Legal job interviews can be stressful, but they’re a necessary evil to get a job!
To be sure you’re putting your best foot forward, read on for job interview basics. If you’re interviewing for BigLaw jobs, take a look at our advice for on-campus interviews and callbacks. And, if OCI isn’t in the cards, not to worry! We’ve got suggestions for getting a job without OCI.
Best of luck!
Basics of Interviewing
- Ahead of the Curve: What Are Big Law Recruiters Really Looking For? Are you thinking ahead to getting that dream job in big law? Here are some tips from a former big law recruiter that might help set you apart from the pack.
- Tips to Help You Make a Successful Adjustment to the Virtual Interview Process Being on video is already an awkward hurdle to work through, but it should not be the reason why you don’t make a good first impression. Considering these changes, I’ve provided a few tips below to help you make a seamless adjustment to the new world of virtual interviewing that is likely here to stay for some time.
- Preparing For 1L Interviews: How to Craft Your Story Recruiting season is right around the corner for 1Ls, and it’s important to be prepared. We're looking at how to work on your interviewing story.
- The Best Bags for All Legal Occasions If there is one guarantee when it comes to a legal career, it’s that things will need to be carried. Here are some suggestions for the best bags for all legal occasions!
- The Art of the Legal Job Interview Legal job interviews are different than other interviews you've had in your life. Read this series in order to rock any legal job interview.
- Fashionably Lawyered: How to Dress for a Law Interview or Internship on a Budget Dressing appropriately can play a major part in whether you land (or keep!) the job you want. Read here for tips on dressing for interviews and internships on a law student's budget.
- Law Firms are Hiring Your Qualities, Not Your Skills Most employers expect that they will need to train brand-new attorneys in the specific tasks that need to be handled on a daily basis. Read more to learn what traits law firms are hoping to see in applicants -- and how to display them in an interview!
- The Most Critical Thing to Do Before Your Judicial Clerkship Interview Congratulations! You’ve got a judicial clerkship interview. But now what can you to maximize your chances of getting the job? Read our advice here.
- How to Ace Your Judicial Clerkship Interviews In this post we share all our tips for nailing your judicial clerkship interviews!
- Video Quick Tip: Getting Involved In this Video Quick Tip Video, Alison will share how getting involved can help you prepare for class and still enjoy the campus experience. Studying is a huge part of law school, but it isn’t the only thing you should do in law school!
- Podcast Episode 27: Job Interview Basics Are you interviewing for a legal job? Whether you are interviewing for your first summer job, or one that will (hopefully) be more permanent, we have tips for many different types of interviews and situations.
- Podcast Episode 190: How to Pass the Interview Happy Hour Test (w/Ex-BigLaw Recruiter Sadie Jones) We’re talking with ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones about how to pass the dreaded interview “happy hour test.”
- Podcast Episode 247: Mastering Behavioral Interviews (w/Sadie Jones) We’re talking with ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones about what behavioral interviews are and how you can prepare to handle them if you encounter one.
On-Campus Interviews and Callbacks
- Are You Ready? Gearing Up For On-Campus Interviewing OCI can be a stressful process. Use this advice to be prepared and get the best offer possible.
- How to Ace Your Law Firm Interview It’s law firm interview season! We welcome a highly-experienced law firm associate who has conducted numerous summer associate interviews to shares six tips for making sure you stand out during the callback process (and avoid disaster).
- 5 More Ways to Ace Your Law Firm Interview If you missed part one of our series on how to ace your law firm interview, hop on over and read it. Today, our anonymous law firm associate is back, with five more tips for making sure you don’t screw up the callback process!
- How to Prepare for OCI Interviews While many students stress over OCI interviews, the interviews themselves should cause no anxiety with brief preparation and enough confidence. By frontloading the hard part before the meeting itself, you minimize the opportunity for nerves to arise.
- How to Choose Which Job Offer to Accept After OCI If you participated in on-campus interviews this year, you are probably in the process of deciding where to go from here. While the decision seem clear cut, there are some important things to consider when you’re deciding which organization to work for.
