DOJ Honors 2014 EOIR-OCIJ Finalists Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was selected as a finalist last year as well. I forgot how utterly demoralizing it is to sit and wait...
From my experience last year, having your references checked was the definitive precursor to an offer. And having said that, none of my references have yet been contacted.

Unfortunately, it seems that we'll be waiting for references to be contacted. Two weeks is starting to look like an optimistic estimate.

Apparently one of my references was contacted yesterday

Congrats to you, although this does not bode well for me

[Anonymous User]

Apparently one of my references was contacted yesterday

Congrats to you, although this does not bode well for me

Seconded. I hope they've been contacted and I'm just unaware.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone asked Deana about the finalists to positions ratio? That information was available for Tax finalists, I wonder if it is for OCIJ.

This is a good question; anyone want to take the lead on it?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone asked Deana about the finalists to positions ratio? That information was available for Tax finalists, I wonder if it is for OCIJ.

This is a good question; anyone want to take the lead on it?

I sent Deana a PM asking if she could let us know how many OCIJ finalists were selected. Will share her response when/if I get one.

[Anonymous User]

Apparently one of my references was contacted yesterday

Congrats to you, although this does not bode well for me

Seconded. I hope they've been contacted and I'm just unaware.

Come on, guys! It doesn't mean anything for us except that this person's one reference was contacted. The contacting may go on for weeks, there are a ton of references to contact! Think about it. We each listed three, there are at least 70 offers going out, that means over 200 phone calls need to be made.

Keep your chins up, there's plenty of time left, and no use feeling sad yet.

-SE49

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone else heard their references have been contacted?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone else heard their references have been contacted?

Nope.

[Anonymous User]

Seconded. No news here.

[Anonymous User]

ditto

[Anonymous User]

Nothing here either.
-A1

[Anonymous User]

Nothing here either.
-A1

Same.
-C16

[Anonymous User]

Nothing today.

[Anonymous User]

Hey guys, I have not posted anything on this board before but I am in the same boat as all of you. Finalist but no references checked. I was wondering if the one of you who reached out to Dena about the number of finalists ever heard back.

[Anonymous User]

Hey guys, I have not posted anything on this board before but I am in the same boat as all of you. Finalist but no references checked. I was wondering if the one of you who reached out to Dena about the number of finalists ever heard back.

That was me; I asked via private message on the Avue portal, but haven't received a response. Maybe email would have been smarter...

[Anonymous User]

Deana posted a response - although we're still pretty much in the dark..

Inquiry Re: HP EOIR OCIJ Finalist Number
Hi, all:

I have received some inquiries from EOIR OCIJ HP finalists wondering about the number of finalists selected. I know there is a great deal of speculation, but this is not a question I can answer, mostly because for OCIJ, the number of finalists for a specific location is fluid. OCIJ, like most components, attempts to ensure that it selects sufficient finalists for each location it hires for. Then, as I explained in the notification email, OCIJ more or less ranks its finalists in order, then tries to match them with geographic location preferences. The most popular locations fill up first. At that point, the next finalist in order who limited his or her assignment to locations already filled becomes a back-up candidate for those locations. So the number of alternates for a popular place may start out as "1" and increase throughout the assignment process.

If you genuinely have a deadline pending on another offer and need to ascertain your status with regard to OCIJ, you should contact EOIR directly.

[Anonymous User]

Deana posted a response - although we're still pretty much in the dark..

Inquiry Re: HP EOIR OCIJ Finalist Number
Hi, all:

I have received some inquiries from EOIR OCIJ HP finalists wondering about the number of finalists selected. I know there is a great deal of speculation, but this is not a question I can answer, mostly because for OCIJ, the number of finalists for a specific location is fluid. OCIJ, like most components, attempts to ensure that it selects sufficient finalists for each location it hires for. Then, as I explained in the notification email, OCIJ more or less ranks its finalists in order, then tries to match them with geographic location preferences. The most popular locations fill up first. At that point, the next finalist in order who limited his or her assignment to locations already filled becomes a back-up candidate for those locations. So the number of alternates for a popular place may start out as "1" and increase throughout the assignment process.

If you genuinely have a deadline pending on another offer and need to ascertain your status with regard to OCIJ, you should contact EOIR directly.

sounds to me like they probably made all the interviewee's finalists - and what really matters is the mysterious ranking of the finalists.

[Anonymous User]

sounds to me like they probably made all the interviewee's finalists - and what really matters is the mysterious ranking of the finalists.

Agree that there are a substantial number of finalists and that we're being ranked; I expect the process to take a while.

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

anyone interning at the EOIR right now that has any insight as to when these offers are coming? Yesterday I broke down and started applying to other jobs because I just can't have all my eggs in one basket with this wait. I'd hate to find myself as an alternate and having missed other opportunities just playing this waiting game.

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

anyone interning at the EOIR right now that has any insight as to when these offers are coming? Yesterday I broke down and started applying to other jobs because I just can't have all my eggs in one basket with this wait. I'd hate to find myself as an alternate and having missed other opportunities just playing this waiting game.

When finals are over tomorrow, I am going to start doing the same thing immediately. Sucks.
-A1

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

anyone interning at the EOIR right now that has any insight as to when these offers are coming? Yesterday I broke down and started applying to other jobs because I just can't have all my eggs in one basket with this wait. I'd hate to find myself as an alternate and having missed other opportunities just playing this waiting game.

Last year it seems that offers were made around this time. The shutdown really slowed things down. Hopefully we hear back before Christmas. I just don't understand how offers are extended. If you put down a geographical preference, does that mean you are worse off compared to someone who didn't?

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

anyone interning at the EOIR right now that has any insight as to when these offers are coming? Yesterday I broke down and started applying to other jobs because I just can't have all my eggs in one basket with this wait. I'd hate to find myself as an alternate and having missed other opportunities just playing this waiting game.

Last year it seems that offers were made around this time. The shutdown really slowed things down. Hopefully we hear back before Christmas. I just don't understand how offers are extended. If you put down a geographical preference, does that mean you are worse off compared to someone who didn't?

No references have told me they'd been contacted. I'm also starting to apply to other positions again; there's no telling when offers may go out, or whether I'm a first-round candidate. Based on last year's two-week delay for offers following identification of finalists, I'd guess that offers don't start going out until after Christmas.

[Anonymous User]

Any references checked today?

Not that I know of..
-A1

anyone interning at the EOIR right now that has any insight as to when these offers are coming? Yesterday I broke down and started applying to other jobs because I just can't have all my eggs in one basket with this wait. I'd hate to find myself as an alternate and having missed other opportunities just playing this waiting game.

Last year it seems that offers were made around this time. The shutdown really slowed things down. Hopefully we hear back before Christmas. I just don't understand how offers are extended. If you put down a geographical preference, does that mean you are worse off compared to someone who didn't?

My understanding is that they rank you before they consider your geographic preference. So say you are in their top 70, then you are going to get an offer from one of the preferences you listed (although probably not #1 preference). Then ranks 71-200 are considered after that (hence Deana's "fluid" comment.) I believe, and this is speculation, that your geographic preference might not be so helpful after that. Because, say you are ranked 75, and the 4 people ranked ahead of you all have the exact same geographic preference, then you are number 5 in-line behind them. Where as, someone ranked 100, but checked the anywhere box, might just get an offer from a place no one has listed as a preference.

Of course, the caveat is - I have actually no idea how they do it. But, that's what I am guessing based on Deana's rather cryptic posting.

[Anonymous User]

I hope putting places like Baltimore in my top 5 pays off and I get one of them instead of Lumpkin, GA (should I be lucky enough to get an offer, of course).