dresden doll wrote:
Our OCS has told us to target as few markets as possible. Supposedly, concentrating on one market is helpful. Your experience appears to run counter to their advice, however. I wonder if that is because most CLS kids want NYC.
Whatever the case, it puts me in a bit of bind since I really don't want anything but NYC. *I'd consider DC and SF but they're way too competitive and I have no ties to either.
The career counselor I was assigned to recommended bidding on only two markets, at most. I bid on only one market (NY) as that is the only place I desire to work/live. At all times though, she said I should expect, as the majority of students should expect, the traditional average of 15 out of the 30 bids being selected. Needless to say, I wasn't really surprised with my own results.
Columbia's career services offices provides an excel spreadsheet that lists the firms for last year, that illustrates how many bids they received, how many interviews they gave, callbacks, offers, etc. It has that same information with transfer student results included on another excel sheet. It's clear from both lists that the majority of Columbia students, including transfers, are placing bids within the V35, and the vast majority within the V50. It goes without saying that the NY offices of said firms receive the lion's share of bids.
I suppose one could be "strategic" and bid on regional offices, or on firms that don't traditionally receive a great number of bids (i.e. >V100), so to each his own. But really, the results were never in doubt. Go with the majority, get the average number of bids. Look elsewhere, get more. I don't really view the "I got more bids" thing as a competition, as that's a result of having entirely different preferences, not one of having the better stats/resume.
