Attorney Advisor (Trademark Examining Attorney) for USPTO Forum

[Anonymous User]

I received my tentative offer and sent off my declaration, but I haven't heard back about the final "security check". Has anybody received theirs yet, I am proceeding like I am definitely moving, but I would like some final confirmation...

Awesome, congrats! Hopefully the other offers will come in soon. I'm holding off on making any concrete plans for a move until I at least get the tentative offer--I don't really know what else I can do, you know? Still feeling like I'm in limbo.

[Anonymous User]

Congratulations to all of you who have interviewed and/or received offers. I'm happy for each of you. I've been applying for several years now and its disheartening to get rejected year after year with no clear reason as to why or what to do to improve my chances. Guess that I'll continue to soldier on.

[chukiman24]

I received my tentative offer and sent off my declaration, but I haven't heard back about the final "security check". Has anybody received theirs yet, I am proceeding like I am definitely moving, but I would like some final confirmation...

Awesome, congrats! Hopefully the other offers will come in soon. I'm holding off on making any concrete plans for a move until I at least get the tentative offer--I don't really know what else I can do, you know? Still feeling like I'm in limbo.

I hear you. I still have to inform the firm, sell/lease current home, pack, move, find a new place, check schools, etc. So many things to do. I hope we can all get those final offers, clear the checks and move forward.

Any thoughts on best locations to live? Apartments within walking distance to the USPTO are expansive.

[Anonymous User]

I received my tentative offer and sent off my declaration, but I haven't heard back about the final "security check". Has anybody received theirs yet, I am proceeding like I am definitely moving, but I would like some final confirmation...

Awesome, congrats! Hopefully the other offers will come in soon. I'm holding off on making any concrete plans for a move until I at least get the tentative offer--I don't really know what else I can do, you know? Still feeling like I'm in limbo.

I hear you. I still have to inform the firm, sell/lease current home, pack, move, find a new place, check schools, etc. So many things to do. I hope we can all get those final offers, clear the checks and move forward.

Any thoughts on best locations to live? Apartments within walking distance to the USPTO are expansive.

Well my firm was a reference so that's already taken care of for me, lol. I've been looking a little further out, but in apartments near metro lines because I am not paying 2400 for a two bedroom place just so I can walk to work. Zillow and trulia have been pretty good, and were gonna head up soon to check them out and make a decision.

Its a little risky, but I just can't wait any longer to get stuff ready, so I have to just assume the security check is going to fine. (I just passed a crazy extensive one for the bar, so its gotta be fine... )

[Anonymous User]

Slightly off-topic, but is anyone else feeling awkward when filing trademark applications these days?

Helping out my colleague with them while waiting for the email from HR is a little amusing and stressful, haha.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone get official word yet for February or May?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone get official word yet for February or May?

I have received official word for Feb.

[Anonymous User]

I spoke to someone at the USPTO about it and they said that it was taking a couple of weeks to get everything out. May probably won't start getting official word until after they finish with February. They are very behind from what I have hear, some folks it took two weeks after references before they received anything.

They also clarified that once they call your references you have been selected and you should expect to be hired unless your references were no good. The HR portion of the check is simply making sure you didn't lie about being a lawyer or a US citizen or things like that. It is a formality and it is extremely rare that anyone be disqualified at that point. Once it all checks out you will get your official offer. Hopefully we will see a lot more movement in the next week or so.

I am in the May class (haven't heard official word yet) so looking forward to meeting the rest of you then.

[Anonymous User]

I spoke to someone at the USPTO about it and they said that it was taking a couple of weeks to get everything out. May probably won't start getting official word until after they finish with February. They are very behind from what I have hear, some folks it took two weeks after references before they received anything.

They also clarified that once they call your references you have been selected and you should expect to be hired unless your references were no good. The HR portion of the check is simply making sure you didn't lie about being a lawyer or a US citizen or things like that. It is a formality and it is extremely rare that anyone be disqualified at that point. Once it all checks out you will get your official offer. Hopefully we will see a lot more movement in the next week or so.

I am in the May class (haven't heard official word yet) so looking forward to meeting the rest of you then.

Thank you. I should also be in the May class. I'm just anxious to get an official offer because I'm currently unemployed and I'd like to be able to quit applying for jobs in which I have no interest.

