US Patent and Trademark Office Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process for this role is quite lengthy, often taking several months. It starts with submitting an application through USAJOBS. If your application is selected, you'll proceed to a recorded video interview where you answer a few questions. Those who successfully pass this stage will then be invited to a virtual interview with management. The process concludes with an offer, which is communicated via phone call and email. I went through this interview process twice and received job offers both times. The first offer was for a virtual position, but it was later rescinded due to a hiring freeze in January 2025. For the second interview, I received an offer, but the job location had been moved to DC. This meant working in a small office with 2-5 other new examiners, with no option for remote work. The culture at the USPTO has reportedly declined recently due to changes in remote work policies and the examiner's union status. Although this was initially my dream job, there were too many uncertainties and risks to accept the second offer.

It was an asynchronous interview on HireVue. There were 5 questions total. For each question, you had two tries, and you could record your answer for up to 3 minutes. It would play back your recording, and if you weren't happy with your first try, you could use your second try, which was another 3 minutes. I think the first two questions were standard, like 'why would you be a good fit,' and the questions after that were just random questions about your work ethic, skills, etc.

The starting salary was pretty good. They really went out of their way to contact my doctors and top management. First Advantage did a drug test and background check. So, I take medicine that causes a false positive. Omg, why did First Advantage tell me that you correctly took "this"? First advantage..... I wish I could send them a video from my house camera. Maybe it was her first day. HR said they were having some issues with First Advantage and called me back within hours to verify my medical history. After I showed them the video, she maintained a $2 pay differential.

I applied on USAJobs about 4 months before getting an acceptance. The application was long, so be comprehensive about your research/extracurriculars without being too technical. If you did many things in university and understood them, that's attractive. A good GPA is also more desired than for many private sector jobs. 3 months later, I got a request for an online interview to be completed within a week. They're generic STAR questions, except for the first ones asking what a patent examiner does and why you'd be a good fit. I think these are the only questions they care about, so have a good, comprehensive answer ready for about 5 minutes. Do your research. I stumbled through the other questions because I didn't practice enough, but I still answered them. I got an offer a month later. Main takeaways: they want candidates who did a lot of different things, can talk about them, are academically talented, and do their own research. The process is really slow, about half a year for me. Find a job to pay rent in the meantime.