So You’re Not Doing OCI’s Eh?
The main struggle with first year law, is the adjustment period. Whether you came right out of undergrad or took a few years off, law school is a definite adjustment. Then in second year when you finally think you have things figured out, BAM, this intimidating and confusing acronym becomes the topic of every. single. conversation. The dreaded OCI’s.
Sparknotes? OCI’s are on campus interviews. They are basically a structured way for large corporate firms to hire law students. You have to fire off resumes, cover letters, transcripts, and letters of recommendation to the firms you would like to interview with, and then are later notified if you received any offers to interview. It is actually an impressively structured process, and I say that because you and your colleagues are all notified on the same day whether you received any interview offers, and then the interviews are all actually held on the same day too. But enough about that…
What if a big corporate firm is not what you are looking for? I am here to tell you that that is OK. Before I try to calm your nerves about veering off the beaten path, I would like to add an aside here.
Even if you do not THINK the big corporate firm is for you, I would suggest still going through the OCI process. Why?
1. Because you don’t know you don’t like something until you try it. So why not just toss your name into the hat and see what happens? You might hear a firm out and think “Hey, maybe this is for me!”
2. It forces you to learn how to properly write a cover letter.
3. Any interview experience is productive, even if you do not land something.
But for those of you who just really do not feel like subjecting yourself to the process, or for those of you who just got out of it and did not land anything, all hope is not lost for summer employment! OCI’s make up a minority of the job market, there are so many other opportunities out there for employment, you just have to go looking.
I think the hardest part about this period of time in law school is just feeling like you SHOULD be doing something that maybe you just don’t want to do. This is why it is important to have a sit-down conversation with yourself about what it is you want out of this degree. You need to have a PLAN. Whether that plan is to have no plan, or to work in the non-profit sector, or to go abroad for your second-year summer, or to do more online schooling, just have your plan. That way, you can approach every situation knowing you know your path, and you don’t have to bend that to anyone else’s vision or expectations. You have made peace with your track and are excited at your trajectory!
I found it really helpful to speak to my program coordinator about my options. I also spoke with upper year students about their second-year summer experience. After all of these conversations, I decided I was going to focus my energy elsewhere for my second-year summer, and I honestly feel really good about that decision!
It can be hard being the odd one out of something, but this brings me back to my “Charting Your Own Path” in law school article. This is YOUR degree, YOUR debt, and YOUR career. Make sure you are doing what YOU want to do, so you can not only look back on the experience fondly, but so that you are also setting yourself up for a career that you are excited about. Put your head down and do the work to get to where YOU want to be. If that does not include OCI’s, that is fine. You are still going to be a lawyer, and you still have a long and fulfilling career ahead of you!
