1L Summer Job Search Forum

[srfngdd6]

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[thelawyler]

Those who have managed to nab 1L SA, did most of you send them out to firms on Dec 1st or wait until after finals? Do you think it really makes a difference? And I guess which market probably matters... like will NYC matter but not some smaller secondary?

[thelawschoolproject]

So I mailed out about 150 applications. I got about 10 interviews out of that and two offers (although I was still up for 3 more that I cancelled after I got my initial offer). I'm a URM who goes to HYS and that's at best 1 out of 30 (and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have received offers from all of the other firms). I think your OCS is giving you awful information. Maybe if you go to a top school and your grades put you in the top ten then 10-20 might be enough but even then to be safe I'd apply to a lot more if you truly want a 1L SA.

Well, fuck.

I attend HYS too, and obviously as a 1L have no grades, so I have no idea why they told me what they did. They definitely understood I was referring to big law. Anyway thanks for the information. I'll just stick with my original plan to mass mail and cross fingers.

[Lincoln]

But no one cares what you do 1L summer

You should, even if no one else does. My 1L summer was the most important thing I've done so far: Got me my 2L SA and I learned a ton.

[Tiago Splitter]

Those who have managed to nab 1L SA, did most of you send them out to firms on Dec 1st or wait until after finals? Do you think it really makes a difference? And I guess which market probably matters... like will NYC matter but not some smaller secondary?

Just went to a career services presentation where they said NYC firms tend to hire later like to see grades. Of course it was said in the context of when to send out apps, and since we're in NYC they said there isn't any urgency to mail out apps since we'll be here all of next semester. I get the impression though that if you are only going to be in NYC (or anywhere else where you'll be applying) for winter break that you should be aggressive about sending apps early so that you can snag an interview before starting second semester.

[BlueLotus]

No significant advantage to applying right on midnight 12/1 if I have no interest in BigLaw SAs or judicial internships for 1L summer, right? I was planning on applying only to DAs offices, gov. agencies, legal aid, non-profits etc. right after finals and before Christmas, and from what I gather, they conduct hiring a little later in the game (some with deadlines as late as February/March).

[unc0mm0n1]

No significant advantage to applying right on midnight 12/1 if I have no interest in BigLaw SAs or judicial internships for 1L summer, right? I was planning on applying only to DAs offices, gov. agencies, legal aid, non-profits etc. right after finals and before Christmas, and from what I gather, they conduct hiring a little later in the game (some with deadlines as late as February/March).

You needed to go anon to ask that?

[BlueLotus]

oops my mistake, lol. right before that post i was posting on another thread re: potentially revealing info.

anyway, since i'm 25, would it be weird to place only my family address in lieu of my school address on my resume? In UG I had my resume professionally reviewed, and they suggested that it might make me look "immature" to have mommy and daddy's home address on there...HOWEVER, I want to target the market where I grew up in (as opposed to the market my school is in). I'm calling BS on that advice given how ties-oriented legal hiring is, but I just wanted to make sure.

Also, for the purpose of establishing ties, would it be helpful to list memberships to local bar ass'ns?

[IAFG]

anyway, since i'm 25, would it be weird to place only my family address in lieu of my school address on my resume? In UG I had my resume professionally reviewed, and they suggested that it might make me look "immature" to have mommy and daddy's home address on there

It's very common to have your parents' address listed as your permanent address.

I'm calling BS on that advice given how ties-oriented legal hiring is, but I just wanted to make sure.

lol let us know what you think once you're not wet behind the ears anymore.

[Lwoods]

oops my mistake, lol. right before that post i was posting on another thread re: potentially revealing info.

anyway, since i'm 25, would it be weird to place only my family address in lieu of my school address on my resume? In UG I had my resume professionally reviewed, and they suggested that it might make me look "immature" to have mommy and daddy's home address on there...HOWEVER, I want to target the market where I grew up in (as opposed to the market my school is in). I'm calling BS on that advice given how ties-oriented legal hiring is, but I just wanted to make sure.

Also, for the purpose of establishing ties, would it be helpful to list memberships to local bar ass'ns?

Just include your parents address on your resume for applications to that market (and possibly nearby markets) and mention your ties in your cover letter. Do NOT put your parents' address on your resume for applications to jobs in other markets.

And ties aren't the end-all be-all, but they are a very big deal. The first question I got at every screening interview was "So, where's home?" and one firm noted their hesitation to offer a spot to anyone NOT from their particular city because they've been burned in the past by those from nearby cities ultimately going back to those markets.

[Anonymous User]

Great, thanks. Would it be helpful to mention on my resume my memberships to local bar associations to show my seriousness about wanting to go back home? My desired market is rather insular, so I want to emphasize my ties as much as possible!

Also, should I place all paid jobs and internships/volunteer experience under the same heading of "Professional Experience", or should I separate unpaid and paid WE?

edit: Ugh...anon by accident again, sorry lol.

[stressed2010]

2L here...there's nothing wrong with starting too early. Pretty sure I got my 1L job, an internship with a Fed. district court judge because I got my stuff in waaaaayyyy earlier than everyone else. I got hired and I didn't even have my fall 1L grades yet. I'm not a particularly impressive candidate either. I worked for 2 years as a paralegal and went to a top 20 liberal arts college where I had solid grades. So it's definitely because I got my stuff in before other people. Not to mention I go to a tier 2 law school so that wasn't why I got the job either.

