Law school isn’t like college. As an undergrad, you could spend your summers in a variety of different ways. Maybe you’d intern, maybe you’d get a menial job to pay some bills, maybe you’d travel, or maybe you’d do nothing at all. Some of these might have been better options than others, but how you spent your summers really didn’t matter all that much in the grand scheme of things.
That’s not the case in law school. As a law student, your summer jobs are critically important, particularly after the second year. If you have any desire to work in a large law firm after graduation, you need to do a stint as a summer associate. Then, if all goes well, the firm you “summered” with will make you an offer to return as a full-time associate after you graduate.
If you stray off this path, your odds of ever working in BigLaw are drastically reduced. For public interest careers, it’s also important that your summer jobs are related to what you want to ultimately do. Believe it or not, there’s a lot of competition for these relatively low-paid positions!
Read on for advice on getting a summer associate position via OCI, and for succeeding once you have the job. You’ll also find tips for 1L job hunting and public interest work and some of our favorite summer job-related podcast episodes from the Law School Toolbox podcast.
On-Campus Interviews
- The Key To OCI Success There’s only one? Sure, and here it is.
- How to Prepare For Callbacks If you're finishing up OCI, the next step is callbacks! Briana Borgolini is offering some advice for handling this stage of the interview process.
- The Inside Scoop on Law Firm Summer Associate Programs If you’re like me, before you started law school you probably had a vague idea, at best, that law firms hired students in the summer and that this was somehow important. After summering with three different firms, I’ve got a lot better idea what goes on, and I’m willing to share it with you!
- Rock OCI and Get the Job You Want: Introduction OCI is one route to landing the summer job of your dreams. Want to know how to land an interview? We have some suggestions for you!
- Rock OCI and Get the Job You Want: Interview Tips OCI involves, not surprisingly, a lot of interviewing. The initial interviews are quick, and formulaic. Read on to find out what you’ll be asked, how to prepare, and the one question you must be ready for.
- The One Thing That Needs to Be on Your Résumé to Ace a Callback Interview (and It's Probably Not What You Think) Callback interviews serve a different purpose than on campus interviews. By the time you have a callback, the firm isn’t trying to figure out how smart you are. Find out what they are looking for, and what needs to be on your résumé to ace any callback.
- Surviving On-Campus Interviews: Tips to Ace Your Callback Interview If you made it past the initial on-campus interview, be sure you're ready for callbacks!
- Surviving On-Campus Interviews: Dealing with Adverse Facts During Interviews How should you handle unhelpful background facts in interviews? (Most people have some!) Here are some strategies to explain any blips on your resume.
- Law Firm Hiring Partners Talk About What They're Looking For Highly useful series of videos with hiring partners talking (in detail) about their likes and dislikes when it comes to hiring summer associates. (Oh, and I chime in every now and then, too.)
- Advice on BigLaw and OCI From a Stanford Law Grad Got questions about finding a 1L summer BigLaw job, or picking your 2L firm? Check out this interview with a Stanford law grad for advice.
- 7 Ways to Stay Sane During OCI Let’s face it, on-campus interviewing can be stressful. Here are seven ways to stay calm, and improve your odds of landing the job you want.
Finding a 1L Summer Job
- Are You Looking For a 1L Summer Job? Some Tips From a Law School Career Expert Are you looking for a 1L summer job? Lots of people are! So read on to hear a career expert's advice on finding what you want.
- 5 Ways to Prepare for a Job Fair Are you a 1L seeking summer employment? A law school graduate looking for a long-term career? Check out a job fair! And use these strategies to prepare.
- 1L Tip of the Day: Have You Started Thinking About Summer Jobs? Just when you think you can’t possibly handle one more thing as a 1L, November rolls around. Time to start thinking about summer jobs!
- Tips From a Legal Recruiter for Finding a 1L Summer Job Looking for a 1L summer position? A legal recruiter shares some tips.
Succeeding in Your Summer Job
- Want to Make a Good Impression at Your Law Firm Job? Check Out This Interview With Greenhorn Legal! Wondering if you’re really prepared for law firm practice? Get ready with these useful tips from Desiree Moore of Greenhorn Legal.
- Do You Have To Be An Annoying Suck-Up To Succeed as a Summer Associate? To succeed as a summer associate, you don't need to be an annoying suck-up. Alison (vents and) tells you what to do instead!
