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I attended a non-T14 school with the intention of practicing big law in this secondary market. I've had a lot of interviews and some callbacks pending. I also reached out to some NYC and DC firms with my resume, most of them have not responded, but a few have responded and invited me for a screener where I pay the cost of travel/lodging, but if I get a callback then they will pay.

Has anyone done this? I would have to miss class and pay money, and i'm not even sure I want to leave this area. However, if I strike out here I will be kicking myself and the firms where I have invites are V50 and if i got an offer I would probably take it and change my plans post graduation.

Is there no option to do a phone screener? Why not try broaching that?

If they can't accommodate that, I'd do the trips. If you strike out, $600 is a drop in the bucket compared to the decrease in earnings over one's lifetime because of that.

I proposed a phone interview or Skype for one firm, and they said they were willing to do that but it provides a better opportunity for them to get to know me and me them if I go there. I talked with a friend who summered in NYC this past year (and got an offer), and he is strongly encouraging me to just bite the bullet and fly there as many times as I need to.

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:I proposed a phone interview or Skype for one firm, and they said they were willing to do that but it provides a better opportunity for them to get to know me and me them if I go there. I talked with a friend who summered in NYC this past year (and got an offer), and he is strongly encouraging me to just bite the bullet and fly there as many times as I need to.

I think your friend is right.

I bet will be more like a CB than a screener if you go. Particularly in terms of odds of getting an offer.

I wouldn't suggest pushing for a phone/Skype interview.

Not OP, but in a somewhat similar situation. Should I tell the firm I'm flying out there just to interview with them (to show how interested I am), or do I make up some story about being in the area to visit family?

Why would you lie in a way that makes you seem less interested? Are you playing hard to get with this firm or something?

Fly out there and interview, not even a choice unless/until you've already gotten another offer you'd rather take.

And yes, every time I've done that, the interview has always had a more CB-like feel to it. Met with 4-8 attorneys several times throughout a few hours of the day. I've probably sunk $5k over the last few years flying out for stuff like this (and for clerkship interviews) but that's really nothing once you land a 160k (or not even 160k but close) job.

Where in the country are you coming from? I ask because you should be able to do well better than $600 to either DC or NY from near most major cities.

I used to travel weekly from DC suburbs to Boston and my flights averaged $160. I also had stretches with frequent trips to Chicago and usually came in around $210. Keep you lodging cheep or nonexistent, use public transit and your cost can be kept fairly low. If you are on the NE corridor rail is a viable option as well.

While traveling does not guarantee success. In my experience, people seem to understand the level of effort required to travel, and are likely to feel those that travel for a meeting are more interested/dedicated than those who called or skyped. For those looking for a foot in the door, every little bit helps.

If you are swimming in job possibilities and/or not really that motivated about working in one of these cities, then do not bother.

Anonymous User wrote:Not OP, but in a somewhat similar situation. Should I tell the firm I'm flying out there just to interview with them (to show how interested I am), or do I make up some story about being in the area to visit family?

haiking wrote:Why would you lie in a way that makes you seem less interested? Are you playing hard to get with this firm or something?

I agree. You are putting in time, effort, money into your efforts, there is no reason not to take credit for it.

I know you were pretty stoked about being able to do law school on the cheap but I think you need to splurge here. Once you get your flight arranged let every other firm in the city know you'll be nearby.

Tiago Splitter wrote:I know you were pretty stoked about being able to do law school on the cheap but I think you need to splurge here. Once you get your flight arranged let every other firm in the city know you'll be nearby.

Penny wise, pound foolish.

Tiago Splitter wrote:I know you were pretty stoked about being able to do law school on the cheap but I think you need to splurge here. Once you get your flight arranged let every other firm in the city know you'll be nearby.

I'm going to do this. I've tried to avoid wasting $ but you have convinced me that I would be crazy to not go so I will. The main thing that dissuaded me was I was very excited about these interviews but 100% expected the firm to pay. Also I had a phone screener for major NYC firm with an alum and when I told him about these unreimbursed interviews he was shocked and said he'd never heard of that and his firm would never do that.

haus wrote:Where in the country are you coming from? I ask because you should be able to do well better than $600 to either DC or NY from near most major cities.

I used to travel weekly from DC suburbs to Boston and my flights averaged $160. I also had stretches with frequent trips to Chicago and usually came in around $210. Keep you lodging cheep or nonexistent, use public transit and your cost can be kept fairly low. If you are on the NE corridor rail is a viable option as well.

While traveling does not guarantee success. In my experience, people seem to understand the level of effort required to travel, and are likely to feel those that travel for a meeting are more interested/dedicated than those who called or skyped. For those looking for a foot in the door, every little bit helps.

If you are swimming in job possibilities and/or not really that motivated about working in one of these cities, then do not bother.

Booking less than 3 weeks out = pwnd.

Desert Fox wrote:

haus wrote:Where in the country are you coming from? I ask because you should be able to do well better than $600 to either DC or NY from near most major cities.

