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So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Callbacks usually come out within a day or two of the screeener. You can then schedule them for whenever you want, but it’s better to go early than later. I personally would cancel, but that’s me.

It's kind of an important trip for family reasons that I would really rather not miss. I guess my main thing is whether it is going to make that much of a difference if I schedule a callback (if I get any of course) for the Friday after I get back or the week after. I'd be about a week later than I would be if I didn't take the vacation and I just don't know how much that's really going to matter.

radon5 wrote:It's kind of an important trip for family reasons that I would really rather not miss. I guess my main thing is whether it is going to make that much of a difference if I schedule a callback (if I get any of course) for the Friday after I get back or the week after. I'd be about a week later than I would be if I didn't take the vacation and I just don't know how much that's really going to matter.

It’s obviously your call- but know that it’s a risk to go in later than your peers.

Callbacks begin immediately following OCI and continue to take place weeks after OCI, but offers are made on a rolling basis and typically 1-3 days after a callback. Once a certain number of offers go out, firms become more and more hesitant to extend additional offers because they don't want to have too many people accept. Will you still get offers? Quite possibly, but you will have better chances earlier on. This is not the time to go on vacation in my opinion. I would cancel.

Depends on how confident you are in your ability to get a job I guess. If you're top 50% at a T14 you're probably fine. If not top 50% or not T14, rethink. If not top 50% and not T14, cancel immediately.

Also worth noting though that even if you have strong enough stats to guarantee yourself a job, you might lose an option on a firm or two by not getting in and getting offered fast enough. I get that important life stuff comes up, but this is pretty much the most important several weeks of your entire time in law school (assuming you want to do biglaw) so consider carefully.

Seems like a bad idea to me. You want to do you callbacks as early as possible.

radon5 wrote:So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Yes, firms act quickly. They interview a number of candidates at a number of schools. Interview slots get filled.

You don’t have a job. Getting a job should be your first priority. I’m assuming you don’t have any pre-OCI offers outstanding. If you do, that’s a different situation.

Just keep reminding yourself that you’re unemployed. I’m sure your family will understand.

Npret wrote:

radon5 wrote:So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Yes, firms act quickly. They interview a number of candidates at a number of schools. Interview slots get filled.

You don’t have a job. Getting a job should be your first priority. I’m assuming you don’t have any pre-OCI offers outstanding. If you do, that’s a different situation.

Just keep reminding yourself that you’re unemployed. I’m sure your family will understand.

My family is actually giving some pushback. The trip is to be with an ailing family member. I'm pretty split on this decision.

I think you need to make the decision that you will feel comfortable looking back on. While everyone is right about the callbacks and that you want to be early- family is family. Is there any way you can go for 2 days instead of 4 so shorten your trip? If so that would be the best option. Yes, you're currently unemployed and need a job but only you know your conscience so make the best decision for you.

Npret wrote:I’m sure your family will understand.

The family may very well not understand. There are no other professions that have an entry-level hiring process as counterintuitive as BigLaw's. In any other field, there would be pretty much zero downside to taking a 1-week hiatus from the job search.

IMO, NoBladesNoBows is right.

NoBladesNoBows wrote:If you're top 50% at a T14 you're probably fine. If not top 50% or not T14, rethink. If not top 50% and not T14, cancel immediately.

QContinuum wrote:

Npret wrote:I’m sure your family will understand.

The family may very well not understand. There are no other professions that have an entry-level hiring process as counterintuitive as BigLaw's. In any other field, there would be pretty much zero downside to taking a 1-week hiatus from the job search.

IMO, NoBladesNoBows is right.

NoBladesNoBows wrote:If you're top 50% at a T14 you're probably fine. If not top 50% or not T14, rethink. If not top 50% and not T14, cancel immediately.

Yes, you’re correct. His family may not understand. I may have had a different feeling about this if he said something to the effect of “ I have a seriously ill family member I need to visit” instead of “I’ll be on vacation.” Though if this is the situation I’m not sure why OP wasn’t on the pre -OCI grind, maybe they were and were unsuccessful.

The reality is you will miss days of call-backs when other people will be going. That doesn’t mean you won’t find a job, just that you’re making it harder on yourself.

Not knowing your exact situation, it’s hard to give advice. If it’s truly the last time your family might all be together somewhere, I would go. If it’s just a trip, I would not go. Only you can decide what is best for you.

hoos89 wrote:Seems like a bad idea to me. You want to do you callbacks as early as possible.