- Five Tips For a Successful Summer Associate Experience Desiree Moore stops by with some strategies for ensuring a successful summer associate experience.
- As a Summer Associate, Should You Burn the Midnight Oil or Have Another Drink? As a summer associate, it can be hard to juggle work and social events, but both are important. Learn how to manage both, and get the offer!
- A Mid-Summer Check-In A rising 2L reflects on her summer so far, and all the things she needs to do to get ready for 2L year!
- Do You Have, Or Want, A Summer Associate Position? Some Tips For Success Andrew James, creator of the Summer Success Crash Course, shares some useful tips on succeeding as a summer associate (and on getting the job to begin with).
- 5 Take-Aways From my In-House Legal Internship Tiffany Lo talks about her experience with an in-house legal internship over the summer.
- What It's Like to Get a Cold Offer Think it could never happen to you? Yeah, so did I, until it did.
- Perfecting Professionalism at a Summer Internship Because your summer legal internship is really the start of your legal career, it's important to make sure you are going in as a professional. A 2L shares her advice on maintaining a professional demeanor at your internship through your dress, communication, and general attitude.
Public Interest Careers
- How Can Anyone Afford to Do Public Interest Work? Equal Justice Works Explains Some Options It’s no secret that public interest work tends to pay (a lot) less than working at a law firm. This guest post from Equal Justice Works lays out some options for funding your work, in-school and afterwards.
- Thinking About Public Interest Work? Find Out About LRAP, Getting the Job You Want, and More! If you’re interested in public interest work, and you don’t know all about Equal Justice Works, stop what you’re doing and read this interview with Radhika Singh Miller, their program manager for Educational Debt Relief and Outreach, right now.
- Want a Public Interest Job? Find Out How to Get One Here! Public interest type? Get advice on securing your dream job from my law school roommate, Gráinne O’Neill, who managed to do it!
Podcasts: Summer Jobs
- Mastering the On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) Process In this episode, we talk about improving your resume and cover letter, how to figure out what firms to bid on in OCI, how the process typically works, and more!
- Call-Back Tips for BigLaw Summer Associate Positions Today, we’re discussing the next step in the on campus interview process – callback interviews. Topics covered include what are firms looking for in a callback, advice on scheduling interviews, and more!
- How to Evaluate Your Summer Legal Job Experience We will talk about about how to evaluate your summer legal job experience, and how to make sure you leave on good terms. As your summer law job is drawing to a close, here are some ways to ensure you learn as much as you can from the experience.
- An Overview of BigLaw On Campus Interviewing (OCI) We will discuss BigLaw OCI, or on-campus interviewing. This is the annual rite of passage where thousands of law students try to secure BigLaw summer associate positions for the next summer. In this episode, we talk at a high level about all of the aspects of OCI, and you can listen to our earlier OCI episodes for a deeper dive into the specifics of callbacks and initial interviews.
- Surviving as a Summer Associate and New Firm Lawyer (with Grover Cleveland) We’re talking with Grover Cleveland, a Seattle lawyer and speaker and the author of the bestselling career advice book for new lawyers, Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks: The Essential Guide to Thriving as a New Lawyer about tips that all incoming summer associates and new associates should know.
- How to Succeed At Your Summer Legal Job Summer law jobs can come with a lot of pressure, and you want to make a good impression and set yourself up for success. Tune in for a preview of life as a summer associate or intern, along with tips for getting the most out of the experience (including a job offer).
- OCI Basics with an Ex-BigLaw Recruiter There are many steps to the OCI process, and it can be energetically draining, so we’re discussing what you can expect, and how you can put your best foot forward with an experienced BigLaw recruiter. If you’re planning to participate in your school’s OCI program, tune in!
- Handling Summer Associate Offers With an Ex-BigLaw Recruiter Today, we’re talking with ex-BigLaw recruiter, Sadie Jones, about the process of getting, or not getting, an offer at the end of your time as a summer associate. Tune in for some great information on how to end your summer successfully and navigate the offer process thoughtfully and respectfully.
- Preparing for the 1L Job Hunt (with Ex-BigLaw Recruiter Sadie Jones) If you're a 1L getting ready for your job hunt, this is the podcast for you! We talk about how to prepare and apply, and what types of jobs will be best for your future.