2023–2024 Federal Honors Programs (Non-DOJ) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

[Anonymous User]

Got an interview invite with OCC earlier today, in case anyone else is waiting on them.

first round interview?

Yep, it was so casual I feel dumb preparing as much as I did. They said they plan on sending out call back invites by the middle of the month.

Has anyone got a CB from OCC yet?

Yes, last week. from my understanding, this upcoming week is the last one for CBs

[Anonymous User]

Can confirm IRS tax field offices have extended offers

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

At the end of your second interview you were told you were qualified, or was it afterwards?
The offices pull from the pool as they need. I know someone who was interviewed in late April at a field office last year, so movement seems to be all over the place with USACE

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

From what I understand, it varies a lot between districts. I interned for a very large district within USACE this past summer, and their head counsel explained their process to me. Each district has their own hiring standards separate from those for qualification to enter the pool (this district only interviews people in the top 25%, but that's definitely not necessary to pass the general qualification stage, for example). This particular district pretty much always gets fewer referrals that meet their standards than they have positions open, but that's because they're relatively huge but simultaneously not high up on people's list of places to relocate to. Smaller districts will have a dozen people competing for a single spot.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

USACE honors hire who assists with current honors hiring process here.
If you are qualified, this means your resume and other materials were sent out to district counsels (in the offices which you indicated preference for). Hearing from district offices will depend on hiring needs. Our office is not looking for new hires, so you won't hear from us. Waiting periods can vary greatly. I was "qualified" in late October and got an offer late November. Other people in my class were qualified in November and didn't get an offer until May.
Also, some districts don't do the type of work you indicated you want to do during your interviews. For example, if you want to do civil works and/or environmental, 2 districts on the US soil will not reach out to you because those 2 district never do any civil or environmental work. Besides that, there are some local preferences within each office that I am not aware of. Usually, every office has 1-2 spots and like 10 "qualified" people. They'll cull the number by going through you geographic preferences, local ties, interest in the work the office does, etc. After that, they'll interview like 5 out of those 10, and extend 1-2 offers.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

From what I understand, it varies a lot between districts. I interned for a very large district within USACE this past summer, and their head counsel explained their process to me. Each district has their own hiring standards separate from those for qualification to enter the pool (this district only interviews people in the top 25%, but that's definitely not necessary to pass the general qualification stage, for example). This particular district pretty much always gets fewer referrals that meet their standards than they have positions open, but that's because they're relatively huge but simultaneously not high up on people's list of places to relocate to. Smaller districts will have a dozen people competing for a single spot.

Would you say that most other offices had similar hiring standards to yours re GPA, etc.? Also, any chance this office was in the Southeast?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone of the IRS field offices extended offers already? Non-tax specifically

Not sure if this is the same for field offices, but I heard that headquarters for non-tax hopes to wrap up hiring decisions by the end of this week.

Has the non-tax HQ given offers already?

Received one yesterday

Congratulations! I assume I am an alternate and/or my reference check did not go well.

This is my second year trying out for the program. I highly recommend going for an eligibility preserving activity if you can, it really helps

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone of the IRS field offices extended offers already? Non-tax specifically

Not sure if this is the same for field offices, but I heard that headquarters for non-tax hopes to wrap up hiring decisions by the end of this week.

Has the non-tax HQ given offers already?

Received one yesterday

Congratulations! I assume I am an alternate and/or my reference check did not go well.

This is my second year trying out for the program. I highly recommend going for an eligibility preserving activity if you can, it really helps

Thank you for the kind words! To be candid, I would be unsure about accepting as I do worry non-tax practice is limited in exit opportunities. Do you think you'll accept?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

USACE honors hire who assists with current honors hiring process here.
If you are qualified, this means your resume and other materials were sent out to district counsels (in the offices which you indicated preference for). Hearing from district offices will depend on hiring needs. Our office is not looking for new hires, so you won't hear from us. Waiting periods can vary greatly. I was "qualified" in late October and got an offer late November. Other people in my class were qualified in November and didn't get an offer until May.
Also, some districts don't do the type of work you indicated you want to do during your interviews. For example, if you want to do civil works and/or environmental, 2 districts on the US soil will not reach out to you because those 2 district never do any civil or environmental work. Besides that, there are some local preferences within each office that I am not aware of. Usually, every office has 1-2 spots and like 10 "qualified" people. They'll cull the number by going through you geographic preferences, local ties, interest in the work the office does, etc. After that, they'll interview like 5 out of those 10, and extend 1-2 offers.

Is it fair to say that several qualified candidates do not receive offers? Or is it more like if the candidate is open to a variety of office locations, USACE will find a place for them?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

From what I understand, it varies a lot between districts. I interned for a very large district within USACE this past summer, and their head counsel explained their process to me. Each district has their own hiring standards separate from those for qualification to enter the pool (this district only interviews people in the top 25%, but that's definitely not necessary to pass the general qualification stage, for example). This particular district pretty much always gets fewer referrals that meet their standards than they have positions open, but that's because they're relatively huge but simultaneously not high up on people's list of places to relocate to. Smaller districts will have a dozen people competing for a single spot.

Would you say that most other offices had similar hiring standards to yours re GPA, etc.? Also, any chance this office was in the Southeast?

I don't know anything about other districts' needs/standards other than that they vary a lot. You'd be surprised at how much each district varies even when it comes to how they implement their regulatory programs.
I don't feel comfortable sharing the particular district since I still live within it, but I'll just say that if you ever get a look at staff sizes for each district, ours stands out for how many people we employ compared to others around it.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone of the IRS field offices extended offers already? Non-tax specifically

Not sure if this is the same for field offices, but I heard that headquarters for non-tax hopes to wrap up hiring decisions by the end of this week.

