I got pre-selected to interview with a firm that's out of my league... Forum

[Anonymous User]

OCI at my school (100% preselect) starts next week. T25, top 25%. Got pre-selected at a few V100 firms...but also a V30 where I thought I was way below the GPA/class rank cutoff (especially because its for a DC firm). Is this just to fill up their schedule? Do I even have a shot? How do I maximize my chance of getting an offer, knowing that my grades are an impediment?

[Barrred]

Firms don't go to OCI to waste their time, so if the pre-selected you, it means you have a shot. Its likely that the resume screener saw something they liked on your resume, or their interest was piqued for some other reason (this happens more often than law students think).

Now the way for you to land it is to show that you are an interesting person/great personality fit for the firm. At the end of the day, the recruiters are trying to hire people who they would want to work with (because they are the ones who likely will have to do so), so don't let your perceived academic inferiority make you nervous, you don't have anything to prove or apologize for at this point (they already pre-selected you knowing your grades), just go in there and show that you would be a great person to work with.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an incoming associate at a V15, and former summer associate. Was top 1/3 at a T25 non-URM one year of previous work experience, OCI was 75% preselect. Got an interview with my firm through the lottery. Moral of the story, any interview is the real deal and has the potential to lead to an offer. Go crush it--everything else is beyond your control.

[Wubbles]

Also worth noting, Vault ranking doesn't always correspond perfectly with selectiveness if that's the only guide you were going off of. I can think of a few v30's who dip into classes further than vault peers. It's a real interview, go crush it.

[Anonymous User]

Also worth noting, Vault ranking doesn't always correspond perfectly with selectiveness if that's the only guide you were going off of. I can think of a few v30's who dip into classes further than vault peers. It's a real interview, go crush it.

What are some other ones?

[Wubbles]

Also worth noting, Vault ranking doesn't always correspond perfectly with selectiveness if that's the only guide you were going off of. I can think of a few v30's who dip into classes further than vault peers. It's a real interview, go crush it.

What are some other ones?

If your school has data, that's the best. Feel free to pm me if you want to discuss some specifics about the firm/school

[Anonymous User]

Kind of have to re-up this but I'm top 25% at a T1 and not a URM but have a screener with a V15 through my schools OCI. Can't help but shake the feeling that they selected me just to fill some interview quota that they had. Is that just a bs thought on my part?

[Anonymous User]

Kind of have to re-up this but I'm top 25% at a T1 and not a URM but have a screener with a V15 through my schools OCI. Can't help but shake the feeling that they selected me just to fill some interview quota that they had. Is that just a bs thought on my part?

vault rankings are really useless when it comes to firm selectivity. I won't bother listing all the firms that an otherwise unremarkable top 25% at a t1 has a pretty close to zero percent chance at, but I just named five firms to myself and looked up their vault rankings: 17, 2, 37, 9, 23. Some of these top the 'most selective' list on vault, but not all of them (I think there are a fair few firms on that list that might hire you if you have the right experience, journal, interview skills, and maybe a hint of luck). If they selected you and you didn't get the spot through the lottery, that means they might hire you. Right now all you can do is prepare and go do well. No good reason to bother yourself about this. Good luck!

[rokiv]

Kind of have to re-up this but I'm top 25% at a T1 and not a URM but have a screener with a V15 through my schools OCI. Can't help but shake the feeling that they selected me just to fill some interview quota that they had. Is that just a bs thought on my part?

As hard as it may seem, you need to get out of your head. You've been told multiple times in this thread that you have a legitimate shot at receiving an offer/cb from this interview. Either accept the advice or don't. At the end of the day, even if the firm did just agree to interview you for the sake of filling up their schedule, how would this meaningfully impact you or your approach to the screener?

[Anonymous User]

Is that just a bs thought on my part?

Yep. We are very highly selective, and I almost went to bat for a girl in the bottom 25% at one of the less prestigious schools we attend because she absolutely killed it in the interview and she had a legitimate reason for the poor GPA. In the end, the GPA was just a bit too far below our cutoff for anything to come of it. If you make it to an interview, you may have an uphill climb, but you will be considered.

[Anonymous User]

Kind of have to re-up this but I'm top 25% at a T1 and not a URM but have a screener with a V15 through my schools OCI. Can't help but shake the feeling that they selected me just to fill some interview quota that they had. Is that just a bs thought on my part?

As hard as it may seem, you need to get out of your head. You've been told multiple times in this thread that you have a legitimate shot at receiving an offer/cb from this interview. Either accept the advice or don't. At the end of the day, even if the firm did just agree to interview you for the sake of filling up their schedule, how would this meaningfully impact you or your approach to the screener?

FWIW - the person you quoted isn't the OP, I am (not that it matters, we're all anon). But thanks, your advice makes sense.

On another note, since the quoted anon brought up being not URM, how much should people who are URM bring it up? I'm an LGBT non-white female, and I've listed my involvement in affinity groups on my resume. Should I just leave it at that, or should I mention something in my screener praising the firm's inclusivity efforts or whatever?

[rokiv]

Kind of have to re-up this but I'm top 25% at a T1 and not a URM but have a screener with a V15 through my schools OCI. Can't help but shake the feeling that they selected me just to fill some interview quota that they had. Is that just a bs thought on my part?

