AUSA/USAO hiring Forum

[Anonymous User]

3-5 weeks depending on if there’s anything weird. That first check is for drugs, taxes, debts, and criminal record. Most people who fail a single scope investigation are for one of those reasons, so they knock those out early. If you have a spouse who is a contractor and therefore your taxes look weird or you have some other potential issue it could delay the process. The DOD publishes clearance appeals, which are super helpful, and so is Reddit, believe it or not. The issue is DOJ people in DC make those calls (both waiver and final) instead of the usual DOD, but the process for a single scope is the same everywhere.

[Anonymous User]

3-5 weeks depending on if there’s anything weird. That first check is for drugs, taxes, debts, and criminal record. Most people who fail a single scope investigation are for one of those reasons, so they knock those out early. If you have a spouse who is a contractor and therefore your taxes look weird or you have some other potential issue it could delay the process. The DOD publishes clearance appeals, which are super helpful, and so is Reddit, believe it or not. The issue is DOJ people in DC make those calls (both waiver and final) instead of the usual DOD, but the process for a single scope is the same everywhere.

I received my interim approval in 2022. From eqip submission to interim approval it took approximately 9 weeks.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone have any insight on how long it takes between submitting eQIP/fingerprinting/drug test to receiving the interim clearance/final offer (I believe it is from OARM)?

Mine took about 3 months back in 2020. I think some of the delays were Covid-related, but I also have dual citizenship and a foreign spouse, so I think that probably delayed things further.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone recieved an offer for EDMI criminal yet?

[Anonymous User]

I'm pretty sure I'm being paranoid, but I'm feeling slightly crushed by my current job and need some reassurance (or a splash of cold, hard reality, depending on how people read my situation).

I interviewed for a criminal division AUSA position at a major non-NYC USAO. Interview process was very quick, and I interviewed with the USA about 3 weeks ago. I'm usually pretty decent at gauging my interview performance, and I came out of it thinking I had done well. The USA also ended by telling me that if I received an offer from a different office, I should reach out to him/the First AUSA before accepting that.

Since that interview, it's been total radio silence, but I've noticed that the office put up another job posting for criminal AUSA spots shortly after. I'm probably (hopefully?) being neurotic, but does this sound like a normal timeline to an offer? I think the job posting spooked me more than the lack of contact, but I'd appreciate any insight into how long it usually takes to go from USA interview to offer.

Would you mind sharing what the executive level/front office panel interviews were like- was it similar to the first round interviews? As well as the USA interview?

For this office, the first and second rounds were largely similar. I guess there was maybe more of a discussion of substantive focuses in the second, since the office has different divisions focused on different areas, and you basically get placed right away without a formal rotation system. The USA interview was a little more aggressive (at least from the FAUSA's side). That one involved answering tough hypos about ethics, handling reluctant witnesses, etc.

And thank you, other Anon, for the earlier response.

A major office that has three rounds of interviews culminating with an aggressive FAUSA asking ethical hypos?

Best of luck! It’s a great place.
(And they just might take a very long time to make hiring decisions, too)

For anyone wondering, there were a number of hiccups beyond the usual federal government pacing, but I did get the offer!

Just a little encouragement for anyone else thinking "No way hiring could take this long," because it really could.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what to expect in a second round EDNY interview?

[Anonymous User]

Don't know about EDNY specifically but for what its worth, when preparing for my 2nd/final round interview recently, I asked chat GPT to ask me interview questions that are usually asked during AUSA interviews. Being that I've interviewed with a USAO prior to that, I felt its questions to be very close/accurate. You can even ask chat GPT or Bing to grade your answers based on the STAR method on a scale of A to F. Not saying AI is the reason I recently got the job, but I got the job!

[Anonymous User]

Congrats to those who recently got offers! After going through submitting the eQIP, fingerprinting, and drug testing, currently waiting on an interim clearance to get an actual final offer...so curious to see how long that takes for all of you guys as well. I was so excited for the offer and accepted on the spot but this whole waiting for the interim clearance without knowing when it'll happen is really terrible. I have no idea when the start date will be or even what salary they'll offer - it's such a wide range on the AD chart (of course not that the salary offer will make me rethink accepting). Just hard to plan without any ideas of when the interim clearance/final offer will happen.

[Anonymous User]

They should be able to tell you the salary now - it’s not going to change based on the background check.

[Anonymous User]

Congrats to those who recently got offers! After going through submitting the eQIP, fingerprinting, and drug testing, currently waiting on an interim clearance to get an actual final offer...so curious to see how long that takes for all of you guys as well. I was so excited for the offer and accepted on the spot but this whole waiting for the interim clearance without knowing when it'll happen is really terrible. I have no idea when the start date will be or even what salary they'll offer - it's such a wide range on the AD chart (of course not that the salary offer will make me rethink accepting). Just hard to plan without any ideas of when the interim clearance/final offer will happen.

HR has already decided what your salary will be. There’s a lawyerly letter somewhere that says your salary is X subject to passing background, if you’re worried about it, call your HR contact and ask.

[Anonymous User]

I did an initial interview for a spot in a major USAO on the west coast back in December, but heard nothing. I thought I would at least get a ding. Is this common? Can I assume it's a ding?

I believe the office takes rolling apps because there are always openings on their website.

