The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread - 2012 Edition Forum

[NYC Law]

a) Can I put a Class %ile on my resume if the school doesn't provide any official cutoffs but I only know general cutoffs that are unofficial?

b) If a job posting only asks for me to send a resume and a transcript, should I write a cover letter or not?

not sure about a) but for b) I know for at least one firm I messed up by not sending a cover letter when they only asked for resume and unofficial transcript. I would say the cover letter should always go.

+1, I'd always err on the side of including the letter.

And congrats Paulina!

[Flips88]

fed court interview offer today!

So hot right now

how come that shit didn't work

Fixed

[AreJay711]

So it is obviously still early in the cycle but do you think I should keep pumping out apps? I've applied to just about everything that I actually want -- minus some Fed ct judges that made it clear they want grades -- and most decisions aren't made until Feb / March. BUT I still don't have anything.

[Anonymous User]

I just found out I ranked #3 in my class. How should I supplement my application to the big firms I already applied to to tell them this? I've already updated with grades

[kapital98]

a) Can I put a Class %ile on my resume if the school doesn't provide any official cutoffs but I only know general cutoffs that are unofficial?

In general, no. When it comes to grades you must always be conservative.

If you don't have an official class rank but the school provides general cutoffs then you have to report the highest cutoff you fall into. Ex: You're ~12% in your class and your school provides historical averages for who is in the "top 10%" and who is in the "top 15%". Based on history you know you're ~12% (maybe 11% on a good year or 13% on a bad year). You do not have the discretion to decide what your class rank is. You must either just report the GPA or say "top 15%." To do otherwise is disingenuous and risks grade misrepresentation.

However, this is definitely something you want to bring up in your interview. Every percentage point will help. But, you can't use pure speculation on your resume.

[BEAST_mode]

I've been AWOL from this thread for some time, but has anyone experienced any movement with DC Fed. District Court/DC CoA (not circuit)? I've had a few grade requests, but other than that it's been radio silence. Trying to determine whether it's a lost cause.

[AreJay711]

I've been AWOL from this thread for some time, but has anyone experienced any movement with DC Fed. District Court/DC CoA (not circuit)? I've had a few grade requests, but other than that it's been radio silence. Trying to determine whether it's a lost cause.

I know a couple judges don't have deadlines until Feb or March. I definitely don't think it is a lost cause.

[jarofsoup]

Biggest problem I am having with the job search right now is getting grade requests with no grades. Dam these professors are slow.

[bk1]

a) Can I put a Class %ile on my resume if the school doesn't provide any official cutoffs but I only know general cutoffs that are unofficial?

b) If a job posting only asks for me to send a resume and a transcript, should I write a cover letter or not?

I agree with those above that we can't put rank or percentile unless it is officially reported since there is the possibility that what we put is off.

I'd err on the side of caution and send a cover letter. At worst it's an extra attachment that they will just ignore.

[Anonymous User]

My first round of applications were all agencies. While I'm waiting to hear back I'm thinking about applying to some judges. Is it way too late for judges, say, in D.C.? What's a good resource to get up to speed quickly on this?

[Flips88]

a) Can I put a Class %ile on my resume if the school doesn't provide any official cutoffs but I only know general cutoffs that are unofficial?

b) If a job posting only asks for me to send a resume and a transcript, should I write a cover letter or not?

I agree with those above that we can't put rank or percentile unless it is officially reported since there is the possibility that what we put is off.

I'd err on the side of caution and send a cover letter. At worst it's an extra attachment that they will just ignore.

Cover letter done:

[mountaintime]

So it is obviously still early in the cycle but do you think I should keep pumping out apps? I've applied to just about everything that I actually want -- minus some Fed ct judges that made it clear they want grades -- and most decisions aren't made until Feb / March. BUT I still don't have anything.

if you have the time / energy, keep applying. this does, of course, depend on the jobs you've already applied for. if all you've done is shoot for the stars, then really keep applying. i know plenty of people who only applied to Fed judges, big firms, and DOJ jobs, etc. who were left in the cold after not being able to seal the deal. figure out a safety to apply to. PD office in hometown or shit firm or anything. something is better than nothing, and you don't want to be one of the people struggling to find a job in May.