[Anonymous User]

I spoke to someone at the USPTO about it and they said that it was taking a couple of weeks to get everything out. May probably won't start getting official word until after they finish with February. They are very behind from what I have hear, some folks it took two weeks after references before they received anything.

They also clarified that once they call your references you have been selected and you should expect to be hired unless your references were no good. The HR portion of the check is simply making sure you didn't lie about being a lawyer or a US citizen or things like that. It is a formality and it is extremely rare that anyone be disqualified at that point. Once it all checks out you will get your official offer. Hopefully we will see a lot more movement in the next week or so.

I am in the May class (haven't heard official word yet) so looking forward to meeting the rest of you then.

Thank you, this is incredibly helpful information. I was getting antsy about not hearing anything yet and this has really put me at ease.

Looking forward to meeting everyone else in May

[Anonymous User]

Yes, that information was very helpful for those of us in the May class. Many thanks.

[Anonymous User]

For those looking for housing, Alexandria has a great bus system, with numerous routes serving King Street metro station, which is a very short walk from the PTO. You may want to consider housing on a bus line, in addition to housing on a metro line.

DASH bus – AT7 route goes right through the PTO campus. AT2, 5, 6, 8 & 10 all serve King Street station.
http://www.dashbus.com/

Metro buses also serve King Street station – Routes 29K/N and 28A.
http://www.wmata.com/

For schools, I don’t have kids myself, but I don’t think many of the Alexandria public schools are considered outstanding. Fairfax county schools, in general, are considered better. There are a number of Alexandria private schools that I believe are well thought of, but of course, require tuition payments.

School rating info,
http://www.greatschools.org/

[Anonymous User]

Thanks. Never thought of the the BUS line. I've only been considering the Metro and the VRE.

I know there is a very good elementary school minutes from the USPTO. Lyles-Crouch Elementary. Besides that school, it appears that the better schools are farther out. Since I can't afford a 3 bedroom in Alexandria, I'll be commuting for what I hope will be 30-40 minutes each way.

[Anonymous User]

I know there is a very good elementary school minutes from the USPTO. Lyles-Crouch Elementary. Besides that school, it appears that the better schools are farther out. Since I can't afford a 3 bedroom in Alexandria, I'll be commuting for what I hope will be 30-40 minutes each way.

Heh. Better than me. I'll be commuting from Richmond, at least for a little while, so I'll be the one who looks like a zombie most days. Spouse isn't leaving job in Richmond, so one of us has to do the commute (midway doesn't work b/c the schools stink for the most part).

[Anonymous User]

Just curious, has anyone here applied without submitting a cover letter? How many of you received a request for a writing sample?

[Anonymous User]

Applied 4 times, got to the last interview all 4 times and never once had a cover letter. The answer to the writing prompt was essentially my cover letter where I discuss experience, skills and abilities, etc. I was just selected for the May group but have not been given my official offer from HR yet.

The first part of the process they are simply looking at your resume and transcripts and determining whether you would be a good fit. They assign points based on your experience, achievements, recommendations, etc. Those with a certain level of points move forward to the written prompts that ask a bit more into your applicable knowledge, skills and abilities. Then they review the responses and assign more points and those with the highest point totals move on to the interview process. Points are reset and have no effect on the hiring decision itself they are just for narrowing the candidate pool. It really comes down to whether you have the right combination of qualifications to begin with. I don't know what points are assigned to what or how much weight is put on different things like TM experience, grades, law review, externships, internships, etc.

The interview process has changed a bit as they only do 1 interview now or at least have the last two times.

Before you would meet with 3 senior attorneys or managers and they would detail the job and ask you some questions to make sure you were a good fit for the position. Then if you made it passed this round then you would have a second interview with two sets of 9 senior and managing attorneys who would then do a sort of draft pick style selection where they would select their favorite couple of interviewees and then go around picking who they wanted until the positions were filled. For example if 1 office had their first pick already taken it would move to their second pick and so on. This part I am not entirely certain on but its kind of what I have heard. The last two times it has only been 1 interview, the larger interview with two sets of managers and seniors.

