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I plan on trying to switch firms for geographic reasons (wife just got a job in another city where current firm has no office). Haven't gotten an offer from the firm I'm an SA at, but I'm pretty sure I'll get one. Should I wait until after I finish the program to apply, or would it be better to start applying now?

I'm worried that if I apply now they might contact my firm; on the other hand I'm worried if I wait too long to apply, I will miss the boat, since I would have to get an offer from another firm before the offer I hypothetically get from my current firm expires. I'd appreciate any advice from anyone who's been through the process. Thank you.

firms don't usually contact references unless they plan to give you an offer, so apply away

I've applied broadly and received a fair number of callbacks without a single one of the firms calling my current firm. Then again, I haven't been offered yet and (probably more importantly) I haven't been sending out reference sheets at all. If you are including contacts for references in your application (and nothing suggests that you are), try not to include people from your current firm. The above poster's right--they won't call references unless they're ready to offer you, and most times, not even then.

I applied in June and received an offer recently. It was fine, they know not to contact anyone at your SA firm. I've never been asked to provide references though