The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls) Forum

[splitsplat]

Got an interview with the Kentucky Dept of Public Advocacy (public defenders). I'm from elsewhere. Is there anything good to be said about the state of KY? Has anyone lived there before? I'm trying to get excited about the possibility of moving to a state where I will be an ethnic, religious, and (considering their senators) political minority. I know they have whisky there. Anything else to recommend it?

I think you should watch all 4 seasons of Justified in order to get an accurate picture of what Kentucky is like.

[spleenworship]

Got an interview with the Kentucky Dept of Public Advocacy (public defenders). I'm from elsewhere. Is there anything good to be said about the state of KY? Has anyone lived there before? I'm trying to get excited about the possibility of moving to a state where I will be an ethnic, religious, and (considering their senators) political minority. I know they have whisky there. Anything else to recommend it?

I think you should watch all 4 seasons of Justified in order to get an accurate picture of what Kentucky is like.

Is that like recommending someone watch Breaking Bad to get a good idea of what New Mexico is like?

[whatsyourdeal]

hoping to get some advice from fellow valers:

had a callback last friday, said i would hear back from the firm by this week.

haven't heard from them this whole week. should i call today to get status? or wait till next week?

this wait is killing me

Personally, if I hadn't heard anything by 5pm tonight (HR types love to wait til the end of the work week), I'd work up an email to send to em first thing Monday morning. Make sure it arrives early Monday AM so it's the first thing at the top of their inbox (if you use Gmail, you can install the Boomerang extension for Chrome and schedule the email whenever you want)

But basically I'd touch base, re-express your enthusiasm with the firm, and tell them "please feel free to contact me should you need any additional information in evaluating my candidacy" (or something like that).

thanks man. gonna give it a try today then

[Anonymous User]

Unemployed HYS anon from a while back. I just got a sweet business/finance offer that actually pays better than market biglaw (plus I find the work more interesting). My life has done a complete 180 in a day, but I think I'm still in shock because I don't feel that different. All I can say is-- thank you, everyone. Just knowing that there were people out there like me meant something huge. I know it's a cliché, but my only advice is keep working at it. I had to fail about 100 times before I got something, and then it was my ideal offer. It really took a toll on my ego, but I just kept pushing, because, hey, what the hell else was I going to do? Good luck guys and gals.

[Anonymous User]

Unemployed HYS anon from a while back. I just got a sweet business/finance offer that actually pays better than market biglaw (plus I find the work more interesting). My life has done a complete 180 in a day, but I think I'm still in shock because I don't feel that different. All I can say is-- thank you, everyone. Just knowing that there were people out there like me meant something huge. I know it's a cliché, but my only advice is keep working at it. I had to fail about 100 times before I got something, and then it was my ideal offer. It really took a toll on my ego, but I just kept pushing, because, hey, what the hell else was I going to do? Good luck guys and gals.

Congrats man... was it an MBB by any chance?

Ps: as a 1L/2L, lawstudentjobs.com was the website to check for things outside of simplicity. What about as a 3L? Is there a must check law jobs aggregator website?

[Anonymous User]

Unemployed HYS anon from a while back. I just got a sweet business/finance offer that actually pays better than market biglaw (plus I find the work more interesting). My life has done a complete 180 in a day, but I think I'm still in shock because I don't feel that different. All I can say is-- thank you, everyone. Just knowing that there were people out there like me meant something huge. I know it's a cliché, but my only advice is keep working at it. I had to fail about 100 times before I got something, and then it was my ideal offer. It really took a toll on my ego, but I just kept pushing, because, hey, what the hell else was I going to do? Good luck guys and gals.

Congrats man... was it an MBB by any chance?

Ps: as a 1L/2L, lawstudentjobs.com was the website to check for things outside of simplicity. What about as a 3L? Is there a must check law jobs aggregator website?

HYS Anon: I'd rather not get into specifics, but you can assume it was either big consulting or big I-banking. Thanks for the congrats

[kalvano]

Congratulations dude (or dudette?)! That's awesome.

