HLS 2012 EIP Thread Forum

[GeePee]

Okay, I've been meaning to write this post, but wanted to wait until August rolled around.
The HLS-Specific Guide to Navigating EIP
There are a few pretty unique features to HLS On-Campus Interviews. The Charles Hotel is a pretty unique place, nearly every firm has a hospitality suite, and there are a ton of cocktail parties and dinners on the week of.

If you used all 35 of your bids, you likely have somewhere between 20 and 30 interviews. Take a second to look over your interview list and make sure that you have your desired mix of "reach," "target," and "safety" firms, whatever that means. If you feel like randomness has led you astray, there are two main opportunities to fix that: as soon as the add/drop period starts, or the morning of the interview day at the Charles. Many firms will see that their schedules have filled and will add 5-10 interview slots to accommodate -- if you really want an interview, be at the hotel at 8:30 that morning and go talk up the OCS people at the desk.

Determine your bid list balance NOW. Do NOT freak out on Tuesday afternoon when you have no callbacks and your friends have 2 and panic-add 5 interviews.

NB: Firms come to HLS to hire HLS students. They do not come to HLS to peruse on the offchance someone exceptional rolls along. Remain calm. OCS will tell you that you shouldn't worry unless Thursday rolls around and you have no callbacks. They're correct. Especially in markets like SF/SV, callbacks come over the course of days and often do not come at all until several days later.
The waiting room

So this is harder than I thought it would be from my phone, I'll just preserve what I have and add/edit later today. Considerably more to come. Feel free to fire off questions as well, either in-thread or by PM.

Appreciate the effort, just wanted to add thought that I have NO IDEA what reaches/targets/safeties are. Staying out of competitive markets, medianish grades, maybe it's all just target?

Neither do I, to a large extent. If "out of competitive markets" includes NY, there are definitely a couple of reaches from median, but maybe like 4 or 5 (aka, don't worry about it). If "out of competitive markets" does not include NY, and you're talking secondaries where you have ties, just pepper the regions you're interested in, and pay no heed to which firms are "selective."

[Anonymous User]

Got 29 interviews in two markets, I am super conservative and risk averse. Should I still look to add a few? Or is 30+ interviews infreakingsane?

Justice Homes

ETA: Firms I didn't get were 2 NY reaches, leaving me with about 2, 1 NY target, leaving me with about 5, and two Boston targets, leaving me with about 5-6. I can try to add a couple NY reaches and a couple Boston targets/safeties.

[Anonymous User]

unless your transcript is really poor, i'd sooner drop interviews than add with 29. i think it becomes counter-productive.

-jean ralphio

[Anonymous User]

unless your transcript is really poor, i'd sooner drop interviews than add with 29. i think it becomes counter-productive.

That's my fear. I'm all for going ironman, but 7-8 interviews in multiple days might make it tough to be on your A-game.

[Anonymous User]

even that excerpt was super-helpful, geepee: i very much appreciate whatever info you're able to provide.

-jean ralphio

[Anonymous User]

unless your transcript is really poor, i'd sooner drop interviews than add with 29. i think it becomes counter-productive.

That's my fear. I'm all for going ironman, but 7-8 interviews in multiple days might make it tough to be on your A-game.

Yeah, my schedule broke down like this - 8,5,6,5,5 so I think I'ma add one on the 14th and two on the 16th, if I can get them. That will be a NY reach and target, and a Boston target.

Justice Homes

[Anonymous User]

I got 23 interviews out of 35 bids on multiple markets. Will probably drop around 10 of them today.

-John Daly

[ksense]

20 out of 21 bids.(I believe bid #20 or #21 was the one I didn't get).

[PinkCow]

Man, you guys are good. I only got 19 out of 35, and I thought I had a pretty good order accounting for past bids/spots. Guess I'm just unlucky.

BUT, I picked up 6 during add/drop, so I guess that's a +. I got 14 of my top 20 originally, so I guess that's OK.

[Anonymous User]

This add drop is really confusing... You can't choose which interview to take when there's a conflict, which led to me losing a good opportunity. I lost a firm that I bid on, because I had taken a different firm in add/drop.

How is it that some firms have a number of slots next to their name but you can't pick up an interview?

[expat]

What does it mean when a firm has open slots but you can't add them? It can't just be interview conflicts, because other firms will let you click on the interview date and then show [interview conflict] next to the time slot.

EDIT: I see other people are confused by this too...

