2009 Fall On-Campus Interviewing Program: Interviewing
Preparation for the Interview
| a) Research the employer, the type of practice and specific interviewer
if the name is available. Know the employer well before
you interview. Decide what information you wish to get
from the interview. For more information on research techniques
and resources, see the section on researching
employers. |
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| b) Practice Interviewing. Mock interviews will be
available in mid-August. Please check back for specific dates and times. |
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| c) Attend one of the OCI Programs at Noon and 5:15pm on August 4th in the Auditorium for additional information on bidding and participating in OCI. Also, attend the Interviewing Tips Program sponsored by the CSO on August 11th at Noon. Watch The
Record for details. |
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| d) Read the information in the career development
handout on interviewing
(or pick up a copy of the handout in the career services office)
and in other resources available in the career services office. |
Gather Materials for the Interview
Consult your schedule for additional material you may need to bring to
the interview, such as transcripts or writing samples. Always take
an extra resume to an interview.
Request
transcripts from the Registrar at least three days prior to
the interview. Employers will accept an unofficial copy
unless otherwise indicated. In order to submit a transcript through Symplicity to Collect/Direct employers, you will need to create one using a Word document and then upload it to the system. When creating a transcript, please click here to view an example of the format that you should follow. If you request an official transcript
at the beginning of the semester, and you are sending your resume directly to employers, you may send a photocopy of your official transcript to those employers
who request a transcript.
Show Up for the Interview
You must attend all interviews. Missed
interviews penalize other students who could have been scheduled in your
slot. If you miss an interview, you must immediately
see the CSO Assistant Dean or one of the Directors. No matter what the reason for missing your interview, you will need to write a letter of apology to the interviewer. Consequences
for missing an interview include forfeiture of your interview schedule
or elimination of one of your interview slots. If it happens more than once, all
further interviews will be canceled and other students will be scheduled
into your interview slots. The only valid reason
for canceling an interview is acceptance of a job offer. The only
valid reason for missing an interview is an emergency situation.
Call-back Interviews and Offers
After the initial interview, a firm will directly contact those applicants
whom they wish to interview more extensively at the firm's office.
On occasion, there are even third and fourth interviews.
You must notify the career services office of all second interviews,
offers and acceptances. Please keep us informed of these by sending an email to kentcso@kentlaw.edu.
| a) Call-back interviews |
| Schedule call-backs as early
as possible. Don't wait until November to
do call-backs. This is approaching the end of the hiring season
and you run the risk of interviewing at a time when most or all of
the firm's intended offers have been made.
You must respond by phone or in writing to all invitations for
call-back interviews within 48 hours of receiving them. If
you decide not to interview further with recruiters who invited
you to their offices, call them, thank them for the invitation,
and explain why you are not accepting the invitation. Common
courtesy is extremely important in this process.
A word of caution: only schedule one call-back interview per day
since these are frequently half-day sessions. When scheduling
a call-back, ask the recruiting coordinator or attorney how long
you should expect to be at the firm. Also, don't schedule
a call-back for a time block immediately before or after an on-campus
interview. Give yourself time to move between the law school
and the employer's office.
If the on-campus interviewer gives you a date when you will be
notified and you don't hear anything, it is acceptable to call to
inquire about your status. Be aggressive, but please be considerate.
Most firms do not let our office know which applicants they will
be calling for second interviews, so please do not ask us for this
information.
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| b) Call-back interview materials |
| Bring a writing sample (your very best, not highly-edited
legal writing product that is 5-10 pages in length), a list of your
references and extra resumes to your call-back interviews. Some
recruiters may also request that you send or bring a copy of your
transcript. |
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| c) Thank-you notes |
| After a call-back interview, write a thank you note
to the interviewer who invited you to the firm and ask him/her
to extend your thanks to others with whom you spoke. Thank
you notes are not necessary for initial interviews on-campus but
should be sent following call-backs. For advice on writing
thank you notes, see the thank
you note handout on-line or pick up a copy of the handout
in the career services office. Thank you notes should be sent within 24 hours of your interview. |
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| d) Offers |
| When offered a position, it is not necessary to accept
on the spot. The National Association for Law Placement
has adopted general standards for the timing of offers and
acceptances (see NALP
Principles and Standards). Students are expected
to adhere to these guidelines.
Make your decisions prudently. If you have an offer from a firm
that you know you absolutely won't accept, decline that offer as
soon as you've reached that decision. Some firms may have a classmate
on hold while you make your decision. YOU
MAY ACCEPT ONLY ONE OFFER. When you do make the
final decision, be sure to notify all firms who have extended offers
to you or are still considering you and withdraw from further consideration.
When you accept an offer, it is
expected that you have done so in good faith. Further
job hunting should cease. In addition, by accepting
an employer's offer, you have made a commitment to this
employer for the duration of the time period
you agreed to during the interviewing process.
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