I used to travel weekly from DC suburbs to Boston and my flights averaged $160. I also had stretches with frequent trips to Chicago and usually came in around $210. Keep you lodging cheep or nonexistent, use public transit and your cost can be kept fairly low. If you are on the NE corridor rail is a viable option as well.

While traveling does not guarantee success. In my experience, people seem to understand the level of effort required to travel, and are likely to feel those that travel for a meeting are more interested/dedicated than those who called or skyped. For those looking for a foot in the door, every little bit helps.

If you are swimming in job possibilities and/or not really that motivated about working in one of these cities, then do not bother.

Booking less than 3 weeks out = pwnd.

When I get an interview yesterday what choice do I have? If I say lets interview oct 1 they will probably be done with hiring then.

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:I know you were pretty stoked about being able to do law school on the cheap but I think you need to splurge here. Once you get your flight arranged let every other firm in the city know you'll be nearby.

I'm going to do this. I've tried to avoid wasting $ but you have convinced me that I would be crazy to not go so I will. The main thing that dissuaded me was I was very excited about these interviews but 100% expected the firm to pay. Also I had a phone screener for major NYC firm with an alum and when I told him about these unreimbursed interviews he was shocked and said he'd never heard of that and his firm would never do that.

It may not be typical but that doesn't really matter. By going there you significantly improve your chances of ending up with an offer.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:

Tiago Splitter wrote:I know you were pretty stoked about being able to do law school on the cheap but I think you need to splurge here. Once you get your flight arranged let every other firm in the city know you'll be nearby.

I'm going to do this. I've tried to avoid wasting $ but you have convinced me that I would be crazy to not go so I will. The main thing that dissuaded me was I was very excited about these interviews but 100% expected the firm to pay. Also I had a phone screener for major NYC firm with an alum and when I told him about these unreimbursed interviews he was shocked and said he'd never heard of that and his firm would never do that.

It may not be typical but that doesn't really matter. By going there you significantly improve your chances of ending up with an offer.

I haven't heard of what is typical, but obviously most of the hiring of these firms is done through OCI at T14 schools, and I can see the argument that an in-office screener is probably somewhere between an OCI screener and a callback in terms of likelihood. I don't like the idea of missing many days of class the first few weeks (I'm already missing days for callbacks) but whatever, I will just spend the $ go after everything.

Desert Fox wrote:Booking less than 3 weeks out = pwnd.

Short term is less favorable. If you have extra time and you are near one of the Amtrak lines, they may be worth looking at as their prices do not fluctate as much with time as most airlines do.

Also do not rule out the possibility of driving, if you do not have a car (or your is not suitable for such a trip), run the numbers on getting a rental car for the trip.

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

haus wrote:Where in the country are you coming from? I ask because you should be able to do well better than $600 to either DC or NY from near most major cities.

I used to travel weekly from DC suburbs to Boston and my flights averaged $160. I also had stretches with frequent trips to Chicago and usually came in around $210. Keep you lodging cheep or nonexistent, use public transit and your cost can be kept fairly low. If you are on the NE corridor rail is a viable option as well.

While traveling does not guarantee success. In my experience, people seem to understand the level of effort required to travel, and are likely to feel those that travel for a meeting are more interested/dedicated than those who called or skyped. For those looking for a foot in the door, every little bit helps.

If you are swimming in job possibilities and/or not really that motivated about working in one of these cities, then do not bother.

Booking less than 3 weeks out = pwnd.

When I get an interview yesterday what choice do I have? If I say lets interview oct 1 they will probably be done with hiring then.

Yea thats what I mean, you can't help but get a shitty fare because you didn't have the ability to book early.

I paid for a screener to a V-5 firm last year. It was literally just a screener (a 30 minute interview with an of counsel) that I paid for myself. However, it turned into a callback, an offer, and I will be working there as an associate starting next month. Nothing shows interest better than paying for the entire trip yourself.

For the people voting no I'd be interested to hear your reasoning.

Don't count on them to acknowledge the fact that you paid out of pocket. HR will know and if they are nice they will try to get it set up like a callback, otherwise the lawyers there will probably have no clue. Many people do in office screeners during interview season because they are in town to visit family, friends, or for their summer job.

If someone asks what you're in town for you should probably bring up that you're only there for first round interviews. You should have a good reason why you didn't do them at your school's OCI (i.e. firm didn't come) and why you didn't do a job fair/consortium (why didn't you?).

I didn't do job fairs because I only decided this summer to apply DC and NYC and I didn't know screeners were out of pocket. Given the location of my school there were no OCIs for NYC or DC offices.

Has anyone had an in-office screener that functioned as a callback? (Ie offer given without another visit?)

For others, I just realized that I can buy tickets for proposed dates through southwest for 2-3 weeks out, try to schedule interviews around the tickets, and then cancel the flight up to an hour before so this won't as expensive as I thought.