Attorney Advisor (Trademark Examining Attorney) for USPTO Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all. Just found out about this thread and wanted to pop in with a few notes. I'm a former trademark examiner and am in touch with some people at the USPTO still.

1. The examiner positions are ridiculously competitive, much more than you might expect. The trademark office's acceptance rate of applications varies per cycle, but is usually 10% or less.
(I don't know if this information will help anyone feel better or worse but i wanted to at least provide some context.)

2. I know several current examiners who had to apply multiple times before they got an offer. Don't give up hope if you don't succeed your first time around!

Thanks for commenting. When you say 10%, do you mean after you get an interview or overall? Also, can you comment on the quality of life? Some of the examiners on the interview panel seemed very grumpy. Finally, you said you left the USPTO, are you a trademark lawyer in private practice? Or did you decide to do something else entirely?

The managers on the panels are often grumpy and hostile, appear not to want to be there, and just robotically go through the motions. Consider yourself lucky you missed the bad cop waterboarding.

[Anonymous User]

The managers on the panels are often grumpy and hostile, appear not to want to be there, and just robotically go through the motions. Consider yourself lucky you missed the bad cop waterboarding.
[/quote]

Does this mean they are grumpy in real life? Out of the 7 people on the panel, 2 were grumpy and 5 were pretty friendly. I guess that's the normal ratio of trolls to regular people in the government?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone who interviewed for the attorney advisor position heard back yet?

[ExperiencedLaw]

Has anyone who interviewed for the attorney advisor position heard back yet?

I interviewed on August 26. Haven't heard anything, but it's a holiday weekend. Over on Reddit, someone got a call from the PTO 6 days later asking to check references but it was for a law clerk position.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone who interviewed for the attorney advisor position heard back yet?

During my interview, they said I may not hear back until mid-September if I'm moving forward.

[Taylor1998]

does anyone have a sense of likelihood of an offer after completing an interview? Thanks

[Anonymous User]

does anyone have a sense of likelihood of an offer after completing an interview? Thanks

Way back in the day, they interviewed 60-80 people for 10-12 spots. More recently, it seems to be ~150 people for ~50 spots. They need to do a better job culling written statements.

[Anonymous User]

Is it safe to say that there is not a chance if we did not hear back after the written statement request in June? Have all interview invites already gone out? I applied for the law clerk role and recently graduated.

[Anonymous User]

Is it safe to say that there is not a chance if we did not hear back after the written statement request in June? Have all interview invites already gone out? I applied for the law clerk role and recently graduated.

I haven't heard anything since I submitted my written statement either. At this point, I would be surprised if I did. People have interviewed and offers have been made and accepted. It seems that I've been passed over, yet again.

[Anonymous User]

I have seen some comments stating that historically there is another job posting in November. Anyone know if that is true?

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

If you don’t mind me asking, when did you interview?

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

I'm in a similar boat. Have seen 1 person posting about USPTO asking to check their references, haven't seen any other posts confirming offers (but I've only casually browsed Reddit, so??). I'm trying to reserve some hope, but am growing less optimistic by the day. Does anyone know if we will get an official rejection communication from USPTO if they decide not to move forward? Would be nice to at least have some closure on this after ~6 months of anticipation.

[Portax]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

If you don’t mind me asking, when did you interview?

Second week of August

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

I'm in a similar boat. Have seen 1 person posting about USPTO asking to check their references, haven't seen any other posts confirming offers (but I've only casually browsed Reddit, so??). I'm trying to reserve some hope, but am growing less optimistic by the day. Does anyone know if we will get an official rejection communication from USPTO if they decide not to move forward? Would be nice to at least have some closure on this after ~6 months of anticipation.

I have only seen one person on reddit claim to get a reference check as well. I applied for attorney advisor role, and interviewed last week of July. I have not heard anything since. At the time of my interview, they said they would notify in september, for a nov 4 start date. I want to believe if offers were going around, more people on reddit and here would have said that. Still hopeful!

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

I'm in a similar boat. Have seen 1 person posting about USPTO asking to check their references, haven't seen any other posts confirming offers (but I've only casually browsed Reddit, so??). I'm trying to reserve some hope, but am growing less optimistic by the day. Does anyone know if we will get an official rejection communication from USPTO if they decide not to move forward? Would be nice to at least have some closure on this after ~6 months of anticipation.

When the proverbial bodies are in deskchairs, they will send out an obnoxious automatic for rejection email that will say "referred not selected" even to people "selected" for an interview.

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

[Anonymous User]

Interviewed mid August for a law clerk position. Had reference check in early September. Crickets-- no communication about a TJO or FJO or background check. Got an email yesterday asking to confirm my address as to be shipped equipment. I am... confused if anyone can share any insight.

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

Did you apply for attorney or law clerk role?

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

Did you apply for attorney or law clerk role?

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

Did you apply for attorney or law clerk role?

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

Did you apply for attorney or law clerk role?

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to post an update in case anyone else was still wondering about timelines. Interviewed end of July, got a TJO end of August for a November 4 start. I submitted my background check information mid-September and waiting now. Haven't heard anything since mid-September.

Not sure if anyone has gotten their FJO yet, but I'm still waiting on mine.

I got my TJO for law clerk early September and also submitted background check & fingerprints mid-Sept. I hadn't heard anything until this past Thursday when I got the email about shipping equipment, but otherwise still nothing.

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

I'm in a similar boat. Have seen 1 person posting about USPTO asking to check their references, haven't seen any other posts confirming offers (but I've only casually browsed Reddit, so??). I'm trying to reserve some hope, but am growing less optimistic by the day. Does anyone know if we will get an official rejection communication from USPTO if they decide not to move forward? Would be nice to at least have some closure on this after ~6 months of anticipation.

When the proverbial bodies are in deskchairs, they will send out an obnoxious automatic for rejection email that will say "referred not selected" even to people "selected" for an interview.

Did anyone/everyone reveive the canned "referred not selected" email?

Congrats to those few selected. Would one of you (or any more senior examiners lurking here) please be bold enough to do us the public service of finding out why *you* were selected over 600+ (over)qualified attorneys? Until I see a consistent reason, I have no reason not to conclude that it's random with a preference for young blood.

[Anonymous User]

They told me during the interview I would hear back mid September if I was getting an offer. It seems like people have already gotten offers a few weeks ago on various Reddit posts. I think it may be over for this round.

I'm in a similar boat. Have seen 1 person posting about USPTO asking to check their references, haven't seen any other posts confirming offers (but I've only casually browsed Reddit, so??). I'm trying to reserve some hope, but am growing less optimistic by the day. Does anyone know if we will get an official rejection communication from USPTO if they decide not to move forward? Would be nice to at least have some closure on this after ~6 months of anticipation.

When the proverbial bodies are in deskchairs, they will send out an obnoxious automatic for rejection email that will say "referred not selected" even to people "selected" for an interview.

Did anyone/everyone reveive the canned "referred not selected" email?

Congrats to those few selected. Would one of you (or any more senior examiners lurking here) please be bold enough to do us the public service of finding out why *you* were selected over 600+ (over)qualified attorneys? Until I see a consistent reason, I have no reason not to conclude that it's random with a preference for young blood.

Form rejection email from last cycle came on same day (12/13) as request for written statement for current cycle.