RE: Law Student - Interviewing Suit

[powers.sm]

I have four days of interviews and 2.5/3.5 interview suits. One of my suits is a Fitzgerald Glenplaid, I wore it to a practice interview at a conversative firm and the interviewing partner mentioned that I looked very professiona. Is this a typical response? I had thought glenplaid might be a tad too dandyish.

My other suits are charcoal (by burberry prorsum), navy (by Oger) and light gray (Joseph Abboud that I don't want to wear). Is 2 suits do-able or should I cycle in the glenplaid?

Thanks.

 

[factorial]

Cycling between a charcoal and navy is quite doable -- the colors are generic enough that nobody will recall you wearing the same thing two days prior. Using the glenplaid as part of a two suit rotation is probably not a great idea as it would be memorable. Assuming you're traveling for the interviews, I wouldn't want to bother with taking a third suit and would just go for the charcoal and navy, but you could take it if you really wanted to wear it.

 

[Harold falcon]

Charcoal and Navy are the best choices.

You could almost certainly get away with the Glenplaid and the Light Grey because most attorneys nowadays are clueless about dressing properly (I saw one in Court the other day with a turtleneck and a ponytail) but to be as conservative and safe as possible stick with the charcoal and navy. Let them remember you for your professionalism and intelligence, not as that guy who wore a Glenplaid suit to a job interview.

 

[JayJay]

Two solid colored suits for four days of interviewing should work well. Change up the ties and shirts and the suits will take on a different look each time you wear them.

 

[powers.sm]

Thank you guys for the responses. I think the two suit rotation should work fine. It is on-campus-recruiting, so different firms over 4 days. As for ties, stick with navy and marroon? I have an orange corduroy tie that I really like, has a cashmere look to it, is this too fancy?

 

[rohde88]

Originally Posted by powers.sm

Thank you guys for the responses. I think the two suit rotation should work fine. It is on-campus-recruiting, so different firms over 4 days. As for ties, stick with navy and marroon? I have an orange corduroy tie that I really like, has a cashmere look to it, is this too fancy?

Even though I didn't get any offers from OCI, I think orange is too much. 90% of people will wear a blue or red or some combo....

 

[powers.sm]

Thanks again. We are hoping for an up-tick this year in OCI hiring, so fingers crossed. Pretty good grades, several years relevant work experience and a T6 school should land me something, right?

 

[rohde88]

Originally Posted by powers.sm

Thanks again. We are hoping for an up-tick this year in OCI hiring, so fingers crossed. Pretty good grades, several years relevant work experience and a T6 school should land me something, right?

Yea, you should get something.

OT: I love how people will slice and dice the rankings, T6? C'mon for 99% of the world its T12, very few people nit pick over what your school might be ranked 6th one year and 7th the next.

Good luck!

 

[Imperator]

Originally Posted by rohde88

Yea, you should get something. OT: I love how people will slice and dice the rankings, T6? C'mon for 99% of the world its T12, very few people nit pick over what your school might be ranked 6th one year and 7th the next. Good luck!
That's just the way it works in the legal field. The ranking gradations (e.g. HYS, CCN, MVP, T6, T14, etc.) are a pretty fair reflection of the hiring preferences of elite firms and federal judges.

 

[rohde88]

Originally Posted by Imperator

That's just the way it works in the legal field. The ranking gradations (e.g. HYS, CCN, MVP, T6, T14, etc.) are a pretty fair reflection of the hiring preferences of elite firms and federal judges.

I know it is, but with respect to his pandering for some generic praise or confidence boosting, I'm saying it doesn't matter if you're at a T6 or, gasp, Cornell.

I'm going to give the same pat on the back....

 

[powers.sm]

Oh yeah, I am sure you are right and from what I have heard from partners there is very little qualitative biases. I wasn't looking for praise, I am sort of oblivious to most nuance/bragging/sensitivity about law school rankings, but I may have picked up some bad habits via osmosis.

 

[viator]

+1 on the no orange tie. Also I say as long as you're wearing a dark, non-black, relatively conservative suit, you will be fine. I wouldn't worry at all about the glen plaid.

 

[UnFacconable]

Originally Posted by rohde88

Yea, you should get something. OT: I love how people will slice and dice the rankings, T6? C'mon for 99% of the world its T12, very few people nit pick over what your school might be ranked 6th one year and 7th the next. Good luck!
Tangent on law school rankings. Because law students are generally risk averse prestige junkies, the US News rankings carry a lot of weight and are self-fulfilling prophesies because prospective students largely self-select based on US News ranking. Funny for rohde to mention T12 while calling someone out for T6. I'll agree that weirdos on xoxo and possibly elsewhere differentiate between T12 and everyone else, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. I've served on a big firm recruiting committee and can assure you that I haven't seen a reference to T6 or T12, but have certainly heard references to and seen a preference for top 25, top 15, and top 10. I would argue there's a drop off after the top 5, that NYU/Berkeley/Penn are relatively even, and that schools 9-15 are all fairly even. I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to choose any of the 9-15 schools over any other 9-15 based on relative ranking, I would advise them to choose based on proximity to hiring market. Every one of those 9-15 schools has a distinct advantage in its home market over the other 9-15 schools. Put another way, the top 8 are legitimately national schools, and schools 9-15 are more regional. Regardless, to the OP, since you're not going to be seeing the same people multiple times in the OCI process (other than possibly a quick recap during your callback with the person who met you on campus), I would recommend picking your best suit and wearing it every time, or going with a 2 suit rotation. It doesn't matter too much one way or another, but go with whatever suits you like the most. Your interviewers will be meeting with a ton of kids and won't remember what you wore unless it was a Thundercats tie or some other dealbreaker. Good luck.