Random question on "other" market interview/offer ratios Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey, I was wondering what the expectation is in interviews with certain firms in markets far away from my school - for instance, I go to school in NYC, and there's an office of a firm coming from Chicago. This firm has a very small number of interview slots (like 20), but according to NALP hires around 25 summers. Now this is obviously due in some part to the fact that the Chicago firm simply doesn't expect to get a ton of interest from NYC students (most of them don't have ties to Chicago) but my question is this: If a student at that school has ties to Chicago, are they actually competing for one of the 25 SA positions, or are they really only competing for 1-2 spots that make up a quota or something from their school?

[Genthree]

Hey, I was wondering what the expectation is in interviews with certain firms in markets far away from my school - for instance, I go to school in/around big city X (call it LA), and there's an office of a firm coming from big city Y (call it Chicago). This firm has a very small number of interview slots (like 20), but according to NALP hires around 25 summers. Now this is obviously due in some part to the fact that the "Chicago" firm simply doesn't expect to get a ton of interest from "LA" students (most of them don't have ties to "Chicago") but my question is this: If a student at that school has ties to "Chicago," are they actually competing for one of the 25 SA positions, or are they really only competing for 1-2 spots that make up a quota or something from their school?

That was incredibly confusing. You're posting anonymously, there's no reason to speak in code. The answer varies by market, so just say what cities and firms you mean.

[Anonymous User]

Hey, I was wondering what the expectation is in interviews with certain firms in markets far away from my school - for instance, I go to school in/around big city X (call it LA), and there's an office of a firm coming from big city Y (call it Chicago). This firm has a very small number of interview slots (like 20), but according to NALP hires around 25 summers. Now this is obviously due in some part to the fact that the "Chicago" firm simply doesn't expect to get a ton of interest from "LA" students (most of them don't have ties to "Chicago") but my question is this: If a student at that school has ties to "Chicago," are they actually competing for one of the 25 SA positions, or are they really only competing for 1-2 spots that make up a quota or something from their school?

That was incredibly confusing. You're posting anonymously, there's no reason to speak in code. The answer varies by market, so just say what cities and firms you mean.

yeah I don't know why I did that at all to be honest - way too much OCI paranoia. DERP

School is in NYC (CCN). City is Chicago - think e.g. Ropes and Gray, Jones Day, Latham - places that are big enough to have large-ish SA classes but aren't sending many interviewers to OCI in NYC

[Genthree]

yeah I don't know why I did that at all to be honest - way too much OCI paranoia. DERP

School is in NYC (CCN). City is Chicago - think e.g. Ropes and Gray, Jones Day, Latham - places that are big enough to have large-ish SA classes but aren't sending many interviewers to OCI in NYC

Chicago is a notoriously protectionist market. All three firms you listed as examples, though, are based elsewhere. Since the Chicago offices are satellites, it should be (at least marginally) easier for a NYC kid to get a job at those. K&E, Sidley, etc. are going to be tougher to crack.

I think if you get an interview with a person from the actual Chicago office of the firms you listed, you have as good a shot as anyone.