Month: July 2018

Now that employer selections are in for OCI Week 1 and the accept/decline period has passed, how are alternates selected?

• Each employer provides a list of alternates in addition to their preselected students to interview. Employers rank their list of alternates in order of preference. Phil Pitt in the CDO will contact students in the order employers have ranked the alternates as interview opportunities become available, while considering students’ existing interview schedules as well. Alternate rankings are not available to students.

May I cancel an interview I’ve already scheduled to accommodate an interview for which I’m selected as an alternate?

• No, you may not cancel an interview through OCI to accommodate another interview opportunity. The CDO may shift scheduled interviews around to accommodate interview opportunities for students. Phil Pitt will email students if those changes need to be made.

1. Bidding has closed. What happens now?

OCI Session 1 and Off-Campus Recruitment Program employers have begun reviewing student application materials. Once the majority of responses are received, students will be emailed about Symplicity being open to view the interview selections. The "Accept/Decline period" will follow shortly thereafter, during which students will either accept an interview invitation or choose not to. Once students accept an interview invitation, they will be able to schedule their interview with that firm. You will receive notification of interview invitations and employer selections by the week of July 16. Please also be mindful that notifications for other Off-Campus Programs will come from administrators at other coordinating law schools by the end of this week, with instructions on scheduling. 
Please make sure to check your email often during this time, as it is a fast-moving process.

2. What is the "pre-select sign-up" window, and does it matter when in that timeframe I log in to schedule my interviews?

The "Pre-Select Sign-Up" period is when you will be able to schedule your interview(s) with specific employer(s). You will be notified by email that you have been "pre-selected" to interview with a given firm. (For planning purposes, you can view which firm(s) have pre-selected you the day before the scheduling window opens.)  Then, if pre-selected, you will log in during the sign-up period to schedule the date and time of your screening interview. (If you are an "alternate," you will be notified by email whether you have been added to the employer's interview schedule after the pre-select sign-up period has closed.)

Because you may be coordinating multiple interviews, it is advantageous to log in early in the pre-select period so you have the best chance of getting the timeslot you want with each employer. 

 

Keep in mind that the bid deadline for OCI Week 1 and all off-campus programs is FRIDAY, JULY 6, at NOON.  That's a hard deadline.

As you finalize and upload your materials, some questions that might pop up --

1.  If the employer does not require a cover letter, should I use one anyway?

No.  Employers will ask for any materials they need.

2.  If I've reached my document limit on Symplicity, can I delete a document after I've used it to bid?

Yes.  Once you've used a document to bid for an employer (say, a cover letter specific to that employer), you can safely delete it and upload another cover letter for a different employer.

3. Is there a bid limit?

No.  You can bid for as many employers as you wish in any of the programs.  Keep in mind, though, that it's unlikely that you will actually be interested in interviewing with all the employers at any given program, so, as always, bid wisely, and don't bid for the sake of bidding.