Job Search Logistics

While you will not be applying to private sector positions prior to December 1, you are not prohibited from getting information or speaking with networking connections within law firms or other employers.

While most 1L students work in the public sector during their 1L summer, you may be considering private sector options for the summer as well.

In our recent emails, we have highlighted some key resources (the 1L Advising page and our Self-Assessment  page) to begin your exploration of your career options. An additional useful resource right now is the Timeline for the 1L Job Search which provides guidance on what you should be doing from now through the spring semester.

Over the next few weeks, we will highlight some of our key resources to help you get started with your career exploration.

CSM is OCS’ online recruiting tool. In CSM, you can view and RSVP for OCS events and employer chats or receptions, search for and find job postings, and find many additional resources for your job search.

Over the next few weeks, we will highlight some of our key resources to help you get started with your career exploration.

OCS and OPIA have a wealth of information available to help you start your research and exploration of your career options. Start by planning to attend Career Planning: How Your 1L Year (and Job) Fit in the Big Picture, our kickoff event with OPIA, on September 28.

If you are interested in clerking in 2024 or 2025 and not already plugged into the application process, now’s a good time to join, get organized, and perhaps start applying.  Our latest tracking of judge’s hiring status indicates many are acting already, although of course others will act later.

If you have not yet secured an offer from EIP, we encourage you to reach out to OCS. Perhaps you will receive an offer soon from a firm with which you did callback interviews, but the process moves quickly, so now is the time to take action on a backup plan just in case. Either schedule an appointment with an OCS adviser or take advantage of our drop-in advising.

If you are still awaiting offers from EIP or are otherwise not pleased with your options following EIP, consider entering bids for the Resume Book Program. The Resume Book Program is an easy way to get your resume and transcript in front of firms of interest. The deadline is this Friday at noon.

It was good to see some of you last week during EIP, and we hope you had a good week. If you have not already, follow up with EIP employers with whom you met but have not yet heard back and reiterate your interest in the firm. There is more to the 3L job search than EIP, however.

We hope you had a good EIP week and enjoyed your interviews. We understand that some of you may be concerned if you have few or no callback interviews scheduled. While some callbacks may still come in, it is best to be proactive because the process moves quickly.

If you have not received any callbacks or are at all concerned about how EIP week went for you, we encourage you to reach out to OCS early next week.

If you haven’t received as many callback invitations as you hoped or are otherwise feeling concerned, review the EIP Resume Collection firms. Bidding remains open through 12 noon ET on tomorrow, Friday, August 5.

If you are considering participation in EIP, review the list of employers who will be interviewing 3Ls at EIP (filter for firms interviewing 3Ls in column J).

If you are considering applying for a diversity scholarship or fellowship at a law firm, you may have seen that some applications are accepted prior to EIP, while other firms wait and invite their 2L summer offerees to apply. HLS students may begin the application process for these opportunities prior to EIP and outside of Preview (this is an exception to our employer policy prohibiting early interviews).

If your 2L summer job search will be focused on a smaller or secondary market you may be wondering how to think about Preview and EIP. While many firms from smaller markets do participate (check the 2022 Employer List in Leg 3 of the EIP Roadmap), many firms from smaller markets do not participate in EIP.

If you think that you will be participating in EIP this summer, be sure to complete EIP Registration in CSM so we can best prepare you for this program and also plan for appropriate resources and advising time. Although only a limited number of employers recruit 3Ls at EIP, EIP is often a part of a 3L job search plan. In addition to registering for EIP, we recommend making an appointment with an OCS adviser to discuss your 3L job search plan.

If you are planning on focusing your summer job search on a smaller market you may be wondering about EIP. While many firms from smaller markets do participate, there are still a large number of smaller firms and firms from smaller markets which do not come to EIP.

Even if your first choice is to work in the private sector this summer, if you have not secured a private sector job already, we encourage you to register for Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF). The best approach to 1L summer job search is to apply broadly to positions of interest in both the private and public sector. Ultimately, most 1Ls will work in the public sector this summer and you don’t want to be stuck without summer funding.

If you are planning to join a large law firm for 1L summer, do you have a clear sense of the firm’s expectations for 2L summer? If all goes well this summer, does the firm require a “touchback,” meaning 2-4 weeks at the firm during 2L summer, to receive a permanent offer from the firm?