Ok, I found this career services meeting much more helpful than the last time. Honestly, the last session was simply a waste of time which also garnered me a parking ticket because the woman took the opportunity to try some of her stand-up.
This time it was a lot better since we actually learned something useful: we got a list of potential firms coming, plus we were shown how to sign up for OCI and given a bunch of deadlines. Of course, the woman could not resist going off on her little lectures to us, where she could have said something in two sentences and instead spends 5 minutes giving us all of the examples of what stupid people did. Honestly, if you don't want people to do something, tell them not to do it, don't give them ideas or tell them how to DO it.
Useful info:
- Firms make offers on a rolling basis, so the minute you get a flyback, take it.
- Give 2 days notice if you cancel an interview, otherwise you end up on a blacklist. There are certain excused absences.
- Go to Career Services for ranking, they can help you approximate your ranking.
- If your grades are not up to par for what a firm requires, you better have a good reason to offer them for why you set up an interview with them.
- Mock Interview sign-up is Monday, January 24 at 9am.
- If there is a change in scheduling with an interview, it needs to be initialed by the career services staff, since in the past people have been known to cross off their classmates' names from the list of interviews. There was a stir in the room when the woman said this, and I was sitting there thinking, oh come on. Is this really something to gasp about? Sure, no one I know would be that mean, but it's a given that there are those psycho people out there who would step on their grandmother's back to get ahead. Even at Iowa Law.
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3 comments:
"- If your grades are not up to par for what a firm requires, you better have a good reason to offer them for why you set up an interview with them."
I think this statement is absolutely UNTRUE.
As a 3L visiting your blog for the first time, this post caught my eye. I am not in the top 10% and yet last year, I had several call back interviews with some of the top 10 grossing firms in huge cities--firms that are in every law student's wet dream--firms that pay 125K right off the bat--including firms that Iowa can't even get to come to OCI because they ONLY interview at Harvard, Yale, etc. I'm not bragging, just proving my point: if you took a poll of the top 5 firms that law students think are the best and would die to get a flyback from, I've probably got a flyback from most of them. And remember, I'm NOT in the top 10%, and ALL of these firms asked for the top 10% on the sheet.
Don't let grades get you down, kids.
Additionally, during one of my interviews, one of the top westcoast based firms told me that they were authorized to fly back people from the top third from Iowa even though they posted they wanted students from the top 10%. (and when I say "top firm" I mean TOP TOP TOP). I don't want to name the firm because I'm not sure they wanted me blabbing it all over the place--but trust me when I say you would instantly recognize the firm's name and prestige.
So if you think you can get an interview and you think you have the credentials to dazzle them (journal, mock trial awards, moot court awards, other life experience that sets you apart), then sign up for the interview anyway. However, if the firm is asking for top 10% AND journal, and you are bottom half of your class, no journal, then yeah, don't waste your time and take the slot from another possibly more deserving student.
I would like to say N.B.: there are a few younger Iowa alums (so far in my experience, it has ONLY been younger Iowa alums) that come back and interview for their firms and if these alums were in the top 10% of their class, they are alot more prickish about the percentile and grade requirement. Maybe they still haven't gotten out of the law student mentality of being a jerk and wearing your LSAT score on your forehead and your GPA on your lapel. These people are jerks. They don't count. Besides, their firms sucked anyway.
Remember, law firms come to Iowa City, which is in the middle of nowhere and is not fun for the interviewers to visit (trust me, I've heard them gripe), because they think Iowa is a good school with smart students. So, good thing for you all, I whole heartedly disagree with the statement that you shouldn't interview with a firm if you don't make the cut off.
Hey, I didn't make the statement, I'm just repeating what Karen said. I do think she'd agree with you. She seemed to mean you should have other criteria you think are relevant, not just go in with no grades AND no other activities.
Hey IALG, don't sound so defensive. It seems he/she was just trying to be helpful, not attack you.
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