Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Topics - slylives

Pages: [1]

2L job search / Bias against part time/"second career" (older) students

« on: October 09, 2008, 09:07:44 PM »

Hi -

As I've already posted, OCI has been a bust for me. Applied to 8; 2 callbacks; 1 rejection, 1 waitlist. I know it's been a tough year for recruiting but I am ranked 5th in my class, CALI awards, Law Review, great work experience. I go to a T3 regional school (very well regarded) and have only applied to regional firms. I have been feeling a little sorry for myself, but clearly I am not alone.

What I did find out today, though is that out of the top 5 students at my school, we have made around 40 applications and only received 3 offers. That's not an average of three per student - that's three from the 40 applications. We all have Law Review, CALI awards, relevant work experience and we're personable and confident. However, we are all over 30 ("second-career students" I believe they call us!) and are part-time, evening students.

One of our number (one with an offer, incidentally) is convinced that the odds have been stacked against us from day one, and that these firms are looking for 24 year olds who can work 70 hours a week, have fewer family commitments and are more "pliable", as it were. I'm not sure. Frankly, knowing that it may have been a waste of time from day one is no more comforting than thinking that I may just have blown every interview so far. Either way, it certainly stings to be surrounded by less stellar (on paper, anyway) people who are juggling 4, 5, 6 offers.

Has anyone else got any opinions/insight into this?

2L job search / Post-callback email - we will make you an offer if we can?

« on: October 08, 2008, 01:25:17 PM »

I have had a dreadful OCI experience. 6 interviews, 2 callbacks, one rejection. I'm top 5%, CALI awards, Law Review, great work experience. The callback from whom I hadn't heard anything (other than a "we appreciate your patience" email) sent me this yesterday:

"We feel you are a very strong candidate and you are on our list to receive an offer should the numbers allow. We sincerely hope we will be able to include you in our program. If we are in a position to extend you an offer in the next week or two as the decisions come in, we hope that you will strongly consider XXX for your summer clerkship."

(I interviewed late in the process and a wave of offers went out before I interviewed.)

So what do you think my chances are? I started to get hopeful but a couple of my classmates have cautioned me that so far, it's nothing but a "it was great to meet you" email that could very well be followed by "but we can't offer you a job." Surely they wouldn't send something like this unless they were pretty sure that they would be able to make an offer? Anyone else had this?

2L job search / Completely disheartened by OCI

« on: September 12, 2008, 10:18:08 AM »

Just looking to moan...

I am ranked 5th in my class, have Law Review, CALI awards, and 7 years great experience as a corporate paralegal - and I am just buggering up OCI. I bid for 8, got 8 screening interviews and have had 6 so far. Of the 6, only 1 call-back. One rejection and 4 "heard nothings" but these interviews were roughly a week ago, so I figure if I haven't heard from them now, I am probably not going to.

I am just so despondent. I did a couple of "mock" screening interviews with our Career Service and they went great. I genuinely don't know where I'm going wrong. It's hard to accept that you look so much more impressive on paper than in person

OK, pity party over. Unless anyone would care to join me?

2L job search / How quickly do OCI rejections come in?

« on: September 09, 2008, 07:55:48 PM »

Hi -

I've had a number of OCI screening interviews and have a callback from one. Two of the firms have started making their call-back phone calls - but unfortunately not to me.

Oh well, that's the way it goes. How long would you expect to wait before receiving the rejection email/letter? I would have thought that it would have been pretty quick, but it's been almost a week and I've heard nothing. (The friend who got the callbacks was actually rejected by the firm that gave me the callback, and she found out the same day as me.) I am not harboring any hopes that I will get a callback, but just interested in other people's experiences. Thanks.

2L job search / Thank you notes after screening interviews?

« on: September 05, 2008, 07:09:15 AM »

Are you sending thank you notes after the initial OCI screening interviews? My law school strongly suggests sending them but they seem a little OTT to me (and, if I'm honest, a little kiss-ass.) I could understand after a call-back interview, but I'm not sure about the initial screening ones.

Thanks.

General Board / Thinking about leaving Law School.

« on: January 17, 2007, 12:58:12 PM »

Is anyone else seriously thinking about leaving Law School? I have just completed my first semester and I am really unsure if I want to continue. The problem isn’t my grades – I’ve received two out of four, and they are really quite good – but I just don’t know if I want this enough. I work FT and study PT (what a misnomer – 4 classes is hardly PT) and the rest of my life just falls to the wayside. I just keep thinking “This isn’t what life is about.” Where is the time to eat dinner with my husband, walk the dog, catch a film with friends? There just isn’t any.

If I thought that the hard work ended after 4 years, I think I’d feel better. But I imagine there are few first-year associates working a 40 hour week. I have a full scholarship, which is one of the reasons there’s a voice telling me to stick it out, but another voice says “Why bother if you’re not totally committed.” I go round in circles every day with this. If I don’t maintain a B average I will lose the scholarship; in which case, I am done. I know I am not willing to incur $60K of debt (for this or anything else). A friend told me that if I wasn’t committed enough to pay for Law School, that answers my question.

Does anyone else feel the same way – or does anyone have any words of wisdom?