Program Details

Date

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Program Overview

Students from participating schools apply to employers using Symplicity, our online career services database, to submit their resume, transcripts and additional documents. We refer to this as the bidding process. Students' materials are sent to participating firms, at which point firms select students with whom they are interested in meeting at the program. Students are notified in advance if a firm has selected them for their interview schedule. Students will be able to accept or decline the invitation to interview.

The interview program will consist of 20-minute screening interviews conducted in separate virtual interview rooms throughout the day. Some employers may require second-round interviews before making offers of employment, while other organizations may make offers directly after the program.

Symplicity

Bid/Apply through Symplicity

You will receive Symplicity login information from your law school’s career services office in December or January.

If you experience technical trouble while bidding, please contact the program organizers.

Interviews

Depending on their jurisdiction and experience, students can expect to have a varied number of interviews at the program. In the past, the number of interviews has ranged from 1 to 18.

The interviews, while virtual, are business formal. You should plan to wear business attire.

Schedule

Date Deadline
Tuesday, October 10 Employer List Available for Students
Wednesday, October 25 Student Deadline to Upload Resume
Thursday, October 26 – Thursday, November 2 Student Bidding/Application Period
Thursday, November 2 Deadline to include resume in Opt-In Resume Book
Wednesday, December 20 Students View Employer Decisions
Wednesday, December 20 – Wednesday, January 3 Student Accept/Decline Period
Tuesday, January 16 Preliminary Student Interview Display
Tuesday, January 16 – Thursday, January 18 Student Cancellation Period
Friday, January 19 Employer and Student Final Schedule Confirmation
Saturday, January 27, 2024 Interview Program Date

How do I upload an updated résumé on Symplicity?
To update your résumé, click on the “Documents” tab and then the name of your current résumé. Upload your new résumé, keeping the same document name, and click on the “Submit” button. This replaces your old résumé with your new one. After you have updated your résumé in the “Documents” section, remember to click on the “OCI” tab and then the “Update All” button under “Default OCI Résumé.” Confirm that your updated résumé has been uploaded by clicking the résumé name next to the employer bid selection dropdown. If the correct résumé appears, the update has been successful.

How do I upload an unofficial transcript on Symplicity?
To upload your transcript, click on the “Documents” tab and then the “Add New Documents” button. You can now select a file to designate as your unofficial transcript. The maximum file size is 4 MB. If you have any questions about which materials to include, please contact your school’s career services counselor. You can only designate one file as your unofficial transcript.

If you find that your transcript document is too large to upload, you will need to create an “unofficial transcript” in a Word document. You should include the names of all prior institutions, dates attended, and all course names and corresponding grades. While not ideal, we have found that this is the best way to ensure that employers have all of your materials when making their decisions during the selection process.

How strict are the required qualifications listed in a firm’s schedule details?
First, you should only apply to employers in countries in which you are eligible to practice or expect to be eligible following the completion of your LL.M. degree. Next, you should be able to speak fluently the native language of the country in which the position is located, unless otherwise specified. If a firm requests a language other than the native one, and does not specify that it is recommended, you should only apply if you possess those language skills. 

Some firms may also only be hiring for specific practice areas. You should review the registration details to confirm that you have the appropriate experience. 

How do I upload other required documents to Symplicity?
Some employers may request additional documents from students during the selection process. If an employer indicates that they would like to receive a cover letter, list of references, or writing sample, you will be prompted to add those documents when you bid for the employer. To add a document to the Symplicity system, click on the “Documents” tab and then the “Add New” button. Label the document so you will be able to identify it when you attach it to your bid for that employer. You also must select the type of file as a “Cover Letter,” ”Writing Sample,” or “Other Document.” The file size is limited to 500 KB. If you have any questions about which materials to include, please consult with your career services counselor at your school.

What does the orange triangle icon on the Employers/Bidding tab on the OCI page indicate?  
The orange triangle icon indicates that a particular employer does not allow interviews with multiple offices. This means that the employer will only assign one interview per student, no matter how many office locations the student bids for.

If you bid on interviews for a “No Multiple Interview” employer multiple times (i.e., firm X in Latin America, and firm X in Asia Pacific), the system will only recognize the first bid you place for that organization. 

