AUSA/USAO hiring Forum

(Issue areas, International Law, International Public Interest, Public Service in the private sector, Non-Profits, Public Interest Organizations, Government/ government agencies, employment settings)
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Oct 10, 2020 8:13 am

I've been told EDNY was doing a crazy amount of interviewing and hiring last month. Not sure if it has continued to this one.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:09 pm

Has anyone heard anything from C.D. Cal or E.D. MI recently? I had an interview with one of them 3-4 weeks ago but haven't heard back since.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Oct 25, 2020 5:15 pm

Does anyone have info about the typical timeline in the EDWI (Milwaukee)? I interviewed there twice, including with the US Atty, and am wondering how long they usually take to make offers.

MNaghten

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by MNaghten » Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:36 pm

My references were contacted two weeks ago in a non-prestigious east coast district, but although I met front office, I haven’t met USA.

Thoughts?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Oct 26, 2020 7:57 am

MNaghten wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:36 pm
My references were contacted two weeks ago in a non-prestigious east coast district, but although I met front office, I haven’t met USA.

Thoughts?
No way for anyone to know. It may well be that they're not moving you forward. It may well be that this is their normal timeline. It may well be that something came up that's delaying them. Although I think it's a pretty fixed rule that applicants can't get hired without meeting the USA, beyond that, there's no point in speculating - it is impossible to know from the outside. You don't have the job until you have the job, so put it out of your mind and move on, and then if they do contact you for a further interview, spectacular!

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MNaghten

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by MNaghten » Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:27 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 7:57 am
MNaghten wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:36 pm
My references were contacted two weeks ago in a non-prestigious east coast district, but although I met front office, I haven’t met USA.

Thoughts?
No way for anyone to know. It may well be that they're not moving you forward. It may well be that this is their normal timeline. It may well be that something came up that's delaying them. Although I think it's a pretty fixed rule that applicants can't get hired without meeting the USA, beyond that, there's no point in speculating - it is impossible to know from the outside. You don't have the job until you have the job, so put it out of your mind and move on, and then if they do contact you for a further interview, spectacular!
Could you DM me?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:11 pm

Has anyone had any traction with DNJ after first round?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Nov 16, 2020 8:57 pm

Any updates on hiring in C.D. Cal. or elsewhere? Seems like things have been pretty quiet here.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:12 pm

I turned to this post (and others) during my process so I wanted to give back with what little information I can.

Some background and a timeline:

I have been practicing law for ten years. Three of those were spent in private practice (small office) and the past seven have been as a felony prosecutor. I have capital trial experience (murder) and a wide range of other general crimes trial experience. Light on white collar.

During a recent slow down I reached out to some contacts to discuss a possible transition to large multi-national firm. I was told my resume didn't warrant the hire but they thought I would be a good fit for a regional litigation practice (50-100 attorney firm).

I graduated from a regional law school. I thought I had no chance at becoming an AUSA.

After my discussions with the firm referenced above, thought what the hell and sent out some applications for AUSA. Was shocked when I got a response requesting an interview and was even more shocked as I continued to pass the other rounds of interviews.

I received an offer for a separate interview while moving through the interview process for the first. I had received a tentative offer by then and declined the interview. Point is, try......worst they can say is no.

Timeline:

Job Posted- Day 1
Applied- Day 5
Received email for 1st round interview- Day 28
First round interview (panel with 7 regional heads of offices)- Day 36
Email invitation to second round interview- Day 60
2nd Round Interview (4 main bosses (not US Atty)))- Day 70
Phone call invitation for interview with US Atty- Day 76
Interview with US Atty- Day 77
Offered job during interview (at the conclusion of hour long interview)- Day 77
Tentative offer letter- Day 92
Informed I passed initial background by phone and asked to speak w/ boss- Day 126
Formal final offer letter from OARM- Day 140
Start date- Day 174

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 24, 2020 12:17 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:11 pm
Has anyone had any traction with DNJ after first round?
Also curious to know if folks have had traction with DNJ. Applied this fall but did not get called for an interview. Former DNJ clerk and big law experience so was hoping to land at least an interview.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 24, 2020 12:55 pm

Thanks for the detailed timeline! I have applied to multiple USAO’s and was curious about the length of the process.

How long did it take for your app to be referred?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 24, 2020 1:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Nov 24, 2020 12:55 pm
Thanks for the detailed timeline! I have applied to multiple USAO’s and was curious about the length of the process.

How long did it take for your app to be referred?

I am not poster above. But my experience in applying to a couple dozen offices (and finally getting into one) was that the "your application has been referred email" came (if it came at all) about 30 days after the closing of the post.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 24, 2020 1:34 pm

Thanks!

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 24, 2020 2:22 pm

Just to offer another anecdote, both times I applied through USAjobs and was referred, I was notified of the referral in less than a week after the closing of the post (more like 4 days).

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:43 pm

I don’t know how to quote posts and remain anonymous.

I am the poster that did the detailed timeline above. Someone asked about referral letter.

The referral email for the job I ultimately received was almost instantaneous - maybe 3 or four days after closing.

