Unsolicited advice from a 3L
Recruit season is here and in full swing! The 2023 Toronto Summer Student Recruitment process, regulated by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), began this summer with coffee chats, open houses, and a late-July application deadline. With on-campus interviews (OCIs) recently completed and in-firm interviews on the horizon, second-year law students are in the thick of the recruit. Juggling this process on top of coursework, extra-curricular activities, and maybe even fitting in some time to relax can make for an incredibly demanding semester. As a third-year student who has been through the process—I see you, I feel you, and I hope I can provide some sage words of wisdom.
As a major caveat, I am acutely aware that the formal recruit is not the only way to land a job in the legal field. Further, the recruit process is not limited to Bay Street employers. If you chose not to participate in the recruit, that’s totally okay. If you did choose to participate, that’s cool too. Whatever your motivations are for participating in the recruit (or not), I hope these tips can help in navigating the notoriously stressful, Hunger Games-esque process that the LSO sets out.
- Put the process into perspective
First of all, congratulations on making it to this point. The recruit is a daunting challenge, and you should be proud of yourself for getting to this stage in your education where you’re eligible to participate in the process. For some of you, the recruit may feel like the culmination of many years spent preparing—countless late nights in the library throughout undergrad, uncovering the mysteries behind logical reasoning for the LSAT, and taking on six figures of student debt for law school just to get here. Stepping through the doors of Jackman Hall is a big deal, and I hope you can take the time to reflect on that and recognize just how far you’ve come to get here.
That being said, the recruit is not the be-all, end-all. Whether you get a job through this process or not bears no reflection on you or your capabilities as a person and future lawyer. From a purely statistical standpoint, not everyone will get a job in the recruit. That’s okay. There are many more opportunities down the line to find your niche. Don’t hesitate to reach out to upper-year students or the Career Development Office for help navigating your job search outside the recruit process.
- Find your support system
This is the most crucial advice I can give. This process takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and mental bandwidth to get through. Find someone objective who you can talk to and vent with. Being able to stay grounded and put things into perspective is so important in this process. Ideally, try to find someone who isn’t going through the recruit themselves. Beyond this, take time for yourself. Relax between interviews (as much as one can). Go outside. Don’t forget to eat throughout the day. Being compassionate with yourself and others will help you get through this process.
- Be yourself
I know it’s a cliché, but be yourself. Seriously. If you feel as though you need to be a different version of yourself to impress a potential employer, it’s probably not the right fit. In this process, you are interviewing prospective employers just as much as they are interviewing you. You probably won’t vibe with every prospective employer you meet, and that’s okay. Try to be the most genuine and authentic version of yourself throughout this process and see which employers you find yourself drawn toward.
Once you have your foot in the door with an interview, you have much more control over the process than when you initially submitted your application. Maybe your grades aren’t as stellar as you’d like (mine certainly weren’t), but you can use your interviews to show prospective employers that you are more than just a transcript and a resumé.
It’s also okay if you don’t know what field you want to specialize in—I didn’t know during the process, and I still don’t have it completely figured out. That’s fine. Being honest and candid with your interviewers will go a long way in your favour.
- Don’t compare yourself to others
While it’s easy to get wrapped up in endless hiring statistics in the Ultra Vires archive, the recruit is not strictly a numbers game. You can only accept one position at the end of the process. Don’t assume the number of interview offers you get is indicative of your likelihood to get a job, and don’t assume that you’re a better or worse candidate than your peers based on this number. You may only have one in-firm interview and still end up with a job offer. Rather than fixating on numbers and likelihoods, put your best foot forward with each employer and make each interview count.
- Enjoy the process
I know this is easier said than done, but try to have fun. If you can recognize the inherent absurdity of the recruit and lean into it, you might just find yourself enjoying the process. Make yourself a pump-up playlist—I jammed out to “Hung Up” by Madonna before every interview. Take advantage of the format—virtual interviews can let your interests section shine (show and tell, anyone?). Use this as an opportunity to get to know yourself better. The process gets easier throughout the week as you get more comfortable with yourself and your interviewers.
Best of luck! It’ll be done before you know it!
Mental Health Resources:
- Supporting a student in distress: studentlife.utoronto.ca/service/faculty-support-for-responding-to-distressed-students/
- U of T MySSP is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via telephone, video, or chat in multiple languages
Students can contact:
- The Health and Wellness Centre (M–F, 9am to 4:30pm): 416-978-8030, or visit the Student Mental Health Portal online
- CAMH 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Department: 1051 Queen St. W, or call 416-535-8501
- Talk Suicide Canada helpline: 1-833-456-4566
- See also: ontario.cmha.ca/documents/are-you-in-crisis/; camh.ca/en/suicide-prevention/get-help
