Which OCI Hospitality Suites to skip? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Transfer student at MVP, trying to realistically gauge my chances and also be efficient at time-management at OCI. Which of these firms (all NYC) should I not even bother to stop by the hospitality suite to request an interview?:

Akin Gump
Arnold & Porter
Baker & Hostetler
Gibson Dunn
Jones Day
K&L Gates
Kasowitz
MoFo
Nixon Peabody
Paul, Weiss
Proskauer
Quinn Emanuel
Ropes & Gray
Sidley Austin
Vinson & Elkins
White & Case

I'm already figuring Cravath, SullCrom, Skadden and Cleary are a waste of effort.

Thanks in advance!

[jess]

.

[Anonymous User]

Is your school preselect or lottery?

lottery

[zomginternets]

What tier school did you transfer from, and what was your grades/rank for 1L?

[Anonymous User]

What tier school did you transfer from, and what was your grades/rank for 1L?

OP here, I was at a TTT, finished top 5%.

[Anonymous User]

Jones Day, Kasowitz, White & Case and Quinn are all transfer-friendly firms, so you should go to those.
Akin Gump is rumored to be transfer-unfriendly, so you should skip.

Otherwise, go to all of them. OCI is incredibly long and if you prep for the interviews you do have ahead of time (and definitely go to those suites), there is more than enough time.

[jess]

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[Anonymous User]

Otherwise, go to all of them.

This, especially because you're at a lottery school. You don't have to spend a lot of time there. Tons of people just waltz in, tell the recruiter they wanted them in the lottery but didn't get them, and then handed them a resume. Some suites, I stayed in for 45 minutes because I had time, food was good, and the recruiters were more personable. Other ones, it was a quick in and out. They're used to it.

Just chat and give them a resume or do I try to get a firm interview scheduled for later in the day? Otherwise, if they're only there for the day, what's the purpose in dropping off a resume with them without getting an interview?

[DallasCowboy]

try to get a firm interview scheduled for later in the day

[Anonymous User]

V&E regularly gives callbacks from their hospitality suite.

[Tanicius]

It's kind of worthless without knowing your grades.

[Anonymous User]

It's kind of worthless without knowing your grades.

OP here, I was at a TTT, finished top 5%.

[Tanicius]

It's kind of worthless without knowing your grades.

OP here, I was at a TTT, finished top 5%.

I'd show up and resume drop at everywhere. Harder to know how they'll think of transfer grades.

[Anonymous User]

Can not going to these at a preselect school with firms with whom you have screeners really hurt? I've heard of firms "keeping a list" of who stops by, but in my experience it is a lot easier to have an awkward conversation with a recruiter that could hurt you than to really connect with someone and assure a CB. There is just even less room for organic conversation than there is in a screener, which is really saying something. But maybe that's just me.

[071816]

Can not going to these at a preselect school with firms with whom you have screeners really hurt? I've heard of firms "keeping a list" of who stops by, but in my experience it is a lot easier to have an awkward conversation with a recruiter that could hurt you than to really connect with someone and assure a CB. There is just even less room for organic conversation than there is in a screener, which is really saying something. But maybe that's just me.

I've had some pretty good conversations with associates and recruiting people at these suites. Probably won't matter in the end though.

[IAFG]

I am so confused by people trying to not waste their time at this stage in the game.

[Anonymous User]

What the heck are you supposed to do in a hospitality suite where you've already had (or are scheduled for) an interview? Just chat up a recruiter anyway?

[Tanicius]

What the heck are you supposed to do in a hospitality suite where you've already had (or are scheduled for) an interview? Just chat up a recruiter anyway?

I only realized this later on: Originally I thought going to hospitality suites when you already had an interview was a good thing to do when you wanted to hammer home to the firm that you were really into them. The real benefit of them is going to the suite first, getting the lowdown on the person who will be formally interviewing you, and walking into the actual interview already knowing how to smoke it. The fact is, usually the people in the hospitality suites aren't even really capable of helping your chances with an office's hiring committee. They're usually people from HR or young associates. You can blow it by making a fool of yourself, but that probably doesn't happen very often. The part where they're useful is that they might naturally want to help you, and telling you what kind of person you're going to be interviewing with is something they're often eager to do.