help please Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am at a lower T14 and stuck out at OCI. Top 1/3, secondary journal. Attempting the mass mailing thing but so far to no avail. Any ideas? Im not sure what to do at this point other than hope some one takes interest in the mass mailing but that seems unlikely.

[OneMoreLawHopeful]

I know there are government jobs with deadlines that still haven't passed. You could probably swing a government job and then hit it big at 3L OCI next year on the story that "I thought the gov't was for me, but I was wrong..."

Otherwise, just keep up the mass mailing and get networking (as much as that sucks).

[romothesavior]

I am at a lower T14 and stuck out at OCI. Top 1/3, secondary journal. Attempting the mass mailing thing but so far to no avail. Any ideas? Im not sure what to do at this point other than hope some one takes interest in the mass mailing but that seems unlikely.

Any idea why you struck out? Have you talked to CSO and/or done any mock interviews to see what's holding you back? Obviously top 1/3 at a T14 isn't safe, but it is generally a pretty solid position to be in, so there should be some room to improve with your interviewing and your approach.

Where are you from? Where are you targeting? Consider expanding your search a little if you haven't already, and if you are from a secondary market, hammer it hard with your resume. Try adding a more personal touch on top of the mass mailings... reach out to alumni, ask CSO for names of people you should talk to, and try to set up informational interviews with people at the firm. Obviously you want to blast out a high quantity of applications, but don't necessarily just send your resume out into the void.

And perhaps most importantly, do it now, because it is getting down to crunch time.

[Anonymous User]

Not exactly sure why I struck out. Did not interview at firms that were out of my "range" (at least according to ocs) and ocs counselor did not think that the interviews would have disqualified me. I actually do have 1 cb at a midsized firm in a secondary market, where I'm from. emailed every firm in that market with a why that city cover letter a month ago and have sent a loci to each firm but was denied from one and have been ignored from others. So while I suppose I'm not totally in the water my situation is far from promising. Other than that I had targeted firms in NYC, Chicago during oci.

[romothesavior]

Not exactly sure why I struck out. Did not interview at firms that were out of my "range" (at least according to ocs) and ocs counselor did not think that the interviews would have disqualified me. I actually do have 1 cb at a midsized firm in a secondary market, where I'm from. emailed every firm in that market with a why that city cover letter a month ago and have sent a loci to each firm but was denied from one and have been ignored from others. So while I suppose I'm not totally in the water my situation is far from promising. Other than that I had targeted firms in NYC, Chicago during oci.

Reach out to partners at firms you have not heard from in your home market. Find alumni if possible, and email them. I did a lot of this and found it to be extremely helpful. You'll be far more likely to get noticed and land an interview if you try for a more personal touch. It may not be that they don't like your creds, they just may not have noticed you through the sea of applications or they may question your desire to return. A personal touch will help.

[romothesavior]

Mr. Smith,
My name is Anonymous User and I am a rising 2L at ABC University. I am very interested in litigation and I hope to return to the Greenacre area after graduation. I am interested in XYX LLP and I would like to learn more about the firm. I saw that you are a member of the Recruiting Committee and an ABC University alum, so I thought you might be a good person to speak with about XYZ and the firm's litigation group.

Would you be willing to meet with me for coffee sometime in the next few weeks? If you are willing to speak with me, I would be able to meet you at your convenience. I currently intern downtown and my schedule is very flexible.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Anonymous User

Obviously craft this to fit your needs (e.g., chat via phone/email instead of coffee), but this was my cold email boilerplate, and I got a lot of responses using it. Do this ASAP.