For detailed information about OCI and non-OCI fall recruiting, see the following handouts in the “Document Library” in Symplicity:
Fall Recruiting Facts, Before and Beyond (comprehensive guide, including non-OCI information)
Fall Recruiting Top Ten Tips (shortened form of fall recruiting facts, above)
OCI Application Cheat Sheet (step by step instructions on the application process)
OCI Document Tips (shortened information about résumés, cover letters, writing samples, and references)
Many handouts with detailed information on résumés, samples, cover letters, and more! Skim the list of handouts to see what is available!
Helpful hints follow, including some FAQs from PDO this week.
1. Dates
Friday July 23 at 8 am the OCI application period opens in Symplicity. On Thursday August 5 at 5 pm the application period closes.
NOTE: Kirkland and Ellis has requested that résumés be submitted early – August 1. Any résumé submitted after August 1 will not be forwarded to them.
2. Résumé collection – direct send vs. standard
For most firms, apply exactly the same way whether the firm is coming on campus or collecting résumés. In some instances, for example Osborn Maledon PA in Phoenix, the firm request that you visit their website (http://www.omlaw.com/careers-associates.html) and apply directly. These type of resume collections are called “direct send” in Symplicity. As of this writing, Osborn Maledon is the only direct send. PS—Just because it is called “résumé collection” doesn’t mean the employer ONLY wants a résumé—provide whatever documents the employer requests. This term simply means that the employer wants applications, but is not visiting campus.
3. Not all firms use OCI
Some firms post on the Symplicity job board instead (see job #490 for Klarquist Sparkman if you are a 2L. If the firm is not coming to OCI but you are interested in them, apply directly to the firm. Many small and medium-sized firms do not participate in OCI.
4. If applying for Davis Polk & Wardwell, apply to other New York firms as well. The Davis Polk interviewer told us following his interviews last fall that he asked applicants what other New York firms they had applied to. If they hadn’t applied to others, he didn’t think they were serious about moving to New York!
5. Don’t wait until the last minute to apply, but firms will not know when you applied.
If you are waiting to find out whether you were selected for a journal, firms won’t know if you applied later in the application period so that you could include journal information on your résumé.
6. Read each job posting description carefully. You need to understand what they are looking for and may get a better grasp on how you should be applying. Sometimes, for example, it is unclear whether a regional firm is hiring in different offices and how you can express interest. A job posting will often clear that up. Also, if you simply glance at a firm’s name, you may not understand which offices are open to hiring you. For example, Snell & Wilmer’s firm name reflects its headquarter city, Phoenix, but the job posting/description makes clear that you can express interest in other cities (most often, but not always, this will include or even be limited to Salt Lake City).