I would follow this advice.

radon5 wrote:

Npret wrote:

radon5 wrote:So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Yes, firms act quickly. They interview a number of candidates at a number of schools. Interview slots get filled.

You don’t have a job. Getting a job should be your first priority. I’m assuming you don’t have any pre-OCI offers outstanding. If you do, that’s a different situation.

Just keep reminding yourself that you’re unemployed. I’m sure your family will understand.

My family is actually giving some pushback. The trip is to be with an ailing family member. I'm pretty split on this decision.

You need to make the decision for yourself. Is this a person you're close to and and this might be your last chance to see him/her or is it someone you don't really know very well? How will this affect your relationship with your family? Is your family helping you out financially in law school? (Also is it not possible for them to delay the visit? How sick is this family member?)

On the jobs side: how strong of a candidate are you? The stronger your credentials the less risky this is. The week after OCI is peak callback time, so you'd be missing that. Sure there will be callback dates the following week but a lot of offers will have already gone out.

I don't want you to actually answer these questions on here as obviously these are all very personal questions: you need to weigh these things and make this decision yourself.

Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

rokiv wrote:Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

My thoughts exactly. Pack your interviewing materials and suits to take with you on this trip. Then, if you get a CB, schedule as soon as the firm has a slot available, and if it's during your trip, go the night before and come back the afternoon after the CB. Firms will fly you in from pretty much anywhere and put you up in a hotel for the night.

JohnnieSockran wrote:

rokiv wrote:Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

My thoughts exactly. Pack your interviewing materials and suits to take with you on this trip. Then, if you get a CB, schedule as soon as the firm has a slot available, and if it's during your trip, go the night before and come back the afternoon after the CB. Firms will fly you in from pretty much anywhere and put you up in a hotel for the night.

It would be about a two and a half hour flight. Any firm would be in the city I'm from. Would they care that I'd cost them that money just because I decided to be out of town instead of around the city?

radon5 wrote:

JohnnieSockran wrote:

rokiv wrote:Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

My thoughts exactly. Pack your interviewing materials and suits to take with you on this trip. Then, if you get a CB, schedule as soon as the firm has a slot available, and if it's during your trip, go the night before and come back the afternoon after the CB. Firms will fly you in from pretty much anywhere and put you up in a hotel for the night.

It would be about a two and a half hour flight. Any firm would be in the city I'm from. Would they care that I'd cost them that money just because I decided to be out of town instead of around the city?

Depending on the size of the firm, its possible the people you interact with as far as hiring goes will not be aware whether you are flying in or not. I wouldn't sweat this. If recruiting asks, just explain the situation. They wont care.

If these are small firms in non major markets, they may be more cost sensitive, and the same advice would not apply. But, if these are your typical vault biglaw firms, they expect to foot these bills for interview candidates.

rokiv wrote:

radon5 wrote:

JohnnieSockran wrote:

rokiv wrote:Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

My thoughts exactly. Pack your interviewing materials and suits to take with you on this trip. Then, if you get a CB, schedule as soon as the firm has a slot available, and if it's during your trip, go the night before and come back the afternoon after the CB. Firms will fly you in from pretty much anywhere and put you up in a hotel for the night.

It would be about a two and a half hour flight. Any firm would be in the city I'm from. Would they care that I'd cost them that money just because I decided to be out of town instead of around the city?

Depending on the size of the firm, its possible the people you interact with as far as hiring goes will not be aware whether you are flying in or not. I wouldn't sweat this. If recruiting asks, just explain the situation. They wont care.

If these are small firms in non major markets, they may be more cost sensitive, and the same advice would not apply. But, if these are your typical vault biglaw firms, they expect to foot these bills for interview candidates.

They would probably be classic biglaw. I guess I'd just have to do some good explaining and then get creative with flights

Firms will usually fly you in an out from wherever you want. If you end up getting a call back can you just leave your vacation a day early and fly out from where you are vacationing? You will likely just be dealing with a travel agent anyway. Would be a shame to preemptively cancel if you get no callbacks. Cross that bridge when you get to it.

radon5 wrote:

rokiv wrote:

radon5 wrote:

JohnnieSockran wrote:

rokiv wrote:Just an Idea: depending on where this vacation is (i.e. disregard if this would require more than a 4-5 hour domestic flight) you may be able to have a callback scheduled during your vacation where you fly out morning of and fly back to wherever your family is in the evening instead of staying overnight. I did this during OCI, although not because I was on vacation. It was tiring, but it still got offers.

