NU OCI 2013/The Great Jerb Hunt Forum

[bk1]

You should be mass mailing before oci as a general rule. The exception is if you need summer grades to be competitive. Don't mass mail firms you get screeners from. They might ignore you but they know people don't get all the screeners they want because of the lottery system.

You can pick up more interviews from hospitality suites and butting into attorneys doing screeners during their breaks. I'd send out mass mails in late July.

[rinkrat19]

You should be mass mailing before oci as a general rule. The exception is if you need summer grades to be competitive. Don't mass mail firms you get screeners from. They might ignore you but they know people don't get all the screeners they want because of the lottery system.

You can pick up more interviews from hospitality suites and butting into attorneys doing screeners during their breaks. I'd send out mass mails in late July.

What should my mass mailing timeline look like if I want to try and get some interviews in Portland this summer?

[bk1]

You should be mass mailing before oci as a general rule. The exception is if you need summer grades to be competitive. Don't mass mail firms you get screeners from. They might ignore you but they know people don't get all the screeners they want because of the lottery system.

You can pick up more interviews from hospitality suites and butting into attorneys doing screeners during their breaks. I'd send out mass mails in late July.

What should my mass mailing timeline look like if I want to try and get some interviews in Portland this summer?

You should be trying to network first and foremost. Try getting informational interviews set up by people you know who are connected to places you want to work asap. If you don't have that, then cold email at places you want to work that you have a connection with (e.g. They're a NU alum.)

Try and then parlay those connections into real interviews. Then make sure to mass mail while you still have 1-2 weeks left there so you can say "I'm here and up for an additional interview in the next 1-2 weeks."

[rinkrat19]

You should be mass mailing before oci as a general rule. The exception is if you need summer grades to be competitive. Don't mass mail firms you get screeners from. They might ignore you but they know people don't get all the screeners they want because of the lottery system.

You can pick up more interviews from hospitality suites and butting into attorneys doing screeners during their breaks. I'd send out mass mails in late July.

What should my mass mailing timeline look like if I want to try and get some interviews in Portland this summer?

You should be trying to network first and foremost. Try getting informational interviews set up by people you know who are connected to places you want to work asap. If you don't have that, then cold email at places you want to work that you have a connection with (e.g. They're a NU alum.)

Try and then parlay those connections into real interviews. Then make sure to mass mail while you still have 1-2 weeks left there so you can say "I'm here and up for an additional interview in the next 1-2 weeks."

Ugh, now I have to figure out how to write a "plz gimme info interview" email.

There are like two NU JDs in Portland. A fair number have UG or other grad degrees from NU, but the JDs are rare.
If I can't find a NU JD at a firm, should I target associates or partners? Someone in my (putative) ideal practice area? Someone with an UG degree from NU or my UG? Should I just be sending an email to one person at a firm?

[crumpetsandtea]

I feel like ideal PA + UG connection is TCR

[rinkrat19]

I feel like ideal PA + UG connection is TCR

Unfortunately there aren't a lot of the UG connection, either. Most are the rival state school, which is evil.

[bk1]

The closer the personal connection the better. The further away the worse.

[Bumi]

I emailed some NU alums at firms in my hometown city in early July last year I think. I just said I'd be visiting for a week in late July and asked if they'd be willing to talk to me while I was there. One of them asked for a resume/transcript, then asked if she could send it to recruiting, who called me to set up an interview. The others were happy to hear from me and I had beers with them while I was home. After I had beers with one of them, they told me they would be happy to walk my stuff into recruiting for me if I wanted them to.

If I were doing it all over again, I would have mailed my resume/transcript to the recruiting people proactively well before my return to that city like other people are recommending. Also, I was really nervous about sending unsolicited emails to lawyers last year, but once I started to do it, lawyers seemed to be very willing to talk even if my connection to them was pretty tenuous.

[rinkrat19]

A LOT of Portland lawyers put "Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College" on their firm bios. (So preftigious.) Sometimes they'll even put "Northwestern School of Law" and I have no way to figure out which school they meant. I'll look like a retard if I email as a fellow Wildcat and it turns out they went to L&C.

Do we have any access to NU alumni lists anywhere?

[Samara]

A LOT of Portland lawyers put "Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College" on their firm bios. (So preftigious.) Sometimes they'll even put "Northwestern School of Law" and I have no way to figure out which school they meant. I'll look like a retard if I email as a fellow Wildcat and it turns out they went to L&C.

