OCI failed... now what? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone provide any advice / recommendations on how to find a SA position now that I've failed with all OCI possibilities?
Am I to start mass mailings? Seems a bit too late for that now. Any job fairs coming up in the east coast that anyone is aware of?

PLEASE HELP?!?!

[Anonymous User]

There is no easy way out or alternative to hustling. Last year I started massmailing around now. Didn't have a market-paying gig still November, but I did eventually have one.

[romothesavior]

Am I to start mass mailings?

Yeah over a month ago.

If this thread is serious (I kind of have my doubts), then you done goofed. You should have been on the mailing train in early August. You need to get those things out ASAP. Your resume needs to be hitting desks by the end of this week. Biglaw firms have mostly filled their classes or have at least whittled their candidate pool down, so you're behind in the game, but not completely out of it. If you're from a secondary legal market, target it with mailers.

Your strategy at this point is basically 1) mass mail HARD, 2) cold networking (informational interviews, reach out to partners, etc.), 3) talk to your CSO and network through them, and 4) network through any connections you may have. A combination of these things (but mostly #1) is about all you can do at this point.

Let this be a cautionary tale to others: DO NOT RELY ON OCI. Mail early, mail often, and mail anywhere you think you might reasonably want to work. Do it until you get a job.

[OneMoreLawHopeful]

Okay, four steps.

1) Breathe deeply and focus. The position you are in sucks, but striking out happens and stressing yourself out won't help.

2) Start mass mailing NOW. Firms in secondary markets probably haven't made decisions yet. I know for a fact that some v20 firms in the SF Bay Area aren't even done with callbacks until after the 14th, so get on that mailing. Also, look at boutiques that may take longer to make decisions but still pay market (again, I know at least 2 in the SF Bar Area that fit this category, but hey, you write what you know).

3) There are MANY government jobs you can get for your 2L summer which have deadlines that haven't passed yet. Just offhand, I know that the FTC Office of the General Counsel has a deadline of 9/15. There are other similar government jobs. FIND THEM AND APPLY.

4) Contrary to what people say on this forum, midlaw DOES exist, and they DO hire some summer associates. Many midlaw firms don't want to commit to someone for the summer early and so they haven't made a decision yet. GET MAILING NOW.

There's no question that you're in a tight spot, but the sooner you act, and the bigger you act (as in more applications to more employers) the better your chances are.

[Anonymous User]

In a similar position as the OP.

[TTRansfer]

Some government jobs state that they don't even begin reviewing applications until October (I believe DHS is one of them).

[dreakol]

it's not too late to mass mail

just start right now

[TTRansfer]

For what it's worth, I had a screener about 5 days ago from a firm I just mass mailed the week before (so late August). Some mid sized firms don't look over resumes until September/October.

[Anonymous User]

Some government jobs state that they don't even begin reviewing applications until October (I believe DHS is one of them).

That's true, it's not too late for government. The problem is that OP wanted about an SA which pays some money. At this point biglaw SA's (leading to $160k jobs) are done, midlaw SA's (leading to $90-$115K are just about done). shitlaw and doc review SA's (leading to $40-65K) are still around, but no telling for how long. Gov't and PI will run out by mid-November, even though they pay nothing b/c such gigs can be useful for 3L OCI.

Yes, massmail your ass off. your job prospects are melting away with every minute.

[gregfootball2001]

Some government jobs state that they don't even begin reviewing applications until October (I believe DHS is one of them).

That's true, it's not too late for government. The problem is that OP wanted about an SA which pays some money. At this point biglaw SA's (leading to $160k jobs) are done, midlaw SA's (leading to $90-$115K are just about done). shitlaw and doc review SA's (leading to $40-65K) are still around, but no telling for how long. Gov't and PI will run out by mid-November, even though they pay nothing b/c such gigs can be useful for 3L OCI.

Yes, massmail your ass off. your job prospects are melting away with every minute.

First: at the time OP posted (early Sept), biglaw/midlaw wasn't done.

Second: in the optimistic assumption that you were just trying to be helpful to other people who haven't started mass-mailing yet, there are certainly some firm jobs still left (anecdotally, I'm sitting on a midlaw offer while waiting to see if a biglaw firm fills all their spots in my secondary market), and lots of gov't jobs. So yeah, get to work - no time like the present.

Third: did this really need to be anonymous?

[bk1]

Why are we bumping year old threads?