Summer 2013 Non-OCI Job Hunt (Mass Mail, Job Fairs, etc) Forum

[target]

Question: I have scheduled interviews with the same firm (same office) at a job fair and OCI. The two interviews are two weeks apart. I know I have to cancel one of them. Are there pros and cons to do an early interview vs. later interview?

[r6_philly]

Question: I have scheduled interviews with the same firm (same office) at a job fair and OCI. The two interviews are two weeks apart. I know I have to cancel one of them. Are there pros and cons to do an early interview vs. later interview?

Why do you have to cancel one? Is it an OCS policy?

[Anonymous User]

Most firms don't allow multiple interviews.

[r6_philly]

Most firms don't allow multiple interviews.

How is this communicated? Do the firms ask you to cancel?

[theavrock]

I found an alumni from my law school doing the work I want to, in the city I want to, and with a firm I'm really interested in. Obviously I should contact her, but I'm not sure how to phrase the email.

Do I just say I'm interested in working in that city and in the practice group she's in? I don't want to cross any etiquette lines and I haven't seen an example of what to mail alumni.

"Dear Mr(s). xxxxx:

My name is Xxxx Xxxxxx , and I am a second-year student at XXX. I apologize if this seems a little forward, but I am sending out applications to firms in other cities for a summer position, and I noticed that you received your JD from XXX as well. As I am very interested in the XXX area and specifically in your practice area, I was hoping you might be able to give me some guidance on who to contact.

Why you like the city / area, some personal details. Keep it short, a couple-three lines. Enough they know it's not a form email.

I understand that you are very busy, but given my interest in the city and in your practice area, I thought it worth a try to get in contact with you.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Me"




Something like that worked well for me.

Anyone out there had luck doing something like this with alumni to firms that you have mass mailed?

[Anonymous User]

Cornell Student Here with a question: I bid and received an interview with Firm X during our AJF, between bidding and receiving the results, I was able to procure another scheduled interview with Firm X a couple days later.

I emailed Cornell and they said it's usually find to interview twice, but if you don't get a callback from the first screener, the second screener has a low chance of getting you a callback.

Should I cancel?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone out there had luck doing something like this with alumni to firms that you have mass mailed?

Yes, but only when the candidate sounds like someone who would fit the need of the firm well. Many firms have referral bonuses, so there is financial incentive.

[Anonymous User]

Most firms don't allow multiple interviews.

How is this communicated? Do the firms ask you to cancel?

Well my OCS told me this, and I asked firms to make sure. All 3 told me to choose one or the other, though some just said it wouldn't be helpful/necessary, not that I HAD to cancel one.

[theavrock]

Anyone out there had luck doing something like this with alumni to firms that you have mass mailed?

Yes, but only when the candidate sounds like someone who would fit the need of the firm well. Many firms have referral bonuses, so there is financial incentive.

The best means of communicating with said alumni?

Hi Mr. or Ms. X,

I am a law student at XYZ school and I noticed you also graduated from XYZ. I applied to XYZ firm by contacting Mr. or Ms. Recruiting Contact. I was hoping to get a few minutes of your time to talk about XYZ firm and your practice.

or should one be more forward?

[target]

Most firms don't allow multiple interviews.

How is this communicated? Do the firms ask you to cancel?

Well my OCS told me this, and I asked firms to make sure. All 3 told me to choose one or the other, though some just said it wouldn't be helpful/necessary, not that I HAD to cancel one.

This is my case as well. Although I feel like this varies by firms and schools.

[Anonymous User]

The best means of communicating with said alumni?

Hi Mr. or Ms. X,

I am a law student at XYZ school and I noticed you also graduated from XYZ. I applied to XYZ firm by contacting Mr. or Ms. Recruiting Contact. I was hoping to get a few minutes of your time to talk about XYZ firm and your practice.

or should one be more forward?

It obviously depends on the alum, but along the line of what you write is pretty good. You don't want to ask too much at this stage. See if they are willing.

[crossarmant]

Checking in, I feel late to the game. I have done all of my bids at my transfer school, regional fairs, and resume drops with firm-tailored cover letters. Going to be commencing the mass-mailing now, I'm wary of mail-merging everything, don't have experience with it, and am fearing I'm too late for mass mailing to be effective. I feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to even start...

[bazinga!]

Checking in, I feel late to the game. I have done all of my bids at my transfer school, regional fairs, and resume drops with firm-tailored cover letters. Going to be commencing the mass-mailing now, I'm wary of mail-merging everything, don't have experience with it, and am fearing I'm too late for mass mailing to be effective. I feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to even start...

you're not too late, TLS is as usual more on top of things. I've heard the week going from july into august is when most people start mass mailing so that it can be better coordinated with OCI call backs. but that being said, it's time to start

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts on mass mailing different offices for the same firm as long as the recruiting contact email is different? Acceptable? I'm from Texas and would prefer DFW but Houston, Austin, and San Antonio would be perfectly fine as well.

