Anonymous User wrote:Has anyone actually received offers from a Loyola callback?
I've gotten two offers and one rejection so far from CBs resulting from PLIP. Here are my interview stats so far:
Loyola PLIP
18 screening interviews
resulting in 12 CBs, 4 dings, 1 withdrawal, 1 unknown
went on 8 CBs, declined 3, will go on 1
2 offers, 1 ding, 5 unknown
SFIPLA
6 screening interviews
resulting in 3 CBs, 3 dings
declined 1 CB, will go on 2
OCI
14 screening interviews
resulting in 7 CBs, 6 dings, 1 unknown
went on 4 CBs, declined 2, will go on 1
1 offer, 3 unknown
Sorry, no personal stats or firm names. It'd be way too easy to figure out who I am. Interviewing stats don't necessarily mean much, though, as I didn't target firms as well as I could have and different firms are truly looking for different things.
I feel that I connected better with the interviewers at PLIP than at OCI. All of the interviewers at PLIP worked either in patent litigation/prosecution. Most had science or engineering backgrounds. Most of the interviewers at OCI worked in non-IP fields and majored in the humanities.
I've met a number of people who got their jobs via PLIP, including several interviewers. It's a legit interview program. The problem is that it's really freaking early, and some firms just don't seem prepared to give offers that early in the process. Most have hiring committees that meet every couple weeks, and many seem to be waiting until they finish most OCI interviewing, have interviewed a few CBs, and can better gauge how many SAs they can hire. At almost every callback I went to, someone said to me that I was the first person they had interviewed this season.
Quite frankly, if you (1) have an EE or CS degree; (2) got OK grades in law school (3) at an OK law school; (4) have relevant work experience; (5) express an interest in patents; (6) interview in a large IP market such as NY, DC, or SV; and (7) interview well, you will have your pick of choices all the way up and down the V100. And once you get your foot in the door via your paper credentials, interviewing well is all that matters.
Interviewing
is a skill that can be learned, albeit a "soft" skill: go on mock interviews, go on as many screening interviews as possible, and generally interact with other people. These interviews are almost invariably chatty experiences with the occasional "tell me about a time when..." sort of question. They're nothing like EE/CS interviews where they ask you to solve brain teasers, write code, or solve problems on the spot. If you have the credentials, they generally just want to see if they can stand being around you 80 hours a week.
I'm also of the opinion that thank you notes (both after screeners and CBs) make no difference whatsoever, at least for big firms. Attorneys are already drowning in email. The last thing they need is one more from you.