2014 Diversity Career Fairs Forum

[iheartmonkey]

I didn't see a related thread started so I thought I'd get the ball rolling. I thought it would be a great place to share information about upcoming career fairs. It would also be beneficial if anyone past attendees would share their experiences and offer any advice.

I'm a rising 2L who is considering attending the Bay Area Diversity Career Fair, Northwest Minority Job Fair, and the NEBLSA career fair.

Upcoming Fairs
July 22: National Black Prosecutor Association Job Fair http://www.blackprosecutors.org/
July 25&26: Southeastern Minority Job Fair (Registration Closed)
July 26: Bay Area Diversity Job Fair (Registration Closed) https://basf-orrick-dcf-csm.symplicity.com/students/

August 1: Boston Lawyers Group Job Fair (Registration Closed) http://www.thebostonlawyersgroup.com/events/student.htm
August 1: Rocky Mountain Diversity Legal Career Fair (Registration Closed) https://law-rmdlcf-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 2: DuPont Legal Minority Job Fairs (Registration Closed) http://www.ibadiversityjobfair.org/
August 3: St. Louis Diversity Job Fair (Registration Closed)http://www.stldiversityjobfair.com/index.html
August 8: CCBA Minority Law Student Job Fair (Registration Closed) https://law-ccba-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 9: Delaware Minority job Fair https://law-dmpd-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 9&10: Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair (Registration Closed)http://www.heartlanddiversity.org/
August 21-22: IndyBar Diversity Job Fair (Deadline: July 20)http://www.ibadiversityjobfair.org/
August 21-23: Lavender Law Career Fair http://lgbtbar.org/annual/register/
August 23: Northwest Minority Job Fair (Registration Open: June 25th - July 21st) http://www.nwmjf.org/students/

August TBD:
HNBA Job Fair
IMPACT Career Fair for Law Students and Lawyers with Disabilities
Minnesota Minority Recruitment Conference
Tri-State Diversity Recruiting Program
Virginia Bar Association Annual Diversity Job Fair

October 24&25: Equal Justice Works Annual Career Fair and Conference http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/law-sc ... careerfair

[bk1]

IMO, do all the diversity fairs you can. Some of them will require you to skip work for it, do it. Some of them will require you to fly across the country and rent a hotel for it, I think if you snag some screeners then it's worth it. Though people differ on the latter one and I can understand why forking out $1000 for 1 screener is a hard pill to swallow. 3+ screeners and I think it's an easy call to do it. 1-2 screeners I think you have to assess what your odds are of converting them into a callback (though I'd lean towards yes since even if your odds aren't incredibly high, e.g. 10-20%, the upside is pretty huge).

If you are likely to get a lot of screeners, go to a school with lottery OCI, (e.g. top of your class at a top school) and have some firms you heavily prefer, you should try to interview with those firms at your OCI rather than at a diversity fair. Generally it seems to be easier to convert screeners into callbacks at OCI than it is at diversity fairs (likely because the competition is stiffer at diversity fairs where most candidates are preselect and because diversity fairs generally give out fewer callbacks). That said, this advice only applies to a small selection of people. Generally you should just be trying to get as many screeners as you can so you can have the highest chance of getting a job. Heck, the maximizing interviews advice still applies to people at the top as I've seen people with top grades at top schools end up with very few (or even just 1-2) offers and you definitely should be trying to avoid striking out.

IIRC, the signup windows for a lot of these fairs are ending soon or have already ended. People need to be on the ball for these things and not miss any deadlines.

[iheartmonkey]

IMO, do all the diversity fairs you can. Some of them will require you to skip work for it, do it. Some of them will require you to fly across the country and rent a hotel for it, I think if you snag some screeners then it's worth it. Though people differ on the latter one and I can understand why forking out $1000 for 1 screener is a hard pill to swallow. 3+ screeners and I think it's an easy call to do it. 1-2 screeners I think you have to assess what your odds are of converting them into a callback (though I'd lean towards yes since even if your odds aren't incredibly high, e.g. 10-20%, the upside is pretty huge).

If you are likely to get a lot of screeners, go to a school with lottery OCI, (e.g. top of your class at a top school) and have some firms you heavily prefer, you should try to interview with those firms at your OCI rather than at a diversity fair. Generally it seems to be easier to convert screeners into callbacks at OCI than it is at diversity fairs (likely because the competition is stiffer at diversity fairs where most candidates are preselect and because diversity fairs generally give out fewer callbacks). That said, this advice only applies to a small selection of people. Generally you should just be trying to get as many screeners as you can so you can have the highest chance of getting a job. Heck, the maximizing interviews advice still applies to people at the top as I've seen people with top grades at top schools end up with very few (or even just 1-2) offers and you definitely should be trying to avoid striking out.

