2011 Bay Area Diversity Career Fair Forum

[Anonymous User]

Worth it? Which Bay area firms are best to bid on?

[Anonymous User]

Interested in this as well

[Anonymous User]

A friend of mine got his summer job through it. Boutique plaintiffs-side firm in Oakland. Can't hurt.

[Anonymous User]

Have you seen the bid list? Almost all of the big SF players (Mofo, etc.) are there, and some LA big names are there too. It's definitely "worth" it, unless you already have a biglaw offer (which even if you are working at a firm, can't right now) IMO. I am definitely doing it.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I definitely think a lot of well-respected firms will be there. Just curious whether people actually landed jobs from the big players or if the career fair was more for these firms to show their commitment to diversity. Any tips on bidding strategy?

[Anonymous User]

Is this Fair only for 2L's?

[Anonymous User]

It's absolutely worth it. Bid like you would for OCI, because the firms there are actually looking to hire. I went last year, did 8 interviews, got 5 callbacks (only took 4) and received 3 offers (including the firm I'm working at this summer).

[Anonymous User]

It's absolutely worth it. Bid like you would for OCI, because the firms there are actually looking to hire. I went last year, did 8 interviews, got 5 callbacks (only took 4) and received 3 offers (including the firm I'm working at this summer).

Would you mind sharing your school/gpa range. I am a bit above median at a T10 and trying to decide whether it is worth it for me to attend with my grades. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

I go to a school in the 40s and ranked top 1%. I think it's worthwhile if your grades would get you interviews with the firm at OCI. It helped me a lot by spreading out the interviews a little, and if you aren't preselected at the diversity fair you can still bid on the firm during OCI.

[saladfiend]

/

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I definitely think a lot of well-respected firms will be there. Just curious whether people actually landed jobs from the big players or if the career fair was more for these firms to show their commitment to diversity. Any tips on bidding strategy?

Totally worth it. I got around 10 callbacks and 5 offers from there. The firms coming to this event are actually serious about hiring people.

[Anonymous User]

If you bid on the firm during the career fair, does that mean you can't again when you bid for OCI?

[Anonymous User]

Agree w/ everyone else. totally worth doing. It's a great chance to interview with a bunch of big law firms way before your school's OCI. I go to a T10 school, median with ties to the bay area. I got 2 preselects and 1 lottery (the fair uses a hybrid model). I got callbacks at both preselects and ultimately one offer.

Tips:

- Don't bother/rank firms that you're a reach at even if in a regular OCI, superior interviewing skills may have made up for the difference. Each firm generally interviews only 12 candidates (1 days worth). Only 25% (or 3 of the) slots are filled by lottery. The other 9 are preselected. Last year, something like 400 candidates applied. If you do the math, most people only get one lottery interview. If you're lucky, may be two. That means you need to be competitive and within a firm's range to be preselected. The firms basically stagger themselves in such a way as to interview their sweet spot of candidates--those that would actually accept an offer. Because firms will often miss this target, rank all your match firms high so that in case you slip through their radar, you may still get an interview through the lottery.

- You may still have a chance if you're selected as an alternate, but its first come first serve, so make sure you're by your computer at the selected time to opt in if there is an opening.

- Warning: this tip requires candidates to have no self respect or inhibition. Last year, i witnessed one entrepreneurial law student assault interviewers as they opened their doors to let in/out with interview requests. Turns out this one partner are either really awesome or just in a good mood. He told the kid to tack on his name to the end of the list and took his resume.

- A less embarrassing proposition is to skip the full frontal assault and go for the blanks on the interview schedules. This mostly only works for the IP only firms which were under subscribed last year.

- Make sure to mention the fact that you will be in the bay area until ____ date. Firms are more likely to give you a callback if they don't have to pay for your airfare.

- IP + Diverse = Jackpot. Lots of silicon valley firms.

- Skip the speeches/panels. They are useless.

- Though I do know of one guy who got an offer before his school's OCI, most firms if they give you an early call back wont actually give you an offer till well after OCI. Lesson: don't blow off OCI. I got one of my fair callbacks a week after my school's OCI.

- If you receive no interviews, don't take it personally. The numbers aren't in your favor and because preselects often go to the star students, i.e. like the above poster who got 10 callbacks. Don't pass judgement on yourself and know that your prospects in a regular OCI are a lot better. You are not precluded from bidding again.

[Anonymous User]

what is considered diverse for this fair?

If you have to ask, you probably aren't.

That said, I saw tons of white people at the fair last year. There is no secret code or answer. No interviewer will ask you about your diversity credentials. In fact I can't even imagine anyone can screen for real diverse candidates since all they have is a name and everyone has the obligatory affinity organization membership on their resume.

