AUSA/USAO hiring Forum

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Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:47 pm

Has anyone had an app referred since mid-November?

Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:07 pm

My one application to a vacancy that closed the week before Thanksgiving is still just "received."

Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 09, 2020 8:36 am

I am in the same boat. None of my statuses have changed from received to referred since Thanksgiving.

morrissey

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by morrissey » Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:24 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:47 pm
Has anyone had an app referred since mid-November?
Yes, I've had at least two I can think of off the top of my head. One went from Received to Referred to Not Selected in the same timeframe. I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to it from district to district. Some move fast, others don't.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:33 pm

Does the initial received—>referred process take place within each USAO or at some larger HR department in DC?

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Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Dec 09, 2020 6:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Dec 09, 2020 5:33 pm
Does the initial received—>referred process take place within each USAO or at some larger HR department in DC?
Happens within each office. With a wide difference in practices.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:47 pm

Does anyone know what percentile new attorneys get coming in (i.e., experienced lawyers coming from a firm to USAO)? Do most offices start you at the 50th percentile?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:47 pm
Does anyone know what percentile new attorneys get coming in (i.e., experienced lawyers coming from a firm to USAO)? Do most offices start you at the 50th percentile?
Varies by office. I've been at 2 offices that start you (everyone) at the 25th percentile (assuming you have less than 9 yrs practice experience/will start below AD-29. After that I think there's more variation). I suspect there's some correlation w/local COL, b/c the office I know that starts higher is in a high COL place and both my offices were reasonably low, but it may just depend on history/different USA policies. (Not sure how much higher the higher office is though, sorry.)

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:45 am

Thanks for the insight! Do they take your current salary into account (e.g., coming from BigLaw)?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 20, 2020 11:55 am

Honestly, I didn't come from biglaw, so I don't know for certain. My understanding is that it's theoretically possible, but not generally the case, but again, it could well vary by office (my impression has been that the salary is the salary and someone isn't going to get paid more than someone else starting at the same level just because they come from a higher-paying job. But my offices have also traditionally hired a lot of non-biglaw people. An office that places a higher premium on biglaw and wants to be certain to lure them away may well handle this differently, I can't say).

Audio_Grizz

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Audio_Grizz » Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:03 pm

I've applied to about a dozen main justice sections since October. All of them are still "referred," and most have been that way for a while. I assume the election plays some role in slowing things down, but I'm curious if anyone else is similarly situated. Has anyone had any interviews with main justice recently?

andythefir

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by andythefir » Mon Dec 21, 2020 7:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Dec 19, 2020 5:47 pm
Does anyone know what percentile new attorneys get coming in (i.e., experienced lawyers coming from a firm to USAO)? Do most offices start you at the 50th percentile?
That’s generally a flag for how the office is going to treat you. Border offices need bodies, so the folks I know working there are generally at or below 25th percentile. An outstanding review also makes 25th percentile mandatory, so some offices that need tons of bodies discourage outstanding reviews. I would expect big/main offices who think they’re recruiting top talent to start at 50th percentile or better, branch offices depending entirely on whether the branch chief wants to make waves in the main office.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:00 pm

What is that expectation based on? The only people I’ve ever heard of being paid less than 25th percentile are people literally failing at their jobs, and it’s very very rare. (I used to work in a border district.)

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Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 22, 2020 10:15 am

Code: Select all

I've applied to about a dozen main justice sections since October. All of them are still "referred," and most have been that way for a while. I assume the election plays some role in slowing things down, but I'm curious if anyone else is similarly situated. Has anyone had any interviews with main justice recently?
I'm in the same boat - no interviews, no rejections, a few "referrals" reflected on USAJobs, but silence.

andythefir

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by andythefir » Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:00 pm
What is that expectation based on? The only people I’ve ever heard of being paid less than 25th percentile are people literally failing at their jobs, and it’s very very rare. (I used to work in a border district.)
That’s interesting, I know folks in a few border districts now who have passed on everyone is around the 25th. I guess it depends on the US Attorney, whether they want to pay the money to even try to keep their border people.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:20 pm

andythefir wrote:
Tue Dec 22, 2020 1:10 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:00 pm
What is that expectation based on? The only people I’ve ever heard of being paid less than 25th percentile are people literally failing at their jobs, and it’s very very rare. (I used to work in a border district.)
That’s interesting, I know folks in a few border districts now who have passed on everyone is around the 25th. I guess it depends on the US Attorney, whether they want to pay the money to even try to keep their border people.
I was talking about less than 25th percentile. I’ve never heard of any office trying to keep salaries below 25th. I agree that 25th percentile, at least to start, is common, so “around” 25th is common.

Also you keep shitting on border offices and how they treat people. That wasn’t at all my experience in a border office. I’m sure it’s tough to be there under the current admin but it’s not like border offices pay less because they don’t value their attorneys. They pay less in part because most border offices are in pretty low COL places (San Diego is the major exception and San Diego has a higher salary floor). My current office, not a border district, also starts people at 25th and is also in a lower COL area. It’s undeniable that border districts have a high volume of reactive cases but that doesn’t mean they’re all always the kind of churn and burn sweatshops you seem to portray them as.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:40 pm

Has anyone heard from ED VA? I know it said that interview requests would go out within 2-3 weeks of the posting closing.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:48 am

Anyone hear back from DC USAO (superior court division) recently? I did all my interviews in early November and haven't heard back since then.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:40 pm
Has anyone heard from ED VA? I know it said that interview requests would go out within 2-3 weeks of the posting closing.
Nope. I was referred the day after the posting closed and I haven't heard anything. I'm also still "referred" for two ED VA AUSA positions I applied to in August...

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:48 am
Anyone hear back from DC USAO (superior court division) recently? I did all my interviews in early November and haven't heard back since then.
nothing from me. did all my interviews in october and nothing.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:14 pm

any one have any updates from EDNY?

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:07 pm

Does anyone know what typically happens to your pending apps in a district where the USA resigns? I am aware that, generally, all USA’s resign when a new president is elected but I am not sure if the application process proceeds, delays or starts over.

Anonymous User
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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:32 pm

I think it's going to depend. A delay wouldn't surprise me. If an office has an open position and is hiring, they are going to want to continue to move forward (it usually means they need the person). As I'm sure you know, normally you have to interview with the USA to get hired, but the process of appointing a new USA can be hard to predict. In my previous office, they didn't get a new USA until over 2 years after Trump's inauguration, and I'm sure they wouldn't have wanted to put all hiring on hold that whole time.

FWIW, I got hired in between Trump being elected and being inaugurated, so there was no issue with having the "lame duck" USA sign off. But I did get (and accept) an offer before the Obama USA resigned. At this point, if no offers are outstanding, I'm not sure what would happen. A delay wouldn't surprise me, but neither would going forward.

(I doubt they'd start all over. Although obviously changes in administration change prosecution policies/priorities, the office will probably still need/want the new warm body and has a position in place. I can't swear it's never happened, but it seems unlikely to me.)

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:45 pm

Thanks for the insight.

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Re: AUSA/USAO hiring

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:49 pm

When applying on USAJobs, is it better to upload a regular PDF resume or to use the USAJobs resume builder? I assume attorneys on the hiring committees are used to reviewing regular PDF resumes, but the USAJobs resume builder does give you more space to talk about your experience and provide references up front. Any thoughts?

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