IIRC, the signup windows for a lot of these fairs are ending soon or have already ended. People need to be on the ball for these things and not miss any deadlines.

Thank you for your advice! I can't speak for anyone else but I attend a school with a crappy career services department so I would have been in a really crappy situation if I had relied on them alone. My school doesn't do a lottery so I'm planning on attending as many career fairs as possible.

[anjmissy]

bay area is only for rising 2Ls =(

[Anonymous User]

oops

[Rahviveh]

Weird, my CSO told me last week that the DC fair was cancelled

[cookiejar1]

If you are likely to get a lot of screeners, go to a school with lottery OCI, (e.g. top of your class at a top school) and have some firms you heavily prefer, you should try to interview with those firms at your OCI rather than at a diversity fair. Generally it seems to be easier to convert screeners into callbacks at OCI than it is at diversity fairs (likely because the competition is stiffer at diversity fairs where most candidates are preselect and because diversity fairs generally give out fewer callbacks). That said, this advice only applies to a small selection of people. Generally you should just be trying to get as many screeners as you can so you can have the highest chance of getting a job. Heck, the maximizing interviews advice still applies to people at the top as I've seen people with top grades at top schools end up with very few (or even just 1-2) offers and you definitely should be trying to avoid striking out.

IIRC, the signup windows for a lot of these fairs are ending soon or have already ended. People need to be on the ball for these things and not miss any deadlines.

So it is unwise / not possible to double-dip interviews? Say I interview with a top firm during a diversity fair but don't get a callback. Does that mean I'm screwed at my own school's OCI? What's the protocol there? I can see how there's a likelihood of running into the same recruiting team but what are your thoughts about interviewing at different offices (i.e. Interview for SF/SV offices at bay area diversity fair and interview for same firm's CHI/NYC offices for school OCI)? Thanks! Assume that my grades are within the median callback range of these firms at my school's OCI.

[Anonymous User]

If you are likely to get a lot of screeners, go to a school with lottery OCI, (e.g. top of your class at a top school) and have some firms you heavily prefer, you should try to interview with those firms at your OCI rather than at a diversity fair. Generally it seems to be easier to convert screeners into callbacks at OCI than it is at diversity fairs (likely because the competition is stiffer at diversity fairs where most candidates are preselect and because diversity fairs generally give out fewer callbacks). That said, this advice only applies to a small selection of people. Generally you should just be trying to get as many screeners as you can so you can have the highest chance of getting a job. Heck, the maximizing interviews advice still applies to people at the top as I've seen people with top grades at top schools end up with very few (or even just 1-2) offers and you definitely should be trying to avoid striking out.

IIRC, the signup windows for a lot of these fairs are ending soon or have already ended. People need to be on the ball for these things and not miss any deadlines.

So it is unwise / not possible to double-dip interviews? Say I interview with a top firm during a diversity fair but don't get a callback. Does that mean I'm screwed at my own school's OCI? What's the protocol there? I can see how there's a likelihood of running into the same recruiting team but what are your thoughts about interviewing at different offices (i.e. Interview for SF/SV offices at bay area diversity fair and interview for same firm's CHI/NYC offices for school OCI)? Thanks! Assume that my grades are within the median callback range of these firms at my school's OCI.

I "double-dipped" and it wasn't a big deal. My school was preselect and I was chosen by a firm. Also got to interview with the firm through a lottery system at a fair a week prior. Got to meet two different people from the firm, got a callback. Didn't seem to hurt my chances at all.

[Anonymous User]

I didn't see a related thread started so I thought I'd get the ball rolling. I thought it would be a great place to share information about upcoming career fairs. It would also be beneficial if anyone past attendees would share their experiences and offer any advice.

I'm a rising 2L (lower T1/~top 15%) who is considering attending the Bay Area Diversity Career Fair, Northwest Minority Job Fair, and the NEBLSA career fair.