[rad lulz]

Congratulations dude (or dudette?)! That's awesome.

[spleenworship]

Congratulations dude (or dudette?)! That's awesome.

[Anonymous User]

Congratulations dude (or dudette?)! That's awesome.

HYS Anon: Thanks again, everyone. One other thing I should add is that if you are struggling to find work, please just cut out the negative people in your life, immediately. My (former) SO was incredibly unsympathetic throughout my entire ordeal, and it made finding work (and life in general) that much harder. Once I broke things off and starting spending time with friends, I felt much better, and I'm sure that contributed to my interviewing success. You really need some support during this time, and furthermore it's exactly times like this that make you realize who you can really rely upon.

[fish tacos]

Does anyone have any tips on timing applications for non-law jobs? Obviously I went to law school to be a lawyer, but it's only rational to consider other options. For the rare jobs that are entry-level and would consider a JD a plus and not a negative (think stuff like compliance or regulatory), when should one apply? It's weird to sift through job postings, find a potential job, and then apply on the understanding that I will be tied up in law school until May. Is the answer just to wait until law school is finished?

[mr. wednesday]

Does anyone have any tips on timing applications for non-law jobs? Obviously I went to law school to be a lawyer, but it's only rational to consider other options. For the rare jobs that are entry-level and would consider a JD a plus and not a negative (think stuff like compliance or regulatory), when should one apply? It's weird to sift through job postings, find a potential job, and then apply on the understanding that I will be tied up in law school until May. Is the answer just to wait until law school is finished?

You could always apply, if they are advertising an entry level position. Either they say no, say yes and wait, or say no but consider you in 6 months or so. But if you are just mass mailing I'd wait until April or May.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone have any tips on timing applications for non-law jobs? Obviously I went to law school to be a lawyer, but it's only rational to consider other options. For the rare jobs that are entry-level and would consider a JD a plus and not a negative (think stuff like compliance or regulatory), when should one apply? It's weird to sift through job postings, find a potential job, and then apply on the understanding that I will be tied up in law school until May. Is the answer just to wait until law school is finished?

I ended up in a JD+ compliance type position. I held off on applying to those types of jobs until after Jan. 1

I believe I had an interview in late March/hired in April. They were very accommodating about not having me start until after taking the bar this July. I'd say if you find a job posting you like/would think would suit you well then by all means apply for it now, grab an interview and talk to them from there if you can. I work with all people who went to law school so they were understanding of the situation, but I am sure all places vary.

[synergy]

Does anyone have any tips on timing applications for non-law jobs? Obviously I went to law school to be a lawyer, but it's only rational to consider other options. For the rare jobs that are entry-level and would consider a JD a plus and not a negative (think stuff like compliance or regulatory), when should one apply? It's weird to sift through job postings, find a potential job, and then apply on the understanding that I will be tied up in law school until May. Is the answer just to wait until law school is finished?

I ended up in a JD+ compliance type position. I held off on applying to those types of jobs until after Jan. 1

I believe I had an interview in late March/hired in April. They were very accommodating about not having me start until after taking the bar this July. I'd say if you find a job posting you like/would think would suit you well then by all means apply for it now, grab an interview and talk to them from there if you can. I work with all people who went to law school so they were understanding of the situation, but I am sure all places vary.

Did you apply January-Februaryish and ultimately get the interview in March/April or did you apply to the job you ended up at around March? If you don't mind, could you PM me? I have a ton of questions as this is the type of position that I'm aiming for.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have tips for non-MBB consulting (Accenture, AT Kearney, Deloitte, E&Y, etc.) Their websites aren't that helpful. Do they do formal ADC recruiting like MBB or is just specialized, like E&Y looking for tax?

[fish tacos]

Does anyone have any tips on timing applications for non-law jobs? Obviously I went to law school to be a lawyer, but it's only rational to consider other options. For the rare jobs that are entry-level and would consider a JD a plus and not a negative (think stuff like compliance or regulatory), when should one apply? It's weird to sift through job postings, find a potential job, and then apply on the understanding that I will be tied up in law school until May. Is the answer just to wait until law school is finished?

