equal justice job fair questions

[dinsosaur junior]

anyone know much about this?  how many people really get anything from this?  when will i even find out if i get interviews?  is it on a rolling basis, or will the symplicity system send all the applications to the organizations on the last day to apply?  i am trying to make travel plans fo the week and keep thinking, i don't even know if i am going to have any interviews.

[Reaching]

anyone know much about this?  how many people really get anything from this?  when will i even find out if i get interviews?  is it on a rolling basis, or will the symplicity system send all the applications to the organizations on the last day to apply?  i am trying to make travel plans fo the week and keep thinking, i don't even know if i am going to have any interviews.

Last year, students applied to employers directly instead of through Symplicity, so there is no precedent on how interviews are doled out.  It's probably best to direct that question to the organizers of the EJW job fair.

[dinsosaur junior]

okay, thanks.  i looked more closely at the website and it does seem that the apps and interviews will be rolling in. but i am wondering if that is really the case.  has anyone out there already been given an interview?  or did anyone go last year, and if so, could you give me a sense of how many interviews you had, how competitive it is to even get n interview, etc.?

much thanks.

[pdist]

Hey - just a follow up to this...did people have much luck getting interviews? I sent out about 15 cover letters and got rejected everywhere. Are these employers way more selective than I thought? Or are other people having luck? I just don't get it.

NY T2, just out of top 1/3 with a secondary journal.

[Spiron]

No luck here.
Applied to 5 organizations, and didn't get any.

About median at T20, secondary journal.

[dashrashi]

I only applied to three, and it looks like I didn't get any either. HLS, secondary journal, top thirdish. So, I don't really know what's up.

[observationalist]

Hey - just a follow up to this...did people have much luck getting interviews? I sent out about 15 cover letters and got rejected everywhere. Are these employers way more selective than I thought? Or are other people having luck? I just don't get it.

NY T2, just out of top 1/3 with a secondary journal.

I applied to the environmental outfits and got a few pre-selects, but I thought you can just go and resume drop during table time.  Vanderbilt is paying for about 10 of us to head up to DC next week for the fair but we had to show we received interviews before they'd provide funding, so we're going to resume drop for other 2Ls that aren't making the trip.  To benefit our Law Students for Social Justice 1Ls I'm also going to spend some time just walking around talking with employers about my school's program and seeing if their summer hiring has been readjusted in the same manner as firms (which I read somewhere are averaging about a 20% reduction in spots).  My guess is that most of the non-profits/gov'ts are still taking the same number since positions are mostly unpaid, but competition could still be up due to the firm crunch. 

If you're really gunning for a particular organization you might benefit from emailing the recruiter on your own and letting them know you'll be in town and would like to be seriously considered for a position.  I'm sure a lot of people probably bid, then wait to see what they get and end up canceling if they don't get what they want. If nothing else, you'll get some face time at the tabling portion and could pitch your interest in a particular employer personally, thus distinguishing you from all the other cover letters and resumes they were slammed with.  For anyone who's going, the Vandy crew will probably be heading out to happy hour on Friday, so if anyone's interested in meeting up feel free to PM me.

[Reaching]

Good luck for you guys!

A tip: You should definitely take advantage of the table talk time.  It can be kind of awkward walking up to individual employers, but it will be worth it to find a couple of organizations you'd love to work for that you didn't even know about before. I wouldn't be interning at my current organization if I didn't talk to them during a table talk session.

[observationalist]

Good luck for you guys!

A tip: You should definitely take advantage of the table talk time.  It can be kind of awkward walking up to individual employers, but it will be worth it to find a couple of organizations you'd love to work for that you didn't even know about before. I wouldn't be interning at my current organization if I didn't talk to them during a table talk session.

Thanks for the tip.  I scheduled morning interviews so I'll have plenty of time for table talking. I will pass along the recommendation to my fellow classmates.

[Reaching]

Also, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the conference.

Last year, I applied to 8 public interest employers (legal aid, PD offices, private civil rights firms) for interviews at the career fair. I received 5 interviews from legal aid offices and PD offices. None from civil rights firms.

Another piece of information: some employers may not follow up after the EJW fair until fairly late. For instance, I didn't hear back from two organizations until January, 3 months after the conference.