CBP General Attorney Interview Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hoping someone could provide some insight regarding CBP General Attorney position and interview? Interviewing at the end of the week.

1. The USAJOBs posting was broad, so my understanding is that a general attorney is a bit like in-house counsel. A jack-of-all trades. Any insight as to what a general attorney does?

2. What should I expect during the interview process?

3. The description is for GS-11 to -14. I've been practicing with the government for three years, so should I be a GS-11 or possibly higher?

Thanks, all. Any help or advice would be great.

[Anonymous User]

If you don’t mind, can you identify which part of the U.S. you’re interviewing with (northeast, southeast, western, etc)? I submitted an application to a few of these spots around the country and am wondering about the status of my application.

[txag2010]

OP here: I understand, I did the same. Interviewing in Northeast.

[Anonymous User]

Worth keeping in mind: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_ ... inal_Court

[Anonymous User]

I think the interview process will generally differ between offices. Expect some questions about “why CBP” and, in particular, why you are interested in the types of laws CPB enforces (customs, asset forfeiture, immigration, etc). Also, you’ll probably field some questions about how comfortable you are working for an agency that’s really hot in the news right now. They’ll want to make sure that you aren’t going to have a personal issue with the type of policy actions taken by headquarters.

Pay is another thing.. as it turns out, some agencies don’t necessarily match your prior salary even if you’re already in the federal government (which is news to me). I work at a federal agency and a few of my colleagues had interviewed at for other positions and been explicitly told they’d have to take a salary downgrade. I don’t think all of the OPM “highest salary” rules apply to attorneys because we’re in the excepted service. I don’t know how this applies to CBP in particular.

[txag2010]

I think the interview process will generally differ between offices. Expect some questions about “why CBP” and, in particular, why you are interested in the types of laws CPB enforces (customs, asset forfeiture, immigration, etc). Also, you’ll probably field some questions about how comfortable you are working for an agency that’s really hot in the news right now. They’ll want to make sure that you aren’t going to have a personal issue with the type of policy actions taken by headquarters.

Pay is another thing.. as it turns out, some agencies don’t necessarily match your prior salary even if you’re already in the federal government (which is news to me). I work at a federal agency and a few of my colleagues had interviewed at for other positions and been explicitly told they’d have to take a salary downgrade. I don’t think all of the OPM “highest salary” rules apply to attorneys because we’re in the excepted service. I don’t know how this applies to CBP in particular.

OP here, thanks. That's what I was thinking.

[Anonymous User]

What was the interview like? I have my round of interviews with CBP and am wondering how OP made out.