1L summer job application apathy/encouragement thread Forum

[Holly Golightly]

I think a lot depends on what you want to do. Want to intern for an Article III judge in a competitive district? Yeah, the game might in fact be effectively over. Same for a lot of the top-notch government stuff. But then again, in the long run, it doesn't matter that much as long as it's something legal and it gives you some good stories to tell over OCI (or whatever you pubic interest people do). No need to sweat it.

Yeah very true. Little chance that anyone is getting a big firm SA, prestigious government job, or big time judicial internship this late in the game. But most small firms and local government agencies seem like they are just getting into the swing of hiring. I received two offers and got invited to interview (all today) and I've heard from a number of government agencies in my secondary market that they will be doing interviews in late March or early April. And I know a lot of my friends are still looking for jobs and they have interviews lined up.

I just don't want anyone stressing out too much, because there is still a lot of opportunity. The worst part is just the ridiculous amount of time and energy... So glad that's over.

I just got the offer for my govt job like 2-3 weeks ago...

[shepdawg]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

[Holly Golightly]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

Yup, I am going to fail out of law school and never get a job because of my postcount on TLS.

[existenz]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

Um, I have a pretty nice job this summer despite wasting countless hours here.

[Holly Golightly]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

Um, I have a pretty nice job this summer despite wasting countless hours here.

STOP LYING, WE'RE ALL FAILURES!

[BarbellDreams]

I just realized that I spend entirely way too much time on TLS versus studying this semester.

[goosey]

I just realized that I spend entirely way too much time on TLS versus studying this semester.

+1

plus everything else too.

[existenz]

STOP LYING, WE'RE ALL FAILURES!

So true.

[98234872348]

It's more like 50% now...according to our CSO (NYLS so our #s are probably lower than most) Apparently my percentages I gave were wrong.

I wouldn't be so quick to let that proof lead you to admit that you were wrong.

Also, I think +1 to the magistrate/trial judge question.

2 cents: a lot of associates at big firms, at least in the regional offices I've looked at (this almost definitely does not apply to top firms) have their 1L judicial clerkship position listed. It is almost always with a federal judge, I don't think I have ever seen one with a trial judge listed. Does that mean anything? Probably not.

That being said, do which ever one you think would interest you more. Magistrate judges are extremely busy and deal with a lot of ground floor litigation items like motions/etc. A trial judge may provide you with more interesting, substantive, and diverse work. Ultimately, you want to take the job that is going to give you the best talking points for OCI so that you can sell yourself/make a good impression on your interviewer/the hiring committee. The connections that the Magistrate judge has may be worth it though, especially if you are looking to do a federal clerkship down the line (I know a bunch of people who have gotten an "in" this way). While the magistrate judge position may be more "prestigious" than the other (and I use the term loosely, it's just a 1L internship), I think it's a better idea to stick to something you'll be interested in.

Keep in mind that part of your 1L summer should be about networking when you can; you're probably going to get an opportunity to meet more big firm type lawyers working at a federal courthouse than a state court house (though, I can't really back that with any data, it's an assumption). However, if the internship is outside the market you're interested in, well, maybe it's better just to try to go out to lunch with some associates at firms you're interested in while clerking for the trial judge.

At the end of the day, you want to do whatever is going to be the best experience for you, the relative prestige of the position probably shouldn't be the sole motivating factor.

[keg411]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

I've had a job for months and have almost 3k posts. So, no.

Also, congrats on the job, Romo .

[CG614]

Anyone else notice that the "I don't have a job yet" guys are those with high post counts? Coincidence?

Someone needs a stats lesson about correlation.

[Headybrah]

State attorney general office a decent gig?

Its in the state I hope to practice just hope to be on private side

[romothesavior]

State attorney general office a decent gig?

Its in the state I hope to practice just hope to be on private side

It is as good a gig as any, especially if you want to litigate. Your 1L gig doesn't matter too, so you should look for something you'll enjoy that will help you learn and get experience.

[Anonymous User]

1L around median at a T25, got an offer the other day that I don't really want to accept. I probably should, it's a good gig with a federal agency, but it's not an area (work-wise I mean, I'm fine with the location) I really want to be in (I didn't apply, they got my resume from another department that I applied to). I have to let them know by Monday. Accept and do it anyway? Accept and turn it down later if I get something I'd rather do (I applied to a bunch more and have been in contact with a few, though nothing solid yet)? Turn it down and hope for something else?

Couple of you might know who I am, but shhh.

[Coolgrnmen]

Congrats Romo!

Does anyone have advice for interviewing with the NYC Law Dept? What should I expect, how should I go about the interview...

[romothesavior]

1L around median at a T25, got an offer the other day that I don't really want to accept. I probably should, it's a good gig with a federal agency, but it's not an area (work-wise I mean, I'm fine with the location) I really want to be in (I didn't apply, they got my resume from another department that I applied to). I have to let them know by Monday. Accept and do it anyway? Accept and turn it down later if I get something I'd rather do (I applied to a bunch more and have been in contact with a few, though nothing solid yet)? Turn it down and hope for something else?

Couple of you might know who I am, but shhh.

Don't know who you are, but I think you should take it. It certainly won't hamstring you for future jobs. And you might love it, you never know.

Do you think you have a really good shot at anything better?

[romothesavior]

Congrats Romo!

Does anyone have advice for interviewing with the NYC Law Dept? What should I expect, how should I go about the interview...

Thanks.

I think you should go about it like you would most other interviews. I interviewed with a law department (not in NYC) and it was a pretty standard interview. I know someone who is working there this summer, so I'll ask them if they noticed anything particular about the interview and let you know.