Do we have any access to NU alumni lists anywhere?

Career services has a list, but it is pretty short as it depends on voluntary responses. I think it's on Symplicity or something

[rinkrat19]

A LOT of Portland lawyers put "Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College" on their firm bios. (So preftigious.) Sometimes they'll even put "Northwestern School of Law" and I have no way to figure out which school they meant. I'll look like a retard if I email as a fellow Wildcat and it turns out they went to L&C.

Do we have any access to NU alumni lists anywhere?

Career services has a list, but it is pretty short as it depends on voluntary responses. I think it's on Symplicity or something

This seems dumb. Obviously the school knows to whom they've given JDs.

I wonder if I could ask the school to confirm/deny whether a Joe T. Schmoe (not their real name, obvs.) graduated in 1999. It's not like I'm tracking down someone who doesn't want their info public; this person has a firm bio on the internet.

[Samara]

A LOT of Portland lawyers put "Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College" on their firm bios. (So preftigious.) Sometimes they'll even put "Northwestern School of Law" and I have no way to figure out which school they meant. I'll look like a retard if I email as a fellow Wildcat and it turns out they went to L&C.

Do we have any access to NU alumni lists anywhere?

Career services has a list, but it is pretty short as it depends on voluntary responses. I think it's on Symplicity or something

This seems dumb. Obviously the school knows to whom they've given JDs.

I wonder if I could ask the school to confirm/deny whether a Joe T. Schmoe (not their real name, obvs.) graduated in 1999. It's not like I'm tracking down someone who doesn't want their info public; this person has a firm bio on the internet.

Maybe they have a public profile on LinkedIn that would clear it up?

[rinkrat19]

A LOT of Portland lawyers put "Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College" on their firm bios. (So preftigious.) Sometimes they'll even put "Northwestern School of Law" and I have no way to figure out which school they meant. I'll look like a retard if I email as a fellow Wildcat and it turns out they went to L&C.

Do we have any access to NU alumni lists anywhere?

Career services has a list, but it is pretty short as it depends on voluntary responses. I think it's on Symplicity or something

This seems dumb. Obviously the school knows to whom they've given JDs.

I wonder if I could ask the school to confirm/deny whether a Joe T. Schmoe (not their real name, obvs.) graduated in 1999. It's not like I'm tracking down someone who doesn't want their info public; this person has a firm bio on the internet.

Maybe they have a public profile on LinkedIn that would clear it up?

Brilliant!

Yep, she does. And yep, it was Lewis & Clark. Guess I won't use her as a contact point!

[franklyscarlet]

Tagging because winter is coming.

[crumpetsandtea]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

[Georgia Avenue]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

Get used to it (unless you have Dave Diamond).

[IAFG]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

Get used to it (unless you have Dave Diamond).

So the new people suck too? Damn.

[rinkrat19]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

Get used to it (unless you have Dave Diamond).

I have Dave. He seems ok. (I guess I'll reserve final judgment until his advice lands me a jerb.)

[Samara]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

Get used to it (unless you have Dave Diamond).

So the new people suck too? Damn.

I like mine, but I agree that I get a lot more (and more useful) information from other students.

[homestyle28]

I am so not a fan of my career services person. They are totally useless, I literally get more helpful advice from older NU TLS-ers.

Get used to it (unless you have Dave Diamond).

I have Dave. He seems ok. (I guess I'll reserve final judgment until his advice lands me a jerb.)

Dave's pretty solid, maybe a bit too nice, but once I went into full panic mode last fall, he was helpful in culling a list of firms to mail...but I'd try to get into see him as early as you can as OCI gets nuts for the CSO folks

[Samara]

Should we include rank on our resume or just GPA?

[bdubs]

Should we include rank on our resume or just GPA?

You're not ranked (until coif calculations at graduation)

[IAFG]

Should we include rank on our resume or just GPA?

How would that even look? "TLS guesses I'm like, top 20%ish?"

[bk1]

Should we include rank on our resume or just GPA?

You're not ranked (until coif calculations at graduation)

This. Most definitely do NOT include estimated ranks.

[bk1]

Should we include rank on our resume or just GPA?

How would that even look? "TLS guesses I'm like, top 20%ish?"