How do I get a government job? Forum

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 7:19 pm

3 years of big patent lit experience in the DC Metro area.

I'm willing to pretty much take any government gig that is full time permanent. I'm not really tied to patents or ligation. Do I just spam USA jobs and work any connections I have? Are there any beneficial strategies? Any agencies that are less selective?

Mr. Archer · Post by **Mr. Archer** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 8:00 pm

USA jobs is where you'll find a lot of posts for jobs. You can also look on agency websites to see if there is a jobs section. Connections could help with giving tips about what an agency is looking for to help you tailor a resume' or cover letter. Government jobs get a lot of applications, so putting in a tailored resume' and cover letter is important. Someone with pull at an agency could probably help get you and interview/put in a good word.

Agencies have different hiring criteria, so some would be more selective as far as work experience (practice area and previous employer type) and law school credentials. Others might not require specific experience or be as concerned with law school credentials. It might no matter given that you have big law experience. An agency like the USPTO would probably be interested in your resume' because of practice area specifically, but an agency like the FAA might not care about practice area and just look at your big law litigation experience.

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:27 pm

Pray really hard.

whysoseriousbiglaw · Post by **whysoseriousbiglaw** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:41 pm

Join the military or be URM.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:33 pm

1. You should be competitive for positions at the USPTO.
2. Go to USAJobs everyday and apply for everything you see everyday until you get a job...this was my approach. I started in Jan and headed to an agency in December. it took almost a year but i ended up getting like 3 or 4 interviews during the process.

lapolicia · Post by **lapolicia** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:23 pm

whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Join the military or be URM.

Federal attorney positions are excepted service so they are exempt from veteran's preference and URM has no bearing either. At best they are soft factors.

lapolicia · Post by **lapolicia** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:30 pm

The least competitive positions in federal agencies are usually in the part of the GC's office that deals with internal agency issues, such as employment and labor law. But if you don't have experience in employment it's still pretty unlikely that you will get an interview. Additionally I don't think the SSA is very difficult to get a legal position in, but those positions are typically worse and have a lower maximum pay grade than normal federal attorney jobs. Other than that, I would actually suggest spamming every opening that you're qualified for with a very targeted cover letter/resume. And if you know anybody at all who works at an agency that's hiring, reach out to him/her because their recommendation could make a huge difference at some agencies like mine (less so at others).

You should be a very good fit for the USPTO, and I'm guessing you must know at least one attorney there based on your current position. If you see any openings on USAJOBS at USPTO, reach out to any contact you have there and apply.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:34 pm

lapolicia wrote:
whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Join the military or be URM.
Federal attorney positions are excepted service so they are exempt from veteran's preference and URM has no bearing either. At best they are soft factors.

LOL.

lapolicia · Post by **lapolicia** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:36 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
lapolicia wrote:
whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Join the military or be URM.
Federal attorney positions are excepted service so they are exempt from veteran's preference and URM has no bearing either. At best they are soft factors.
LOL.

Ummm I actually do attorney recruiting for a federal agency. In the civil service its a different story.

A. Nony Mouse · Post by **A. Nony Mouse** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
lapolicia wrote:
whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Join the military or be URM.
Federal attorney positions are excepted service so they are exempt from veteran's preference and URM has no bearing either. At best they are soft factors.
LOL.

I mean, lapolicia is correct, so not sure what's funny. They may be very helpful softs but they don't move you to the head of the line.

zot1 · Post by **zot1** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:40 pm

lapolicia wrote:
whysoseriousbiglaw wrote:Join the military or be URM.
Federal attorney positions are excepted service so they are exempt from veteran's preference and URM has no bearing either. At best they are soft factors.

Although exempt, many agencies use veteran's preference as a positive factor, especially DoD agencies. URM has no bearing, but depending on the selecting official(s), it may be given weight if diversity would contribute to the workplace. However, it's not like it would help someone who's not even top 30% if that's what the agency is looking for.

At the end of the day it's gonna be a combination of grades, relevant experience, and fit. Nothing else matters that much.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 10:24 pm

SSA positions can be extremely hard to get, even for people who are just trying to move from one SSA component to another. There are also different SSA components that hire attorneys so saying "worse" is really too broad and just a personal opinion. The positions are also on the GS-scale, so it's the same pay as other agencies. There might be less GS-15 jobs than bigger agencies, but it's not like you can't get that high or are prevented from being at the top of the GS-14 level.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 10:27 pm

Is it possible for people in M&A to find gov't jobs in that field? I'm guessing the exit opps are mostly in house

lapolicia · Post by **lapolicia** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 10:31 pm

Anonymous User wrote:SSA positions can be extremely hard to get, even for people who are just trying to move from one SSA component to another. There are also different SSA components that hire attorneys so saying "worse" is really too broad and just a personal opinion. The positions are also on the GS-scale, so it's the same pay as other agencies. There might be less GS-15 jobs than bigger agencies, but it's not like you can't get that high or are prevented from being at the top of the GS-14 level.

Yeah, I was way too broad. I was thinking specifically of the attorney-adviser positions within the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, which I know top out at GS-12 with no real possibility for further advancement unless you move to another position. Attorney and attorney-adviser positions in other parts of the SSA are just like any other government agency.

anon sequitur · Post by **anon sequitur** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 1:47 am

In what agencies are gs-15 positions more common? My understanding is that gs-15 is only available if the job description includes some supervisory duties, but that some agencies make that easier to attain, while others make gs-14 the de facto ceiling.

lapolicia · Post by **lapolicia** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 2:09 am

anon sequitur wrote:In what agencies are gs-15 positions more common? My understanding is that gs-15 is only available if the job description includes some supervisory duties, but that some agencies make that easier to attain, while others make gs-14 the de facto ceiling.

I know it's part of the normal career ladder at the FTC. Meaning that after a year as a GS-14, you're eligible for a promotion to 15, although I do believe there's a checklist of things you need to have experience with before the promotion actually happen. There's no mandatory supervisory requirement for 15 positions, but as it is an advanced grade it usual takes longer than the minimum promotion time to advance even if its part of your career ladder.

Rowinguy2009 · Post by **Rowinguy2009** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:54 am

Send a lot of applications, and try to tailor them the best you can to the specific position you are applying for. I sent over 200 applications before I was able to land a fed gov job I was happy with. Most of these were sent on USAjobs, of course, but there are a small number of agencies that tend to post exclusively on their website (if I remember correctly, Department of Health and Human Services posts jobs on their website that are not on USAjobs).

84651846190 · Post by **84651846190** » Thu Nov 10, 2016 11:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:3 years of big patent lit experience in the DC Metro area.

I'm willing to pretty much take any government gig that is full time permanent. I'm not really tied to patents or ligation. Do I just spam USA jobs and work any connections I have? Are there any beneficial strategies? Any agencies that are less selective?

Unfortunately, patent litigation experience is totally worthless right now. Worst patent litigation market in 25 years. There are literally thousands of lawyers trying to get a single govt position at the PTO.

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