[cinephile]

I've been getting a lot of "we'll review your materials after our deadline in March." This drives me crazy. I would like to know what I'm doing this summer before March otherwise I'll just be a ball of nerves until then. Plus I need to know where I'm living.

[jimmythecatdied6]

My first round of applications were all agencies. While I'm waiting to hear back I'm thinking about applying to some judges. Is it way too late for judges, say, in D.C.? What's a good resource to get up to speed quickly on this?

I called a lot of D.C judges' chambers yesterday and most said that they're still accepting applications.

As for getting up to speed quickly, can't help you there. As a rule, I would say that you need at least a writing sample, cover letter, grades, and resume.

Writing sample is the only thing that is really labor intensive; nothing else is that time consuming.

[dreakol]

I've been getting a lot of "we'll review your materials after our deadline in March." This drives me crazy. I would like to know what I'm doing this summer before March otherwise I'll just be a ball of nerves until then. Plus I need to know where I'm living.

titcr

though, i have received an offer that doesn't need to be accepted until late april so it's not as rough as before.

[Anonymous User]

My first round of applications were all agencies. While I'm waiting to hear back I'm thinking about applying to some judges. Is it way too late for judges, say, in D.C.? What's a good resource to get up to speed quickly on this?

I called a lot of D.C judges' chambers yesterday and most said that they're still accepting applications.

As for getting up to speed quickly, can't help you there. As a rule, I would say that you need at least a writing sample, cover letter, grades, and resume.

Writing sample is the only thing that is really labor intensive; nothing else is that time consuming.

Thanks for the response. I've already got all those things together (for the first round of apps). I guess I'll just have to do the boots on the ground work to figure out where my efforts are best directed.

[bk1]

Fuck jerbs and jerb apps.

[cantabaout]

by the way, I sent out my applications to a NY magistrate judge (in upstate NY) and got an offer to work with them without an interview.

I have special - not great - credentials, and I doubt they are that selective

if you do not care about locations, sometimes you can spend a lot less time than most other people and can still get a decent resume line.

jot me a line if you have not found anything yet and consider working in upstate new york (albany) for a judge. I can't promise anything but it's worth trying.

[Anonymous User]

How are you guys living this summer (assuming you're not staying with your parents)? My school doesn't give monies for judicial externships. Do people work a second job to be able to afford to do this?

[NYC Law]

How are you guys living this summer (assuming you're not staying with your parents)? My school doesn't give monies for judicial externships. Do people work a second job to be able to afford to do this?

You can probably receive credit for a Judicial Externship, and therefore receive loan funding.

[cinephile]

How are you guys living this summer (assuming you're not staying with your parents)? My school doesn't give monies for judicial externships. Do people work a second job to be able to afford to do this?

The only way I can manage this is by living with my parents. Otherwise just saving half my loan money from spring semester and trying to live super frugal this summer.

[Anonymous User]

How are you guys living this summer (assuming you're not staying with your parents)? My school doesn't give monies for judicial externships. Do people work a second job to be able to afford to do this?

The only way I can manage this is by living with my parents. Otherwise just saving half my loan money from spring semester and trying to live super frugal this summer.

This may be what I have to do--considering my school doesn't give credit/and hence no loans for federal externships.

[YourCaptain]

So it is obviously still early in the cycle but do you think I should keep pumping out apps? I've applied to just about everything that I actually want -- minus some Fed ct judges that made it clear they want grades -- and most decisions aren't made until Feb / March. BUT I still don't have anything.

2L here. keep firing until you have an offer. this goes for 2L jobs too

[071816]

Had two interviews yesterday. One with a fed. govt. agency and a phone interview with a P.I. org. They were the most chill interviews I have ever had. I have another interview with a fed. district court magistrate judge next week. Hopefully that interview will be chill too.

[japes]

How are you guys living this summer (assuming you're not staying with your parents)? My school doesn't give monies for judicial externships. Do people work a second job to be able to afford to do this?

I'm either getting a summer fellowship for my gig or doing an internship for credit and living off finaid.