I wish I could say that January flew by, but at least I can say we made it to the end. This was the most stressful month I’ve had in a while (I feel like I keep saying that every month) and it was definitely because of on-campus interviewing. That’s why I’m sharing my top lessons from law school on campus interviews.
What are Law School On Campus Interviews?
The goal of law school, and any professional school at that, is to get a job. Law school on campus interviews is a time when MANY employers, namely law firms, come “to campus” for usually a span of three days to interview you for a summer associate position. In many instances there are so many law firms that the interviews don’t take place on campus but happen at a large hotel instead. This year, because of COVID interviews happened virtually, and they also happened later than the typical end of July timeline. You get an interview by entering the lottery system. Law firms do not see your credentials, grades, or resume before your 20 minute screener interview, which is nice because it means that anyone can get their foot in the door. But after that it’s up to the firm to decide if they’d like to speak to you again at a callback interview before they give you an offer. It’s usually the case that where you work your second summer is where you’ll be returning after graduation, so the decision is fairly high stakes. As you can imagine, it was very hectic this year going through three days of 20+ interviews right before starting the semester, and ultimately juggling school work with interviews.
Law School On Campus Interviews Lessons
There are plenty of articles about tips for nailing law school on campus interviews that are more professionally oriented. But I want to share some law school on campus interview lessons that are more candid and honest.
Lesson 1: Nobody knows why you did or didn’t get a callback/offer.
A tough pill to swallow, but I think it’s an important lesson for law students who tend to overthink and over analyze everything—that’s what we are in school for after all. Your Office of Career Services will pull out all the data on grades of last year’s hires, and give all these explanations for why you should or shouldn’t consider a firm, but really and truly going through the process it felt like everything went how it went because that’s just how it went. On top of that, going through a job search in a pandemic and economic uncertainty was not something previous years had to experience. As students we have no idea how that affects a firm’s hiring decisions. All of that is to say, by and large everyone is figuring it out as they go. Look at the data, but don’t count yourself out or assume you got it in the bag, because like I said nobody knows.
Lesson 2: Ask for help.
Please do not think that because you are stellar candidate on paper that you do not need some sort of assistance. The same applies even if you are not a straight-A student. Although I just mentioned that nobody knows why you did or didn’t get an offer, what I can tell you is that there are some people in OCS that have relationships they can leverage or insight they can offer to assist you in the process. They are quite literally getting paid to help you through this search, so tap tap tap in to them! The same applies to students the year ahead of you who have gone through the process.
Lesson 3: Don’t get attached to a firm or a plan.
Rejection is real in this process. It doesn’t make you any less qualified, but what it does mean is that you should be prepared to experience it, potentially from a firm you might have liked (the idea of). If you’ve built out the next 5-10 years of your life around being at a particular firm in a certain city, before you’ve even started OCI, you might want to reconsider. Still, know that it all will work out in the end some way. On top of that, you’re not married to the first firm you work at. So what potentially may not happen right after law school, can happen after that!
Those were my top three lessons from law school on campus interviews this year. All in all, I am so relieved that the process is over for me, and wish anyone going through it now or in the future the best of luck! Feel free to check out how I do my makeup for video interviews here!
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” Proverbs 16:9
