Reapplication, Smart Move? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I applied to a clerkship with a particular female judge. After waiting 2 weeks, I received an email stating I was not selected for the interview and that another candidate had been chosen for the job. The very next day, the clerkship position was reposted! I applied again, this time tweaking my resume and using a different writing sample and changing around some of the wording of the cover letter. It has been about 2 weeks and I have yet to receive a denial or interview invite. Was it foolish for me to re-apply? Truthfully, I was shocked not to be selected for an interview, as my credentials for this particular clerkship seemed to be perfectly on target. Does anyone have insight on why judges deny clerk applicants before the interview? It was shocking to me that the letter specifically stated that another candidate had been chosen, but clearly they had not been because the job was reposted the very next day.

[lavarman84]

It can't hurt to reapply. Worst case scenario, you get another rejection. Why do judges reject people without interviewing them? There are a myriad of reasons why. There are too many qualified people for too few jobs.

As for the judge filling the job, no clue. Maybe the judge did fill that specific clerkship but has another opening. Maybe the judge thought she filled it, but the clerk ended up taking another clerkship. Maybe the person who sent the rejections used a form rejection letter that they had previously used. It's impossible to give you a concrete answer. It's just an idiosyncratic process.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I know no one can read her mind. I just thought maybe some people around these boards could give some insight as to the most likely reasons for clerkship interview denial. I've gotten other interviews. This is just one where I thought I at least had the interview in the bag.

[A. Nony Mouse]

It is weird to be shocked by not getting an interview. You're applying for a job that is literally the personal choice of one individual. There is no way of knowing that you will get an interview.

Reasons for denial could be literally anything. You're from the wrong school, you have the wrong GPA, you don't have a particular desired experience, you have some kind of experience the judge doesn't like, she didn't like your cover letter, she didn't like your writing sample, she was going to interview 5 candidates and simply liked 5 other candidates better than you. There is no way of knowing.

[EDM]

I agree with Nony that it's surprising you thought you would get an interview. Judges are inundated with resumes from fantastic applicants. And the judge may have never seen your application. Law clerks and judicial assistants often screen the applicants because judges can receive hundreds or even thousands of applications.

[mjb447]

Yup, in most chambers, being well qualified still puts you in a pool of several dozen (or more). Could be as simple as her seeing your resume after her interview spots were full already.

The re-posting of the position is a little weird, but sometimes things change. No harm in reapplying.

[Anonymous User]

This judge's chambers are over 150 miles away from the main city where everyone is fighting tooth and nail for law jobs, so I thought that perhaps being in a smaller city would up my chances of getting selected. Plus my rankings and experience exceeded her minimum criteria, but clearly a lot goes into the selection process that I am not aware of.

[mjb447]

This judge's chambers are over 150 miles away from the main city where everyone is fighting tooth and nail for law jobs, so I thought that perhaps being in a smaller city would up my chances of getting selected. Plus my rankings and experience exceeded her minimum criteria, but clearly a lot goes into the selection process that I am not aware of.

In a smaller market you may be competing against dozens instead of hundreds, which does "up your chances" generally, but it only takes one applicant beating you to not get the job. Whether you even get an interview can be wholly dependent on timing rather than the judge's interest level - if she decides to interview one at a time and likes the first applicant she sees, she's not going to bother with you.

(Re: minimum criteria, they tend to be a very rough guide to what a judge is looking for - you might have exceeded them but, like others said, the judge may not have liked something else about your materials. Also, everyone who the judge seriously considers should meet or exceed her minimum criteria, so she may have just been choosing among several great people who met or exceeded them.)

[lolwat]

i think OP just doesnt really know clerkship applications work and how many people would kill to get any clerkship in any district.

Reposting is weird but judges have more than one clerk spot so it might be a different spot than the one she filled. Still kind of odd not to consider the same pool of applicants for both spots if that were the case tho