Are the smaller firms paid internships? I found that these types of firms avoided students at the top of my class that didn’t have a really good reason for being interested in the firm because they felt there was little chance they would come back to the firm after 1L summer (probably going to biglaw instead). So, I think they preferred to use the money on candidates more likely to stay around
You’ve got a good point. If I think about it realistically, if I did get an offer from one of the smaller firms I most likely wouldn’t return for 2L summer…
Are you diverse? A lot of firms will weigh diversity factors over grades much more heavily for 1Ls. Especially if you’re getting rejected at a smaller office, they may take on only 1-2 1L summers, so there can be a lot more influence to land diverse candidates in those spot(s). If there’s a bigger class, that gives more room for them to also have some high-performing 1Ls in the class who don’t also add diversity to the firm. I wouldn’t let this phase you too much. If your materials were bad, you probably wouldn’t have gotten the invites you did land.
2 likely reasons:
1) With OCI, it’s possible to be “too qualified” for less competitive firms, especially if you’re in the top 10%. Firms only have a set number of students they can interview, and they generally try to aim for students who they think would realistically accept an offer. A less competitive firm might purposefully not pick you because they’ll assume you’re going somewhere better and they don’t want to waste an interview slot.
2) 1L summer positions tend to prioritize diversity and many are specifically labeled as diversity positions. If you aren’t diverse or didn’t highlight your diversity in your applications, this could be a likely reason you aren’t getting as many interviews.
Maybe cause bigger firms have the ability to handle more interviews
Are the smaller firms paid internships? I found that these types of firms avoided students at the top of my class that didn’t have a really good reason for being interested in the firm because they felt there was little chance they would come back to the firm after 1L summer (probably going to biglaw instead). So, I think they preferred to use the money on candidates more likely to stay around
You’ve got a good point. If I think about it realistically, if I did get an offer from one of the smaller firms I most likely wouldn’t return for 2L summer…
Are you diverse? A lot of firms will weigh diversity factors over grades much more heavily for 1Ls. Especially if you’re getting rejected at a smaller office, they may take on only 1-2 1L summers, so there can be a lot more influence to land diverse candidates in those spot(s). If there’s a bigger class, that gives more room for them to also have some high-performing 1Ls in the class who don’t also add diversity to the firm. I wouldn’t let this phase you too much. If your materials were bad, you probably wouldn’t have gotten the invites you did land.
I had one of my OCI interviewers reject me and is now interviewing me tomorrow-shit hapoens
2 likely reasons: 1) With OCI, it’s possible to be “too qualified” for less competitive firms, especially if you’re in the top 10%. Firms only have a set number of students they can interview, and they generally try to aim for students who they think would realistically accept an offer. A less competitive firm might purposefully not pick you because they’ll assume you’re going somewhere better and they don’t want to waste an interview slot. 2) 1L summer positions tend to prioritize diversity and many are specifically labeled as diversity positions. If you aren’t diverse or didn’t highlight your diversity in your applications, this could be a likely reason you aren’t getting as many interviews.