Patent Examiner applicants have rated the interview process at US Patent and Trademark Office with 2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 100% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Common stages of the interview process at US Patent and Trademark Office as a Patent Examiner according to 1 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 100%
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I applied online. I interviewed at US Patent and Trademark Office (Washington, DC) in Jul 2025
Interview
The interview process takes months. First, you submit an application on USAJOBS. Then if they are interested you do a recorded video interview answering a few questions. If you make it to the last phase, you are invited to set up a virtual interview with management then you get the offer via phone call and email. I interviewed for this position twice and got offers both times. The first time the position was virtual and that job offer was rescinded due to the hiring freeze in January 2025. The second time I interviewed and got the offer but they had moved the location to DC and I was going to have to work in a small inner office with 2-5 other new examiners with no flexibility to work from home. The culture at the USPTO had declined quickly over the last year with the administration changing remote work and examiner's union status. Originally the job was my dream job but there were too many unknowns and risks to accept the second offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Give a little background about yourself
2. A time where a plan didn’t work out and you had to pivot
3. A time you were successful and why
4. Anything else you’d like us to know about your background that pertains to the role & time for questions
I interviewed at US Patent and Trademark Office (Washington, DC)
Interview
Online Hirevue interview. Interview was simple and brief. Questions were related to the general breadth of patents as a whole along with various personality questions. You are given multiple attempts to record your answers.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"Give us a time where _____ happened and how you responded"
I applied through a staffing agency. I interviewed at US Patent and Trademark Office (Oxnard, CA) in Jun 2026
Interview
I've only done the digital one, where I recorded myself, and it was fairly easy. You got chances to redo your recording, which was nice, and you had a minute before you read the question to prepare your answer. I found it to be intuitive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was one time you had multiple things to do? How did you prioritize those things, and how did you complete them? (that's the gist of the question)
I applied online. I interviewed at US Patent and Trademark Office (Alexandria, VA) in Jun 2026
Interview
1st round: Hirevue interview, pretty simple, they asked 5 questions and you have the opportunity to retake each question 1 time. Total length was about 25 minutes.
2nd round: In-person interview scheduled a week after.