"Why are you interested in working in the middle of nowhere?" Forum

[z0mbiecatz1234]

I have a few OCIs coming up in random places in the Midwest. What are some good reasons you've used as to "why this location?" especially when it's basically the middle of nowhere in a less than exciting city like New York or Chicago?

[PeanutsNJam]

Ask 10 natives why they love their home and then craft a believable narrative.

[Bluem_11]

You're a dead person walking into these interviews without ties to the area unless you're an elite i.e. T7 top 20% type of candidate. They basically liked parts of your resume and you now need to sell them on why you won't bolt after 3-4 years and them expending time and losing money into your training. It's likely you will bolt.

The best advice to get the offer, and it's not advice I'd actually follow for reasons that will become clear in a second, is to lie and say your significant other lives there/got a job in that area.

[rpupkin]

You're a dead person walking into these interviews without ties to the area unless you're an elite i.e. T7 top 20% type of candidate.

LOL

[Bluem_11]

Your opinion may vary but during discussions that's been the criteria one firm I've been at (that wasn't a big city firm) used to determine if we'd consider someone without ties to the area.

[Anonymous User]

I'm not sure what your situation is like, but if you have a family/spouse/significant other you can talk about how you want to do their type of work but want to live in their city because it's family friendly, etc. Might be a little harder if you're single, but I'm married and it seemed to work well for me.

[stego]

You're a dead person walking into these interviews without ties to the area unless you're an elite i.e. T7 top 20% type of candidate. They basically liked parts of your resume and you now need to sell them on why you won't bolt after 3-4 years and them expending time and losing money into your training. It's likely you will bolt.

The best advice to get the offer, and it's not advice I'd actually follow for reasons that will become clear in a second, is to lie and say your significant other lives there/got a job in that area.

I'm just a 0L but I do not think that is good advice (other than just that it's lying).

See this thread: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... e#p9513123

[Anonymous User]

You're a dead person walking into these interviews without ties to the area unless you're an elite i.e. T7 top 20% type of candidate. They basically liked parts of your resume and you now need to sell them on why you won't bolt after 3-4 years and them expending time and losing money into your training. It's likely you will bolt.

The best advice to get the offer, and it's not advice I'd actually follow for reasons that will become clear in a second, is to lie and say your significant other lives there/got a job in that area.

Yeah this might get you the offer but I wouldn't lie either
I worked in the middle of nowhere my 2L summer.
If you really are in the middle of nowhere, it's most likely a small town. People know each other. You get to know each other and your families. What are you going to do when they ask you to bring your S.O. to a firm event? How many excuses can you make?

Over the summer, my employers and coworkers knew a great deal about my life. Even though the town wasn't super small, social events were centered around coworkers. When they invite you to happy hour or an outing (which they probably will), you can't say "I'm busy". What are you busy with in the middle of nowhere, where you have no ties? Busy with your SO? Then they'll ask to call them out as well. Sure you can politely reject. But how many times? Maybe you can pull it off, but I don't think I could have comfortably lied about an imaginary fiance during the summer, albeit for 2-3 years.

Even though my 2L summer job was not likely going to lead to a full-time offer, I was asked this question (and it was probably easier for me to convince them since it was only for the summer). My answer was along the lines of "I like country/suburb life better than city life, i grew up in a small town and want to go back to those roots, I value family over career, etc." I think you CAN lie about whether you visited the city once or twice, and that might at least show you're not walking into this completely blind.

[z0mbiecatz1234]

Thank you to those of you who actually gave me advice. I definitely won't be lying about where my almost-husband lives/works. It's all too easy to discover via the Internet if these are true facts. Also, I just don't like being a liar. One of the firms is about an hour from where I grew up, but it is in a different state. I'll work up the fact that I want to work at a smaller firm (true) in a nice area and prefer the suburbs over the city.

[AZ123]

Thank you to those of you who actually gave me advice. I definitely won't be lying about where my almost-husband lives/works. It's all too easy to discover via the Internet if these are true facts. Also, I just don't like being a liar. One of the firms is about an hour from where I grew up, but it is in a different state. I'll work up the fact that I want to work at a smaller firm (true) in a nice area and prefer the suburbs over the city.

I think growing up an hour away is a great tie. You can always make a joke about how you want to be near your relatives but not too close, and that an hour is the perfect distance, etc.

[z0mbiecatz1234]

Thank you to those of you who actually gave me advice. I definitely won't be lying about where my almost-husband lives/works. It's all too easy to discover via the Internet if these are true facts. Also, I just don't like being a liar. One of the firms is about an hour from where I grew up, but it is in a different state. I'll work up the fact that I want to work at a smaller firm (true) in a nice area and prefer the suburbs over the city.

I think growing up an hour away is a great tie. You can always make a joke about how you want to be near your relatives but not too close, and that an hour is the perfect distance, etc.

Lol I like this idea, thanks for the advice! Good to know that an hour away from home is a better tie than I thought. The firm that's 3 hours away will be a little tougher.

[rpupkin]

Your opinion may vary but during discussions that's been the criteria one firm I've been at (that wasn't a big city firm) used to determine if we'd consider someone without ties to the area.

There is no "T7." I've never heard anyone outside of TLS use this term, and I've only heard it on TLS from Penn trolls. Penn's solid employment numbers are due to the fact that it feeds into NYC. The notion that Penn has an advantage over UVA/Michigan/Boalt in a small market is laughable.

[Nebby]

Your opinion may vary but during discussions that's been the criteria one firm I've been at (that wasn't a big city firm) used to determine if we'd consider someone without ties to the area.

There is no "T7." I've never heard anyone outside of TLS use this term, and I've only heard it on TLS from Penn trolls. Penn's solid employment numbers are due to the fact that it feeds into NYC. The notion that Penn has an advantage over UVA/Michigan/Boalt in a small market is laughable.

I don't think anyone but HY has an advantage in this regard

[rpupkin]

Your opinion may vary but during discussions that's been the criteria one firm I've been at (that wasn't a big city firm) used to determine if we'd consider someone without ties to the area.

There is no "T7." I've never heard anyone outside of TLS use this term, and I've only heard it on TLS from Penn trolls. Penn's solid employment numbers are due to the fact that it feeds into NYC. The notion that Penn has an advantage over UVA/Michigan/Boalt in a small market is laughable.

I don't think anyone but HY has an advantage in this regard

I mostly agree. Outside of HY, I think there's some advantage to going to a T14 (particularly if the T14 student has some ties to the area). But no one in real life is making fine-tuned distinctions between T6, T7, T10, etc. That's all TLS fiction.

[Anonymous User]

Ask 10 natives why they love their home and then craft a believable narrative.

THIS

[WhiteCollarBlueShirt]

If you follow the advice above, you may get the offer--but if you do, question why they gave it to you and if you really want to be there.

I know it's an entry-level job, you need it, and you owe zero loyalty to any firm/attorney there (I am not and will never go that direction in my warning), but if they're hiring someone with no ties (a) it may be a bad situation and (b) if things go south, make sure you're capable of handling yourself and having interests and value yourself outside of work.

Personally, as a middle of nowhere type (who loves the middle of nowhere aspect), it's not for all people to be alone in a new place, far from family, and far from much non-work social interaction opportunities (so really scrutinize and do your HW on any offer).