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I really could use an explanation on how ninja bidding works. I know the goal is to put the most selective firms on the bottom of the list, since people panick and put the least selective firms on top so you're wasting your bids by putting most selective firms higher. I understand that this increases your chances of getting interviews at the lower firms...but if everyone else ninja bids, then you're shut out of both the lower AND higher firms potentailly by lottery.

So basically if everyone ninja bids, you're f'd? so isn't that a gamble?

Anonymous User wrote:I really could use an explanation on how ninja bidding works. I know the goal is to put the most selective firms on the bottom of the list, since people panick and put the least selective firms on top so you're wasting your bids by putting most selective firms higher. I understand that this increases your chances of getting interviews at the lower firms...but if everyone else ninja bids, then you're shut out of both the lower AND higher firms potentailly by lottery.

So basically if everyone ninja bids, you're f'd? so isn't that a gamble?

Yes it's a gamble. Everything about the bidding is a gamble to a certain extent.

However, it's very unlikely you'll get shut out of ninja bids. Some firms like Irell, Cravath, etc. don't fill up at certain schools. People at median don't have a shot (depending on your school) so essentially you can be assured that at least half the class won't bid on them.

The goal is to maximize screeners at firms you are in play for. Nothing more, nothing less. There's a whole host of psychology that you can worry about (i.e I think everyone will bid firm x first, but if everyone thinks everyone else will bid firm x first most people might move firm x to the bottom of their bid list meaning maybe I can bid them 4th instead. But wait if everyone thinks like me then many will bid them 3rd so maybe to be safe I'll bid them 2nd. But what if my classmates don't think about this as hard and just bid them 1st? What if my classmates don't hold firm x in such high regard and bid them 10th on average?). Point is that it's a shit show, albeit an interesting one from a human behavior standpoint.

The best idea across most lottery schools is to bid the least selective firms with the biggest classes that hire the most from your school high. If that encompasses several firms for you then use interview slots as a tie break and rank the ones with less slots higher. More selective firms fill later so bid them later. There is no sweet spot though, it's guesswork.