- The Waiting Game: What Do I Do After My OCI Interview? OCIs can be stressful, but the interviews themselves have nothing on the stress of waiting to hear whether you were successful! Here are three things you should do while you wait to hear about callbacks.
- OCI Tips for Rising 2Ls OCI can be an overwhelming experience under non-pandemic circumstances, and for many students it has become even more so with the uncertainty of COVID-19. With most schools pushing OCI back to early 2021, the traditional BigLaw hiring timeline has been completely upended. While this delay isn’t what students were expecting, there is still plenty to do to ensure a smooth OCI process.
- Podcast Episode 3: Mastering the On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) Process In this episode, we talk about improving your resume and cover letter, how to figure out what firms to bid on in OCI, how the process typically works, and more!
- Podcast Episode 4: Callback Tips for BigLaw Summer Associate Positions Today, we’re discussing the next step in the on campus interview process – callback interviews. Topics covered include what are firms looking for in a callback, advice on scheduling interviews, and more!
- Podcast Episode 55: An Overview of BigLaw On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) We will discuss BigLaw OCI, or on-campus interviewing. This is the annual rite of passage where thousands of law students try to secure BigLaw summer associate positions for the next summer. In this episode, we talk at a high level about all of the aspects of OCI, and you can listen to our earlier OCI episodes for a deeper dive into the specifics of callbacks and initial interviews.
- Podcast Episode 105: OCI Basics With an Ex-BigLaw Recruiter There are many steps to the OCI process, and it can be energetically draining, so we’re discussing what you can expect, and how you can put your best foot forward with an experienced BigLaw recruiter. If you’re planning to participate in your school’s OCI program, tune in!
- Podcast Episode 140: OCI Strategy (w/Sadie Jones) We’re talking with ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones about OCI strategy. If you’re not sure how or where to bid, what to put on your resume, or how to explain tricky parts of your background, this is the episode for you!
- Podcast Episode 152: Top OCI Mistakes To Avoid (w/Sadie Jones) Today, we’re talking with Sadie Jones, an ex-BigLaw recruiter, about the top OCI mistakes to avoid – from the actual on-campus interviews through the callback process.
- Podcast Episode 155: Top Callback Mistakes to Avoid (w/Sadie Jones) Today we’re continuing our series of “What not to do” episodes with ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones, and we’re talking about callback interviews.
- Podcast Episode 157: Handling OCI Offers (w/Sadie Jones) We’re talking about OCI offers and how to handle them with ex-BigLaw recruiter, Sadie Jones.
Getting a Job Without On-Campus Interviewing
- Caution! Don't Restrict Your Job Search to the OCI Process! OCI's are just one of the many job-hunting methods you can take advantage of. Here are three options that law students overlook when they rely exclusively on OCI.
- Can You Get a Job Without OCI (On-Campus Interviewing)? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” Sure, it can be more challenging to find a job outside of on-campus recruiting, but in the long run, you can still be happy in your legal career and be a very successful lawyer. Find out why in this post.
- Getting a Job Without OCI: Danielle Fong, Human Resources Manager at Family Connections As part of our Getting a Job Without OCI” series, we interview Danielle Fong, Human Resource Manager at Family Connections, to learn about her experience.
- Getting a Job Without OCI: Christiana Dominguez, Attorney with Blanning & Baker Associates As part of our “Getting a Job Without OCI” series, we interview Christiana Dominguez to learn about her experience.
- Getting a Job Without OCI: Vadim Alden, Business and Employment Lawyer In this post we interview a lawyer who got a job without going through a process that many students feel is crucial: the on campus interview.
- Podcast Episode 58: Non-Profit Law and Social Entrepreneurship (with Guest Adrian Tirtanadi of Bayview Hunters Point Community Legal) We will discuss doing good works with Adrian Tirtanadi, founder of Bayview Hunters Point Community Legal, a non-profit legal startup in San Francisco. This is a great episode for anyone who is interested in how access to legal services can change a community and for everyone interested in entrepreneurial non-profit or public interest law.