I ended up in a JD+ compliance type position. I held off on applying to those types of jobs until after Jan. 1

I believe I had an interview in late March/hired in April. They were very accommodating about not having me start until after taking the bar this July. I'd say if you find a job posting you like/would think would suit you well then by all means apply for it now, grab an interview and talk to them from there if you can. I work with all people who went to law school so they were understanding of the situation, but I am sure all places vary.

Did you apply January-Februaryish and ultimately get the interview in March/April or did you apply to the job you ended up at around March? If you don't mind, could you PM me? I have a ton of questions as this is the type of position that I'm aiming for.

Anonymous, could you PM me as well if you don't mind dispensing some wisdom? Thanks

[luckyjd]

any current 3Ls actually nab callbacks through mass mailing so far? this is getting so discouraging.... sent probably 100 emails/online applications.

[Anonymous User]

any current 3Ls actually nab callbacks through mass mailing so far? this is getting so discouraging.... sent probably 100 emails/online applications.

Just a thought but until SAs accept their offers (Nov. 1st is the deadline?) the scope for Vale-type people like us to get these jobs is going to be very slim. It sucks but keep hustling.

[rad lulz]

any current 3Ls actually nab callbacks through mass mailing so far? this is getting so discouraging.... sent probably 100 emails/online applications.

Just a thought but until SAs accept their offers (Nov. 1st is the deadline?) the scope for Vale-type people like us to get these jobs is going to be very slim. It sucks but keep hustling.

Last year I didn't see any measurable difference after Nov. 1

If anything, there were slightly more during 3L OCI "season" (I use that term very loosely)

[Anonymous User]

any current 3Ls actually nab callbacks through mass mailing so far? this is getting so discouraging.... sent probably 100 emails/online applications.

I've done the same. I'd say I've received some sort of rejection from a little less than half of those firms. Most of them just say either: (1) they've filled all of their hiring needs through their summer classes, (2) they aren't looking for any associates, or (3) they don't know their needs for the 2014 class yet.

I truly am not expecting anything from this mass mailing campaign, but like the OP I've sent about 100 apps out to firms in my region. It's more therapeutic than anything, I think.

[chrisbru]

any current 3Ls actually nab callbacks through mass mailing so far? this is getting so discouraging.... sent probably 100 emails/online applications.

I have two this week, which is equal to the number I've gotten through OCI.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have tips for non-MBB consulting (Accenture, AT Kearney, Deloitte, E&Y, etc.) Their websites aren't that helpful. Do they do formal ADC recruiting like MBB or is just specialized, like E&Y looking for tax?

None of those places has as extensive of an ADC recruiting program as MBB and will want you to have a bit more substantial business experience. Of this group, your best chance for a management consulting position would probably be Deloitte S&O. Beware that they might try to bring you in at the post-undergrad level though. I had a friend who was only offered a post-undergrad position despite a 3-year advanced degree.

[whatsyourdeal]

hoping to get some advice from fellow valers:

had a callback last friday, said i would hear back from the firm by this week.

haven't heard from them this whole week. should i call today to get status? or wait till next week?

this wait is killing me

Personally, if I hadn't heard anything by 5pm tonight (HR types love to wait til the end of the work week), I'd work up an email to send to em first thing Monday morning. Make sure it arrives early Monday AM so it's the first thing at the top of their inbox (if you use Gmail, you can install the Boomerang extension for Chrome and schedule the email whenever you want)

But basically I'd touch base, re-express your enthusiasm with the firm, and tell them "please feel free to contact me should you need any additional information in evaluating my candidacy" (or something like that).

Thanks iceman, I called last week for status and was told by admin that my name wasn't noticed on any rejection letters via snail mail. Told that the partners are down to the last few candidates and hopefully should have a decision by this week.

This wait is killing me...

[kalvano]

Best of luck, sir. But being down to the last few names is usually a good sign.

[whatsyourdeal]

Best of luck, sir. But being down to the last few names is usually a good sign.

Thanks Kalvano!