Formal OCI process put on hold amidst uncertain times
2020 has been a scary, strange, and different year. The halls of the Faculty of Law – normally bustling with nervous, sleep-deprived students dreading the all-too-quick approach of exams – are largely empty. Before COVID, “zooming” was a camera function, not a classroom.
The nervous anticipation of finding jobs for after law school, however, remains. This year’s recruit will be very different. For students trying to go south of the border hoping to land a job at a New York law firm, the recruitment process will be no exception to the general rule. In fact, there won’t even be on campus interviews (OCIs) at all for New York applicants. On October 28, the Faculty of Law’s Career Development Office (CDO) sent out an update outlining how the New York recruiting process would be different.
The Traditional Process
Traditionally, a number of firms travel from New York to Toronto prior to the Toronto recruit and conduct a first round of interviews on campus. Some firms invite students for dinners, and in-firm interview offers are sent out on a rolling basis.
According to Brian Huang (3L), who will be joining New York’s Paul Weiss Rifkind and Garrison LLP (Paul Weiss), in-firm interview offers came a couple of days, or in some cases weeks, after OCIs. At that point, if the student was lucky enough to have multiple in-firm opportunities, that student chose a “host firm” to bill all expenses to. The firm covered flights, hotels, and provided a daily food allowance. And students also got to spend a day or two in the Big Apple on somebody else’s dime.
The final round process, or in-firm, consisted of four interviews each 30 minutes in length. Huang interviewed with two partners and two associates at each of the firms, and an associate or member of the recruitment team escorted him from interview to interview.
Job offers were received on a rolling basis. If students were fortunate enough to get more than one offer, they could be flown back to New York to take “a second look at the firm.”
This Year’s Process
This year, according to Neil Dennis, the director of the CDO, the New York recruiting process is shifting from an OCI program to a résumé collection program that will allow the CDO to “directly distribute applications to employers between January 20-22.” Rather than scheduling interviews via the CDO, employers will contact students directly for interviews, which could be either a preliminary screening or callback interview.
Huang thinks that this only poses “minor disadvantages to students.” He said, “OCIs are a first screening for the firm with given slots for U of T students. Once you pass through the OCI stage, you have people who interviewed you ‘batting’ for you going into the in-firms.” Huang felt that some of the connections he formed in the OCI process were especially helpful. Namely, he was able to connect with partners who interviewed him and were hoping he would succeed in the process. However, according to Huang, the direct application route – applying early to target firms directly – was, and still remains, the strongest option for receiving an offer at a New York firm.
Generally, Huang offers the following advice to students about navigating the OCI process:
- Do your research. Check out Chambers which provides perspective about different firm’s cultures, hours, pro bono, and diversity and inclusion efforts.
- Prepare. Interviewing is about describing certain stories in detail, having good answers, but also ensuring that your answers are responsive to the question and don’t sound canned.
- Ensure you put your best ~virtual~ foot forward. Ensure your WiFi and audio visual setup is professional and competent.
