Your steps to apply
Attorney-Advisor (General)
DHS Headquarters · Washington, District of Columbia · Closes in 26 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
The job is open to the public, but only U.S. citizens, nationals, or people who owe allegiance to the U.S. can apply. The agency clarified that applicants must be U.S. citizens.
Experience: You need more than 3 years of specialized professional legal experience. For the GS-14 level, you need 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-13. For the GS-15 level, you need 1 year equivalent to GS-14. Specialized experience means legal advice on federal acquisition and procurement, such as bid protests, claims, and contract disputes.
Education: You need a first professional law degree (LL.B. or JD) or a second professional law degree (LL.M.). Your law school must be accredited by the American Bar Association. Education cannot replace experience at this grade.
Licenses and certifications:
- Active member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a State, U.S. Commonwealth, U.S. territory, or the District of Columbia
Experience can be paid or unpaid, volunteer work included: if it matches the duties, it counts. The full rules are in the announcement.
2 Resume and documents
Write a federal resume for this job. For each job you held, give the month and year you started and ended, your hours per week and what you did, using the words of the experience the announcement asks for. Many announcements accept resumes of up to 2 pages: check this one.
3 Apply on USAJOBS
Closes in 26 days (November 30, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).
You sign in to USAJOBS with a Login.gov account, answer the questionnaire and upload your documents, then you submit. Answer the questionnaire honestly: your resume must show what you claim.
How they rate you: Your resume and documents are first checked for the minimum qualifications. Best-qualified applicants are rated through a job questionnaire on skills such as legal research, procurement law, and protests. Interviews are required, and missing an interview can remove you from consideration. Overstated qualifications can lead to removal or a lower score.
4 After you apply
In USAJOBS, under Applications, you can see where your application stands: received, reviewed, referred to the hiring manager or not, then selected or not. It can take a few weeks.
For the interview, prepare three examples with the STAR method: the Situation, the Task, what you did (Action) and the Result.
If they choose you: a tentative offer, then a background check, a security clearance (Secret), then the final offer with your start date.
Tips for this job:
- Submit both your law school and college transcripts, since unofficial copies are accepted at first but official ones are required before appointment.
- Include a legal writing sample of up to 10 pages, because it is a required document.
- Complete the online job questionnaire carefully, since missing required documents can lead to an ineligible rating.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.