Lateral applicant cold emailing grad Forum

[objctnyrhnr]

So for the sake of this question, assume there is an actively open lateral position at a firm that is likely to close soon...and for that reason, the standard networking move (let’s set up a time to get coffee for questions) would be transparent/wouldn’t work out with respect to timing. Also assume lateral applicant is not amazing relative to firm bios, but is strong enough that the firm and open position wouldn’t be a huge reach on paper for at least a screener. Assume no connection at all to anybody at the firm, and cso is not aware of a particularly active alum at the firm.

Is it taboo to use linked in or the firm’s site to find a grad and cold email them with your resume and basically, but politely and in better language, be like look I’m a fellow grad of school, I’m interested in —- position, resume attached, if you think I’m a qualified applicant is there anyway you could internally submit me?

My cso is encouraging me to do that, but to be honest, it feels horribly uncomfortable. Frankly, I’m concerned about the potential for relative damage to my application compared to just submitting directly...if it really annoys the recipient.

Thoughts?

[gregfootball2001]

So for the sake of this question, assume there is an actively open lateral position at a firm that is likely to close soon...and for that reason, the standard networking move (let’s set up a time to get coffee for questions) would be transparent/wouldn’t work out with respect to timing. Also assume lateral applicant is not amazing relative to firm bios, but is strong enough that the firm and open position wouldn’t be a huge reach on paper for at least a screener. Assume no connection at all to anybody at the firm, and cso is not aware of a particularly active alum at the firm.

Is it taboo to use linked in or the firm’s site to find a grad and cold email them with your resume and basically, but politely and in better language, be like look I’m a fellow grad of school, I’m interested in —- position, resume attached, if you think I’m a qualified applicant is there anyway you could internally submit me?

My cso is encouraging me to do that, but to be honest, it feels horribly uncomfortable. Frankly, I’m concerned about the potential for relative damage to my application compared to just submitting directly...if it really annoys the recipient.

Thoughts?

I think asking for someone to "internally submit" you may be a bit much. However, you could email them, tell them you're applying, attach your stuff, say how interested you are in the position, and ask if they have any advice. That's a little less uncomfortable all around, but allows them to go to bat for you if they want. Prepare to get no reply at all, though, and don't do it for more than 1-2 people at the firm. Good luck!

[nealric]

I did this once to some success. It was someone who I had overlapped with in school but didn't know personally. I just sent an introductory email describing my practice, noting our overlap, and saying I was interested in the firm. I asked if he'd be willing to talk for 10 minutes about the firm. He was and we clicked well enough that he offered to mention me to the partners he worked for.

If you are sure you have no other connections and are interested in a firm, it certainly isn't a terrible idea. I do agree with the poster above that you should NOT spam tons of associates in this manner. Pick one (two tops) who you are most likely to have a direct connection with- overlapping class year or something similar. An alumni from 20 years ago is probably going to be less helpful than one of your class year. All things being equal, I'd also look for associates that look like they may be the "rockstar" associates based on their profiles compared to others of similar class year.

[lolwat]

I think asking for someone to "internally submit" you may be a bit much. However, you could email them, tell them you're applying, attach your stuff, say how interested you are in the position, and ask if they have any advice. That's a little less uncomfortable all around, but allows them to go to bat for you if they want. Prepare to get no reply at all, though, and don't do it for more than 1-2 people at the firm. Good luck!

I agree, and I've done something like this with a ton of success. It's generally about presentation: Something more like "hey, I'm a X year grad from Y school, and I just applied to Z position that was open at A firm, was wondering if you might have a few minutes to talk about stuff etc.etc....."

An alumni from 20 years ago is probably going to be less helpful than one of your class year.

I'm not sure about this necessarily. An alum from 20 years ago would probably be a partner at the firm, and even if they're not an "active alum" it's generally more likely than not that they'll be happy to help out a grad from the same school.

[nealric]

I think asking for someone to "internally submit" you may be a bit much. However, you could email them, tell them you're applying, attach your stuff, say how interested you are in the position, and ask if they have any advice. That's a little less uncomfortable all around, but allows them to go to bat for you if they want. Prepare to get no reply at all, though, and don't do it for more than 1-2 people at the firm. Good luck!

I agree, and I've done something like this with a ton of success. It's generally about presentation: Something more like "hey, I'm a X year grad from Y school, and I just applied to Z position that was open at A firm, was wondering if you might have a few minutes to talk about stuff etc.etc....."

An alumni from 20 years ago is probably going to be less helpful than one of your class year.

I'm not sure about this necessarily. An alum from 20 years ago would probably be a partner at the firm, and even if they're not an "active alum" it's generally more likely than not that they'll be happy to help out a grad from the same school.

It may depend on how unique an alum from the school is. If you are from CLS applying to an NYC v10, you are far better off trying to find someone you at least met at school than applying to a random CLS partner. If you are from a school where that partner may be the only one from your school, chances are a bit better, but partners just tend to get a lot more resume spam (and more email just in general). An associate may be more likely to be responsive.

[Anonymous User]

Wanted to ask a similar question:

I’m looking to move cities and the city I’m looking to move to doesn’t have many jobs posted for my practice area.

There are some firms in the city that have senior associates, of counsel, partners, but no junior/mid level associates.

Would it still be worth it to reach out to a former classmate who works at that firm who may not work with the team?

CSO said to just cold-email the chair of the group, but that seems awkward.

I’ve also spoken to a recruiter about it and they said they could reach out (I’ve had some success using recruiters in the past), but don’t want to hurt my chances of possibly getting a job by carrying that commission).

So, which of the above should I do? I know that if there’s an opening, it would make more sense to reach out to any former classmate/alum, but this isn’t for an opening and I’m just inquiring.

Edit: I’ve also considered emailing the hiring recruiting contact to inquire. I’m not sure how successful that’d be, but my gut thinks that is the best route (send a short email about me and why I want to work at x and asking if there is an opening).