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The End of Summer Means It’s Offer Season

This is an interesting season for all business school and law school students across the US. When you step outside in the streets of Chicago, everything suggests that summer time is still here. Not only are people still wearing shorts, t-shirts, and dresses but others are still on vacations and on the beach. On the other hand, there’s also a lot of excitement in the air because the fall semester is also here. That means that fall classes are beginning to commence, current students are starting to think about what they want to do upon graduation, and last but not least, they are also starting to hear back about full-time offers from their summer employers.

Over the past two or so weeks, many of my law and business school classmates have been getting news from their summer employers. Some of them that work for typical employers that get back on the last day of work, which is a nice sigh of relief for those that received positive news. Others who have to wait a week or two before employers get back to them. And another group that won’t get responses anytime soon because their jobs are a tad less traditional. These firms don’t have typical recruiting cycles, so offers may not be given for a few more weeks, and perhaps maybe not for a few months.

Interestingly enough, as I was writing this entry, I recently heard back from one of my summer employers.  One of the firm Partners called me by phone and gave me the good news that the firm (and the group) wanted to extend me a position. The Partner noted that I was the only person that he was able to get live so far, which I suspect is because a lot of people are either still traveling or they are back in class these days.

In the legal world, most offers stay available until November 1, though in most cases it’s not ideal to make an employer wait so long. At big law firms, it’s possible the partners that really like you may start favoring other incoming associates that accepted offers more quickly.  At small law firms, that may not be the case, though it is likely that everyone at the firm would see that you waited, and in the legal world that typically means that you are thinking about other options, as law students do typically tend to go back to their summer employers.  The same thing could hold true at consulting firms.

On the business side, its a lot more typical to hold out on offers for a bit. However, in most cases, firms probably wouldn’t take it as personally as MBAs tend to switch jobs after the summer much more frequently. As a result, offers often extend past the November 1st deadline into December and January to allow students to partake in recruiting if they wish to.  In fact, just yesterday I spoke with a classmates that worked at a bigger company over the summer, and he said that he has until February to make a decision; and that his firm was completely understanding of him doing a second round of recruiting this year.

Whether or not you plan to go back to your summer, it feels pretty good to everyone to have an offer in hand. Not only does it relieve the stress in the current economic environment but it also means that you can start thinking more about what it is you want to do, rather than simply focusing on finding employment.  Because more important than just finding any job, is that you take the time to find one that you’re really passionate about.  Because only at that point,  will we be able to unlock your potential and achieve the utmost success in your role.

No matter which camp you fit into: Congratulations on your offers. And good luck in your continued search.

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