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US Patent and Trademark Office
3.4 of 5 96 reviews
www.uspto.gov Alexandria, VA 5000+ Employees

US Patent and Trademark Office Junior Patent Examiner Interview Questions & Reviews in Washington, DC , US Area

Updated May 20, 2013
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Getting the Interview  5 Interviews

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Interview Experience  5 Ratings

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Junior Patent Examiner at US Patent and Trademark Office

Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Alexandria, VA (US) Feb 2012 – Reviewed May 20, 2013

Interview Details Four months after I submitted my resume at USAJOBS.gov I received an email stating that I was selected as a possible employee if I submitted a lot of paperwork that was sent along with it; I was given roughly 2 weeks to submit them.

About two weeks after submission I had an interview with a primary examiner and an HR person from the USPTO. They asked questions relating to customer service, technical interests, past experiences at work, and even life questions. The interview was fairly short and the interviewers were very nice.

Less than one month after that I received notification that I had been selected to be hired upon submitting more forms, which I did. From the start of my first contact from the USPTO to when I started was roughly three months.

Interview Question – What was the hardest customer service situation you ever dealt with?   Answer Question

Negotiation Details – There was none. The USPTO runs on government salary structure.

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Junior Patent Examiner at US Patent and Trademark Office

No Offer – Interviewed in Alexandria, VA (US) Mar 2012 – Reviewed Jun 19, 2012

Interview Details applied in February, interviewed in March, not selected in April. In applied on USAJOBS.gov - I already had my federal resume prepared. I carefully prepared my cover letter and did a lot of research to prepare for the interview. Perhaps I didn't get an offer because I was too eager, just guessing. One phone interview with 2 patent managers - both were very nice. Asked what I knew about the USPTO, how would I handle difficult people and to give details about my work experience. It was difficult to hear sometimes over the phone because they were both on speakers. I aksed a question but they either misunderstood or gave me additional information so we kind of went round and round on that one. They were very eager to tell me about the orientation and how you would progress in the position.

Interview Question – Tell me how you handle difficult people.   Answer Question

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Junior Patent Examiner at US Patent and Trademark Office

No Offer – Interviewed in Arlington, VA (US) Dec 2011 – Reviewed Apr 10, 2012

Interview Details Interviewed with one principal patent examiner and one HR rep at the same time. Was asked to explain my background, qualifications, interest in the job and knowledge of the patent prosecution.

Interview Question – What is your understanding of the US and global IP systems?   Answer Question

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Junior Patent Examiner at US Patent and Trademark Office

Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Alexandria, VA (US) May 2007 – Reviewed Sep 12, 2009

Interview Details 1. Submitted my resume to the USPTO.gov website. Called several times to follow-up, but that did not help. Finally received a call about 5 weeks later. Told them I would be in the D.C. area in a few weeks for a job fair
the USPTO was having. Arranged a meeting then.

2. After that, received another phone-call basically seeing if I could construct an a English with proper sytax and grammar. After that, another 3 weeks passed.
3. Finally, received an email with the offer and salary amount, GS grade. Called and accepted the offer.

Interview Questions

  • Describe a project you worked on.   View Answer
  • Describe your understanding of the Patent Application process.   View Answer

Negotiation Details – There was none. Its the Government. GS scale pretty much leaves no room for negatiation. Either you
have the degree/experience or not.

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Junior Patent Examiner at US Patent and Trademark Office

Accepted Offer – Interviewed in Alexandria, VA (US) Nov 2008 – Reviewed Aug 29, 2009

Interview Details Interviews were being held at City College in New York. Everybody first sat through a 30 minute presentation of an overall summary of the job, the facilities on campus, etc. After the presentation, each person was assigned to an interviewer. My interviewer was a SPE- a supervisory examiner- who had a form of generic interview questions (the questions are the same for everyone). It was a pretty easy interview. My interviewer even called human resources to hire me immediately! Basically, you know if you're going to be hired or not after the interview.

Interview Question – How do you react to criticism?   Answer Question

Negotiation Details – There is no negotiation. You enter the PTO at a certain grade level eg. if you have a masters you enter at GS-9, which has a specific payscale.

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