Ms. JD Fellows Present...Acing Law School | Page 24

CAREER FAIRS AND INTERVIEW SKILLS

acing law school

by: Yingying Zeng, University of Texas School of Law

Shana Scott, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

The purpose of this article is to introduce diversity/minority law students to the OCI process, job fairs, and to also provide tips and tricks to creating a standout resume. This article is aimed at all law students. First year law students will be introduced to the OCI and diversity job fair process. Second and third year law students can utilize the resume crafting and interview skills sections to boost their chances at landing their dream job!

On-Campus Interviews, also known as OCI, occurs at most law schools across the country during the months of August, September, and October. 1 During the OCI recruitment period, legal employers visit law school campuses to conduct interviews for summer and entry-level associates.2 These employers are traditionally larger law firms, however, some smaller firms, government agencies, and public interest employers also participate in the process.

Why do I need to go to job fairs before OCI?

When Yingying started her 1L summer judicial externship, she only planned to attend one job fair before OCI. Not only did she know very little about other job fairs, but she naively and optimistically believed that OCI would be where she was going to land her 2L summer associate job. The other extern in the chambers (a judge’s private offices) suggested that she go to as many job fairs as financially affordable. That turned out to be the best advice that she received during her 1L year.

Unless you are in the very few top law schools, OCI is way too late to start looking for a job. Many job fairs start in late July or early August, nearly a month before most OCIs. When you have your first interview during OCI at your school, dozens of excellent candidates have been called back to office interviews, and some have already received offers.

Following that extern’s advice, Yingying went to five job fairs within a week after her judicial externship concluded. These job fairs range from the end of July to early August. She completed callback interviews a week later, whereas OCI at her school did not start until late August. While OCI was ongoing, Yingying received offers from her callback interviews. Time is precious. The earlier you go for office interviews, the less competition you would have, and the better chance that you would stand out.

Another reason why OCI is not enough is that interviewing is a practical skill that takes time to improve. Yingying viewed her interviews at the job fairs as practice that honed her interview skills and boosted her confidence. Had she not interviewed at the job fairs, she would have made the same mistakes at OCI and diminished her opportunity to receive as many callbacks.

How to prepare for job fairs?

Create a memorable cover letter. The cover letter is your first chance to make an impression on potential employers. The letter should introduce who you are (e.g., a first-year law student) and, most importantly, identify the position for which you are applying. In your letter, make sure to emphasize why hiring YOU would be a good idea for the prospective employer. Highlight your relevant work experience and skill sets, particularly those that are relevant to the position that you are applying for. Shana worked in public health for five years before law school. Experience such as this is an important piece of information on which you can elaborate in your cover letter. On the other hand, if you don’t have relevant work experience, make sure to highlight a class, research, or a judicial externship that exposed you to an area in which the employer specializes.

Besides the cover letter, a carefully constructed resume can give a potential employer a positive impression of you as a candidate. See the chart on the next page for useful tips in creating a great resume. 3

Now you get an interview, how to prepare for it?

Whether you are in law school or have been practicing for years, the interview process is an intense intellectual, psychological and physical challenge.

The key to a good interview is PREPARATION.4 This involves multiple steps. While self-promotion is very important, the imperative first step is to know yourself from the inside out. Think about your life experiences, strengths, background, and ambitions. In what aspects are you different from another person? How did you become who you are? Why did you choose to study law? List three of your strengths and best achievements, and practice how to demonstrate them. Understanding yourself thoroughly as a person and not just as a law student will help you to effectively incorporate your strengths and achievements into your interview at appropriate moments, even when you are not directly asked about them.

Now think about your attitude. Imagine you are the interviewer. What do you want to see in a candidate? We all gravitate toward passionate, confident, positive people. You have examined your life in the first step and identified what you love to do and what you are proud of yourself. Now show your genuine passion with your eyes lit up, your voice excited, and your face radiated. Let your passion be contagious so your interviewers will remember you at the end of the day. A resume is merely a piece of paper, but passion makes a person stand-out from the two-dimensional page.

Learn about the employer and the people interviewing you. If you discover anything that resonates with your values, passion, characters, or experiences, connect it and present it in an impressive way. This was how Yingying turned an alternate interview into a callback. While researching the website of ABC law firm, one seemly common sentence struck her—“The history of ABC is a story of imagination, determination and hard work.” From a stay-at-home-mom to a law student, she felt this sentence perfectly depicted her life path. When she told her story in light of this sentence, the interviewers were impressed that she actually read their website and found the match.