Best practice: Think about which office you prefer. Bid for that office, and in the “Preferred Locations” box, indicate the other office locations in which you have an interest. 

Note: If an employer does not have the “No Multiple Interviews” icon, then these rules do not apply. You may bid for the same employer more than once. In this case, you will be using a bid for each office.

How do I bid on a firm that lists multiple locations?
Please remember to specify your location preferences when bidding for an employer with multiple locations. You should rank your preferences in the “Preferred Locations” box. 

For example: firm X in Belgium, Brazil, competition/antitrust, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Spain

You might rank your preferences in the following order:

This will assist employers in placing you on the appropriate schedule according to your preference. Please remember to only bid on offices for which you are qualified. If you are only interested in one office, you need only list one office in the preferred locations box.

Example: Preferred Locations:

  1. Germany
  2. Competition/antitrust
  3. France
  4. Belgium

Where can I find more information regarding a particular position?
You can click on the “Review” button next to the name of the employers in which you are interested to obtain more information. Firms use the review section to communicate requirements, if any, regarding specific language abilities and law degrees, or to specify documents to bring to the interview. You will waste a bid if you choose a firm for which you are not qualified, as firms will not select unqualified students for interviews. Remember to read carefully before bidding.

What is the difference between “Show Bids” and “Show All” in the search filter?
In the “Search Filters” section, you can click on “Show Bids” to view only your bid rankings. The “Show All” filter will show both your bids and the list of all participating employers in alphabetical order.

What is the Opt-In Résumé Book and how do I include my résumé?
Employers might refer to the LL.M. Opt-In Résumé Book to seek additional candidates who did not apply directly to their opportunity. All participating employers have access to the Opt-In Résumé Book and will be able to view only the résumés of students who actively include it in the book. Students who would like to submit their résumé should click on the “Opt-In Books” tab under "Documents," and select the résumé from the drop-down menu. Then click the “Add Résumé” button.

Employers interested in meeting students who are in the opt-in résumé book, but did not apply to their office during the formal bidding/application process, will contact the program organizers to confirm the student’s acceptance of the invitation.

We encourage all students to participate in the opt-in résumé book as employers will use the book to select additional candidates for interview schedules.

 

How do I know if I have been selected for an interview?
Under the “Employers/Bidding” tab you will see your applications/bid list and an “Invitations” column. Each bid should indicate one of the following in the “Invitations” column: "Accept Pre-Select," "Accept Alternate," or "Not Invited." The “Invitations” column will be blank for those employers who did a resume collection. You may be contacted directly by employers in order to set up an interview date.

How do I accept or decline an invitation?
Click on the "Accept Pre-Select" button if you would like to accept your pre-select invitation. Priority is given to pre-select candidates and you are guaranteed an interview as long as you have available time on your schedule.

Click on the "Accept Alternate" button if you would like to accept your alternate invitation. You are not guaranteed an interview as an alternate but an interview will be scheduled if there is availability on the employer’s schedule (and on your own schedule).

Click on the "Decline" button if you do not want to accept the invitation. 

Can I change my decision?
You are only able to change your accepted decisions to declines during the accept/decline period. You are unable to change once you decline an interview. 

What will happen if I do not accept or decline during the accept/decline period?
All invitations will default to an accept, and you will be scheduled for an interview. Once scheduled, you are expected to attend the interview. Please make sure you make your selections before the period ends.

I did not apply to a listed employer. Why did they pre-select me for an interview?
Employers who select candidates through the opt-in LL.M. resume book will be included in the accept/decline period. You will receive an email from the Assistant Director of Recruiting (interview program manager) alerting you to this selection.

What is the deadline to accept or decline?
You will have from December 20 to January 3 to make all decisions.

Office of Private Sector Careers

The Office of Private Sector Careers helps students and alumni explore opportunities in the private sector. We advise students and alumni, provide career-related resources, and host career exploration, professional development, and recruitment programs. 

Mailing Address: 435 West 116th Street, Box A-5 New York, NY 10027 Phone: 212-854-2684
Office Location: William and June Warren Hall - 1125 Amsterdam Ave., (b/w 115th & 116th Sts), 7th floor