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Career Development Recruitment & Preparation Programs

Interviewing Skills Program | Mock Interviews | Fall Recruitment Program | Regional Interview Programs | Job Fairs & Career Consortia

Interviewing Skills Program

The Interviewing Skills Program is held in August to prepare students for fall recruitment interviews with private practice and public sector employers.

Mock Interview Program

The Mock Interview Program is held every August and enables students to gain valuable interviewing advice from practicing attorneys prior to the Fall Recruitment Program. We bring alumni and attorneys from Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD law firms to the law school to conduct mock interviews and give feedback to students. This program is usually held in mid-late August.

Fall Recruitment Program

The Fall Recruitment Program combines on-campus interview (OCI) and regional interviewing programs, and provide opportunities for applying to employers nationwide through Résumé Collections and Direct Contact forms.

The Fall Recruitment Program provides students with an opportunity to interview with employers starting in mid-August in various cities, as well as in Washington, DC and on campus. These employers are predominately recruiting second-year students to fill their summer associate programs and ultimately to make permanent offers of employment to students who participate in the summer program. Some of these employers will also be recruiting third-year students for permanent associate positions. While the majority of the employers in the program are larger law firms, there are also many government agencies, public defenders and prosecutorial offices that participate. It is important to carefully check through all of the programs to see which employers will be participating in the Fall Recruitment Program.

The Fall Recruitment Program is very structured and organized and it is essential that you follow the process as described below to be successful in the program.

Students obtain a password from the CDO to access Symplicityo ur web-based recruiting system. Complete Symplicity instructions are in the back of the manual.
In mid to late July, students upload their résumé s, cover letters, writing samples and transcripts into Symplicity and bid (apply) for employers in which they are interested.
Employers review student application materials and select those students they wish to interview.
Employers contact the CDO with the names of the selected interviewees. The CDO, through email and Symplicity notify students that they have been selected by the employers.
Students who are notified choose a convenient time for an interview on the employer’s interviewing schedule.

Most of the employers that participate in this program are very credential-driven and weigh academic excellence as the primary criteria for granting interviews, as well as journal and skills boards. Employers also look at previous work experience in addition to grades.

Résumé Collections: The Career Development Office also collects résumés through Symplicity similarly to the way that was described above. However, these employers usually do not come on campus and contact students directly for interviews outside of the above process. Most of these employers are located outside of the Baltimore-Washington, DC area.

Direct Contacts: These are employers who have requested that their positions be posted as a job posting in conjunction with the Fall Recruitment Program. You will find these employer posting in Symplicity in the Jobs section.

Regional Interview Programs

Fall recruitment regional interview programs provide students opportunities to apply and interview with employers in geographic areas outside of the Baltimore-Washington, DC area. We also try to target many employers who are unable to conduct interviews through our on-campus program. Students participating in these programs are responsible for their own travel, accommodations and other personal expenses associated with the program. These programs fall under the same interview cancellation policy as the rest of Fall Recruitment and résumé s submitted for these programs are an agreement that should you be selected for an interview, you will attend the program.

Maryland Days: The CDO hosts programs in various cities throughout the country called Maryland Days. These are programs where employers sign up and agree to interview students at their offices on a specific date usually in August or September in conjunction with the Fall Recruitment Program .

National Law School Consortium (NLSC): Our law school is a founding member of the NLSC, a consortium established with seven other schools to provide regional interview opportunities for students interested in employment with private practice and public sector employers outside the Baltimore-Washington, DC region. We host a separate Symplicity site as a group and the process for application for this program is identical to the Fall Recruitment Program, but through a separate log in and password. For 2008 we will host NLSC programs in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Sa Francisco.

North Carolina Interview Program and New Hampshire Legal Job Fair: These programs are included among the Regional Interviewing opportunities in the Fall Recruitment Program. Students apply in the same fashion to interview with employers in Charlotte and Raleigh, NC and New Hampshire.

Job Fairs & Career Consortia

In addition to hosting on-campus recruitment and the Symplicity Job Bank, the Career Development Office sponsors and facilitates student participation in numerous regional and national job fairs and career consortia. Be sure to watch for announcements and monitor the CDO Events Calendar throughout the academic year as these opportunities arise.

Cooperative Job Fairs & Career Consortia

American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Career Fair
Constellation Energy Corporate Intern Program
Loyola Patent Law Interview Program
New Hampshire Legal Job Fair (See Fall Recruitment Regional Programs)
North Carolina Interview Program (See Fall Recruitment Regional Programs)

Public Service Job Fairs & Career Consortia

Equal Justice Works (EJW) Conference and Career Fair
Greater Washington, DC/Baltimore Public Service Career Fair
University of Maryland/University of Baltimore Schools of Law Public Interest Career Fair

Affinity Group Job Fairs & Career Consortia

Black Law Students Association Mid-Atlantic Job Fair
Boston Lawyers Group Minority Job Fair
Cook County Job Fair (Chicago, IL)
Dauphin County Bar Association Minority Job Fair (Harrisburg, PA)
Delaware Minority Job Fair
Diversity Career Fair for Attorneys and Law Students of Color in Dallas, Texas
Dupont Minority Job Fairs
Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair (Kansas City, MO)
Hispanic National Bar Association Convention & Job Fair
IMPACT Legal Recruitment Program: for Law Students & Lawyers with Disabilities
Lavender Law Job Fair
Marriott International Summer Intern Program
National Black Prosecutors Convention & Job Fair
Puerto Rican Legal & Educational Fund Corporation Legal Intern Program
Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division, National Bar Association Legal Intern Placement Program
Rocky Mountain Diversity Legal Career Fair
Vault Legal Diversity Job Fair
Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association (WMACCA) Corporate Scholars Program