Anonymous User wrote:I am a 1L and I am getting worried after reading this thread. I didn't know getting call backs would be this tough! Any advice for a 1L who will be heading into the game next year?
Other than doing as well as you can,
1) Do your research. Know how to bid wisely (what markets and firms will get you the most number of screening interviews and callbacks?), know what to say in an interview, read about the firms you're interested in before bidding on them, not before the screening interview - that way you won't discover that you don't actually want to work there right before the interview. If you find a thread here that contains useful advice (like, this one), bookmark it and read it over the summer.
2) Practice interviewing. Even if your grades are great, hiring is so competitive now that you have to do more than just "not drool on yourself." You must have good answers to these basic questions: Why this firm? Why this city? Why law school? Why this practice area? Also, be sure you're able to intelligently discuss a legal issue you dealt with at your 1L summer job.
3) Try as hard as you can for interviews. If you don't get a screening interview you want, there's no reason why you shouldn't try making a special request. Don't take the attitude "I already have enough interviews, I'll get something." Over the summer, send out targeted mailings to firms you're interested in. If you do enough of these you can enter OCI with a couple callbacks lined up, which will make the process a lot less stressful.
Assuming your grades are decent, you will probably be fine if you take the process seriously.