[KindleNexusfan]

.

[GeePee]

To clear up some confusion:

You can't schedule actual "back-to-back" interviews; you have to maintain a 20 minute window on each side.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 3L and EIP survivor. Happy to answer any questions. I also want to echo what GP said about freaking out - I had zero CB's as of EIP Wednesday at 9 PM, and ended up with 10 (between SF/LA) when all was said and done. I don't know anyone who struck out completely. You will end up employed, and probably at a place that is better (however you define the term) than you thought you'd end up.

[Anonymous User]

So is it impossible to try to change interview times? Someone on here posted earlier about switching times for a QE screener, would love to do this myself. But does it mean dropping and then adding that firm back? Looks like you could only swing it if your firm's in low demand.

[Anonymous User]

So is it impossible to try to change interview times? Someone on here posted earlier about switching times for a QE screener, would love to do this myself. But does it mean dropping and then adding that firm back? Looks like you could only swing it if your firm's in low demand.

Never mind, am stupid, figured it out.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone else having trouble dropping firms? I feel like I have too many, but also feel the need to cover myself just in case. Am I crazy for thinking 29 interviews might somehow be a good idea?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone else having trouble dropping firms? I feel like I have too many, but also feel the need to cover myself just in case. Am I crazy for thinking 29 interviews might somehow be a good idea?

I bit the bullet and dropped from 30 to 24. I know I'll do much better at 5 interviews a day than 7-8 interviews a day.

[AllTheLawz]

Anyone else having trouble dropping firms? I feel like I have too many, but also feel the need to cover myself just in case. Am I crazy for thinking 29 interviews might somehow be a good idea?

I dropped from 26 to 23. I still end up with 18 out of my top 20 and after bid 20 or so I feel like selections start getting a little random anyway so Im not all that emotionally invested. I really do think people overstate how "taxing" screening interviews are though. Overall, the interviews are actually really easy and even 8 in a day should not be that difficult. I dont think I would perform significantly better having 4-5 interviews in a day than I would with 7-8.

[Anonymous User]

I think I bid a little too strategically. I ended up with 29 interviews and then got two of the ones I missed by adding yesterday. I also picked up a reach and a safety because I missed out on a reach and you can't be too safe. Now I have 33 interviews, and, having worked on each bid so carefully, I can't bring myself to drop any. (I have a tendency to focus on the wrong things, which is how I ended up at median...) Also, the ones that I would drop are naturally on the lightest days.

I figure that this is my one shot, and I will not miss my chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, even if it means a really rough week. Best-worst case: I'll have to turn down 12 callbacks to focus on my better choices.

Justice Homes

[fatduck]

drop period is supposed to be until noon today, right? i can't seem to drop any

[Anonymous User]

I think I bid a little too strategically. I ended up with 29 interviews and then got two of the ones I missed by adding yesterday. I also picked up a reach and a safety because I missed out on a reach and you can't be too safe. Now I have 33 interviews, and, having worked on each bid so carefully, I can't bring myself to drop any. (I have a tendency to focus on the wrong things, which is how I ended up at median...) Also, the ones that I would drop are naturally on the lightest days.

I figure that this is my one shot, and I will not miss my chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime, even if it means a really rough week. Best-worst case: I'll have to turn down 12 callbacks to focus on my better choices.

Justice Homes

That's how I'm thinking of it. 30 feels a little intimidating, but we're talking a few extra 20-minute screeners for a potential biglaw lottery jackpot. Worst comes to worst, it's just more practice.

Really strange to think that our counterparts at TTTs would kill to have the luxury of worrying about 'too many' interviews. Realizing that helped galvanize me to make the most of the week.

[Anonymous User]

drop period is supposed to be until noon today, right? i can't seem to drop any

Go to "Scheduled Interviews": there should be a Cancel button on the right.

[fatduck]

drop period is supposed to be until noon today, right? i can't seem to drop any

Go to "Scheduled Interviews": there should be a Cancel button on the right.

brilliant. thanks.

[Anonymous User]

That's how I'm thinking of it. 30 feels a little intimidating, but we're talking a few extra 20-minute screeners for a potential biglaw lottery jackpot. Worst comes to worst, it's just more practice.

Really strange to think that our counterparts at TTTs would kill to have the luxury of worrying about 'too many' interviews. Realizing that helped galvanize me to make the most of the week.

True, but with decent grades, I think we can feel confident about landing BIGLAW without 30+ interviews.