Low Grades and a Callback Forum

[Blindmelon]

I have low grades (below median). I got 4/5 offers for my CBs. Just PWN your interviews.

Let me guess, YHS?

[Anonymous User]

I have low grades (below median). I got 4/5 offers for my CBs. Just PWN your interviews.

Let me guess, YHS?

CCN. Lots of people in my same position with no CBs or offers at CCN.

[Anonymous User]

I have low grades (below median). I got 4/5 offers for my CBs. Just PWN your interviews.

Let me guess, YHS?

CCN. Lots of people in my same position with no CBs or offers at CCN.

Below median at CCN isn't that low though.

[Anonymous User]

I have low grades (below median). I got 4/5 offers for my CBs. Just PWN your interviews.

Let me guess, YHS?

CCN. Lots of people in my same position with no CBs or offers at CCN.

Below median at CCN isn't that low though.

Below median is below median.

[Anonymous User]

I have low grades (below median). I got 4/5 offers for my CBs. Just PWN your interviews.

CCN. Lots of people in my same position with no CBs or offers at CCN.

Below median at CCN isn't that low though.

Below median is below median.

No sh*t sherlock. What I'm saying is that 4/5 offers isn't that surprising at below-median of CCN.

[Anonymous User]

Below median at CCN isn't that low though.

Below median is below median.

No sh*t sherlock. What I'm saying is that 4/5 offers isn't that surprising at below-median of CCN.[/quote]


Really? Because I could have sworn that you said, "Below median at CCN isn't that low though," not that my offer rate wasn't surprising.

[Anonymous User]

[


Below median is below median.

No sh*t sherlock. What I'm saying is that 4/5 offers isn't that surprising at below-median of CCN.

This is not true. Below-median poster did well.

Grades do matter. But once you're at the callback, work experience, maturity, performance in interviews, all become key. I genuinely believe that room for error, like one of your CB interviews not going so well, is much less.

[Anonymous User]

[


Below median is below median.

No sh*t sherlock. What I'm saying is that 4/5 offers isn't that surprising at below-median of CCN.

This is not true. Below-median poster did well.

Grades do matter. But once you're at the callback, work experience, maturity, performance in interviews, all become key. I genuinely believe that room for error, like one of your CB interviews not going so well, is much less.

tyft

[edcrane]

The best system would be what consulting companies have been doing for years - give actual critical thinking questions and legal work during interviews. Measure applicants based on the sort of thing they'd actually be doing, rather than their ability to write a good essay in Torts.

Except that this sort of on-the-spot legal analysis bears little resemblance to any legal work at big firms that I'm aware of. Meaningful legal analysis is almost always done "offline." You need to have issue spotting skills, certainly. But that's something that's already tested on 1L exams.

As to the OP: grades matter, but you can't do anything about them now. Relax and try to rock the interviews.

[Drake014]

Just sell yourself and let your personality shine through, as well as research you've done on the firm. I have 15 callbacks, and I think my chances are pretty bad at getting an offer, just because of my personality type. It's much more important once you get past the screener.

What's your personality type?

bad. introverted. nervous and it shows. I have a weird voice too that I'm unconfident about.

If you're a guy, this will probably hurt more. totally guessing though.

With 15 callbacks, you'd have to be a deaf mute not to get at least 1 job offer and even then someone would hire you for diversity purposes.

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

The best system would be what consulting companies have been doing for years - give actual critical thinking questions and legal work during interviews. Measure applicants based on the sort of thing they'd actually be doing, rather than their ability to write a good essay in Torts.

Problem is, law school doesn't prepare for legal work so those with firm work over the summer would be - IMO unfairly - advantaged.

Not that I'd mind since I actually did get to do firm work this summer.

Well, isn't that the right thing to do? I think hiring someone just because they are number 1 in their class is stupid. Grades do not equal great lawyering skills. I know some ppl who are courtroom stars, and they did not do all that well in law school.

[Anonymous User]

do you recommend taking rec. letter to cb interview?

[Anonymous User]

The best system would be what consulting companies have been doing for years - give actual critical thinking questions and legal work during interviews. Measure applicants based on the sort of thing they'd actually be doing, rather than their ability to write a good essay in Torts.

Problem is, law school doesn't prepare for legal work so those with firm work over the summer would be - IMO unfairly - advantaged.

Not that I'd mind since I actually did get to do firm work this summer.

Well, isn't that the right thing to do? I think hiring someone just because they are number 1 in their class is stupid. Grades do not equal great lawyering skills. I know some ppl who are courtroom stars, and they did not do all that well in law school.

As someone with medicore grades, I figure it is like the LSAT- not the best theoretical method but the best that we have in terms of 1) anonymity, 2) being easy to rank and compare applicants across different schools. Obviously we could design an interview process to better simulate what lawyers do, just like we could design a test to simulate better what law students do, but in terms of cost there are just too many candidates and not enough of an incentive because biglaw work for the first few years is very different from lawyering.

Entry-level hiring seems to have more elements of grad school admissions than job searching.