Telling firms you will be in the area Forum

[Anonymous User]

Here's the situation. I am travelling to a far-away job fair arranged by my school in a primary market (think THE primary market) that will take place 3 weeks before OCI. I am also doing some mass mailing to other firms not at the job fair to try and arrange more interviews. I have already had at least one success.

I would like to mass mail for some interviews with firms on which I have already bid at my school's OCI for the same market. My OCI is primarily but not exclusively preselect.

My letter says I will be in the area and asks if I could arrange a screening interview at the firm while I am there. Will firms view this positively as expressing interest in their practice area, or will they view it negatively -- jumping the gun on other students and being over eager?

My grades and school are such that I am "in the running" at many firms but not really a lock at many, so I feel an early aggressive strategy is my best bet, unless it ends up being a turnoff, or bad protocol.

[Anonymous User]

If they're at your OCI, the firms can't consider you. This, as does the foregoing discussion, varies by school but generally is true.

The way schools handle their monopoly is that firms pay the school for each student that they interview on campus. Some schools are in a better negotiating position and can require the firm to accept their bidding procedure which often includes no pre-screening of candidates - meaning the bidding process controls who they get to meet. If the firm is at OCI and has looked at candidates in advance, even if they aren't solicited they can run into trouble. For example, Quinn ran an independent system of early recruiting this year. At many schools, they are are now barred from on campus interviews (of course, they don't have to pay the per student interview fee). Banning firms is generally the only way for schools to protect their on campus interviewing monopoly (Firms pay a couple hundred dollars per interview which is why OCI's tend to get pissed if you no show the screening interview). Of course, OCI will tell you that the system protects students from getting pre-screened but if we're being honest, not having pre-screening hurts both students (who waste bids) and firms (who aren't going to hire below threshold grades) for the most part.

The point is that if you're on the cusp anyway, a firm isn't going to risk getting in trouble with your school by interviewing you. They tend to play by the rules. On the other hand, if the firm doesn't participate in your school's EIP, feel free to send them whatever. In addition, if you're a particularly attractive candidate, firms can extend you a screening interview on campus even if you don't get matched bidding wise. In that sense, it doesn't hurt to send firms your resume in advance. However, you seem to be shooting for a pre-screening interviews while you're in the area and that's just not going to happen with firms that interview on campus.

[Anonymous User]

I know someone who is now at cravath via applying directly, interviewed and got an offer prior to the start of OCI. Definitely took the pressure off for the rest of OCI.

[Anonymous User]

Here's the situation. I am travelling to a far-away job fair arranged by my school in a primary market (think THE primary market) that will take place 3 weeks before OCI. I am also doing some mass mailing to other firms not at the job fair to try and arrange more interviews. I have already had at least one success.

I would like to mass mail for some interviews with firms on which I have already bid at my school's OCI for the same market. My OCI is primarily but not exclusively preselect.

My letter says I will be in the area and asks if I could arrange a screening interview at the firm while I am there. Will firms view this positively as expressing interest in their practice area, or will they view it negatively -- jumping the gun on other students and being over eager?

My grades and school are such that I am "in the running" at many firms but not really a lock at many, so I feel an early aggressive strategy is my best bet, unless it ends up being a turnoff, or bad protocol.

When do you find out about who has selected you via OCI? It might be best to wait until preselects come down to send out an e-mail (as our school's career services suggests) to firms you didn't get selected for.

I know plenty of people in our school's home market last year that picked up additional interviews that way. It's possible that a firm only has 16 interview spots, but has 30 people who applied who they would be interested in hiring. Thus some of them might be more than happy to take you as an additional interviewee.

[Anonymous User]

Unfortunately, I may not learn my preselects until after the job fair. Interestingly, I already got one pre-OCI screening interview with a firm that is interviewing at my OCI, but I got it through networking, not through mass mail.

Does the same caution apply to mass mailing firms that are resume collect only? I looked again at my list, and all but three of the firms I wished to contact were resume collects, rather than bids.