Upcoming Fairs
July 22: National Black Prosecutor Association Job Fair http://www.blackprosecutors.org/
July 25&26: Southeastern Minority Job Fair (Registration Closed)
July 26: Bay Area Diversity Job Fair (Deadline: June 15) https://basf-orrick-dcf-csm.symplicity.com/students/

August 1: Boston Lawyers Group Job Fair (Deadline: July 7) http://www.thebostonlawyersgroup.com/events/student.htm
August 1: Rocky Mountain Diversity Legal Career Fair (Deadline: June 10) https://law-rmdlcf-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 1:Vault/MCAA Legal Diversity Career Fair http://www.vaultcom.wix.com/ldcf/ldcf
August 2: DuPont Legal Minority Job Fairs (Registration Closed) http://www.ibadiversityjobfair.org/
August 3: St. Louis Diversity Job Fair http://www.stldiversityjobfair.com/index.html
August 8: CCBA Minority Law Student Job Fair (Registration Closed) https://law-ccba-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 9: Delaware Minority job Fair https://law-dmpd-csm.symplicity.com/students/
August 9&10: Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair http://www.heartlanddiversity.org/
August 21-22: IndyBar Diversity Job Fair http://www.ibadiversityjobfair.org/
August 21-23: Lavender Law Career Fair http://lgbtbar.org/annual/register/

August TBD:
HNBA Job Fair
IMPACT Career Fair for Law Students and Lawyers with Disabilities
Minnesota Minority Recruitment Conference
Tri-State Diversity Recruiting Program
Virginia Bar Association Annual Diversity Job Fair

October 24&25: Equal Justice Works Annual Career Fair and Conference http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/law-sc ... careerfair

Does anyone know if the STL fair is still happening?

[bk1]

So it is unwise / not possible to double-dip interviews? Say I interview with a top firm during a diversity fair but don't get a callback. Does that mean I'm screwed at my own school's OCI? What's the protocol there? I can see how there's a likelihood of running into the same recruiting team but what are your thoughts about interviewing at different offices (i.e. Interview for SF/SV offices at bay area diversity fair and interview for same firm's CHI/NYC offices for school OCI)? Thanks! Assume that my grades are within the median callback range of these firms at my school's OCI.

I don't think it's worth it to interview twice for the same office, especially if you are rejected. You may not run into the same interviewer but they sure as hell are going to know that another interviewer already rejected you. Interviewing for different offices is generally fine but comes with it's own set of risks (now they know for sure you are looking at two different places and can't lie/equivocate your way out of that).

[lhanvt13]

Weird, my CSO told me last week that the DC fair was cancelled

Any credit to this?

So far only registered for Bay Area, semjf, and cook county.

What's the deal with going to minority fairs where I have very little ties? Do firms hire for IP at any of these diversity fairs?

[sparty99]

If you are likely to get a lot of screeners, go to a school with lottery OCI, (e.g. top of your class at a top school) and have some firms you heavily prefer, you should try to interview with those firms at your OCI rather than at a diversity fair. Generally it seems to be easier to convert screeners into callbacks at OCI than it is at diversity fairs (likely because the competition is stiffer at diversity fairs where most candidates are preselect and because diversity fairs generally give out fewer callbacks). That said, this advice only applies to a small selection of people. Generally you should just be trying to get as many screeners as you can so you can have the highest chance of getting a job. Heck, the maximizing interviews advice still applies to people at the top as I've seen people with top grades at top schools end up with very few (or even just 1-2) offers and you definitely should be trying to avoid striking out.

IIRC, the signup windows for a lot of these fairs are ending soon or have already ended. People need to be on the ball for these things and not miss any deadlines.

So it is unwise / not possible to double-dip interviews? Say I interview with a top firm during a diversity fair but don't get a callback. Does that mean I'm screwed at my own school's OCI? What's the protocol there? I can see how there's a likelihood of running into the same recruiting team but what are your thoughts about interviewing at different offices (i.e. Interview for SF/SV offices at bay area diversity fair and interview for same firm's CHI/NYC offices for school OCI)? Thanks! Assume that my grades are within the median callback range of these firms at my school's OCI.

I would not interview at the same office unless a year passes by and you reapply to that office. However, I would interview at a different office. There is really no risk as one office already rejected you and you would not inform the other office that they rejected you.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know if the IMPACT fair is actually happening this year? It seems like the info on the AZ page was taken down and I can't seem to find anything on it.

Also anyone have any experience with the Midwest-Cali Consortium Interview Program? I can't seem to find any information on it.