The interviews seem to be more about finding out more about you and whether you are someone they can work with and be a solid part of their team. Can you think on your feet, are you confident, can you be trained, etc.

[Anonymous User]

Thank you for your reply. That's pretty much what I thought, but was curious. Congrats on getting the job! Going all the way to the last interview four times must have been pretty tough. I'm impressed by your perseverance!

[Anonymous User]

Applied 4 times, got to the last interview all 4 times and never once had a cover letter. The answer to the writing prompt was essentially my cover letter where I discuss experience, skills and abilities, etc. I was just selected for the May group but have not been given my official offer from HR yet.

The first part of the process they are simply looking at your resume and transcripts and determining whether you would be a good fit. They assign points based on your experience, achievements, recommendations, etc. Those with a certain level of points move forward to the written prompts that ask a bit more into your applicable knowledge, skills and abilities. Then they review the responses and assign more points and those with the highest point totals move on to the interview process. Points are reset and have no effect on the hiring decision itself they are just for narrowing the candidate pool. It really comes down to whether you have the right combination of qualifications to begin with. I don't know what points are assigned to what or how much weight is put on different things like TM experience, grades, law review, externships, internships, etc.

The interview process has changed a bit as they only do 1 interview now or at least have the last two times.

Before you would meet with 3 senior attorneys or managers and they would detail the job and ask you some questions to make sure you were a good fit for the position. Then if you made it passed this round then you would have a second interview with two sets of 9 senior and managing attorneys who would then do a sort of draft pick style selection where they would select their favorite couple of interviewees and then go around picking who they wanted until the positions were filled. For example if 1 office had their first pick already taken it would move to their second pick and so on. This part I am not entirely certain on but its kind of what I have heard. The last two times it has only been 1 interview, the larger interview with two sets of managers and seniors.

The interviews seem to be more about finding out more about you and whether you are someone they can work with and be a solid part of their team. Can you think on your feet, are you confident, can you be trained, etc.

Thank you for this. Do you have previous experience in intellectual property?

[Anonymous User]

Any word yet on the May class? Do you guys think the HR e-mails or calls will come at the end of February? The one partner that I had to list as a reference keeps asking me if I am going or staying so that they can start looking for my replacement.

[Anonymous User]

Applied 4 times, got to the last interview all 4 times and never once had a cover letter. The answer to the writing prompt was essentially my cover letter where I discuss experience, skills and abilities, etc. I was just selected for the May group but have not been given my official offer from HR yet.

The first part of the process they are simply looking at your resume and transcripts and determining whether you would be a good fit. They assign points based on your experience, achievements, recommendations, etc. Those with a certain level of points move forward to the written prompts that ask a bit more into your applicable knowledge, skills and abilities. Then they review the responses and assign more points and those with the highest point totals move on to the interview process. Points are reset and have no effect on the hiring decision itself they are just for narrowing the candidate pool. It really comes down to whether you have the right combination of qualifications to begin with. I don't know what points are assigned to what or how much weight is put on different things like TM experience, grades, law review, externships, internships, etc.

The interview process has changed a bit as they only do 1 interview now or at least have the last two times.

Before you would meet with 3 senior attorneys or managers and they would detail the job and ask you some questions to make sure you were a good fit for the position. Then if you made it passed this round then you would have a second interview with two sets of 9 senior and managing attorneys who would then do a sort of draft pick style selection where they would select their favorite couple of interviewees and then go around picking who they wanted until the positions were filled. For example if 1 office had their first pick already taken it would move to their second pick and so on. This part I am not entirely certain on but its kind of what I have heard. The last two times it has only been 1 interview, the larger interview with two sets of managers and seniors.

The interviews seem to be more about finding out more about you and whether you are someone they can work with and be a solid part of their team. Can you think on your feet, are you confident, can you be trained, etc.

Thank you for this. Do you have previous experience in intellectual property?

I did have quite a bit of IP experience but that can both help you and hurt you. It can help because its obviously something you have an interest in and an area of law you probably enjoy practicing. But it can hurt in that if you have too much experience they may question why you wish to go to the USPTO and whether you are set in your ways in terms how you view issues within IP law. The USPTO's fear being that someone with a lot of experience might go in to the office thinking they are going to change things or not willing to adapt to how the USPTO wants things to be done. Granted there are controls to prevent that within the office but they don't want to have to deal with it. A lot of my interview questions were sort of focused on why the USPTO, or how will you be able to adjust to the USPTO if you have been practicing in the "outside bar". But if I had to guess why I have been successful in getting interviews I think it has been mostly due to the IP experience with a strong focus in trademarks.

