Happy Labor Day! This means that the application for the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice is due soon. This short post has some super basic tips that won’t require you to do any more research, writing, etc. at the last minute (because that would be stressful! ;)), but tips that will make a difference in your peace of mind. These certainly helped me when I applied for the AGHP (and I entered on duty as an Honors Attorney with DOJ in 2015!). Consider these housekeeping tips before you submit your application:
- Give yourself at least a couple hours to upload your application. There will be hundreds if not thousands of people trying to submit their application on the same day and possibly at the same time. Don’t be that person who is trying to upload their application at 11:58 p.m. only to have something unexpected happen that causes you to miss the deadline. This has happened to people in real life, so don’t let it happen to you! Give yourself a few hours before the deadline to upload your application. But before you upload your application, make sure you . . .
- Review a printed a copy of your submission for typos, etc. The DOJ Honors Attorney application is longer than most applications, so it is wise to read over your application for typos, flow, accuracy, etc. on paper as opposed to just on the computer screen. Sometimes you catch things on paper that you don’t on screen. So, if you have the time to do it, a review on paper wouldn’t hurt! And for added assurance when reviewing work product under a deadline, I often find it helpful to say a prayer for God to keep me calm as I read and to open my eyes to whatever needs to be edited or changed.
- Copy and paste your application into a Word document on your computer for later. This will come in handy when you want to refer to your application in preparation for an interview for DOJ Honors (yes, let’s speak that into existence ;)), or even use some aspects of your application for an application for a different job or program. Because the DOJ Honors application is so detailed, this gives you a lot of great information to draw from for other contexts. So, even if you don’t end up becoming a DOJ Honors Attorney for some reason, know that your applying to the program was not an exercise in futility! Just filling out the application alone gives you valuable insight into your law school career and your motivations for becoming an attorney. Never forget your accomplishments and how far you’ve come to get to this point.
BONUS if you are reading this with some time to work on your application: Make sure you check out these tips straight from DOJ here!
And with that, Godspeed on your application to the DOJ Honors Attorney Program!
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