Has the non-tax HQ given offers already?

Received one yesterday

Congratulations! I assume I am an alternate and/or my reference check did not go well.

This is my second year trying out for the program. I highly recommend going for an eligibility preserving activity if you can, it really helps

Thank you for the kind words! To be candid, I would be unsure about accepting as I do worry non-tax practice is limited in exit opportunities. Do you think you'll accept?

My main goal was to break into the fed system and if I want, apply internally once I'm in, but my end game's staying in fed government the rest of my career, use PSLF. I did like the people when I interviewed and most people I talked to have been on it for a long time, so I'm glad it worked out. FWIW I also applied to tax but my background wasn't enough (worked heavily with numbers before law school but not a CPA, took a couple tax-adjacent classes)

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

USACE honors hire who assists with current honors hiring process here.
If you are qualified, this means your resume and other materials were sent out to district counsels (in the offices which you indicated preference for). Hearing from district offices will depend on hiring needs. Our office is not looking for new hires, so you won't hear from us. Waiting periods can vary greatly. I was "qualified" in late October and got an offer late November. Other people in my class were qualified in November and didn't get an offer until May.
Also, some districts don't do the type of work you indicated you want to do during your interviews. For example, if you want to do civil works and/or environmental, 2 districts on the US soil will not reach out to you because those 2 district never do any civil or environmental work. Besides that, there are some local preferences within each office that I am not aware of. Usually, every office has 1-2 spots and like 10 "qualified" people. They'll cull the number by going through you geographic preferences, local ties, interest in the work the office does, etc. After that, they'll interview like 5 out of those 10, and extend 1-2 offers.

Is it fair to say that several qualified candidates do not receive offers? Or is it more like if the candidate is open to a variety of office locations, USACE will find a place for them?

I have no idea, sorry! I only look over the resumes and interview people.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Army Corps of Engineers honors hiring? Had 2 interviews and received an interview telling me I was "qualified". My understanding is that my resume and other materials can now be sent to all regional offices for which I indicated a preference. Beyond this, does anyone know how long the average timeline is from qualification to offer, and perhaps what percentage of qualified candidates are actually hired?

USACE honors hire who assists with current honors hiring process here.
If you are qualified, this means your resume and other materials were sent out to district counsels (in the offices which you indicated preference for). Hearing from district offices will depend on hiring needs. Our office is not looking for new hires, so you won't hear from us. Waiting periods can vary greatly. I was "qualified" in late October and got an offer late November. Other people in my class were qualified in November and didn't get an offer until May.
Also, some districts don't do the type of work you indicated you want to do during your interviews. For example, if you want to do civil works and/or environmental, 2 districts on the US soil will not reach out to you because those 2 district never do any civil or environmental work. Besides that, there are some local preferences within each office that I am not aware of. Usually, every office has 1-2 spots and like 10 "qualified" people. They'll cull the number by going through you geographic preferences, local ties, interest in the work the office does, etc. After that, they'll interview like 5 out of those 10, and extend 1-2 offers.

Is it fair to say that several qualified candidates do not receive offers? Or is it more like if the candidate is open to a variety of office locations, USACE will find a place for them?

From what I've heard, there are definitely many qualified candidates that never get further interviewed, but mainly because they limit themselves geographically. Some districts only have like 4-5 people in their office of counsel and may not actually be looking during any given cycle. Other districts may have several openings but few people actually select that location/the ones that do don't meet that particular district's preferences.

FWIW, during my summer internship we kept getting agency-wide emails advertising openings in the Mobile, Portland, Kansas City, Louisville, and Memphis districts, as well as the Transatlantic Expeditionary District in Kuwait. So I think there's a decent hiring spree going on this year, but the number of lateral openings may not necessarily correspond to honors program openings.

[Anonymous User]

Got an interview with IRS OCC today in DC. Was kind of surprised because heard nothing from them at school OCI and Field Offices are already making hires.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement with FEMA?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard anything from the SEC, even the automated "referred" message on USAJobs?

[Anonymous User]

Has any of the DOL field offices sent CB invites?

Denver sent out invites, but haven't heard of any other office

[Anonymous User]

Can the IRS funding cuts, if passed, affect the incoming honors class?

[Anonymous User]

Did anyone else have the FTC honors first-round interview? I had mine last week and hoping to hear back soon either way.

[ParsProTotodile]

Per Deana, the following components have begun identifying finalists.

Tax-Criminal
Tax-Civil
EOIR-Office of the Director
USAOS:
- Southern District of Indiana
- Eastern District of California
- District of Columbia
- Central District of California
- District of Colorado
- Southern District of Texas

Good luck to all! Fingers crossed for Civil-Torts.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear anything from CFPB about 2nd round interviews?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard of offers made by the OCC (Comptroller of Currency)?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard of offers made by the OCC (Comptroller of Currency)?

I was told offers were going out before Veterans Day, but considering that's tomorrow and today is a federal holiday, either it's going to be later or non-notification serves as a rejection.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard of offers made by the OCC (Comptroller of Currency)?

I was told offers were going out before Veterans Day, but considering that's tomorrow and today is a federal holiday, either it's going to be later or non-notification serves as a rejection.

I remember being told that they were hoping to get them out before Veterans Day, so hoping that we hear good news next week, at least some closure would be nice since there's no app tracker