Also for the person who asked about STL this was posted by my CSO:
2014 St. Louis Diversity Job Fair
Friday-Saturday, August 8-9, 2014
Polsinelli Law Offices
St. Louis, MO

The 2014 St. Louis Diversity Job Fair will take place on Friday – Saturday, August 8 – 9, 2014. All Job Fair interviews will take place at the Polsinelli Law Offices, 100 South 4th Street, Suite 1100, St. Louis, Missouri. The primary goal of the Fair is to attract a diverse group of 2L and 3L students to the metropolitan St. Louis legal community, encourage them to practice law in the area, and become an integral part of our community. The Job Fair steering committee has invited law firms, corporations, and government agencies from all over the nation. Registration and bidding can be completed at https://law-sldjf-csm.symplicity.com/. The registration deadline is Friday, May 30, 2014 at Midnight (CDT) – all documentation must be submitted by the deadline or it will not be accepted. Please allow one business day to get your initial registration approved by the steering committee. When registering, students are required to provide the name of the contact in the Career Services office which is Craig Spitzer, Employment Programs Coordinator, craig-spitzer@uiowa.edu.

Documents needed to register for the Job Fair are: 1) law student résumé; 2) law school transcript (unofficial is okay); 3) one page personal statement, in lieu of a cover letter which addresses the following: “Employers participating in the 2014 St. Louis Diversity Job Fair believe that diversity of thought and experience enriches a dynamic work atmosphere. Please provide a one page statement as to how you would contribute to this value”; and 4) brief writing sample.

The St. Louis Diversity Job Fair offers full or partial stipends to students who are unable to attend the Job Fair without financial assistance. The number and amount of stipends awarded is contingent on requests received and funds available. Students who need financial assistance should contact Danielle Carr at jdc@greensfelder.com. Please know that the application that must be completed in order to be considered for a stipend must be submitted by Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at midnight (CST).

Students interested in attending the Job Fair may visit the Job Fair website at http://www.stldiversityjobfair.com to obtain additional information. Students may also contact Danielle Carr directly at (314) 335-6833.

[Anonymous User]

Do 3Ls who have substantially improved their resumes over the previous 12 months have a track record of success at these things? Any anecdotes to share? Rising 3L, top 10-15% at low-end T-14 here.

[sparty99]

Do 3Ls who have substantially improved their resumes over the previous 12 months have a track record of success at these things? Any anecdotes to share? Rising 3L, top 10-15% at low-end T-14 here.

No. 3L's don't have employement success period. But if you are Top 10% at a T14 that is a better place to be than most....It's kind of irrelevant, you must go to anything and everything. Apply to everything. Get pre-selected.

[bk1]

Do 3Ls who have substantially improved their resumes over the previous 12 months have a track record of success at these things? Any anecdotes to share? Rising 3L, top 10-15% at low-end T-14 here.

Whether you already have another offer from another biglaw firm at the end of the summer is going to make a huge difference in your success.

Even if the odds are low, you should at least try.

[Anonymous User]

Is it safe to say Dupont is a waste of time?

Is there any fallout if you get interviews but decline? I ask because I think CCBA requests that you if you sign up you need to show up. Are any other fairs like this?

[Rahviveh]

Weird, my CSO told me last week that the DC fair was cancelled

Any credit to this?

So far only registered for Bay Area, semjf, and cook county.

What's the deal with going to minority fairs where I have very little ties? Do firms hire for IP at any of these diversity fairs?

obviously not. I need to stop talking to CSO and letting them poison my (already poisoned) mind.

I've seen that some fairs offer stipends. Does anyone know if the Rocky Mountain fair is doing stipends this year?

[Anonymous User]

Do 3Ls who have substantially improved their resumes over the previous 12 months have a track record of success at these things? Any anecdotes to share? Rising 3L, top 10-15% at low-end T-14 here.

I attended as a 3L and had success. But unlike 2L recruiting, the firms are normally looking for something very specific to fill a specific need ( people with certain backgrounds or demonstrated areas of interest--think tax, banking,securities, environmental, etc). I doubt grades alone matter if you don't have the background they are looking for. Some regulators who don't have traditional summer honors programs also attend these fairs looking for entry level candidates. But like firms, in addition to grades, your background/experience will increase your odds of being successful.

[lhanvt13]

Anybody have any idea if IP has any bump at these fairs?

[Anonymous User]

How strictly do employers follow grade cut offs at these things. Anyone have experience with grade cut offs and SEMJF?

[samcro_op]

Women are usually considered diverse for these fairs right? My school doesn't have basically anyone coming to OCI from a region I am interested/have ties to and I wanted to go to the diversity fair and hope I get lucky.

[lhanvt13]

Women are usually considered diverse for these fairs right? My school doesn't have basically anyone coming to OCI from a region I am interested/have ties to and I wanted to go to the diversity fair and hope I get lucky.

Yes

[Anonymous User]

Does Hispanic count as "person of color?" Specifically referring to the BLG.

[cookiejar1]

I fixed CCBA's attached PDF.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/228154222/CCB ... ao3DBbKALp