As hard as it may seem, you need to get out of your head. You've been told multiple times in this thread that you have a legitimate shot at receiving an offer/cb from this interview. Either accept the advice or don't. At the end of the day, even if the firm did just agree to interview you for the sake of filling up their schedule, how would this meaningfully impact you or your approach to the screener?

FWIW - the person you quoted isn't the OP, I am (not that it matters, we're all anon). But thanks, your advice makes sense.

On another note, since the quoted anon brought up being not URM, how much should people who are URM bring it up? I'm an LGBT non-white female, and I've listed my involvement in affinity groups on my resume. Should I just leave it at that, or should I mention something in my screener praising the firm's inclusivity efforts or whatever?

Sorry for confusing he OP/above anon.

Generally, your membership in a URM will be signaled through your resume. So there isn't necessarily a need to bring it up just for the sake of bringing it up. But, if there is something unique about your experience, that can help you develop a narrative for why you are doing what you are doing, then it is certainly fair game.

More than anything, treat these like you would a normal conversation with someone you are just meeting. Your goal is to make a connection and get them to feel like you are similar to them, or at least that they would like to spend time with you. Sharing your experiences in a positive way generally has the effect of endearing you to others. That said, this will vary from interviewer to interviewer, and you should try to keep a finger on the pulse of the interview and adapt accordingly.

[Anonymous User]

Should I just leave it at that, or should I mention something in my screener praising the firm's inclusivity efforts or whatever?

Let your resume do the talking. The interview should be focused on establishing experience, competence, and rapport. If you push the diversity aspect too hard, you can inadvertently give the impression that diversity is all you have going for you.

However, if they bring it up, feel free to go into detail. I had an extracurricular that signaled my worldview pretty strongly. In all but one interview, it wasn't even brought up. In one interview, we talked about it for 30 minutes and I left with an offer promised to me.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the reply everyone. I have law review, relevant 1L experience, and a unique background (though not a URM as I stated), but I couldn't help but let some impostor syndrome sneak in. Will definitely do my best to nail the screeners and see how it shakes up from there. Thanks again for the reassurance.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the reply everyone. I have law review, relevant 1L experience, and a unique background (though not a URM as I stated), but I couldn't help but let some impostor syndrome sneak in. Will definitely do my best to nail the screeners and see how it shakes up from there. Thanks again for the reassurance.

+1 this thread was very reassuring. I actually got pre-selected from a firm I thought was out of my league for the second time, first during 1L and now again for a job fair. nothing we can do but kill the interview!

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, I was bottom 25% at a t30 last year, school was 100% preselect. Got OCI screeners with several biglaw firms. Landed an SA with a firm that historically has hired only t13 grads. I got along well with the interviewer(s) - that is what made the difference.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry, not OP here but I have a relevant question. I get that being slightly outside of a firm's GPA preference isn't a huge deal, but what about if you're WAY out of their league (yet another T1, top 25%/3.6ish with preselects at Latham NY & Weil Gotshal NY)? At that point is it safe to say they're just filling spots?

[Wubbles]

Sorry, not OP here but I have a relevant question. I get that being slightly outside of a firm's GPA preference isn't a huge deal, but what about if you're WAY out of their league (yet another T1, top 25%/3.6ish with preselects at Latham NY & Weil Gotshal NY)? At that point is it safe to say they're just filling spots?

If they're interviewing you, they're considering you. Just crush it.

[rokiv]

Sorry, not OP here but I have a relevant question. I get that being slightly outside of a firm's GPA preference isn't a huge deal, but what about if you're WAY out of their league (yet another T1, top 25%/3.6ish with preselects at Latham NY & Weil Gotshal NY)? At that point is it safe to say they're just filling spots?

Why do you think they're way out of your league?

At my T25 Latham and Weil both regularly took people with 3.5 and up. Even dropped below 3.5 for the right people.

Stop shooting yourself in the foot, and just walk in to the interview confident and relaxed.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry, not OP here but I have a relevant question. I get that being slightly outside of a firm's GPA preference isn't a huge deal, but what about if you're WAY out of their league (yet another T1, top 25%/3.6ish with preselects at Latham NY & Weil Gotshal NY)? At that point is it safe to say they're just filling spots?

Why do you think they're way out of your league?

At my T25 Latham and Weil both regularly took people with 3.5 and up. Even dropped below 3.5 for the right people.

Stop shooting yourself in the foot, and just walk in to the interview confident and relaxed.

That's good to hear. I guess I felt like they were out of my league because at my school the "normal" GPA range of people they pre-selected was 3.7-3.9

[rokiv]

Sorry, not OP here but I have a relevant question. I get that being slightly outside of a firm's GPA preference isn't a huge deal, but what about if you're WAY out of their league (yet another T1, top 25%/3.6ish with preselects at Latham NY & Weil Gotshal NY)? At that point is it safe to say they're just filling spots?

Why do you think they're way out of your league?

At my T25 Latham and Weil both regularly took people with 3.5 and up. Even dropped below 3.5 for the right people.

Stop shooting yourself in the foot, and just walk in to the interview confident and relaxed.

That's good to hear. I guess I felt like they were out of my league because at my school the "normal" GPA range of people they pre-selected was 3.7-3.9

OCI is stressful, so I get wanting to see where you stand but I’d really encourage letting that go for now. By all means be realistic, but being realistic means that no interview (regardless of your stats) is a freeby, all will evaluate you for an offer/cb.

Treat every interview the same, no matter what you think your chances might be.