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I'm kicking off this thread for those interested in the OCC's Entry-Level Attorney Program commencing in 2016. The application period is currently open and will close on September 18, 2015.

In addition to starting a conversation among applications, I am very interested to hear from anyone who is currently in the OCC program (or is an alum of the program). Here is one question I will throw out to the universe: Approximately how detailed and in-depth should cover letters be? The application page mentions nothing of cover letters or statements of interest. Is a two-page cover letter too much?

In an attempt to revive this, how'd the interviews go for those who got one at 3L OCI? Mine was quite a bit different than the typical firm interview. I was grilled pretty hard on the sections of my resume that were related to banking and securities regulation.

Anonymous User wrote:In an attempt to revive this, how'd the interviews go for those who got one at 3L OCI? Mine was quite a bit different than the typical firm interview. I was grilled pretty hard on the sections of my resume that were related to banking and securities regulation.

OCC just conducted 3L OCI interviews? Was this separate from the Entry-Level Attorney Program?

InSport wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:In an attempt to revive this, how'd the interviews go for those who got one at 3L OCI? Mine was quite a bit different than the typical firm interview. I was grilled pretty hard on the sections of my resume that were related to banking and securities regulation.

OCC just conducted 3L OCI interviews? Was this separate from the Entry-Level Attorney Program?

No, almost all of OCC's screening interviews for the Entry-Level Attorney Program are done during certain schools' 3L OCI. I think they go to something like 30-40 schools.

If they don't go to your school they will also do phone screeners, though.

My understanding is second-round OCC interviews are complete. Has anyone heard back by chance? I know they tend to extend offers fairly quickly (at least relative to other federal agencies).

Nothing here. They told me that they would try to be done by the end of November. I guess that's relatively quick compared to other agencies out there, but it's still quite a bit of time to wait.

The screener to callback ratio here is horrendously low.

gaddockteeg wrote:The screener to callback ratio here is horrendously low.

That's because they do something like 400+ screeners for around 10 full time positions.

gaddockteeg wrote:The screener to callback ratio here is horrendously low.

Any idea what % of callbacks receive offers? If the screener-to-callback ratio is so low, I imagine the callback-to-offer ratio is pretty good.

Does anyone know if the OCC calls references after the second interview? I don't think the application required references, but I think I included them anyways.

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone know if the OCC calls references after the second interview? I don't think the application required references, but I think I included them anyways.

My guess is OCC does not call references since they do not ask for them.

Has anybody heard yet? I imagine they'll start rolling out offers very soon, if they haven't do so already.

I had an additional informal phone interview last week. Looks like offers will go out in the next couple of weeks, but I think it depends on the division you interviewed with.

Anonymous User wrote:I had an additional informal phone interview last week. Looks like offers will go out in the next couple of weeks, but I think it depends on the division you interviewed with.

Thanks for sharing. Was the additional phone interview with a regional office?

InSport wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I had an additional informal phone interview last week. Looks like offers will go out in the next couple of weeks, but I think it depends on the division you interviewed with.

Thanks for sharing. Was the additional phone interview with a regional office?

Nope. No idea about what other offices/divisions are doing, it sounded to me like they all have their own process.

Was it your understanding they are doing additional phone interviews for their finalists, or was it different for every practice group?

Anonymous User wrote:Was it your understanding they are doing additional phone interviews for their finalists, or was it different for every practice group?

In my callback interview last month, the junior attorney with whom I met told me some groups like to reach out to the candidates that might be assigned to those groups, either for a phone conversation or an in-person meeting. Other groups do not contact the candidate. So it just depends. At least that's my understanding.

InSport wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Was it your understanding they are doing additional phone interviews for their finalists, or was it different for every practice group?

In my callback interview last month, the junior attorney with whom I met told me some groups like to reach out to the candidates that might be assigned to those groups, either for a phone conversation or an in-person meeting. Other groups do not contact the candidate. So it just depends. At least that's my understanding.

Had an interview with Enforcement and Compliance a couple of years ago and from my experience, each division seemed to operate independently when it came to hiring.

Does anyone know off hand how the OCC handles hiring for the regional offices? For example, I indicated when I applied that I was interested in both Washington and Dallas. I then interviewed in Washington, but my interviewers didn't mention anything about geographic preferences or otherwise indicate where I would potentially be hired. It seems like someone from the Dallas office would have contacted me at some point if Dallas were still a possibility, but I was just wondering how this might compare to others' experiences.

When I interviewed, I was told they weren't hiring for the regional offices, just headquarters. But it wasn't clear whether it was just the specific practice group that wasn't hiring outside of DC or *all* practice groups.

Any offers rolled out today? I had a suspicion today would be the day, but doesn't seem like there was any activity.

Crickets over here. Has anyone heard anything?

bump. Any movement at all?

Anonymous User wrote:bump. Any movement at all?

Nothing here.

Bump for news? They told me during the interview that decisions would be coming around Thanksgiving; it would be nice if they got out before the holiday.