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Open Thread: Fall Recruiting for 3Ls(Or: Abandon hope all ye who enter here?)

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Are green shoots sprouting in Biglaw? Preliminary reports on summer associate offer rates suggest that the news isn’t all bad.
But even if things are improving, there’s no denying that the job market is still tough. Not every firm can boast a 100 percent offer rate (as we’ll be reporting in the weeks ahead).
So what should you do if you don’t get an offer from your 2L summer firm? Or what if the firm you summered at won’t get back to you about offers for a few months, effectively forcing you to participate in on-campus interviewing as a 3L? A reader requests:

[M]aybe you can write a post or create a thread about recruiting and interviewing tips for 3Ls this fall. I think there’s a severe lack of information. A lot of my friends don’t have jobs lined up after graduation but don’t know what avenues to pursue, since firms (inexplicably, in my opinion) find 3Ls anathema. This is in addition to the fact that most listed jobs require experience. Just a thought.

From a second correspondent:

I just ended finished my summer associate gig, and my firm (V20 in NYC) gave me a great review and a non-committal “we will discuss offers in the upcoming months.” I’m facing a terrible OCI at my school for 3Ls, a pretty dismal shot at a clerkship in any city I would ever consider living in, and pretty tough government employment prospects….

I know this is the same situation at least four of my friends are facing…. What should we do?

More commentary and a reader poll, after the jump.


Unfortunately, we don’t have many tips for 3Ls seeking jobs right now, other than the obvious: (1) network up a storm; (2) think outside the box (e.g., consider midsize and smaller firms, government work (esp. state and local), overseas opportunities); (3) marry rich; and (4) pray.
But maybe we’re being unduly pessimistic. What do you think?

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