landing the offer at the end of 2L summer Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all,

I am working 10 weeks this summer at a 180 person firm in Atlanta

Any tips or resources I should look at or read in preparation for landing the permanent job offer at the end of the summer?

TIA

[sublime]

..

[Anonymous User]

lol me too, my office is even smaller in a smaller a uber-competitive market. They don't hire entry-level so I don't think they will extend the offer for me, they pay the same amount of money for their 1L clerks and 2L clerks. I'm the only SA this year. CSO foreclosed the possibility of 3L OCI, they are all about their younger 1L bodies.

[barkschool]

CSO foreclosed the possibility of 3L OCI, they are all about their younger 1L bodies.

What kind of school says no to students for 3l oci....

[Good Guy Gaud]

I think the advice is going to generally be the same regardless of where you are. Put out top notch work. Don't sit around; ask for more work when you need it. Try to make yourself indispensable.

Nothing is impossible. I was able to snag a gig at a niche firm that hadn't hired an associate fresh out of school in a decade and I'm nothing special. Good luck!

[Tls2016]

Does Atlanta expect you to have done a 1L SA with the same firm or is that only Alabama firms?


At any rate, the only advice I have is to befriend the current associates who got offers from the summer program and seek their advice. Each firm that typically no offers a significant percent of the class seems idiosyncratic. Figure out what your firm wants and then do it.

General rules for SA:
1. Never complain about anything. Seriously. Even if everyone else is bitching about the coffee being cold at a meeting, don't join in.
2. Never be rude to anyone ever. Never be impatient. Thank support staff.
3. Be professional and proactive about deadlines. Don't leave a meeting without setting a preliminary deadline for yourself to get back to them and what form of a response they want. And don't procrastinate because the partner says they won't need it for a couple weeks. Deadlines can change unexpectedly.
4. Don't miss deadlines.
5. Check your work carefully for errors.
6. Don't be afraid to ask questions. But don't go in saying you're lost: say this is what I've found and I'm not sure if it's the right track.
7. Set up a system to track your work, deadlines, drafts, emails, etc. Manage your work. I would start a form file if the firm allows you to have them.
8. Use your best manners at all firm events. (If you don't have good manners, watch some YouTube videos or something.)

There are plenty of SA threads on here about how not to screw up. Check them out.

Edit: I agree with the above advice about asking for more work. But be careful. It is much better to do fewer higher quality assignments than work longer hours to do more, but lower quality, assignments. Every year someone thinks that by working all the time they are helping themselves get an offer, but not if the work quality is poor. It actually shows poor judgement to do this.