That's interesting. So they affirmatively selected you for the BLSA spot? Normally, I would say go through OCI, but if they saw your resume and such and selected you for the job fair, then perhaps it would be better to go to that.
Hi Alci,
Why would you normally say go through OCI?
Normally I would think pre-select would be the best option, but I've been given three opinions that have me leaning slightly toward OCI:
1. An Associate friend who was an interviewer last year recommends OCI. According to him, the firms ask minority associates to conduct the interview sessions. In his experience, the associates are asked to let the hiring partner/committee know if there were any candidates worth considering. But in effect, it was more of a pre-screening and the associate would have to sell the candidate to the hiring partner rather than straight up initiate a call back. I think I may prefer the direct mode if this is generally the way it's done.
2. My career advisor recommends doing the OCI interview and mentioning that I was selected in the other job fair. Not so sure about this...I can't even think of how that would be brought up or the purpose of mentioning it. Plus, I get the sense that my career advisor shoots from the hip when answering questions.
3. A Friend dealt with this a few times last year. She recommends the BLSA fair interviews. She was able to secure several call backs through the NEBLSA and MABLSA fairs. However, her bidding approach and target markets were very different from mine..
Maybe I'm over-thinking all of this, but this economy has me a bit shook and I feel the need to strategize as much as possible to maximize my chances.
Miss P, I think it is pretty practical advice (that I obviously hadn't though of) to give the recruiters a call. Thanks!
Sands, please do let me know if you are able to recall how students typically handle this.