anyone else still jobless?

[sternerstuff]

Haha,
I can explain very easily one reason for applying to TONS of places,  large markets have large amount of large firms with large salaries for SA.  the vast majority of 1Ls are not qualified for these positions so applying to a post that says they recruit 2Ls with outstanding academic achievement (1Ls TBD) is a way of taking lots of shots.  Kudos to you for being selective and doing well, but plenty of people have no issue with piles of rejection letters stacking up from these firms if it means 1/200 yes' to an interview and that interview turns into the job youve been wanting since you heard 1st year Ass. salaries hit 160K.---Also this just occured to me, if these BigLaw firms hire 2L SA in the fall for the following summer and look to groom for permanent offers come Fall of 3L, it could be eye catching in a cover letter to say you had the balls to apply to Cravath as a 1L.  ---maybe. 

[Peaches]

It also makes sense to apply for geographic markets where your law school is the top one around or where you won't face stiff competition from similarly-ranked or higher-ranked schools. 
 
Also, some markets hire more slowly than others.  But even in some of those slower one, the firm job search (for firms 50 attorneys to 500+) is winding down.    Even smaller firms in secondary markets may be the way to go.

[Jhuen_the_bird]

Yeah ... I guess "cold" resume sending to places that may or may not be hiring (or are not really looking at 1L's, etc.) might be why ...

The two interview offers I got were from people I met at a job fair.  I just feel like our school really tries to help us ... we all have individual meetings to talk with the career development people.  We have job fairs.  They make postings every day about job opportunities, etc.

[StevePirates]

I think that March is when the bulk of 1L hiring gets accomplished.  I'm in the middle of the interview marathon right now, between first interviews, call backs, and the endless stream of correspondence that accompanies such things.

It makes sense that 1L employers wait till after grades are out to even start the application process.  I'm fortunate in that my school's career services office is very effective at getting us out there. 

Based on how things are looking right now, I'll either be working at a paid gig, or doing an unpaid internship (unless I get public interest funding) for an organization that is directly in the field of law I am interested in.

[juliemccoy]

I think the biggest challenge is that most of my applications have been cold calls -- no connection to the employer. I know when I was sitting on the other side of the hiring chair, I went straight to the applicants that had been referred to me by a trusted colleague before I even considered the one ones who had come in via a cold call (e.g. job postings, etc.).

In total, I have about 80 applications out -- 75% of which are within my school's strongest geographic market.

[Peaches]

Although a connection often helps, FWIW all of my offers have been via cold calls.

[K-Bomb]

I got a job in town (Julie, you know which town, right? ) just by calling up firms that did litigation work, in which I'm interested, and ask if they were looking for clerks.  A couple bit, asked for resumes, and one gave me an interview, hired two days later.

I found that the law school job search engine turned out to be garbage for a 1L.  It's really no-man's land out there.

My recommendation would be to just call firms cold, ask a lot of questions, and send resumes if they want them.  Someone will bite.  Tell them you'll work for free, throw in the word "volunteer."  They'll bite.

[juliemccoy]

Awesome! I did some pavement pounding in another state, and got an unpaid internship for the summer. Looking forward to having more opportunities as a 2L!

[K-Bomb]

Kickass!  Yeah, I'm looking forward to OCI, where we won't be treated as..."Oh...you're a 1L...greaaaaaat."

[jacy85]

Kickass!  Yeah, I'm looking forward to OCI, where we won't be treated as..."Oh...you're a 1L...greaaaaaat."

Doesn't get much better as a 2L...instead you get, "Oh...you didn't work for a firm last summer...greaaat." Or "Oh...you're not on law review...greaaaat."  Or, "Oh...I don't like the color shirt you're wearing...greaaaaat."

There are just as many applicants (if not more), and sometimes I think they find even more petty reasons to ding you.  Hurrah OCI.