[Anonymous User]

Tentative offer at MDFL

[Anonymous User]

I saw a local USAO job listing come up with a close date in July 2023. I have a fellowship in the area until September 2024. I assume they're not hiring out that far in advance, but does anyone have a sense of how far out these listings are? If there's an opening in July of Year 1, when do people typically start?

[Anonymous User]

I saw a local USAO job listing come up with a close date in July 2023. I have a fellowship in the area until September 2024. I assume they're not hiring out that far in advance, but does anyone have a sense of how far out these listings are? If there's an opening in July of Year 1, when do people typically start?

It'll depend on how fast they want to/can move. I got offered early January and started the last week of February, but didn't need to do the clearance (though did need to move cities); a colleague who got offered about the same time as me and did have to go through the clearance (and move cities) started in July, but there was officially a hiring freeze so the office had to go through some extra hoops to get them on board. I feel like 3 months between offer and start date is a reasonable guestimate? But it can vary a lot.

[Anonymous User]

I saw a local USAO job listing come up with a close date in July 2023. I have a fellowship in the area until September 2024. I assume they're not hiring out that far in advance, but does anyone have a sense of how far out these listings are? If there's an opening in July of Year 1, when do people typically start?

I applied to an AUSA opening in almost this exact same scenario, and was told on the front end by HR that the hiring process would not take that long and so I would not be considered. I am now an AUSA and my process took ~8 months from interview to starting, but there were some unique factors that may have made my process slower compared to a normal process.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody heard anything Re March d mass posting?

[Anonymous User]

Is there no Administratively Determined Pay Plan chart for 2023? DOJ's website still shows the 2022 chart, which indicates it was posted in Jan 2022. https://www.justice.gov/usao/career-cen ... lan-charts
I know that OPM posted 2023 GS pay charts and other special rate charts. I also know that there were adjustments on locality pay as well, but can't seem to find anything when googling for 2023 AD charts.

[Anonymous User]

I saw a local USAO job listing come up with a close date in July 2023. I have a fellowship in the area until September 2024. I assume they're not hiring out that far in advance, but does anyone have a sense of how far out these listings are? If there's an opening in July of Year 1, when do people typically start?

I applied to an AUSA opening in almost this exact same scenario, and was told on the front end by HR that the hiring process would not take that long and so I would not be considered. I am now an AUSA and my process took ~8 months from interview to starting, but there were some unique factors that may have made my process slower compared to a normal process.

Thanks! It feels like you basically have to take a filler long-term job and immediately apply for the AUSA position, and keep applying.

[Anonymous User]

I did an initial interview for a spot in a major USAO on the west coast back in December, but heard nothing. I thought I would at least get a ding. Is this common? Can I assume it's a ding?

I believe the office takes rolling apps because there are always openings on their website.

I applied to SF and then LA this year. Both processes were brutally slow and opaque. I know SF's process came to a halt due to the slower-than-expected nomination process for the new US Attorney. LA I have no idea what was happening there. I had a final LA interview in early January, then received a tentative offer in March, which I accepted (at the time, SF still did not have a new USA, and so they could not hire anyone).

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what to expect in a second round EDNY interview?

The EDNY second round is usually with deputy chiefs and tends to be more challenging than the first round. This is where the hypos will be asked.

[Anonymous User]

Congrats to those who recently got offers! After going through submitting the eQIP, fingerprinting, and drug testing, currently waiting on an interim clearance to get an actual final offer...so curious to see how long that takes for all of you guys as well. I was so excited for the offer and accepted on the spot but this whole waiting for the interim clearance without knowing when it'll happen is really terrible. I have no idea when the start date will be or even what salary they'll offer - it's such a wide range on the AD chart (of course not that the salary offer will make me rethink accepting). Just hard to plan without any ideas of when the interim clearance/final offer will happen.

Any news for the rest of us on the timeline? I just got my fingerprints/drug test in, so now I'm just waiting on OARM(?) for that sweet, sweet interim clearance.

[Anonymous User]

Congrats to those who recently got offers! After going through submitting the eQIP, fingerprinting, and drug testing, currently waiting on an interim clearance to get an actual final offer...so curious to see how long that takes for all of you guys as well. I was so excited for the offer and accepted on the spot but this whole waiting for the interim clearance without knowing when it'll happen is really terrible. I have no idea when the start date will be or even what salary they'll offer - it's such a wide range on the AD chart (of course not that the salary offer will make me rethink accepting). Just hard to plan without any ideas of when the interim clearance/final offer will happen.

Any news for the rest of us on the timeline? I just got my fingerprints/drug test in, so now I'm just waiting on OARM(?) for that sweet, sweet interim clearance.

Would love any updates from anyone on timeline as well. I got fingerprints/drug test in end of Mar (eQip mid-Mar) and still waiting here on that interim. The TJO letter said OARM would notify via letter; not sure if that means physical snail mail or an email.

[Anonymous User]

I asked my HR contact, who said the background check preclearance process typically takes 6 to 8 weeks from submission of the e-qip. Granted, its been 7 weeks for me and I still haven't heard anything.

[Anonymous User]

Tentative offer at MDFL

Willing to share any details about your background, the division, and the branch in MDFL?

[Anonymous User]

Tentative offer at MDFL

Willing to share any details about your background, the division, and the branch in MDFL?

Florida ties, T14, Biglaw, criminal division