Is it really your “strongest weapon”?
Way to go to everyone who went through the recruit process! Regardless of the results, you should be proud of yourself for going through this draining process—a part of which involves first choice language. While the worry of using first choice language did not necessarily start until in-firms, the anxiety of exposing any slight disinterest to firms started on call day.
On call day, you receive a call to schedule an interview—you’re excited! But wait—now you need to schedule it in a way to avoid accidentally showing signs of disinterest in a particular firm. How would they feel if they were put at 4:00 pm? Then, another firm calls and asks to schedule a dinner, but you’ve already made dinner plans with another firm. What now?
If you’re already stressed reading this, this was just a warm-up for interview week—where first choice language matters.
While I personally had a positive experience with using first choice language, I understand the multiple disadvantages it can come with, being the lack of interest from firms, the fear of getting your first choice language returned too late, and overall feelings of anxiety.
Or even worse (as voiced by another student), having the firm respond positively to your first choice language, just to not call you on offer day.
For many of us, the 2L recruit is the time when all the years of hard work to get into law school and the all-nighters pulled in 1L come down to. It’s game time. Unfortunately, a lot comes down not to how strong of a candidate you are but to how well you play your cards. In other words, your use of first choice language.
So, given all the years of sacrifice students take to get to law school in hopes of securing their dream job, it’s not at all unreasonable for us to feel the frustration around this topic.
But how can the Ontario 2L recruit system be improved to reduce the disadvantages?
Below I suggest
Allow “First Two” Choice Language
Allowing first choice language to be given to two firms would mean that firms would still get the benefit of knowing the great interest students have in accepting their offer, if given. It mitigates the power imbalance students may feel when they do not necessarily know where they stand with the firm yet. In addition, if one firm happens to return their first choice language a bit late in the process, students have one more firm to fall back on. Therefore, the whole process won’t feel as much of a “hit or miss” compared to the current situation where first choice language is only given to one firm.
Eliminate First Choice Language for All Students
Another option is to remove the use of first choice language altogether. Students giving first choice language can immediately increase their chances of getting offers; however it is entirely irrelevant to the candidate’s qualifications and cultural fit to the firm. In other words, a top performing candidate who decides not to use any first choice language may risk losing a potential offer to other students who do use it. But how is this a fair assessment of one’s candidacy? That’s right, it’s really not! Therefore, the removal of first choice language may lead to a more genuine selection process where candidates are better assessed based on their talents.
Mandatory Requirement for Firms to Show Interest/Disinterest Upon Disclosing First Choice Language Within Short Time Frames
Another solution can be to change the LSO rules such that there are mandatory requirements for the firm to either signal interest or disinterest within a short time frame once students have given them first choice language. This is because the recruit is time-crunched and having a mandatory response from firms after giving first choice language will increase the feelings of certainty and confidence needed to get through the whole process.
Overall, the recruit was truly an unforgettable experience. I enjoyed meeting wonderful people and getting to learn more about the work I was interested in. However, these are suggestions for improvement that can make a big impact on future student success in the recruit moving forward.