dood wrote:are any current 2Ls are bidding just in case no-offered after 2L summer? i registered thinking about this. anyone else?
I didn't end up registering, although I know plenty of patent doods at GW with SAs this summer who did. My SA doesn't end until like early August, and I'm not trying to be like, "oh hey, sorry, I have to go to PLIP this week so I'll be out of the office on Thursday and Friday, cool?" Most people I know finish in mid-July, so this isn't an issue for them.
edit for last poster: IMO, you don't want to give the firm any reason to ding you. I'm not saying your firm will ding you for going to PLIP, but ITE, you never know. I think TCR these days is to be the best fcking SA evar, do excellent work, attend all events, etc...so that when it comes time for reviews and hiring committee meetings in August, nobody will say, "oh yeah, X missed his/her last few days of work to go interview out in Chicago at PLIP" (at which, presumably, they'll be in attendance).
To be sure, I'm sure an argument could be made that your firm would allow you to go to PLIP since, ITE, everybody has to cover their ass, just in case. Maybe someone's firm is totally cool with that. I wouldn't want to ask, however, so that's why I'm not going. And hey, there's always 3L OCI (albeit, a mythical creature, but probably easier for patent folks than most others).
Desert Fox wrote:I think double bidding a firm is probably a tactical mistake. Taking a chance on a new firm is better than risking a firm that dinged you before your interview.
A better question is, which firms only hire from loyola. I've heard some firms do that.
I don't think double bidding is necessarily a mistake. The following scenarios are possible: (1) you bid on firm A, they don't give you a screener at PLIP, you re-bid on them at OCI and either get a screener or get dinged again, or (2) you bid on firm A, they give you a screener at PLIP, you don't hear back from them for a while, you also bid on them for your OCI, and you get a CB from PLIP or dinged by PLIP and either a screener or nothing at OCI.
IIRC, I had experiences with both sets of outcomes. For example, bid on a firm at PLIP, didn't get a screener, but also bid on them at OCI and did/didn't get screeners...got a screener with a firm at PLIP, still bid on them at OCI, and got a CB from them at PLIP and "cancelled" my OCI screener, etc...
I guess TCR here depends upon your school's potential bid list and the firms coming to PLIP. So, if you're certain you'll have a set of OCI bid choices quite distinct from those at PLIP, then by all means spread your bids out as much as possible and don't feel compelled to double-bid or overlap your bids amongst firms/firm offices. If you're at a not-so-great-school w/r/t OCI, then you're probably going to want to double-bid for sure.
The great thing about PLIP is that it's an "extra OCI" for all us science-types. I mean, if you really think about it, PLIP provides an amazing advantage over most classmates w/r/t interviewing and finding 2L summer gigs. I did PLIP last year, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Although I got less than 7 screeners, 2 of those turned into CBs and one CB into an offer.
GL at PLIP C/O 2013!