Physical Mass Mailing vs. E-mailing Forum

[Anonymous User]

Quick question about mass mailing - are most people e-mailing their resume/cover letters/transcripts out to recruiters/hiring managers, as opposed to physically printing these documents and mailing them in?

[kaiser]

Absolutely email. Any firm would tell you the same if you asked their preference.

[bk1]

Absolutely email. Any firm would tell you the same if you asked their preference.

[071816]

lol I wonder if there are people out there who actually mail hard copies of all their application materials to firms.

[JJW]

Is it all PDF, or is WORD alright?

[bk1]

Is it all PDF, or is WORD alright?

DOC and DOCX are fine (though I'd generally avoid DOCX just in case). I PDF everything so I know it looks exactly the way I want it formatted. Word lets you save to PDF so I see no reason not to send everything as a PDF.

[JJW]

Is it all PDF, or is WORD alright?

DOC and DOCX are fine (though I'd generally avoid DOCX just in case). I PDF everything so I know it looks exactly the way I want it formatted. Word lets you save to PDF so I see no reason not to send everything as a PDF.

Thanks. After I posted the question I realized that it would be difficult to send a transcript on Word. I keep forgetting about Docx. . .I suppose I shouldn’t assume that by now everyone has docx.

One last thing, on some firm emails they indent the first line of each paragraph to nearly the middle of the page. Looks stylish. . . have you seen that before? When responding, I wonder if I should I do the same?

[bk1]

One last thing, on some firm emails they indent the first line of each paragraph to nearly the middle of the page. Looks stylish. . . have you seen that before? When responding, I wonder if I should I do the same?

I have not noticed it but I haven't really been paying attention to stuff like that. I didn't indent anything when I emailed.

[thesealocust]

lol I wonder if there are people out there who actually mail hard copies of all their application materials to firms.

I did since I only applied to 5 firms outside of OGI. My calculus was that a law firm simply cannot afford to have mail misrouted, whereas an out of date (or non-existant) recruiting email could, overzelous spam filter, etc. could be a 1-in-a-hundred occurrence but still more likely than a foul up in the mailroom. Also just felt kind of fun and old-fashioned I realize it wasn't necessarily an optimal strategy.

I'd recommend anybody with the capacity to apply via email, but do your best to find an up to date recruiting contact (i.e. prefer the firm's website over the NALP form or a database maintained by your school unless the website looks like a relic from 1995 or something).

[Anonymous User]

I send a hard copy, wait four days, send an email copy with a note saying "for your electronic records" or something like that. I use nice stationary w/ matching envelopes and ask my wife to hand address them (her handwriting doesn't look girly). I get them professionally printed (it's not expensive . . . probably less than buying your own toner). I send handwritten thank you notes on nice stationary as well.

I've always done this with internships and jobs and I think I get above average responses. When you have a stack of papers and one is on nice paper, it stands out, but not in a gaudy or gimmicky way. When I was applying for paralegal positions prior to law school, I had a hiring partner at a v-20 call me and say that my application was the “most professional he’d ever seen.” I don’t know if he meant the stationary or the words on the stationary, but I presume that the stationary at least factored into his impression.

In my opinion, stationary is one of those subtle signals (like bar lacing closed-lace shoes) that show you know what’s up. And handwriting the envelope makes it seem less like a mail merge. And wax sealing the letter with a signet ring shows that . . . just kidding.

It’s a little superfluous, but so is making sure you're showing exactly the right amount of cuff. All of these things add up though. It’s like that quote, I forget who said it: good manners are nothing more than a series of little sacrifices and small inconveniences. Same goes for creating a good impression and seeming sophisticated: it’s not a 5K bespoke suit and a Rolex that does it, it’s a series of subtle signals and stationary can be one.

. . . or I just like stationary.

[equalityLaw10]

I send a hard copy, wait four days, send an email copy with a note saying "for your electronic records" or something like that. I use nice stationary w/ matching envelopes and ask my wife to hand address them (her handwriting doesn't look girly). I get them professionally printed (it's not expensive . . . probably less than buying your own toner). I send handwritten thank you notes on nice stationary as well.

I've always done this with internships and jobs and I think I get above average responses. When you have a stack of papers and one is on nice paper, it stands out, but not in a gaudy or gimmicky way. When I was applying for paralegal positions prior to law school, I had a hiring partner at a v-20 call me and say that my application was the “most professional he’d ever seen.” I don’t know if he meant the stationary or the words on the stationary, but I presume that the stationary at least factored into his impression.