However, and I know this sucks for your purpose in seeking information or “clues”, I don’t think that process is uniform. I know of other positions that the referral notice didn’t come for quite some time. I have no idea what the cause for the variance is.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:36 pm

In my experience, it has taken anywhere between 2 to 30 days to get referred.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:06 pm

Are referrals automatic?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:06 pm
Are referrals automatic?
No. You have to meet the minimum qualifications - have a JD, have the requisite number of years of experience, and anything else that might be a hard requirement (usually it’s just those 2 things though). So, for instance, if the posting says you have to have 3 years’ experience, and you graduated last spring, you won’t get referred.

That said, though, as long as you meet those minimum requirements, referrals are automatic - you will get referred, regardless of how competitive you actually are for the position.

So you should know whether you’re going to get referred (and if you’re not you probably shouldn’t bother applying), and being referred is necessary for your candidacy to continue, but doesn’t indicate anything really about your chances as the job.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:06 pm
Are referrals automatic?
No. You have to meet the minimum qualifications - have a JD, have the requisite number of years of experience, and anything else that might be a hard requirement (usually it’s just those 2 things though). So, for instance, if the posting says you have to have 3 years’ experience, and you graduated last spring, you won’t get referred.

That said, though, as long as you meet those minimum requirements, referrals are automatic - you will get referred, regardless of how competitive you actually are for the position.

So you should know whether you’re going to get referred (and if you’re not you probably shouldn’t bother applying), and being referred is necessary for your candidacy to continue, but doesn’t indicate anything really about your chances as the job.
My experience was different. I definitely met the bare minimum to every post I applied to but was not “automatically” referred in each instance. Like most things, this practice seems to vary district by district. I think some offices absolutely do refer everyone who meets the bare minimum to the attorney hiring committee. I think some have additional things that are automatic cuts that the HR officer can look at and kick the application before it goes on to hiring committee. That’s all spec though. I know my office doesn’t auto refer everyone that meets the bare minimum.

I applied to two dozen offices. I met the minimum requirements in all. I was “referred” in less than half. Of those, I made it to an interview in two. Offer in one. Most of my “referred” statuses just stayed that way for months until a final rejection.

Again. Just my experience. This was over two years ago.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:09 pm

That's fair. I haven't seen that (and my office only doesn't refer candidates who don't meet the required qualifications), but like you said, offices can differ.

I'll stand by the idea that being referred doesn't, ultimately, say very much about your position in the pool, though. I don't think offices are using the referral process to whittle a pool down to top candidates, just to weed out ones they know at a glance they're not going to hire.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:41 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:09 pm
That's fair. I haven't seen that (and my office only doesn't refer candidates who don't meet the required qualifications), but like you said, offices can differ.

I'll stand by the idea that being referred doesn't, ultimately, say very much about your position in the pool, though. I don't think offices are using the referral process to whittle a pool down to top candidates, just to weed out ones they know at a glance they're not going to hire.
Totally agree. My understanding is no attorney has even looked at your package yet at referring. It’s just a cut off. A necessary one obviously.

I know this is true in our office but not sure about others (we are on the much larger side of offices) but we routinely get a couple hundred applications for a single spot. And those are the ones that meet the bare minimum. So I think there is some weeding out beyond those criteria to make it manageable for hiring committee.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 3:17 pm

Thanks for the insight. I meet all of the mimimim requirements and was referred in each of my first six or so applications. However, I have a half a dozen applications pending and only two have been referred thus far.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 02, 2020 4:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:41 pm
Totally agree. My understanding is no attorney has even looked at your package yet at referring. It’s just a cut off. A necessary one obviously.

I know this is true in our office but not sure about others (we are on the much larger side of offices) but we routinely get a couple hundred applications for a single spot. And those are the ones that meet the bare minimum. So I think there is some weeding out beyond those criteria to make it manageable for hiring committee.
Yeah, I can see that making a difference in a big office. My office is small, and we had ~150-200 applications for our last position as well, but to be honest, a chunk of them can be dispatched pretty quickly (no offense to anyone like this, but someone who, say, went to a notorious TTTT, graduated 4 years ago, and whose only experience is as a family law solo in a state across the country from our office isn’t a competitive candidate for a criminal AUSA position). It wouldn’t be hard to have a non-lawyer screen for certain disqualifying schools or practice experiences to cut out at least some of those.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 05, 2020 9:57 pm

Anyone have insight on the D.Mass. USAO's hiring practices, culture, pay structure? Much appreciated.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:58 pm

Does anyone have insight into D. Minn (and would be willing to connect to discuss)? They have a posting up now for criminal AUSA. The listing specifically asks for a writing sample, one that is preferably persuasive (like a brief). Even if you don't have experience with D. Minn, I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether it would be better to submit a brief I wrote recently (like last month) for a non-dispositive civil motion (think motion for more definite statement, transfer, etc.) or to submit an opinion I wrote while clerking in the district (the opinion is civil, but deals with a habeas petition so discusses a bunch of different criminal issues) as a writing sample.

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