For most 2Ls, the semester begins with a week of non-stop on-campus interviewing (OCI), hopefully resulting in a stellar summer associate offer (or even offers!). You may be a little anxious about tackling your OCI, but don’t worry! We’ve compiled a list of things you’ll need and things you will want to accomplish prior to OCI to conquer them with confidence.
Pre-OCI To-Do List
- (If possible) modify your OCI schedule so you don’t have huge breaks and/or back-to-back interviews
- Research each and every firm you’re scheduled to interview with, and craft specific questions for each
- Extra tip: I invested in a small leather notebook, where I tracked all my research/questions and brought it into my interviews
- Reach out to alumni from firms you’re especially interested in
- Practice behavioral answers and general interview questions
- Review your resume, writing sample and any cover letters multiple times
- Have someone else review your resume for good measure before printing out 20-plus copies
- Invest in quality resume paper and learn how to insert it properly into the printer so the watermark is facing up
- Organize your materials by clipping them or putting them in folders
- Plan your interview attire and have everything organized and ready to go
- Extra tip: Keep track of which outfits you wear during OCI so you don’t wear the same clothes to a possible callback
- (If applicable) break in new shoes because … well … blisters suck
OCI “Packing” List
- Professional-looking padfolio or notebook and a pen
- Your notes and interview questions for each firm
- Change of shoes to walk in
- Umbrella – even if it’s not predicting rain
- Water bottle
- Mini deodorant
- Extra resumes, writing samples and transcripts
- Portable phone charger
- Mini lint roller
- Safety pins (for good measure)
- Small reusable bag to put your firm swag and/or spare shoes in
- Extra bobby pins
- Band-aids for the unavoidable blisters
- Blotting paper to reduce that summer induced facial/forehead shine
Post-OCI To-Do List
- Write notes after each OCI screener to utilize during callbacks
- Follow up after two weeks if it’s been radio silence
- Wash all your attire immediately so they’re ready for callbacks (just remember, don’t wear the same outfit from the first interview)
- Buy and send “thank you” notes to each person you interview with during a callback
- (After getting an offer) cancel callbacks that you’re not interested in
- Connect with your career planning office if you’re not getting the level of interest you were hoping for, and begin applying independently to firms that didn’t participate in OCI
In a nutshell, these are the things you can do and bring with you to make OCI less stressful.
Be yourself, have confidence in your abilities and have some fun – after all, when else do you get to talk about yourself for a whole week? Good luck!
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