In my opinion, stationary is one of those subtle signals (like bar lacing closed-lace shoes) that show you know what’s up. And handwriting the envelope makes it seem less like a mail merge. And wax sealing the letter with a signet ring shows that . . . just kidding.

It’s a little superfluous, but so is making sure you're showing exactly the right amount of cuff. All of these things add up though. It’s like that quote, I forget who said it: good manners are nothing more than a series of little sacrifices and small inconveniences. Same goes for creating a good impression and seeming sophisticated: it’s not a 5K bespoke suit and a Rolex that does it, it’s a series of subtle signals and stationary can be one.

. . . or I just like stationary.

How many firms did you do this for? What has the response been?

[Anonymous User]

I send a hard copy, wait four days, send an email copy with a note saying "for your electronic records" or something like that. I use nice stationary w/ matching envelopes and ask my wife to hand address them (her handwriting doesn't look girly). I get them professionally printed (it's not expensive . . . probably less than buying your own toner). I send handwritten thank you notes on nice stationary as well.

I've always done this with internships and jobs and I think I get above average responses. When you have a stack of papers and one is on nice paper, it stands out, but not in a gaudy or gimmicky way. When I was applying for paralegal positions prior to law school, I had a hiring partner at a v-20 call me and say that my application was the “most professional he’d ever seen.” I don’t know if he meant the stationary or the words on the stationary, but I presume that the stationary at least factored into his impression.

In my opinion, stationary is one of those subtle signals (like bar lacing closed-lace shoes) that show you know what’s up. And handwriting the envelope makes it seem less like a mail merge. And wax sealing the letter with a signet ring shows that . . . just kidding.

It’s a little superfluous, but so is making sure you're showing exactly the right amount of cuff. All of these things add up though. It’s like that quote, I forget who said it: good manners are nothing more than a series of little sacrifices and small inconveniences. Same goes for creating a good impression and seeming sophisticated: it’s not a 5K bespoke suit and a Rolex that does it, it’s a series of subtle signals and stationary can be one.

. . . or I just like stationary.

How many firms did you do this for? What has the response been?

OP?

[Anonymous User]

I send a hard copy, wait four days, send an email copy with a note saying "for your electronic records" or something like that. I use nice stationary w/ matching envelopes and ask my wife to hand address them (her handwriting doesn't look girly). I get them professionally printed (it's not expensive . . . probably less than buying your own toner). I send handwritten thank you notes on nice stationary as well.

I've always done this with internships and jobs and I think I get above average responses. When you have a stack of papers and one is on nice paper, it stands out, but not in a gaudy or gimmicky way. When I was applying for paralegal positions prior to law school, I had a hiring partner at a v-20 call me and say that my application was the “most professional he’d ever seen.” I don’t know if he meant the stationary or the words on the stationary, but I presume that the stationary at least factored into his impression.

In my opinion, stationary is one of those subtle signals (like bar lacing closed-lace shoes) that show you know what’s up. And handwriting the envelope makes it seem less like a mail merge. And wax sealing the letter with a signet ring shows that . . . just kidding.

It’s a little superfluous, but so is making sure you're showing exactly the right amount of cuff. All of these things add up though. It’s like that quote, I forget who said it: good manners are nothing more than a series of little sacrifices and small inconveniences. Same goes for creating a good impression and seeming sophisticated: it’s not a 5K bespoke suit and a Rolex that does it, it’s a series of subtle signals and stationary can be one.

. . . or I just like stationary.

How many firms did you do this for? What has the response been?

OP?

Sorry for the delay.

I've been sending my stuff out over the past week, so I wouldn't have heard anything back yet. I'm MVP. I sent 40 to DC recruiting managers and 10 to practice group heads of groups I'm particularly interested in. I didn't blast out 300 to a bunch of random firms, only firms I would consider working at. I don't expect any miracles, but I do think targeted letters (1st paragraph tailored to each firm) on nice stationary is more effective than a 300 firm mass mail merge on paper stolen from the library.

I did this for 1L summer and ended up with, what I consider, the best summer job in my class and I'm just slightly above median. I did this when I graduated college as well, right when law was being hit hard by the recession. I was told that "nobody can find paralegal work" right now. I got 8 offers from v-20 firms. IMHO, quality over quantity. I would rather send 3 tailored letters than 20 generic letters. But what do I know, blind leading the blind at this point.

I'm done now, except I'm going to contact the 10 firms with which I didn't land an OCI interview.