Student Trainee (Clerk/Office Automation)

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana is the federal government's legal voice in the region. We're now accepting applications for Student Trainee Clerks through the Pathways Program-an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience and build skills in federal service. For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorneys' Offices, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao Applications will be reviewed on a rolling bases.

Duties

The United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Indiana is now accepting applications for Student Trainee Clerks (Office Automation) through the Pathways Program. As a Student Trainee Clerk, you'll play a key role in keeping daily operations running smoothly by supporting legal, technical, and/or administrative staff with a variety of clerical and administrative tasks.

If selected, you'll become part of a highly respected team, providing essential automated support to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Fort Wayne. Your work may involve using tools such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, desktop publishing, graphics, project management software, calendars, and email-skills that will serve you well throughout your career.

You'll receive both formal and on-the-job training, giving you the chance to build real-world experience while contributing to meaningful work in a federal environment. Duties include:

• Producing a variety of documents using varied and advanced word processing software functions;
• Storing, retrieving, editing, and printing a variety of documents with complex formats such as graphics or tables within the text;
• Sorting, calculating, and retrieving data from electronic databases or spreadsheets to produce reports, charts, and graphs.
• Answering telephones and referring callers to staff members or taking messages as appropriate;
• Operating a copy machine;
• Collating and stapling materials;
• Sorting, filing, and retrieving materials in alphabetical, numerical, or chronological order; and
• Making recurring and special messenger trips as necessary.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

At the successful completion of the program requirements, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional appointment.

Salary

• $36,409 - $47,334/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory pre-employment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• You must meet half-time student enrollment requirements.
• You must submit a transcript or proof of enrollment with your application.
• You must be at least 16 years of age or older.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• If selected, you may be required to serve a trial period.

Qualifications

To be eligible for this internship ALL of the following requirements must be met:

• Student Status: Definition of a student - applicant must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate/professional school, or certificate program equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study (go to http://www.ed.gov/accreditation to verify accreditation status) pursuant to 5 CFR 362. You must be considered in good academic standings by the school. Individuals must be taking at least a half-time academic, vocational, or technical course load leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate. "Half-time" is defined by the school in which the student is enrolled.
• Citizenship: Student Interns must be United States citizens or owe permanent allegiance to the United States. (Currently, natives of American Samoa, Swains Island and certain inhabitants of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are the only groups that owe permanent allegiance to the United States.)
• Background Investigation: You must successfully complete a background investigation to determine your suitability for Federal employment.
• Pathways Participant Agreement: All interns are required to sign the Participant Agreement.
• Qualification requirements as outlined below.

To be qualified, you must type at least 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors. (A typing test may later be required.)

Education All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, see http://www.ed.gov. Foreign Education Note: You may use foreign education to meet qualification requirements if you send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency in with your transcript. It is your responsibility to timely provide such evidence by submitting proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency with your application materials. More information may be found at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html. All documentation must be in English or include an English translation. Other Information Payment of relocation expenses will not be authorized. The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees http://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Pay_and_Benefits Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the documentation as specified in the "Required Documents" section of this vacancy announcement. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov. Reasonable Accommodation Statement: Federal Agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

- Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).

- Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements. Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job:

• Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade),
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year),
• Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

- Required: Current Unofficial transcript or proof of current enrollment, e.g., recent letter from the registrar's office. (Note: If you are selected for this position, an official transcript will be required prior to your first day.)

- Required, if applicable: Veterans' Preference documentation. (See required Veterans' Preference Documentation below.) Please note, if you are entitled to Veterans' Preference, you must indicate the type of preference you are claiming by checking the appropriate box in the assessment questionnaire to indicate your preference and submit the required documentation as specified below.

- Required Veterans' Preference Documentation:

• In order to verify your Veterans' Preference entitlement, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty); or if you are a current Active Duty member you must submit a certification on appropriate military branch letterhead that indicates: 1) your service dates, 2) expected discharge or release date from active duty with a release/discharge date no later than 120 days from the closing date of this announcement, and 3) the character of service (e.g., Honorable); In addition, if you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or widow/widower if a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the parent of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, "Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference," dated October 2013 and the required documentation identified on the reverse side of the SF-15 to support your preference claim.

• If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you must submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form found at: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.

-Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/30/2026 the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on 10/30/2026.
4. After submitting an online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification.
5. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments.
Click here for Computer System Requirements
(https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=USA_Hire_System_Requirements)
6. Note, set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found on the Additional Application Information page that can be located in the application record in your USAJOBS account.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13071778

To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire