Career Fairs  |   Application Process  |   Application Package  |   The Interview  |   How To Handle Call Day In Ottawa  |   Additional Tips

Career Fairs

Generally held in February and March each year, Career Fairs are a fabulous opportunity for students to gather information about a large number of law firms and government organizations.

Prior to the Career Fair day, students should obtain a list of the law firms and government organizations attending their school's Career Fair. From this list, students should determine those firms or organizations in which they are most interested. Students should then develop a plan to best take advantage of the Career Fair and ensure they visit each firm or organization identified.

The school's career services office will generally provide nametags for the students. Students should wear their nametag prominently. It is also beneficial for the nametag to indicate the student's year of study, so that the representatives will know in which stage of the recruitment process the student is interested.

Before arriving at the Career Fair, students should consider what qualities or attributes they are seeking in a law firm and should prepare questions to ask of the representatives to elicit such information. While at the Career Fair, students should pick up a copy of the firm brochures, promotional materials and representatives' business cards for future reference.

Many law schools also offer a number of panel discussions during the Career Fairs. Panel discussions normally cover tips on the recruitment process, as well as general overviews of particular areas of practice. Students are encouraged to plan their day so they can attend these sessions, in addition to visiting the Career Fair tables.

Stay Tuned for 2007 Career Fair Dates
 

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Students should take the time to fully consider their options and preferences before sending out application packages.

Students should first decide in which city or cities they wish to work, then determine which practice areas are of interest, and finally apply only to firms or organizations that suit those preferences.

Students should ensure their application package arrives on or before the application deadline date, as established either by the local area (as is the case in Ottawa for summer program recruitment) or as set by the Law Society of Upper Canada (always the case for articling recruitment). It does not matter whether the application is hand-delivered, mailed or e-mailed, so long as the application package is complete.

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Cover Letter

The cover letter is a crucial part of the application package. It is a business letter that is also the student's first opportunity to make an impression. As well, it is basically considered a writing sample. And as a writing sample, it must be flawless! Cover letters should be limited to one page and while it may seem unnecessary to say, ensure that each letter is addressed correctly and to the proper individual. This is a common yet easily avoidable mistake. Appearance is also important. For legibility, the font should be no smaller than 10 point. There should also be clean lines and "white space".

Most cover letters follow the same general format:

It is certainly acceptable to deviate from this format, but students should generally avoid jokes or gimmicks in their cover letter. What may be funny to you may not come across that way to the reader. However, it is important for students to always be themselves and so if you would only want to work somewhere that understands your sense of humour, you should by all means write your cover letter in that manner.

Students should tailor each cover letter to the particular firm. When describing why you are interested in the firm, include references that are unique to the particular firm and which demonstrate that the letter has been drafted with this firm specifically in mind.

When describing your qualifications, state with confidence but not arrogance. Use the cover letter to highlight the strengths of your résumé and explain how your experiences have prepared you for the practice of law. Discuss the transferable skills you have acquired through these experiences.

You will also want to address any gaps in your academic or employment history, or explain any grade anomalies. These areas may also simply be included as an addendum to your transcript in order to save space in your cover letter. It is not generally necessary to discuss a single grade anomaly as most firms can appreciate a student having one bad grade. However, if you had a bad term due to extenuating circumstances, you may want to provide a brief explanation of those circumstances. See the Transcripts section for more on this topic.

Résumé

Your résumé tells us about who you are and the experience you would bring to the position.

Student résumés should normally be a maximum of two pages. If space is an issue, avoid the tendency to include everything you have ever done or list every duty a job entailed. Determine which experiences are the most relevant to the position and include only those. Be careful not to exaggerate your experiences or accomplishments, as anything within your résumé may be raised during an interview.

As with your cover letter, take the time to ensure your résumé is error-free. Appearance is also important. For legibility, the font should be no smaller than 10 point. There should also be clean lines and plenty of "white space".

Similar to the cover letter, résumés for summer law student and articling positions follow a standard format; however, there are times when the standard format may be altered. For instance, mature students may wish to highlight their work experience first.

The standard format for summer and articling position résumés is:

Education:

Employment Experience:

Legal Experience:

Academic Awards:

Extracurricular Activities:

Interests:

Transcripts

Be sure to include all post-secondary transcripts. Generally students place their transcripts in chronological order.

If there is a gap in your educational experience that is not obviously explained by your work experience or extracurricular activities, you should explain this gap in your cover letter or in an addendum to the transcript.

Students with one grade anomaly may, but need not, mention or attempt to explain the poor grade. Firms realize even the best students can have a bad grade. However, if there is an entire term or year with below average grades, and there is a valid explanation (e.g., illness, death in the family), students should address this situation in either their cover letter or, given the space constraints of the cover letter, in a note attached to the transcript.

References

While references are mandatory at some firms, at Gowlings reference letters are optional.

Students who wish to include a list of references should list them at the end of their résumé, after the Interests section. Be sure to include the full name, title, organization and contact information of the reference. Two or three references are generally sufficient. It is standard to include both a personal reference and a professional reference.

If a student has written references, they should be included at the end of the application package. Reference letters should be from individuals who can highlight your abilities and the personal characteristics they have observed which make you an excellent candidate. A generic reference letter from a professor that simply says you attended class regularly, were an active participant in class and received a certain grade—while not harmful—does not add much value.

There is no need to say "References Available on Request" at the bottom of your résumé. Students should either include references or not refer to them at all.

Writing Sample

At Gowlings Ottawa, we request that student applicants not submit writing samples with their application packages, though we may request a writing sample from applicants selected for an interview. However, writing samples are required by some firms. If you decide to include a writing sample, choose something you feel to be your best work—but keep it short, no more than four-to-five pages.

As firms may receive upwards of 1,000 résumés for the summer recruit, the professionals reviewing the résumés do not have much time to spend on each one, and, therefore, extensive writing samples will generally not be read. Further, if the piece is too long, it may not even be copied and distributed to the reviewers with the résumé.

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The length and format of the interview will vary firm to firm. The interviewers will usually spend the first half of the interview asking you questions. Anything included in your résumé may be discussed. Know yourself and be prepared to answer questions about your abilities, qualifications and interests. Be prepared to explain why you are interested in the firm and why you feel you are suited for the firm. During the latter part of the interview, you will be given an opportunity to ask questions of the interviewers. Prepare your questions in advance. Know what is important to you and ask questions that will help you determine whether the firm meets your needs. Ask questions that are not answered on the Web site and ones that are specific to the firm. Feel free to bring notes into the interview with you. Firms understand you will be interviewing with a number of firms and may need to refresh your memory.

The Interview Process at Gowlings Ottawa

As a normal rule at Gowlings Ottawa, our interview process entails only one interview. There are no student receptions or dinners.

Because of the large number of strong student applications that we receive from across Canada, together with the fact that the basic criteria that we set for scheduling an interview are but two (interest in living and practising law in Ottawa, solid grade point average), we conduct a very large number of interviews over a relatively short recruitment period. An interview with us will last approximately one hour and will then be followed by a tour of our office with one of our current articling students which will take another half to full hour. During the interview itself, student applicants will usually meet with a partner of the Firm, with an associate lawyer, and with our Director of Student and Associate Affairs. During the tour, the student will have an opportunity to meet with a number of current students and lawyers with the Firm.

This large number of interviews, together with the significant time commitment that we make to each student interview, precludes our conducting second interviews or undertaking student receptions and dinners. Also, because we attract students nationally, many of the students who we see must travel a significant distance to interview with us and we do not want our student applicants to incur either the time or the monetary costs that attendance for second interviews and student receptions entails.

After the Interview

If you are interested in the firm, be sure to communicate your interest. Call or e-mail your interviewers or the Director of Recruitment (at Gowlings Ottawa, the Director of Student and Associate Affairs) to express your interest. If the firm is your first choice, tell them so. But if the firm is only one of your top choices, be sure not to mislead them. If the firm conducts second interviews and you haven't been asked back for one, request one. Don't be afraid to take the initiative and even ask where you rank.

If you are no longer interested in a firm, let the firm know. This may open up a position for one of your colleagues.

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"Call day" is the colloquial term for the day on which the law firms in a recruitment area are allowed to make offers of summer positions or articling positions. Your preparation for call day should start well before call day itself arrives.

In the same way that the various recruiting firms determine which student applicants would be a good fit for their particular practice areas and firm culture prior to call day, you should also be making the same kind of determination as to which firms would be a good fit for you. We recommend that you list the firms with which you interviewed in order of your preference and put your list on paper so that you have it for easy reference on call day. Beside each firm name, you should note the name and telephone number for the point-of-contact person at that firm.

For summer law student recruitment, most of the firms hiring summer law students in Ottawa have agreed amongst themselves that telephone calls to make offers of summer student positions will not start until 8:00 a.m. on the common call day that they have jointly established. These Ottawa employers have also agreed to leave first offers open until noon on the same day.

For articling student recruitment, all of the firms hiring articling students are governed by the 8:00 a.m. start time for offers required by the Law Society of Upper Canada and the "offer open" period is similarly controlled by the Law Society.

Should you receive an offer on call day that is not from your first-choice firm, we recommend that you follow the steps below.

1. Simply thank the person who has called you, confirm that the offer will remain open for a while, and indicate that you will get back to them as quickly as you can.

2. Immediately call the point-of-contact person at your first-choice firm and ask where you are located on their offer list; they should be able to tell you whether you may get an offer from them and approximately when.

3. If it appears that you will not receive an offer from your first-choice firm, you should then repeat this process with your second-choice firm to determine where you stand with it.

4. Work your way down your preference list, repeating this process, until you get back to the firm which has made the offer. You should be able to tell them at this point whether you will accept their offer or at what time they may expect a call from you.

Please keep in mind that there will be many students hoping for offers on call day. When everyone helps to move the offer process along expeditiously, you and your fellow students will be saved a great deal of angst and the day will be more pleasant for everyone.

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• Be yourself at all times—in your application package and during the interview process.
• Proofread. Have someone else review your cover letter and résumé. Typos can move an otherwise fabulous application to the bottom of the pile.
• Include your contact information on both the cover letter and each page of your résumé.
• Include Mr., Ms. or Mrs. if your given name is uncommon.
• Do not bother with high quality, expensive or fancy paper. Firms will make numerous copies of your résumé and so it is an unnecessary expense. Résumés can also be paper-clipped instead of stapled as it will be easier for firms to copy.
• Have an extra copy of your application package on hand at the time of the interview.
• Talk to lots of people: fellow students, current summer / articling students, firm directors of recruitment.
• Use your school's career services office—they are an invaluable resource.
• Attend law school / firm seminars on the recruitment process.
• Don't be late for an interview but if you must be late, call ahead to explain.
• Wear comfortable shoes—don't wear new shoes for the first time on interview day!

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