[tedalbany]

Checking in, I feel late to the game. I have done all of my bids at my transfer school, regional fairs, and resume drops with firm-tailored cover letters. Going to be commencing the mass-mailing now, I'm wary of mail-merging everything, don't have experience with it, and am fearing I'm too late for mass mailing to be effective. I feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to even start...

you're not too late, TLS is as usual more on top of things. I've heard the week going from july into august is when most people start mass mailing so that it can be better coordinated with OCI call backs. but that being said, it's time to start

Quite a few firms have stated they don't even look at resumes until August ... so definitely not late at this point

[bazinga!]

Thoughts on mass mailing different offices for the same firm as long as the recruiting contact email is different? Acceptable? I'm from Texas and would prefer DFW but Houston, Austin, and San Antonio would be perfectly fine as well.

this is relevant to my interests as well, and i have yet to hear much on this

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts on mass mailing different offices for the same firm as long as the recruiting contact email is different? Acceptable? I'm from Texas and would prefer DFW but Houston, Austin, and San Antonio would be perfectly fine as well.

this is relevant to my interests as well, and i have yet to hear much on this

I've heard it's ok if you aren't from Dallas or Houston and bid both as long as you have convincing reasons. If you are from Dallas and bidding Dallas/Houston then it might be more challenging.

[philosoraptor]

Thoughts on mass mailing different offices for the same firm as long as the recruiting contact email is different? Acceptable? I'm from Texas and would prefer DFW but Houston, Austin, and San Antonio would be perfectly fine as well.

this is relevant to my interests as well, and i have yet to hear much on this

I've heard it's ok if you aren't from Dallas or Houston and bid both as long as you have convincing reasons. If you are from Dallas and bidding Dallas/Houston then it might be more challenging.

There's a fair amount on this in the Texas OCI thread. My own advice was that if you prefer Dallas (or Houston), go whole-hog and ignore the other cities. If you want to hedge, don't apply to different Texas offices of the same firm. Keep in mind, too, that you pretty much have to have stellar grades and/or significant ties to get Austin, and San Antonio's quite small. Finally, remember that what sounds like a "convincing reason" to you may not convince an interviewer -- they want to know you won't head for greener pastures, and they're generally looking for serious ties. It's better to focus on one than shoot for both and miss only because you tried to shoot for both.

By the way, why are y'all anonymous?

[teabreeze]

If you're telling a firm that you are mass-mailing that you will be in their city on [x days], how much notice is reasonable?

For instance, I'll be in my target market in 10-14 days. I'm finalizing cover letters and the like now. If I send them out by week's end is that sufficient time? Or would firm's look down on me for the short notice?

Also interested in the answer to this question

Another Q - if a law firm emailed me 1-2 days after I sent them my cover letter+resume to request a transcript and haven't contacted me since then (up to 1 wk ago)... im probably in the reject pile right? Grades are not so hot

[philosoraptor]

If you're telling a firm that you are mass-mailing that you will be in their city on [x days], how much notice is reasonable?

For instance, I'll be in my target market in 10-14 days. I'm finalizing cover letters and the like now. If I send them out by week's end is that sufficient time? Or would firm's look down on me for the short notice?

Also interested in the answer to this question

Apparently not enough to actually read the thread:

If you're telling a firm that you are mass-mailing that you will be in their city on [x days], how much notice is reasonable?

For instance, I'll be in my target market in 10-14 days. I'm finalizing cover letters and the like now. If I send them out by week's end is that sufficient time? Or would firm's look down on me for the short notice?

Send them yesterday. HTH.

[wijo0305]

Curious to know if anyone has scanned their signature into their cover letter? Is it even necessary? I'm literally about to send off a bunch emails and trying to determine if I should do this before I hit send.

[Anonymous User]

no that's not necessary

[target]

Question: I have scheduled interviews with the same firm (same office) at a job fair and OCI. The two interviews are two weeks apart. I know I have to cancel one of them. Are there pros and cons to do an early interview vs. later interview?

bumping this to see if anyone knows or wants to speculate.

[piccolittle]

Question: I have scheduled interviews with the same firm (same office) at a job fair and OCI. The two interviews are two weeks apart. I know I have to cancel one of them. Are there pros and cons to do an early interview vs. later interview?

bumping this to see if anyone knows or wants to speculate.

Is the job fair reputable? Does the firm actually hire people from the fair? I would say that interviewing earlier is always better, as then you skip the OCI rush and get considered before your classmates. On the other hand, if the fair is not particularly well run and the firm does not tend to hire people during the fair, maybe it's better to wait so you don't get forgotten about after the fair. My two cents.

[shock259]

Curious to know if anyone has scanned their signature into their cover letter? Is it even necessary? I'm literally about to send off a bunch emails and trying to determine if I should do this before I hit send.

I don't have a scanner so I just googled "signature" and pasted one of the images that came up into my doc.

Looks pretty legit, but I'm sure it doesn't matter.