My thoughts exactly. Pack your interviewing materials and suits to take with you on this trip. Then, if you get a CB, schedule as soon as the firm has a slot available, and if it's during your trip, go the night before and come back the afternoon after the CB. Firms will fly you in from pretty much anywhere and put you up in a hotel for the night.

It would be about a two and a half hour flight. Any firm would be in the city I'm from. Would they care that I'd cost them that money just because I decided to be out of town instead of around the city?

Depending on the size of the firm, its possible the people you interact with as far as hiring goes will not be aware whether you are flying in or not. I wouldn't sweat this. If recruiting asks, just explain the situation. They wont care.

If these are small firms in non major markets, they may be more cost sensitive, and the same advice would not apply. But, if these are your typical vault biglaw firms, they expect to foot these bills for interview candidates.

They would probably be classic biglaw. I guess I'd just have to do some good explaining and then get creative with flights

You don't even have to get creative. Biglaw firms will pay for whichever flight time is most convenient, and if it's only a 2.5 hour flight, you don't need "good" explaining, just tell them the honest truth. You went on a trip to see a sick family member, but are super interested in this firm and would like to schedule your CB immediately, and are willing to fly in from your family trip for the CB.

I'd just avoid using the word "vacation" and just call it a trip to visit a sick family member. Vacation is probably still fine and wouldn't hurt you, just erring on the side of caution.

radon5 wrote:

Npret wrote:

radon5 wrote:So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Yes, firms act quickly. They interview a number of candidates at a number of schools. Interview slots get filled.

You don’t have a job. Getting a job should be your first priority. I’m assuming you don’t have any pre-OCI offers outstanding. If you do, that’s a different situation.

Just keep reminding yourself that you’re unemployed. I’m sure your family will understand.

My family is actually giving some pushback. The trip is to be with an ailing family member. I'm pretty split on this decision.

If this is for an ill family member, don't cancel the vacation. Seriously. Don't even plan on making it back during the middle. In the long run, if you have limited time to spend with loved ones, that time is going to be way more significant than the advantage of interviewing on Monday over Friday. If this was a question of missing OCI entirely or an entire month of callbacks, I'd maybe have a different recommendation or plan. But one week? Recruiting happens from August to November. Sure, that one week will hurt your chances, but not to such a significant degree (especially if you're getting callbacks so fast you can schedule it the first week after OCI).

glitched wrote:

radon5 wrote:

Npret wrote:

radon5 wrote:So the title kinda says it. I'll finish OCI on a Thursday and then I'll be on a vacation the Monday through Thursday the week after. Am I crazy to go ahead with the vacation? Do firms get back and set stuff up that quickly?

Yes, firms act quickly. They interview a number of candidates at a number of schools. Interview slots get filled.

You don’t have a job. Getting a job should be your first priority. I’m assuming you don’t have any pre-OCI offers outstanding. If you do, that’s a different situation.

Just keep reminding yourself that you’re unemployed. I’m sure your family will understand.

My family is actually giving some pushback. The trip is to be with an ailing family member. I'm pretty split on this decision.

If this is for an ill family member, don't cancel the vacation. Seriously. Don't even plan on making it back during the middle. In the long run, if you have limited time to spend with loved ones, that time is going to be way more significant than the advantage of interviewing on Monday over Friday. If this was a question of missing OCI entirely or an entire month of callbacks, I'd maybe have a different recommendation or plan. But one week? Recruiting happens from August to November. Sure, that one week will hurt your chances, but not to such a significant degree (especially if you're getting callbacks so fast you can schedule it the first week after OCI).

Personally, if biglaw is your goal and you have significant debt, I think this is pretty terrible advice. I agree don't cancel the trip, but have stuff with you in case you need to leave early.

It's no secret that entry level legal salaries are bimodal. So if you miss the biglaw boat, that could mean jobs that pay like $80k or even significantly less with minimal annual raises, if any, compared to $190k + bonus with significant yearly increases. That difference will certainly matter long-term when it comes to accruing interest on your student loans and paying them off.

I would say it depends - are we talking this Thursday (Aug 2)? If so, you'll probably be OK scheduling callbacks the week of Aug. 13. If we're talking next week (Aug 9) and not doing a callback until the week of August 20, then you're really late.

Can confirm that the firm will fly you in and out of whatever city you ask for (I'm all over the place over the next couple of weeks for callbacks in 3 different cities) and you should be open to leaving your vacation early. No questions asked, just tell them what you want. It's almost always a travel agent for a large firm.