Grades at HLS and Employment Prospects Forum

[aquasaqua]

I am a 1L at HLS and long-time lurker. Well, grades came out and I don't really know how well I did and what it means for career options. What sort of grades do I need for what range of firms? I think I'm probably around the median overall.

[jrs12]

Bump.

I'd love to hear from 2Ls who actually took their Hs and Ps into OCI.

[macattaq]

Really? You go to Hah-vahd. Is this even a question? It looks more like a flame to me.

[jrs12]

I'm not sure what you mean. There are over 500 of us, not to mention a lot of great students at other top schools. It's not even remotely as though we can have whatever job we want.

It may be tough to get a good read, because last year was the first year of H/P/LP/F, and it also coincided with a brutal year for interviewing nationwide.

[underachiever]

well since over 90% of the class is going to have some mixture of Hs & Ps (LP is only for 5%ish, correct?) I see no reason that you all won't be employed, Harvard, more then another other school has the connections to get students a 160k job b/c unemployed 2Ls/3Ls and graduates are bad for image....judging from what I heard from friends at H, the jobs were still flowing during and after OCI this yr just not as easily (you gt 1/2 offers instead of 10)

[Alea Iacta Est]

Bump.

I'd love to hear from 2Ls who actually took their Hs and Ps into OCI.

*raises hand, reports for duty on the shores of the Rubicon*

I can probably answer better if you ask something more specific, however
(PM is fine too; I've got a couple in my inbox I need to respond to already...)

[Snooker]

I am sure there's going to be differences for hiring HLS students if it's really elite stuff like COA, federal agencies (SEC), V10 firms, etc.

[cheesenoodlekugel]

well since over 90% of the class is going to have some mixture of Hs & Ps (LP is only for 5%ish, correct?) I see no reason that you all won't be employed, Harvard, more then another other school has the connections to get students a 160k job b/c unemployed 2Ls/3Ls and graduates are bad for image....judging from what I heard from friends at H, the jobs were still flowing during and after OCI this yr just not as easily (you gt 1/2 offers instead of 10)

Heh, this really wasn't true, at least for the class of 2011. I'd say at least a quarter of the class struck out at EIP. Students with LP's (which was 8% for each class) had an especially hard time. That said, I think that for students with some mix of H's and P's, grades didn't mean that much. A lot more came down to market and fit. For example, most people I know who bid only in NYC got something, but many of my friends who bid primarily in Boston/DC/LA, etc. struck out entirely.

[Alea Iacta Est]

. . . I'd say at least a quarter of the class struck out at EIP. . . .

Maybe, but just for everyone reading I'd qualify this by saying that (a) quite a few people put a half-hearted effort into EIP ("I don't really want to work for a firm, I want a public interest job, but since all my friends are doing this I might as well do a few interviews"); and (b) it seems to me at least that most everyone who struck out got something outside EIP. I can't think of anyone still unemployed at this point.

[cheesenoodlekugel]

(a) quite a few people put a half-hearted effort into EIP ("I don't really want to work for a firm, I want a public interest job, but since all my friends are doing this I might as well do a few interviews"); and (b) it seems to me at least that most everyone who struck out got something outside EIP. I can't think of anyone still unemployed at this point.

I actually know quite a few people who struck out and are still looking. That said, few of them bid in NYC, so that probably accounts for part of it.

[Alea Iacta Est]

(a) quite a few people put a half-hearted effort into EIP ("I don't really want to work for a firm, I want a public interest job, but since all my friends are doing this I might as well do a few interviews"); and (b) it seems to me at least that most everyone who struck out got something outside EIP. I can't think of anyone still unemployed at this point.

I actually know quite a few people who struck out and are still looking. That said, few of them bid in NYC, so that probably accounts for part of it.

Weird, you must be more social than me then. I also had the perception that NYC was the easiest of the major markets (DC, Chicago, SF and LA also included), so I imagine your friends probably bid on the wrong firms there.