I don't know how hard it is to get an unpaid job with a judge from a T2 but before spending a bunch of semester-time effort finding an (unpaid) 1L job, I'd want to know it's necessary. For me, it was pretty easy to find an unpaid respectable-enough 1L job without having to gun it.

Getting any job from a t2 is difficult...a lot of research assistants and interns for state trial courts from my class 1L summer....no paid internships at firms outside of a diversity scholarship program. I'm sure the things are different at your t14 so my advice probably only applies to people at crappy law schools...and I had good grades after fall 1l so not sure if I could have gotten something better if I had waited....certainly wouldn't have been a 1L summer associate though....

[stressed2010]

2L here...there's nothing wrong with starting too early. Pretty sure I got my 1L job, an internship with a Fed. district court judge because I got my stuff in waaaaayyyy earlier than everyone else. I got hired and I didn't even have my fall 1L grades yet. I'm not a particularly impressive candidate either. I worked for 2 years as a paralegal and went to a top 20 liberal arts college where I had solid grades. So it's definitely because I got my stuff in before other people. Not to mention I go to a tier 2 law school so that wasn't why I got the job either.

I don't know how hard it is to get an unpaid job with a judge from a T2 but before spending a bunch of semester-time effort finding an (unpaid) 1L job, I'd want to know it's necessary. For me, it was pretty easy to find an unpaid respectable-enough 1L job without having to gun it.

Getting any job from a t2 is difficult...a lot of research assistants and interns for state trial courts from my class 1L summer....no paid internships at firms outside of a diversity scholarship program. I'm sure the things are different at your t14 so my advice probably only applies to people at crappy law schools...and I had good grades after fall 1l so not sure if I could have gotten something better if I had waited....certainly wouldn't have been a 1L summer associate though....

That being said I know a handful of research assistants who will now be at big law firms next summer while I'm probably research assisting this summer so I agree grades matter more than 1L job.....my advice just don't get complacent after a strong showing 1L fall semester...I'm suffering for it now with no job lined up and piles of debt

[stressed2010]

2L here...there's nothing wrong with starting too early. Pretty sure I got my 1L job, an internship with a Fed. district court judge because I got my stuff in waaaaayyyy earlier than everyone else. I got hired and I didn't even have my fall 1L grades yet. I'm not a particularly impressive candidate either. I worked for 2 years as a paralegal and went to a top 20 liberal arts college where I had solid grades. So it's definitely because I got my stuff in before other people. Not to mention I go to a tier 2 law school so that wasn't why I got the job either.

When did you apply? And 2 years WE plus a good school is solid.

I applied around December 1st. That being said although it was nice to have a "respectable 1L" internship a lot of people from my school who were research assistants their 1L summer are now working in big law 2L summer and all I have to show for it is my 1L internship and no job lined up for next summer...soooo to reiterate GRADES GRADES

[Blessedassurance]

Hustling for a 1L summer position and working on good grades needn't be mutually exclusive, need they?

[Anonymous User]

Hustling for a 1L summer position and working on good grades needn't be mutually exclusive, need they?

That's true but I think the point the posters are making is that 1L is an overwhelming time to begin with so juggling both might just end in disaster. On the whole in terms of 2L OCI firms seem to care more about being able to slap summa cum laude and law review on their attorney bio pages then "summer intern with justice scalia"

[coldshoulder]

This being TLS this is a bit of a long-shot, but anybody have suggestions/connections for the mt west? UT/CO preferred.

[Anonymous User]

But no one cares what you do 1L summer

That is so untrue.

Having a good summer job can overcome median grades at OCI. 75% of my time in OCI interviews was spent talking about my summer job. People who didn't do something law-related had a really rough time at OCI.

Also, you should be targeting legal internships under general counsels at fortune-500s. Infinitely better than firm work, clerking, or public interest work. There's a much smaller applicant pool and your interviewers at OCI will find it interesting b/c they all secretly want to leave their firm for an in-house gig.

Use this to find contacts.

[Anonymous User]

But no one cares what you do 1L summer

That is so untrue.

Having a good summer job can overcome median grades at OCI. 75% of my time in OCI interviews was spent talking about my summer job. People who didn't do something law-related had a really rough time at OCI.

Also, you should be targeting legal internships under general counsels at fortune-500s. Infinitely better than firm work, clerking, or public interest work. There's a much smaller applicant pool and your interviewers at OCI will find it interesting b/c they all secretly want to leave their firm for an in-house gig.





My experience was vastly different from the above poster....had arguably a more prestigious 1L job then most of my classmates who now have 2L summer associate positions....I had a 3.5 gpa after 1L so top 15 percent at my top 40 to 60 school but those with 3.55 and up and just research assistant positions killed me at OCI. Maybe the above poster goes to hys...no one gave to craps about

[geary86]

tag

[goldeneye]

tagging. thanks.

[stressed2010]

tagging. thanks.

What does tagging mean...sorry out of the loop on some tls lingo

[20130312]

tagging. thanks.

What does tagging mean...sorry out of the loop on some tls lingo

When you post in a thread, it shows up in the "View your posts" section, so a tag just means they are posting so they can come back and look at the info later.

[goldeneye]

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[goldeneye]

do you generally PDF both the letter and your resume as one file and then email it?