objctnyrhnr wrote:Anonymous User wrote:Help! I have a big firm interview next week and I'm 99% sure the only reason I got the interview was because I have some state judicial internship experience in my background. My competitors/classmates have much better credentials (grades/ranks) than me. How do I convince this firm to hire me, their pity interviewee, despite my below average grades?
Some good advice I once heard is to assume that you are on equal footing with all of the other interviewees right before each respective interview begins. In other words, if there are 5 interviews, they are 20% likely to hire each interviewee before speaking with them. Then, the only thing that could sway the firm’s feelings one way or another is how much they like you when they meet you.
So if you can get into that mindset, you’ll do better than assuming it’s a pity interview.
This is very solid advice. I like this. I never looked at it like this, but this is a better mindset to have than having your present mindset. Because lets say you did not get an interview, you sure as hell would have STILL BEEN saying the same thing to yourself... "it's because my friends have better credentials" and yada yada.. "that's why I did not get the interview..." Now, you got an interview, yet you're still making it seem like "oh, I just got lucky because of the internship... and my friends still have better credentials than me." Listen man, you got the interview because they liked you for you, not your friends, not because you got lucky, not because they had pity on you.
The point is, if you did not get this interview, you would have been upset and probably have said the same thing to yourself that you're saying now. So now when you do have the interview, why complain and say the same thing to yourself? In other words, when you're "down", you complain, but when you're "up," you still complain. You see how irrational this is. Complaining is normal. It's human nature, but you can work on it. Just chill out and go nail this interview. Also, it is not your job to convince anyone to hire you technically. That sounds desperate. "Hire me please and have pity on me" is not something you want to portray at the interview because interviewers can smell that vibe from you. If anything It's a two-way streak, both of you should be interviewing each other to see if they are a right fit for you, and if you are a right fit for them. In this situation, you are choosing to have a negative mindset. You have nothing to worry about. Switch up your mindset, and you are golden bro!
Anonymous User wrote:
I'm sorry that is honestly terrifying. I'm so scared to graduate.
I'm applying for mostly employment/bankruptcy positions/firms in the midwest. I'm applying all over the country but I feel like I have more of an advantage around my area since I'm also at a regional tier 1. I've gotten a handful of interviews, perhaps 1/10 of the applications I send out? And i don't know how many applications I've sent but I'm sure it's less than a hundred. I try but I get depressed from rejections and can go weeks without applying.
I'm just really scared. It seems like I keep hearing stories of law grads not finding jobs and it sounds like my future.
We have different experiences. I am no way similar to you. Don't let my story scare you. What applies to me may not apply to you. Yes, there is a consensus that the legal market sucks, but we are all unique in our ways. My experiences do not mirror yours. Why compare my life to yours then? For one, I am limited to my home state market. I am applying for a completely different niche than you. You are not limited to a particular state, see what I mean. That is a huge difference technically. All this is to say is that you are an individual of your own. Don't let my stories scare you because they may have no effect on you. Who knows maybe you will find something before you graduate, but to find that job, you will have to keep hustling... now that is one thing, we have similar experiences on. To get a job, you must hustle in today's market. Also. don't be depressed. Just look at it like it's a numbers game and laugh it off at the end of the day. Keep working hard though!
1 interview out of 10 applications!! Dude, you're on fire. That's the average. So, for every 10 applications you send, expect 1 interview. I sent about 150 application, and I got 15 interviews, so that was 10%. Some people will get more than 10% (maybe 15-25%), but it will never be as high as 40 to 50% for most people (meaning you get half the interviews lol so for 100 applications, you got 50 interviews.... rare as hell these days). 1/10 is what you should be expecting when initially starting out, and 1/10 is what it will be normally for everyone regardless of law school rank, class rank, etc... because it really is the average. This improves with experience, class rank, school, etc, but as long as you're 1/10 atm, you're doing great! Granted these are all numbers, individual experiences markets, etc, will vary, but 1/10 is the expected norm if you are really going out there and hustling.