I think for most firms, its a first strike at the best candidates/cheaper way to do callbacks depending on where you are on the pecking order. Ironically, mere participation in this fair is sufficient for a firm to get diversity brownie points because they get to list it on their NALP form. These firms don't actually need to be/become diverse.

[Holly Golightly]

.

[theturkeyisfat]

what is considered diverse for this fair?

If you have to ask, you probably aren't.

That said, I saw tons of white people at the fair last year. There is no secret code or answer. No interviewer will ask you about your diversity credentials. In fact I can't even imagine anyone can screen for real diverse candidates since all they have is a name and everyone has the obligatory affinity organization membership on their resume.

I think for most firms, its a first strike at the best candidates/cheaper way to do callbacks depending on where you are on the pecking order. Ironically, mere participation in this fair is sufficient for a firm to get diversity brownie points because they get to list it on their NALP form. These firms don't actually need to be/become diverse.

What is the obligatory affinity organization membership?

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the great info posted. Question: Can you edit your resume after submitting bids? Or what do you do about journal membership? We will not know journal information until July, well before the fair, but well-after the bid deadline.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the great info posted. Question: Can you edit your resume after submitting bids? Or what do you do about journal membership? We will not know journal information until July, well before the fair, but well-after the bid deadline.

I emailed the rep and she said that you can amend your documents after the deadline, but employers will have to make their selections by July 5.

[Anonymous User]

what is considered diverse for this fair?

If you have to ask, you probably aren't.

That said, I saw tons of white people at the fair last year. There is no secret code or answer. No interviewer will ask you about your diversity credentials. In fact I can't even imagine anyone can screen for real diverse candidates since all they have is a name and everyone has the obligatory affinity organization membership on their resume.

I think for most firms, its a first strike at the best candidates/cheaper way to do callbacks depending on where you are on the pecking order. Ironically, mere participation in this fair is sufficient for a firm to get diversity brownie points because they get to list it on their NALP form. These firms don't actually need to be/become diverse.

What is the obligatory affinity organization membership?

Any.

[theturkeyisfat]

--

[Anonymous User]

What if you want to bid on multiple offices, does the the fair mess up your odds at other spots (eg, NY?)

[theturkeyisfat]

what is considered diverse for this fair?

If you have to ask, you probably aren't.

That said, I saw tons of white people at the fair last year. There is no secret code or answer. No interviewer will ask you about your diversity credentials. In fact I can't even imagine anyone can screen for real diverse candidates since all they have is a name and everyone has the obligatory affinity organization membership on their resume.

I think for most firms, its a first strike at the best candidates/cheaper way to do callbacks depending on where you are on the pecking order. Ironically, mere participation in this fair is sufficient for a firm to get diversity brownie points because they get to list it on their NALP form. These firms don't actually need to be/become diverse.

What is the obligatory affinity organization membership?

Any.

Ok so this might be a dumb question but... By affinity organization do you mean student orgs like black/Hispanic/Fijian/etc student organization? And if so, does being a member of an Asian affinity organization count?

[wannabealonghorn]

Can 3Ls participate in the fair?

[Anonymous User]

Sorry, I forgot about this thread.

Yes affinity organizations = any primarily racial/ethnic organization on campus. I would imagine gay/lesbian student groups would count too but not too sure. I would say more than half of the applicants will be asian, considering its California.

I think the career fair is helpful even if you aren't from California. Some firms care and others don't. The sense I get is that the elite firms don't care because they just want you for your brilliance. The mid-tier firms do care a lot because they don't want to invest years in training you only to have you walk out on them. As long as you have a good reason to want to come to bay area, then you should be okay. From having talked to various non-norcal folks who managed to break in, I think its less about the reason and more about the enthusiasm you show for wanting to move here.

I don't believe 3Ls can participate.

I am only venturing a guess at the multiple offices question but I would imagine that it would depend on the firm. Some firms will, after you submit your resume, email you a link to their firm's own application system and ask you to register. This probably allows them to track who is applying and to what offices across the country. I think other firms have a centralized system as well. I applied to one firm that has offices in SF and LA. I told them my preferences and they noted both.

More generally, I don't know that participating in the fair will necessarily preclude you from applying again during your school's OCI particularly if your school has a lottery system. Interviewers are probably going to be different depending on where you go to school. If the hiring committee sees your application again, they might chuck it out, they might also give it a second look. It can't hurt to try if you can afford the bids.

[Anonymous User]

If anyone is still lurking around this thread, I was wondering if anyone could give some bidding advice to a median-ish at a lower T-14 who was born and raised in the Bay Area. More specifically, is a firm like MoFo a reach?