[Anonymous User]

Any word yet on the May class? Do you guys think the HR e-mails or calls will come at the end of February? The one partner that I had to list as a reference keeps asking me if I am going or staying so that they can start looking for my replacement.

Nothing here. I am getting antsy too, the wait is killing me. I haven't said anything to my employer yet but I feel senioritis starting to set in and I just want to go. Doesn't help that I kind of dislike my current job but still need to be employed. I am approaching 2 weeks (it will be 2 weeks on Thursday) since the call about references so I hope it comes before Friday.

Anyone in the Feb. class still waiting on yours? Did you have a deadline to send the paperwork back? Is it really 2 weeks before you start, Feb 22? Most of you are probably in the middle of moving if you were not in the DC area.

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the February class and my references were all contacted, got two different offer letters (1 tentative, 1 official), I filled out some forms, was sent the link to the background check, went in and gotten fingerprinted (easy since I live in the DC metro area).

I don't know about anyone else, but things seem to be on pace for me to start Feb 22. I assume they are devoting most of their resources getting the Feb class up and rolling.

[Anonymous User]

Any word yet on the May class? Do you guys think the HR e-mails or calls will come at the end of February? The one partner that I had to list as a reference keeps asking me if I am going or staying so that they can start looking for my replacement.

Nothing here. I am getting antsy too, the wait is killing me. I haven't said anything to my employer yet but I feel senioritis starting to set in and I just want to go. Doesn't help that I kind of dislike my current job but still need to be employed. I am approaching 2 weeks (it will be 2 weeks on Thursday) since the call about references so I hope it comes before Friday.

Anyone in the Feb. class still waiting on yours? Did you have a deadline to send the paperwork back? Is it really 2 weeks before you start, Feb 22? Most of you are probably in the middle of moving if you were not in the DC area.

May class, here--only 2/3 of my references have been contacted as of yesterday, when I asked my last reference if he'd spoken to anyone from the PTO. Still very antsy because I'm holding off on finding an apartment/coordinating a 1000+ mile move until I have an offer in writing. Might have to just go for it if I haven't gotten official word by the end of the week--I'm running out of time to lock down a place!

[Anonymous User]

Any word yet on the May class? Do you guys think the HR e-mails or calls will come at the end of February? The one partner that I had to list as a reference keeps asking me if I am going or staying so that they can start looking for my replacement.

Nothing here. I am getting antsy too, the wait is killing me. I haven't said anything to my employer yet but I feel senioritis starting to set in and I just want to go. Doesn't help that I kind of dislike my current job but still need to be employed. I am approaching 2 weeks (it will be 2 weeks on Thursday) since the call about references so I hope it comes before Friday.

Anyone in the Feb. class still waiting on yours? Did you have a deadline to send the paperwork back? Is it really 2 weeks before you start, Feb 22? Most of you are probably in the middle of moving if you were not in the DC area.

May class, here--only 2/3 of my references have been contacted as of yesterday, when I asked my last reference if he'd spoken to anyone from the PTO. Still very antsy because I'm holding off on finding an apartment/coordinating a 1000+ mile move until I have an offer in writing. Might have to just go for it if I haven't gotten official word by the end of the week--I'm running out of time to lock down a place!

Same, only 2 of my references were called. Maybe they just call 2 and pick them at random. I am moving from California so I have to figure that out too.

[Anonymous User]

Same, only 2 of my references were called. Maybe they just call 2 and pick them at random. I am moving from California so I have to figure that out too.

May also. 3 out of my 4 references are in the same office--2 of them were contacted, the third wasn't. AFAIK, my final reference also was not contacted. I'd be pretty willing to bet they only contact 2 unless they feel like they really need to contact any additional.

I haven't heard anything official yet, either. Thursday will be 2 weeks since my references were contacted. I'm anxious to hear but luckily I don't have to worry about moving. Good luck to y'all who have to get that settled.