2L Recruit 2023

[Dinsdale]

On 10/28/2023 at 9:49 AM, ProBoner said:

Do non-OCI firms hire anyone? In my friend circle, I do not know a single person who got the interview call from non-OCI firms. They do have interviews from OCI firms. 

If they are interviewing next week, it is for the purpose of hiring.  So yes, they will likely be hiring.

[scooter]

3 hours ago, Dinsdale said:

If they are interviewing next week, it is for the purpose of hiring.  So yes, they will likely be hiring.

To build on this... it's against the LSO rules for a firm to participate in the structured recruit if they can't guarantee that they'll hire at least one summer student

[BlockedQuebecois]

19 minutes ago, scooter said:

To build on this... it's against the LSO rules for a firm to participate in the structured recruit if they can't guarantee that they'll hire at least one summer student

This isn’t correct. Firms have to be confident that they could offer a position to a student, but they’re under no obligation to actually hire a student if, for example, they think all the interviewees are duds. 

[scooter]

3 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

This isn’t correct. Firms have to be confident that they could offer a position to a student, but they’re under no obligation to actually hire a student if, for example, they think all the interviewees are duds. 

Good point, thanks for clarifying

[Lawfun123]

How important are time slots?

Edited November 1, 2023 by Lawfun123

[BlockedQuebecois]

10 hours ago, Lawfun123 said:

How important are time slots?

They're the most important thing going into interview week.

As the saying goes, if you're not [in the] first [timeslot] you're [the] last [person the firm wants to hire]. 

[Dinsdale]

14 hours ago, Lawfun123 said:

How important are time slots?

A few answers to this.  First and foremost, Monday is far better than Tuesday for first interviews.  Seeing a firm for the first time on Tuesday is an uphill battle. 

Regarding different time slots on the Monday, there is an element of randomness to how they turn out on Calls Day, so I wouldn't worry too much about what slot you have.  Sure, the firm called their "top" candidates first, and tried to get them in on Monday morning, but maybe that person's phone rang busy for the first five minutes and they ended up getting a 2:00 p.m. interview.  No damage.  And then, some candidates like to schedule a "warm-up interview" at 8:00 a.m., and actually slot their top firm at 10:00 a.m., etc.  I think any time slot on Monday is about the same as another.  Perhaps not 4:00 p.m. when everyone is feeling fatigued.

[Rearden]

While the above responses are right, I will just add that my first interview with the firm that ultimately hired me was on the Tuesday. It certainly wasn't ideal, and I agree it's an uphill battle, but it's not impossible to overcome. You just need to express as much interest as possible.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Rearden
Typos

[Dinsdale]

Totally agree.  We hired plenty of Tuesday interviewers over the years.  As a non-Sister firm, some of our best candidates (on paper) had relegated us to a Tuesday morning interview (i.e. coming in on Tuesday was their idea, not ours).  The problem is that if this person has performed well on Monday, they have probably received strong interest from at least one of their Monday firms.  That firm may have taken them to dinner Monday night.  It has likely already invited them back for a second interview.  It can be hard to overcome those positive vibes, if they occurred.   And then there are cancellations.  I would estimate that about 25% of our Tuesday first-interview candidates ended up cancelling.  For these reasons, some firms try not to do any Tuesday first interviews at all.

[Lawfun123]

58 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

A few answers to this.  First and foremost, Monday is far better than Tuesday for first interviews.  Seeing a firm for the first time on Tuesday is an uphill battle. 

Regarding different time slots on the Monday, there is an element of randomness to how they turn out on Calls Day, so I wouldn't worry too much about what slot you have.  Sure, the firm called their "top" candidates first, and tried to get them in on Monday morning, but maybe that person's phone rang busy for the first five minutes and they ended up getting a 2:00 p.m. interview.  No damage.  And then, some candidates like to schedule a "warm-up interview" at 8:00 a.m., and actually slot their top firm at 10:00 a.m., etc.  I think any time slot on Monday is about the same as another.  Perhaps not 4:00 p.m. when everyone is feeling fatigued.

Thank you so much for this info! What if a firm calls you right at 8 am but offers an interview well-into the day? 

[Dinsdale]

2 hours ago, Lawfun123 said:

Thank you so much for this info! What if a firm calls you right at 8 am but offers an interview well-into the day? 

It could be a number of different things.  Was it right on the dot of 8:00 a.m., or was it, like two minutes after 8:00?  If the latter, you may have actually been the second person called by that caller. I can only speak to how my firm did things, but we had teams of three callers, each making four calls, to fill a 12-candidate interview schedule, then multiply that by a few teams to reach the total number of candidates you want to interview (60, 72, 84, whatever).  So even if you were called at 8:03, say, you might have been the fifth or sixth person reached by that particular call-team.   Anyway, I wouldn't obsess about it.  You have a good shot at any firm at which you are interviewing on Monday. It's all about who performs best in interviews.  Everyone on the Monday list has met the standard required for their resume and grades, and has performed adequately or better in OCIs.  Do well in your interview and as someone said above, don't forget to express interest where warranted.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Dinsdale