OCI: Is there any rhyme or reason?

[JJS]

Just outside the top 10% at a T50 school. Sent out 33 apps for first week: 5 interviews, 17 rejects, 2 alternates, 9 pending.

Now I'm a bit disappointed by the low number, but I think the quality of my school and the economy have a lot to do with it.

Anyway, is there any rhyme or reason to this process?

Sidley Austin granted me an interview, I was kind of shocked. I didn't expect a V20 firm to accept me.

But then tons of firms in the 80's and 90's of the Vault ranking, like Venable, rejected me. I'm confused as to how this actually works. Was it what I did 1L summer (Environmental NGO)??

[ronaldo699]

5 outa 33 w/ 9 pending is actually very good for someone outside the top 10 and at a (presumably?) low t50 school - you should be patting yourself on the back in this economy and focusing on turning at least one of those 5 into a callback..

[MCD]

Umm...why do vault rankings matter at all? USNWR rankings have some impact on whether or not you get a job, but who cares about where vault ranks your firm as long as the job is a good fit for you?

[JJS]

Well, the greedy answer is money matters. The bigger and more prestigious the firm, the more money they pay (and hours you work). Also, having a high profile firm on your resume is a great thing to have when looking for your 2nd/3rd/4th job down the line. It's easier to go down the ladder than climb up it.

[MCD]

I think what we're doing here is creating tiny little groups, telling ourselves that certain things are prestigious, and killing ourselves to get those things. In reality, while your average person knows what 160,000 dollars is, fewer know what most lawyers spend their time doing and maybe .001% of the population knows the difference between one big law firm and the next. I'd impress far more people if I told them I was on the Real World than if I told them I was going to be a SA at a v100 firm. I'll be happy if I can get a steady job above 80K with low billable hours.   

[lawmama09]

I had very high grades at my school and didn't get callbacks at some of the large local firms, yet landed a job at the local office of a V100 firm. My friends and I couldn't come up with any rhyme or reason to why certain people got callbacks or offers. It seemed totally random.

Good luck with OCI!

[h2xblive]

I don't have anywhere near the grades you have, but I got a comparable response for OCIs.  However, I noticed that the firms that chose me had areas of practice related to my undergraduate major and second year class load.  I also applied to some nonlocal firms.  Oh, and none of the large local firms accepted me.

*shrugs shoulders*

[lexvitae]

Is there any ratio of screening interviews to offers?  On average, how many screening interviews does it take (given you meet or exceed the firm's grade requirements) to get a job?

Any thoughts?

[Veil]

Things also depend on your schools OCI system. Is it a pure lottery system? Pure employer choice system? A mix of both? How many interview slots does X firm do at your school? What office of X firm are you looking at? Those aspects certainly come into play...

[h2xblive]

Is there any ratio of screening interviews to offers?  On average, how many screening interviews does it take (given you meet or exceed the firm's grade requirements) to get a job?

Any thoughts?

From what I've heard, about 25% of screening interviewees get callbacks. From callback interviewees, over 50% usually get jobs.

So, if you do the math there, you can sort of figure out what the total chance of getting a job is.

Wow, I like your odds!  I really hope you're right. 

Who told you those numbers?  Friends?  Career advisors?  Lawyers from Biglaw?