Two Interviews in a Week Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all, I was hoping I could get some of this board's typically excellent advice on a situation I am facing...

I'm a 2L at a mid T1. I have a good resume, but obviously, nothing is for sure when applying for clerkships, especially from my school.

I went early and super broad (geographically) with mailing and OSCARing CoA and D. Ct. clerkships. A couple weeks ago I received an interview offer with a D. Ct. which is not a total flyover, but heading that way. However, I was obviously grateful for the offer and would do a year there no problem. The interview is scheduled for next week.

Just the other day, I received an interview offer with a CoA judge whom I would be thrilled to work for for lots of reasons. That interview is also next week. The CoA interview is first, but it's only a couple days before the D. Ct. interview. I'm endeavoring to find out if the CoA judge offers on the spot or what, but so far, I have been unable to figure this out.

I guess my basic question is this - I obviously have a strong preference for the CoA spot. I'm worried, however, that if the judge wants to take a week after my interview to decide between several candidates (completely reasonable), I will have to figure out what to do with this D. Ct. interview. I'm guessing my options are 1) withdraw 2) go through with it 3) level with the judge that I'd love to interview, but I have this other interview, etc., etc. That being said, if I whiff on the CoA interview, I'd love to still be in the mix for the D. Ct. slot. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? Do I basically have to bite the bullet and sell out to get the CoA spot? This is especially tough because the CSO at my school is worthless when it comes to clerkships and no 3Ls at my school seem to know enough to give good advice.

This was long and rambling, but thanks in advance.

[Anonymous User]

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[elipad]

Hi all, I was hoping I could get some of this board's typically excellent advice on a situation I am facing...

I'm a 2L at a mid T1. I have a good resume, but obviously, nothing is for sure when applying for clerkships, especially from my school.

I went early and super broad (geographically) with mailing and OSCARing CoA and D. Ct. clerkships. A couple weeks ago I received an interview offer with a D. Ct. which is not a total flyover, but heading that way. However, I was obviously grateful for the offer and would do a year there no problem. The interview is scheduled for next week.

Just the other day, I received an interview offer with a CoA judge whom I would be thrilled to work for for lots of reasons. That interview is also next week. The CoA interview is first, but it's only a couple days before the D. Ct. interview. I'm endeavoring to find out if the CoA judge offers on the spot or what, but so far, I have been unable to figure this out.

I guess my basic question is this - I obviously have a strong preference for the CoA spot. I'm worried, however, that if the judge wants to take a week after my interview to decide between several candidates (completely reasonable), I will have to figure out what to do with this D. Ct. interview. I'm guessing my options are 1) withdraw 2) go through with it 3) level with the judge that I'd love to interview, but I have this other interview, etc., etc. That being said, if I whiff on the CoA interview, I'd love to still be in the mix for the D. Ct. slot. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? Do I basically have to bite the bullet and sell out to get the CoA spot? This is especially tough because the CSO at my school is worthless when it comes to clerkships and no 3Ls at my school seem to know enough to give good advice.

This was long and rambling, but thanks in advance.

Well, it's a good thing you scheduled the CoA interview first! At this point, I would keep both interviews as scheduled. Do your best at the first interview and get a good feel for how the judge operates in terms of hiring. Most interviews I had included a part where the judge (or his clerks) asked me if I had other interviews. That is no time to be humble-- clearly indicate that you do and WHEN that other interview is. And, if true, let the judge know that s/he is your first choice or preference. That type of response typically motivates the judge to make a quicker decision. If, however, there doesn't seem to be an explicit part of the interview that covers the hiring timeline for the judge, I think you should certainly bring it up in the "Do you have any questions for us?" part. In the event that none of that happens and you still feel strongly about the first judge, I would contact the clerk/JA (whatever contact info you have) and let them know about the second interview and your preference for Judge A. Something similar happened to me last year: I received an offer from Judge A while interviewing with Judge B (via voicemail), but I didn't get it until after I left the courthouse and turned on my phone. I listened to the voicemail and immediately called Judge B's clerk. Judge B called about 40 minutes later with the offer.

[Anonymous User]

Hi all, I was hoping I could get some of this board's typically excellent advice on a situation I am facing...

I'm a 2L at a mid T1. I have a good resume, but obviously, nothing is for sure when applying for clerkships, especially from my school.

I went early and super broad (geographically) with mailing and OSCARing CoA and D. Ct. clerkships. A couple weeks ago I received an interview offer with a D. Ct. which is not a total flyover, but heading that way. However, I was obviously grateful for the offer and would do a year there no problem. The interview is scheduled for next week.

Just the other day, I received an interview offer with a CoA judge whom I would be thrilled to work for for lots of reasons. That interview is also next week. The CoA interview is first, but it's only a couple days before the D. Ct. interview. I'm endeavoring to find out if the CoA judge offers on the spot or what, but so far, I have been unable to figure this out.

I guess my basic question is this - I obviously have a strong preference for the CoA spot. I'm worried, however, that if the judge wants to take a week after my interview to decide between several candidates (completely reasonable), I will have to figure out what to do with this D. Ct. interview. I'm guessing my options are 1) withdraw 2) go through with it 3) level with the judge that I'd love to interview, but I have this other interview, etc., etc. That being said, if I whiff on the CoA interview, I'd love to still be in the mix for the D. Ct. slot. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? Do I basically have to bite the bullet and sell out to get the CoA spot? This is especially tough because the CSO at my school is worthless when it comes to clerkships and no 3Ls at my school seem to know enough to give good advice.

This was long and rambling, but thanks in advance.

I was in a similar situation. I had an interview with a CoA judge in State A on Monday, an interview with a district court judge in State B on Wednesday, and interviews with three district court judges in State C on Thursday and Friday. The above poster gave good advice: just ask what each judge's hiring timeline is during your interview (if the judge/clerks don't spontaneously bring it up). But really you just have to bite the bullet and take all the interviews you can get before you have an offer. When I was interviewing, I told myself I could always try to do a CoA clerkship after a district court clerkship if I ended up getting a district court offer. Turns out I got the CoA job (after I did all the district court interviews) and got rejected by all the district court judges. Go figure.