School OCI is slacking and I think I can do better, advice?! Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hello all,

About me: I am a rising 2L at a Tier 4 school. The school is said to place well regionally. I worked extremely hard 1L year to make myself a good candidate. I am ranked in the top 5 of my class, and just completed the summer program to be a member of Law Review. I'm currently a RA working under a professor, co-authoring a law review article (chance I could be published!)

Looking for: I have become very interested in corporate law, and learning about securities law for my research has also been intriguing.

School OCI: The first round of OCI features only 10 employers. Most of them are located across the state, with only 1 or 2 legitimate firms listed. I just walked into career development, and there is ONE employee there, who didn't even seem to know much about OCI. I think I can do better and I'm looking for advice on seeking out firms and sending out my information to potential employers.

My question to YOU: Would you fellow TLS members recommend that I send out my resume to the major corporate law firms in the area? I've spent the last few hours reading the OCI threads in this forum, and I think I would be selling myself short by only applying to the firms that my school has listed.

I think the low # of OCI employers is due to the economy combined with my school's low overall ranking. I've tried to counter that by doing as well as I can and placing in the top 5 of my class. Should I be sending out unsolicited resumes and cover letters or what?

I'm primarily looking for any job in corporate law that pays well and would pave the way for a good career so I can start paying back loans

Thanks in advance!

[1ferret!]

Use the NALP directory to find employers in your area.
Contact the recruiting coordinator listed to confirm that they are running an SA program for the coming year, and what form they would like you to submit your materials.
Research the employer atty bios to find alumni you can contact w/any questions about the firm.
Apply broadly.
????
Profit.

[Pablo Ramirez]

Hello all,

About me: I am a rising 2L at a Tier 4 school. The school is said to place well regionally. I worked extremely hard 1L year to make myself a good candidate. I am ranked in the top 5 of my class, and just completed the summer program to be a member of Law Review. I'm currently a RA working under a professor, co-authoring a law review article (chance I could be published!)

Looking for: I have become very interested in corporate law, and learning about securities law for my research has also been intriguing.

School OCI: The first round of OCI features only 10 employers. Most of them are located across the state, with only 1 or 2 legitimate firms listed. I just walked into career development, and there is ONE employee there, who didn't even seem to know much about OCI. I think I can do better and I'm looking for advice on seeking out firms and sending out my information to potential employers.

My question to YOU: Would you fellow TLS members recommend that I send out my resume to the major corporate law firms in the area? I've spent the last few hours reading the OCI threads in this forum, and I think I would be selling myself short by only applying to the firms that my school has listed.

I think the low # of OCI employers is due to the economy combined with my school's low overall ranking. I've tried to counter that by doing as well as I can and placing in the top 5 of my class. Should I be sending out unsolicited resumes and cover letters or what?

I'm primarily looking for any job in corporate law that pays well and would pave the way for a good career so I can start paying back loans

Thanks in advance!

Do what you need to do to get a solid job, including mass-mailing firms, transferring schools, etc.

[General Tso]

mass mailing is not recommended

[dslslave]

Do what you need to do to get a solid job, including mass-mailing firms, transferring schools, etc.

Definitely. I decided against transferring, for financial reasons and because I'd be a "big fish in a small pond" here. For the rest, I am seeking advice on finding and landing that solid job.

Thanks for the responses so far, keep em coming!

[HAMBONE]

mass mailing is not recommended

I would send targetted cover letters to the firms in your region first. Then mass mail the hell out of all the other firms you want in other markets. Mass mailing has a much lower chance of success but still better than if u don't do any mass mailing

[20160810]

mass mailing is not recommended

I'm not sure what you mean by mass mailing, but I'm pretty sure I don't agree. Cold applying for SA jobs with firms who don't do OCI is a good move for people at non-T14 schools who can't just bank on getting a job through OCI. Don't just dump your resume on someone via email, but write a cover letter explaining your background, why you might be a fit for the firm, and why you want to work in the market where that firm is located. Sure, it's not a guaranteed win, but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing.

[1ferret!]

Perhaps Tso is opposed to simple form cover letters and resume packages: the kind of shot gun attempt that should really only be applied to firms that you are not interested in enough to actually put together a tailored cover letter.
I would do this after I had put all my efforts into focusing on firms I really wanted, but I wouldn't really expect anything to come of it.

[General Tso]

mass mailing is not recommended

I'm not sure what you mean by mass mailing, but I'm pretty sure I don't agree. Cold applying for SA jobs with firms who don't do OCI is a good move for people at non-T14 schools who can't just bank on getting a job through OCI. Don't just dump your resume on someone via email, but write a cover letter explaining your background, why you might be a fit for the firm, and why you want to work in the market where that firm is located. Sure, it's not a guaranteed win, but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing.

It takes time away from writing targeted mailings. Guerrilla Tactics cites CSOs claiming less than 2% success rates on mass mailings.

I think your time would be better spent trying to network and name drop. Eg - "Sammy Samson recommended I contact you regarding a SA position at your firm." Or at the very least doing thorough research on each firm rather than sending out a generic cover letter. I sent out approx. 300 unsolicited resumes with a generic cover letter seeking a 1L summer job. I didn't get a single interview.

I landed about 5 interviews, and each of them came from listings on Symplicity. I am coming from a lower T1, regional school with good grades.

Long story short - unsolicited, generic mass mailings are a waste of time.

[LurkerNoMore]

Get cover letters and resumes out asap!! You are about 3-4 weeks behind schedule.

Use NALP and Chambers to get your list of firms. Figure out what firms you want to target and why, and then write cover letters that will reflect the reasons you want to work there and what you bring to the table. If there are several firms in a specific location, plan a trip there and put in the cover letter what dates you will be in town.

Seriously get moving on this, though.

[20160810]

Get cover letters and resumes out asap!! You are about 3-4 weeks behind schedule.

Use NALP and Chambers to get your list of firms. Figure out what firms you want to target and why, and then write cover letters that will reflect the reasons you want to work there and what you bring to the table. If there are several firms in a specific location, plan a trip there and put in the cover letter what dates you will be in town.

Seriously get moving on this, though.

I agree to do it now, but I think that he's not horribly behind schedule. What I've been told re: cold apps is that if you get everything in their hands before Sept. 1st, you should be golden.

[20160810]

mass mailing is not recommended

I'm not sure what you mean by mass mailing, but I'm pretty sure I don't agree. Cold applying for SA jobs with firms who don't do OCI is a good move for people at non-T14 schools who can't just bank on getting a job through OCI. Don't just dump your resume on someone via email, but write a cover letter explaining your background, why you might be a fit for the firm, and why you want to work in the market where that firm is located. Sure, it's not a guaranteed win, but it's a hell of a lot better than doing nothing.

It takes time away from writing targeted mailings. Guerrilla Tactics cites CSOs claiming less than 2% success rates on mass mailings.

I think your time would be better spent trying to network and name drop. Eg - "Sammy Samson recommended I contact you regarding a SA position at your firm." Or at the very least doing thorough research on each firm rather than sending out a generic cover letter. I sent out approx. 300 unsolicited resumes with a generic cover letter seeking a 1L summer job. I didn't get a single interview.

I landed about 5 interviews, and each of them came from listings on Symplicity. I am coming from a lower T1, regional school with good grades.

Long story short - unsolicited, generic mass mailings are a waste of time.

Yeah, I mean generic cover letter FTL. At least address which practice areas of that firm you could be an asset to, why you want to practice in that city, etc. But it probably shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes to adapt a custom cover letter to each firm.