[Anonymous User]

1L around median at a T25, got an offer the other day that I don't really want to accept. I probably should, it's a good gig with a federal agency, but it's not an area (work-wise I mean, I'm fine with the location) I really want to be in (I didn't apply, they got my resume from another department that I applied to). I have to let them know by Monday. Accept and do it anyway? Accept and turn it down later if I get something I'd rather do (I applied to a bunch more and have been in contact with a few, though nothing solid yet)? Turn it down and hope for something else?

Couple of you might know who I am, but shhh.

Don't know who you are, but I think you should take it. It certainly won't hamstring you for future jobs. And you might love it, you never know.

Do you think you have a really good shot at anything better?

I don't know what my chances are at other spots, but I have been much more targeted for them, and like I said, I have been in contact with a few, so I know I'm at least getting some attention.

My two main worries are:
1) The offer is in a specific field, doing work that is related to my background, which I'm sure is why I got it, but that is not what I want to do. I'm afraid I'm going to get pigeon-holed into that field if I take the spot, because later employers might wonder why I'm changing my focus. I don't know to what extent that would be true, but it is a worry.
2) The job description sounds really, truly awfully boring. I know that's going to be true about a lot of internships, but I'm already not feeling great about law anymore, and I don't want to get stuck doing boring work and having a bad experience as even more reason to give up. I want to find something I would enjoy, so that I can get excited about law again. I am WAY more excited about the other options.

[romothesavior]

Everyone in my school that I've talked to has jobs and everyone else has plenty of interviews judging by their suits. I've been completely stressed about it, and super jealous because they're all either with the fed government or these huge telecom companies, and they're all in exactly the geographic location that I NEED to be this summer. Or else I'll explode and/or otherwise die.

You could always sue if you don't get hired.

[Melkaba]

Got a job today! I actually got two offers today, and accepted one in my desired market. Don't want to out myself more than I already am on TLS, so anyone interested can PM me for details (although it is nothing too exciting, at least not compared to most of the people ITT).

Also, I highly doubt anywhere near 90% of 1Ls at any school have anything lined up. A lot of local government agencies and small firms haven't even started interviewing. I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of WUSTL 1Ls have something lined up (rough guess), and I know last year the number of people who did something legal during 1L was in the 90%+ range. Most of my friends have something lined up, but a handful of them are still looking. I'm sure all of them will get something though.

It certainly isn't early in the hiring cycle, but it isn't late either. I think everyone who is still looking for a job should just take a deep breath and keep at it, and everyone telling them that they are screwed or that it's "late in the game" should chill. Lot's of people don't get a job until late March or even April.

Congrats on getting the job! Definitely feels calming to be done with the huge job search burden and only really have to worry about finals in the next month and a half (or this stupid LR final next week).

Commenting on the statistics here, while I cannot believe that 90% of 1Ls at any law school would have something lined up, I'll admit that the people I hang out with give a very, very misleading appearance of things. Out my circle, probably around 6 of them got something lined up right out the initial OCI gate (interestingly enough, they all decided to work at the exact same place...). One took an RA position, but with the stellar grades I'm betting he got, I'm really surprised that he didn't try more firm applications than the two he did. Dunno the plans of one, and the last is applying to jobs like crazy and it confuses me how she doesn't have any offers yet despite her good credentials. I'm talking like "apply to everything on each OCI session + mass mailings for everything in the STL area" efforts. I personally may not have a paying SA offer, but I'm right at the place I want to be in the field that I really want to work in, and it all worked out with a comparatively minimal amount of effort but a high amount of stress. The same was with the others who actually had a good chance to be in a firm, but decided to go with the offer that they liked.

Most of the other people in my section are really silent about things or they already have jobs. A certain exceptionally qualified mature student in our section doesn't even want to work this summer. She says "well, I've worked hard for the past 37 years, I think I deserve *some* break". Given how she knows like, every lawyer in this city as it is, she might be one of the rare folks who will be fine no matter what.

But to all the other folks, just keep on trucking. Some one is going to hire you somewhere if you're willing to learn and to work for free. If you're solely looking for a cushy paying SA gig, well...

[Anonymous User]

i am kind of bummed bc i accepted a position with legal aid and then just got an email from a firm inviting me to interview with them. oh well....makes me realize how random this process can be

[Coolgrnmen]

i am kind of bummed bc i accepted a position with legal aid and then just got an email from a firm inviting me to interview with them. oh well....makes me realize how random this process can be

If it makes you feel better, the interview is not a guaranteed job. In fact, they are probably interviewing multiple people.
Of course, rather than having any chance at getting it, you have 0 cause you aren't trying for it...but at least you can take comfort in knowing that you might not have gotten it anyway... :-/

when they give you an offer after accepting another offer...that's when it REALLY sucks.

Be happy with what you got...maybe 20% or more of your classmates won't have anything come summertime.

[OGR3]

Be happy with what you got...maybe 20% or more of your classmates won't have anything come summertime.

That's a scary thought. I feel bad for my classmates who will be in that situation. Pitt doesn't have summer classes, so I don't know what they'll do.

[snowpeach06]

I had an interview yesterday with two people. But, I don't think I ever heard the second interviewers name. How should I handle that in the thank-you note?

edit: Also, the interviewer seemed extremely casual. Should I still go for the professional thank you?

[PirateCap'n]

I had an interview yesterday with two people. But, I don't think I ever heard the second interviewers name. How should I handle that in the thank-you note?

edit: Also, the interviewer seemed extremely casual. Should I still go for the professional thank you?

If it's a fairly small firm, you might could go through the attorney profiles and look at the names to match them with a face. If it's a larger firm and you know the specific department or office the second interviewer works in, you could search by that. To answer the second question, that's a personal decision. I only sent thank you notes to the small firms I interviewed with because they seemed to expect it. I didn't send anything to larger firms. I got callbacks and offers from both the large and small firms. If it feels right, do it. Otherwise, don't worry about it.