still haven’t begun interviewing yet. Some folks are saying they don’t expect the hiring process to finish before May/June at the earliest. They think the process might start moving now that more of the senior (political) leadership is nominated/confirmedAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 11:30 pmBumping this up since it has been a month. Anyone hear anything from the 1/28 posting? Feel like I should have heard something by now if I was going to get an interview.
I guess this means you're a fellow applicant who hasn't heard anything? I'm surprised it's taking them this long--or maybe we both just aren't competitive candidatesAnonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 11:55 amWow, great to hear re: the delay in reviewing. Honestly had given up any hope considering how long ago the application period ended. Best of luck to everyone.
That's disappointing. Wonder what it takes to get an interview...Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:14 pmWithout going into much detail, they started interviewing last week, and I understand the first round is likely to last for 1-3 weeks. Don't know much beyond that.
It doesn't feel massively political at the FTC. Priorities change with the composition of the Commission, but staff recommendations on an investigation really don't. The Commission can accept or reject a recommendation, but Commissioners do not tell staff what the recommendation should be. I feel like the investigations are mercifully devoid of political interference and there's a lot of transparency within the agency as decisions are made.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 12:12 pmQuestion about the job itself. Does it feel massively politically-influenced? I feel like antitrust investigations, when I see about them in the press, are constantly being talked about (Google in the EU, recent complaint at end of Trump's tenure against the same), but so rarely hit the big companies hard (Microsoft in the 90s aside). Curious about what that's like on the inside -- does it feel like decisions get made by the higher ups and then you never hear about something again, etc.?
Thanks for chiming in. I completely understand the substantive reasons not to fixate on tech, but instrumentally do you think highlighting tech experience and expressing an interest in that line of work is a bad look on an application?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:46 amIt doesn't feel massively political at the FTC. Priorities change with the composition of the Commission, but staff recommendations on an investigation really don't. The Commission can accept or reject a recommendation, but Commissioners do not tell staff what the recommendation should be. I feel like the investigations are mercifully devoid of political interference and there's a lot of transparency within the agency as decisions are made.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 12:12 pmQuestion about the job itself. Does it feel massively politically-influenced? I feel like antitrust investigations, when I see about them in the press, are constantly being talked about (Google in the EU, recent complaint at end of Trump's tenure against the same), but so rarely hit the big companies hard (Microsoft in the 90s aside). Curious about what that's like on the inside -- does it feel like decisions get made by the higher ups and then you never hear about something again, etc.?
One final note: I get that Big Tech is getting a lot of attention right now, but I strongly urge burgeoning antitrust lawyers and people wanting to make the switch to government not to hyperfixate on Big Tech. There is plenty of great enforcement work to be done outside of Big Tech that is equally challenging and consequential.
Not a bad look. But be mindful that divisions other than Technology Enforcement are hiring. If you over emphasize your tech interest, you risk not seeming like an interested candidate for other divisions. If you're not interested in other divisions, then fine.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:37 amThanks for chiming in. I completely understand the substantive reasons not to fixate on tech, but instrumentally do you think highlighting tech experience and expressing an interest in that line of work is a bad look on an application?Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:46 amIt doesn't feel massively political at the FTC. Priorities change with the composition of the Commission, but staff recommendations on an investigation really don't. The Commission can accept or reject a recommendation, but Commissioners do not tell staff what the recommendation should be. I feel like the investigations are mercifully devoid of political interference and there's a lot of transparency within the agency as decisions are made.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 12:12 pmQuestion about the job itself. Does it feel massively politically-influenced? I feel like antitrust investigations, when I see about them in the press, are constantly being talked about (Google in the EU, recent complaint at end of Trump's tenure against the same), but so rarely hit the big companies hard (Microsoft in the 90s aside). Curious about what that's like on the inside -- does it feel like decisions get made by the higher ups and then you never hear about something again, etc.?
One final note: I get that Big Tech is getting a lot of attention right now, but I strongly urge burgeoning antitrust lawyers and people wanting to make the switch to government not to hyperfixate on Big Tech. There is plenty of great enforcement work to be done outside of Big Tech that is equally challenging and consequential.
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:46 amOne final note: I get that Big Tech is getting a lot of attention right now, but I strongly urge burgeoning antitrust lawyers and people wanting to make the switch to government not to hyperfixate on Big Tech. There is plenty of great enforcement work to be done outside of Big Tech that is equally challenging and consequential.
OP here. I did do well in my antitrust class, but I do not place any emphasis on the grade on that one course when I am considering lateral candidates. In my experience, there are people with good grades who are not great lawyers, and there are people with not so great grades who are excellent lawyers. (I will say, I haven't had the best experience with people with bad overall grades.) Grades reflect how well people do on exams. They aren't totally worthless as apart of an overall evaluation of candidates, but they become increasingly less informative when a candidate has actual job experience. The longer someone has been working, the less emphasis I place on grades. And I haven't ever looked at a lateral applicant's specific grade in antitrust.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 8:51 pmDid you do well in your antitrust course? Would you say the grade you get in that class is predictive of your success as an antitrust attorney?
this is really helpful. Thanks!Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 6:40 amOP here. I did do well in my antitrust class, but I do not place any emphasis on the grade on that one course when I am considering lateral candidates. In my experience, there are people with good grades who are not great lawyers, and there are people with not so great grades who are excellent lawyers. (I will say, I haven't had the best experience with people with bad overall grades.) Grades reflect how well people do on exams. They aren't totally worthless as apart of an overall evaluation of candidates, but they become increasingly less informative when a candidate has actual job experience. The longer someone has been working, the less emphasis I place on grades. And I haven't ever looked at a lateral applicant's specific grade in antitrust.Anonymous User wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 8:51 pmDid you do well in your antitrust course? Would you say the grade you get in that class is predictive of your success as an antitrust attorney?