Your steps to apply

Attorney (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
Office of Inspector General · Alexandria, Virginia · Closes tomorrow

1 Check you can apply
2 Resume and documents
3 Apply on USAJOBS
4 After you apply

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1 Check you can apply You are here

Who can apply: The public.

Only U.S. citizens can apply, including nationals and those who owe allegiance to the U.S. Veterans preference does not apply to this job.

Experience: The announcement asks for one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-12 level, including mediating and drafting settlement agreements under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Acts and knowledge of whistleblower reprisal laws. It also says you need at least three years of specialized attorney experience in federal criminal, civil, or administrative law at the GS-13 level.

Education: You need a J.D., LL.B., or LL.M. degree from a law school 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. territory, Commonwealth, or the District of Columbia, and permitted to practice law

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.

Resume ready: dates, hours per week, duties Resume of two pages maximum showing job title, series and grade, duties, employer address, supervisor name and phone, dates (month/year), hours per week and salary Bar certificate showing active good standing, or certify your bar status in the questionnaire if not available by the closing date; required before appointment Proof of law degree and transcripts from an accredited school SF-50 if you are a current or former federal employee Most recent completed annual performance appraisal from the past 18 months with final rating, or a written explanation if none exists, for current federal employees

3 Apply on USAJOBS

Closes tomorrow (November 4, 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: You are rated on how well you meet the qualifications using your resume, supporting documents, and an assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than your application supports, your responses may be adjusted or you may be excluded from consideration.

Apply on USAJOBS ↗

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 (Sensitive Compartmented Information), then the final offer with your start date.

Tips for this job:

Keep your resume to two pages and include hours per week and salary for each job.
Give month and year dates, plus each supervisor's name and phone number, for every job listed.
Get your bar certificate early, or certify your bar status in the questionnaire if you cannot get it by the closing date.

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