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I have eight callbacks. Only one in each market. I really like all of these firms. What pitfalls should I anticipated by being so spread out?

Anonymous User wrote:I have eight callbacks. Only one in each market. I really like all of these firms. What pitfalls should I anticipated by being so spread out?

You can anticipate their heads exploding when you tell them you applied to 8 different markets.


Why did you do that?

Better is question is why the hell would he tell them he applied to 8 different markets. I'm sure, unless you're a moron, you know why be applied to 8 different markets. Obviously he wants a job and has good enough ties to get cbs in 8 diff markets.

Even better question is why is your reply anonymous

OP Here.

PC reason is that I have very specific practice areas I am interested in, and care less about region.

Real answer is that I want a job and don't want to be one of the medianish people on here complaining that I got 3 callbacks and struck out at all of them because career services said that "applying to three markets is a bad idea."

BTW I actually applied to 12 markets. I don't get how people throw down 200k and then decide to roll the dice with only 16 callbacks in two markets from the median. Also, who actually knows what practice area they really want, especially when most people have only been exposed to litigation stuff their first year.

KamaalTheAbstract wrote:Better is question is why the hell would he tell them he applied to 8 different markets. I'm sure, unless you're a moron, you know why be applied to 8 different markets. Obviously he wants a job and has good enough ties to get cbs in 8 diff markets.

Even better question is why is your reply anonymous

There has recently been a rash of "why are you anonymous" posts. Just click the red ! if you have a problem. The rules explicitly say not to say "why are you anonymous" in a post.

Better question - are you interviewing with any other firms in those markets?

In other words, if you're interviewing A in CA and B in Texas, have you interviewed (not necessarily had callbacks with) with other firms in those markets? It's good if you can at least show a degree of commitment to that market. I received this question frequently FWIW

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.
BTW I actually applied to 12 markets. I don't get how people throw down 200k and then decide to roll the dice with only 16 callbacks in two markets from the median. Also, who actually knows what practice area they really want, especially when most people have only been exposed to litigation stuff their first year.

What on earth do you mean by this? Two markets and 16 callbacks is a very effective strategy. While covering more than one market can make a lot of sense, spreading out among 12 markets and only getting one CB per market was a very risky strategy. You should come up with a more effective answer than "I don't care where I live" for your callbacks.

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.

PC reason is that I have very specific practice areas I am interested in, and care less about region.

Real answer is that I want a job and don't want to be one of the medianish people on here complaining that I got 3 callbacks and struck out at all of them because career services said that "applying to three markets is a bad idea."

BTW I actually applied to 12 markets. I don't get how people throw down 200k and then decide to roll the dice with only 16 callbacks in two markets from the median. Also, who actually knows what practice area they really want, especially when most people have only been exposed to litigation stuff their first year.

Good luck. I hope you don't end up being one of the "medianish people...that struck out," dick.

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.

PC reason is that I have very specific practice areas I am interested in, and care less about region.

Real answer is that I want a job and don't want to be one of the medianish people on here complaining that I got 3 callbacks and struck out at all of them because career services said that "applying to three markets is a bad idea."

BTW I actually applied to 12 markets. I don't get how people throw down 200k and then decide to roll the dice with only 16 callbacks in two markets from the median. Also, who actually knows what practice area they really want, especially when most people have only been exposed to litigation stuff their first year.

1. It's a buyer's market. Firms are not looking for candidates who don't care about living in Kansas City, they are looking for candidates who want to live in Kansas City. Why hire the kid who doesn't care about being KC when applicant number 2 wants to be in KC?

2. Some associates will ask you, "Why Salt Lake City?" The more common question from partners will be "where are all your callbacks?" They won't bother asking why you applied to a particular city when they know your application pattern will give them a more honest look into where you want to be. If you're thinking about lying be prepared for the follow up question, "Who else are you interviewing with here in Portland, who is my competition?"

Good luck.

I have been able to sell myself quite well by saying, "I am interested in mid-sized Midwestern markets." It is genuine, and the people doing hiring seem to like that answer. I also emphasize that I did not bother with off-campus job fairs and I have little interest in Chicago. It has worked well.

I guess what I'm saying is that you can still get CBs and presumably offers without focusing exclusively on one market, so long as you know how to sell your interest and not sound like a flight risk.

TooOld4This wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP Here.
BTW I actually applied to 12 markets. I don't get how people throw down 200k and then decide to roll the dice with only 16 callbacks in two markets from the median. Also, who actually knows what practice area they really want, especially when most people have only been exposed to litigation stuff their first year.

What on earth do you mean by this? Two markets and 16 callbacks is a very effective strategy. While covering more than one market can make a lot of sense, spreading out among 12 markets and only getting one CB per market was a very risky strategy. You should come up with a more effective answer than "I don't care where I live" for your callbacks.

OP Here. I guess it would be a good strategy if you had really strong ties and expected to be competitive.

I did bid other firms in each of these markets, and haven't gotten callbacks yet in these markets. I also haven't been rejected yet from the firms. I guess on the callbacks I can say that I have also been interviewing with _, even though they haven't extended a callback to me yet, and also haven't rejected me. OCI just got over this last week, so maybe more will roll in.

Its also not that I don't care where I live. I definitely have two markets I really want more than any other. Its just that I added a ton more interviews after my first two markets, and tripled the number of interviews I did. I feel good initially about this strategy because I only got one callback in each of my two original markets where I have strong ties.