1L looking for advice - when to schedule interview? Forum

[stativus]

Hello!

I had an interview with a firm the day before yesterday, and I received an invitation for a callback today. My problem is I flew out of state yesterday for the hols, and getting back on such short notice will be difficult. But considering that the firm did me a solid and got back to me so quickly, is it going to look extremely rude if I tell them I'd like to schedule the callback for January? I really like the firm and the people I met at my initial interview, so if there's even a slight disadvantage to waiting until after New Year's, I will definitely do my best to travel back before Christmas.

I'm an inexperienced 1L so any and all advice is appreciated!

Thank you!

[ND2018]

Is this for a big law 1L SA position? If so, get back in there ASAP. The position may/will be filled by the time you are available after New Year's day. See if the firm will reimburse for travel or even pay for travel (there's a 99pct chance they will).

[PorscheFanatic]

Generally, if you want the job, you should go as soon as possible.

The firm is presumably interviewing other candidates as well. If one of them decided to interview this month, and the firm loves that person, they could make an offer or at least make their decision before even meeting with you in January. Think of the interview process as a "rolling admissions" cycle. There's definitely some downside to waiting.

Also, if it's biglaw, the firm will pay travel expenses from wherever you are. For example, if the firm is in NY, but you're at home in Seattle, just tell the firm you're very interested and you'd love to interview as soon as possible, but you'll have to fly in from Seattle. It'll be a one day trip and they'll cover the hotel/food costs so I definitely recommend going in December.

[PorscheFanatic]

I was at an east coast law school, and the firm I was most interested in during OCI (and ended up at now post-grad) is in Southern California. I remember getting a phone call on a Tuesday around lunch time about a CB, and they offered to interview me the next morning. You better believe I was on a flight less than 5 hours after getting the CB offer for the exact reasons above.

Ideally, when flying cross-country, I would recommend at least getting on a morning/midday flight so you have the afternoon/evening before your CB to relax in the hotel/prep for interviews/eat the free room service dinner.

[stativus]

Hello! Thank you all for your input!! I don't think it can be considered a 'big law' firm--it's an IP firm and it's not in the top100 of vault (is it rude to say the name of the firms we're interviewing at? I noticed other people avoided doing so in their posts but I couldn't figure out if it was for plausible deniability or something else), but it is for a 1L diversity position so it probably also adheres to the same rolling considerations.

[PorscheFanatic]

Definitely get back there for a 1L position. There's likely only 1 spot open for a 1L, maybe 2. They'll probably still pay for your travel, but I'd recommend reaching out to the firm/interviewer now about scheduling your interview before replying to this thread.

[ookoshi]

PM'd.

[stativus]

Thank you all for your advice. (: I was lurking on TLS and remembered this thread, so I thought I'd provide an update. I was offered the position and I accepted!