My 1L job search was a pretty mundane experience: I sent out resumes and went on some interviews. I did my best, and was never concerned about being unable to find a job. Naturally, I had doubts about whether I would get offers with my first choice employers, but I ultimately knew there would be something waiting for me at the end of the process. If nothing else, I knew I could at least rack up a collection of cool trinkets from my travels. My nostalgia abounds thinking of the good ol' "hustle-less" days. Boy, have things changed.
In the midst of a floundering legal market, 1Ls seem far less optimistic about their job prospects as they interview for summer positions this year. As anxiety increases, so too--inevitably--does the competition. Don't believe me? Listen to what one tipster from "the" collegial law school has to say:
As a 1L, I don't know what the job search has been like in previous years, but it is definitely intense this season. Our OCI schedule included like 3 firms, some of which interviewed 30 students for one SA spot. Even though everyone goes out of their way to avoid looking like a gunner in class, it's unabashed gunnerism when it comes to the job search. All anyone wants to talk about is jobs, and people are just desperate to get an edge.But how far are desperate 1Ls really willing to go? As the tipster reports:
During an interview, a partner asked me about my favorite TV shows. Not wanting to admit to the trash I really watch in my free time, I randomly named a show that seemed a little more in line with what a law student should be watching. Unfortunately, it was the guy's favorite show, and I had actually never seen it. I pulled off a several minute long conversation about the show based on what I'd seen in previews and hearing my friends talking about it.Unfortunately, the tipster didn't mention what the more "lawyerly" show was, but we're guessing it was Law & Order or Shark. Apparently, other students were even willing to undertake more extreme measures to bolster their job prospects. As the tipster went on to say:
Other 1Ls are going just as far. I know a guy that lied about being engaged so that he would have a "legitimate" tie to the area to impress a local firm.The times are surely a-changin. But how bad could things really get? We shamelessly admit we want to know more. Much more. Share your stories, and things can get interesting...
Had a candidate tell me his father used to play for the Yankees -- once he found out I was an avid fan.
ReplyDeleteWas it true, 11:52?
ReplyDeleteAfter telling a candidate how much we liked genuine interest, he went on a ten minute rant about how our firm was great because it had a practice grouup he wanted. You should've seen his face when I told him we didn't even have that group. Still recommended a callback.
ReplyDeleteLOL this 1Ls story is LITERALLY exactly like what I did during my on campus interviews this year except I pretended to be into watching golf instead of WWF
ReplyDeleteYou'll all do betteri f you just tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteI am speaking from the perspective of an interviewee. This year, as I was being interviewed by possibly one of the top law firms in the United States (in the interests of the site's policy, I won't mention which one), the partner conducting the interview went off on a weird philosophical discussion about horses and merry-go-rounds. He asked me to compare my legal education and my career path to various floating objects. Needless to say, I was at a loss. I got the callback, but no offer. Apparently, I did match the caliber of those "intellectual giants."
ReplyDelete** 6:46 here, I meant to say that i "did not" match ....
ReplyDelete6:46/7: Did you try to pretend you knew what he was talking ab.?
ReplyDeleteum...not really, 6;53, I just kind of went with the flow...I told him that I thought my career was more like a jet (mainly because it is my favorite football team, and it was all i could think of)
ReplyDeleteonce, I had a candidate tell me that he was writing a six volume novel on law school life. I laughed, and he just glared at me. This was 5 years ago; still haven't seen his box set.
ReplyDeletehilarious post!
ReplyDeletea kid told me he was gay to try to get diversity points after i told him our firm was into diversity.
ReplyDeleteno, i'm not joking.
@ 1:18--
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time believing anyone would be so callous as to do something like that. Any type of deliberate misrepresentation is troublesome, but going to such lengths seems particularly egregious.