You down with OCI?

Yeah, you know.

Anyway, here at SMU we're in the middle of the OCI bidding season. Fun, fun, fun. I think I've maybe done two hours of substantive work at my current summer job in the last three days. The rest of my time has been spent on making a targeted bid list, rewriting cover letters for each job, and trying to pray to tiny baby Jesus that I get at least a few screening interviews.

Because bitch please, if I get a screening interview, how can they resist this face?

(I'm making puppy-dog eyes, but you just can't see it. Trust me, it's irresistible).

Anyway, OCI at SMU is completely pre-select interviews, there is no lottery involved. This year we have 51 employers coming to campus, most with between 9 and 18 interview slots, some with as many as 38. Each person has 35 bids, but you're not advised to use all of them unless you're between the top third and top half. If you're in the top 25%+, using every bid will mean getting more screening interviews than you can handle.

But if you're paranoid, you know, go for it.

Last year at SMU's OCI, only 6 students in the top 50% of the class that went through OCI didn't get screening interviews. 43 out of the 66 students that were in the bottom 50% that participated in OCI received screening interviews. And most students between the top 33% and the top 50% bid on 35 firs and received screening interviews on about a quarter of their bids. And the numbers only get better for the top 25% and top 10%. Everyone in the top 10% received screening interviews on a majority of their bids. All but one in the top 25% received screening interviews.

To clear it up: a bid is not really a "bid." It's just an entry. The firms don't take only the highest bidders, and they don't see what order you bid in. It's just the submission of your resume and other documents for their review.

Now, a screening interview is what happens on campus within the first week of classes. If a firm selects you for a screening interview, you'll go in and chat with them wherever they happen to be camped out on campus that day for about 20 minutes. They'll do all of their interviews in one day, and then release call back offers within the next week or so.

A call back is generally a half day interview at the firm itself, where they take you to lunch and take you around to meet and interview with several different partners and associates. It's a big time commitment, so they're given with far less frequency than screening interviews.

After you've had a call back, you can generally expect to get an offer or a rejection by mid-September.

Now, OCI is but one way of getting a firm gig after 2L. But you really really REALLY should go through it if you can. It never hurts, it's good practice for interviews even if you don't get a CB or an offer, and it gets you in front of the people making recruitment and hiring decisions, which is always a good thing.

So, in sum, OCI is a necessary distraction. Sometimes it's an ego-booster, sometime you're crushed. If you have the opportunity, definitely sign up and go through OCI. But don't go to any of the programs that OCS puts on about OCI. They're a HUGE waste of time. You just learned everything you need to know. ;)