Want a non-OCI job? PWN at your internships (tips ITT)
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:57 am
I won't pretend that my advice is universally applicable, but I thought I'd offer it:
I was a T2 student with good grades, but I'm a lackluster interviewer and I struck out in an especially bad OCI year.
I did various internships throughout law school -- a judge, a non-profit, a couple of small firms. I knew that none were situations likely to hire, but in each I worked like I was trying to get hired anyway.
When 3L neared its end and I didn't have a job lined up, this worked wonders. I reached out to all the people I had worked closely with, and sure enough they thought highly of me and were happy to recommend me. I got a biglaw interview (though I did not get the job) through one former supervisor, a small firm interview through another, and finally a midsized firm interview where TWO different past supervisors put in glowing recs and I got the job.
Here are a few things that I've found supervisors seem to like (note: this sort of assumes litigation, although you could probably adapt some of it to other work):
1) Whenever you get an assignment, ask questions and make sure you actually, fully understand the assignment. Busy partners and senior associates tend to rattle-off half-baked research ideas without giving you context. They often tell you you don't have to actually understand the case to do the research, and half the time they're wrong about this, just because they're so immersed in the case and busy that they don't realize that what they want isn't obvious. Don't be afraid to just take a minute and clarify important details they may be leaving out. Of course there are limits -- if it's a senior partner, e.g., you may want to go ask an associate and not waste the senior guy's time.
2) Even with simple tasks, think of small organizational things you can do to make the assigning person's life easier. E.g. sometimes an attorney would tell me "Can you find and print me a case that says X? I know it exists, I just need you to print it." I'd always make sure to highlight the passage and tab the page so they didn't have to waste time flipping through. If this seems obvious to you, good. Not everyone does it. Similarly, where possible, I'd keep track of important dates (granted not always doable if you're in 2 days a week).
3) Learn the case! Don't see yourself as just some worker drone doing discreet tasks. Read the complaint, answer, briefs on the MTD, any opinions that have come down, etc. in your down time. Ask other associates questions about it. Read a couple of dep transcripts or digests. Understanding where your work fits in will make it better, even if you're reviewing documents or doing research. Plus you'll learn more about the work in general and this will come in useful later.
4) Ask to observe court hearings, depositions, etc. -- show interest and use the internship as a learning experience. People will notice your enthusiasm.
I could give more, but it's all basically showing tons of initiative while maintaining appropriate humility, not jumping rank, etc.
I was a T2 student with good grades, but I'm a lackluster interviewer and I struck out in an especially bad OCI year.
I did various internships throughout law school -- a judge, a non-profit, a couple of small firms. I knew that none were situations likely to hire, but in each I worked like I was trying to get hired anyway.
When 3L neared its end and I didn't have a job lined up, this worked wonders. I reached out to all the people I had worked closely with, and sure enough they thought highly of me and were happy to recommend me. I got a biglaw interview (though I did not get the job) through one former supervisor, a small firm interview through another, and finally a midsized firm interview where TWO different past supervisors put in glowing recs and I got the job.
Here are a few things that I've found supervisors seem to like (note: this sort of assumes litigation, although you could probably adapt some of it to other work):
1) Whenever you get an assignment, ask questions and make sure you actually, fully understand the assignment. Busy partners and senior associates tend to rattle-off half-baked research ideas without giving you context. They often tell you you don't have to actually understand the case to do the research, and half the time they're wrong about this, just because they're so immersed in the case and busy that they don't realize that what they want isn't obvious. Don't be afraid to just take a minute and clarify important details they may be leaving out. Of course there are limits -- if it's a senior partner, e.g., you may want to go ask an associate and not waste the senior guy's time.
2) Even with simple tasks, think of small organizational things you can do to make the assigning person's life easier. E.g. sometimes an attorney would tell me "Can you find and print me a case that says X? I know it exists, I just need you to print it." I'd always make sure to highlight the passage and tab the page so they didn't have to waste time flipping through. If this seems obvious to you, good. Not everyone does it. Similarly, where possible, I'd keep track of important dates (granted not always doable if you're in 2 days a week).
3) Learn the case! Don't see yourself as just some worker drone doing discreet tasks. Read the complaint, answer, briefs on the MTD, any opinions that have come down, etc. in your down time. Ask other associates questions about it. Read a couple of dep transcripts or digests. Understanding where your work fits in will make it better, even if you're reviewing documents or doing research. Plus you'll learn more about the work in general and this will come in useful later.
4) Ask to observe court hearings, depositions, etc. -- show interest and use the internship as a learning experience. People will notice your enthusiasm.
I could give more, but it's all basically showing tons of initiative while maintaining appropriate humility, not jumping rank, etc.