Fall 2008 Recruitment Program
Table of Contents
Download the Full OCI Document
Registering for the Fall On-Campus Interview Program
(Option 1)
- Details about Fall OCI
- USC Gould School of Law Grading System and Ranking Information
- Summary Explanation of the Current Grading System
- Submitting your Fall OCI Registration Fees
- Invoice
- Submitting Your NALP Forms and Recruiting Brochures to the Career Services Office
- Fall OCI Checklist
- Symplicity Guide
Post a Job/Resume Collect
(Option 2)
Not Recruiting this Fall?
(Option 3)
- Details on Posting Jobs/Resume Collects Year Round for USC Law Students and Graduates
- Symplicity Guide
Symplicity Guide
(For all options)
- Sign-In Page
- Managing Your Personal Account/Profile on Symplicity
- Managing Your Organization's Profile on Symplicity
- Completing the Summer Evaluation and OCI Feedback Forms
- 2008 Fall Recruiting: Registering for OCI and Resume Collects on Symplicity
- Posting Jobs/Resume Collects Year Round for USC Law Students and Graduates on Symplicity
The Career Services Office invites you to participate in the USC Gould School of Law Fall Recruitment Process.
Fall On-Campus Interview Program (Option 1)
There will be two sessions of the 2008 Fall On-Campus Interview program this year. The first session (Early Interview Week) will be August 11-15, 2008 before USC Law classes begin. The second session will be September 9-11, 2008, for employers who would like to interview after the fall semester begins. Employers will have the opportunity to interview second and third year law students for both summer and permanent employment in the coming year.
We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to interview members of our excellent student body at the Radisson Hotel Figueroa. The Radisson provides a comfortable and professional atmosphere for your on-campus interviews. The Career Services staff will be available throughout the program to assist you and address any questions you may have.
The USC Law Symplicity is now open for employers to complete their Fall OCI registration form online. OCI registration fees and materials (including NALP Forms and recruiting brochures) are also due in the Career Services Office. The priority deadline for receipt of all registration materials is April 11, 2008.
Click here for more info on Option #1.
Requesting a Resume Collection for Fall Recruiting (Option 2)
For employers who are unable to interview on campus but would like to consider second and third year law students for summer or permanent employment in the coming year, we invite you to participate in a resume collection. Through Symplicity, you will be able to post your resume collection online, accumulate resumes until August 27th and, then generate a resume booklet for your review (at no charge).
Click here for more info on Option #2.
Not Recruiting this Fall? (Option 3)
The USC Law Career Services Office maintains a Job Bank for students and graduates on Symplicity. Legal employers may easily post year-round for law students or lateral positions for experienced attorneys at no charge. If you are interested in hiring a law student as a clerk or permanent associate or if you need to hire an experienced attorney for a lateral position, we can assist you with your hiring needs.
Click here for more info on Option #3.
Should you have any questions or need further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us at (213) 740-7397 or via email at careers@law.usc.edu. We look forward to your participation in the fall recruitment program.
Sincerely,
Linda Richardson
USC Gould School of Law
Career Services Office
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0017
(213) 740-7397
Fall On-Campus Interview Program (Option 1)
Download the Full OCI Document
Details about Fall OCI
There will be two sessions of the 2008 Fall On-Campus Interview program this year. The first session (Early Interview Week) will be August 11-15, 2008 before USC Law classes begin. The second session will be September 9-11, 2008, for employers who would like to interview after the fall semester begins. Employers will have the opportunity to interview second and third year law students for both summer and permanent employment in the coming year. Students are scheduled to interview with employers by lottery and therefore there is no pre-screening of candidates.
- Registration
The USC Law Symplicity OCI System is now open for employers to complete their Fall OCI registration form online. OCI registration fees and materials (including NALP Forms and recruiting brochures) are also due in the Career Services Office. The priority deadline for receipt of all registration materials is April 11, 2008. If you are unable to meet this deadline, your information may not be included in the online registration selection process used by students.
jump to the Symplicity Guide - Hotel Accommodations
USC conducts on-campus interviews at the Radisson Hotel Figueroa, 3540 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007. The Radisson Hotel is across Figueroa from the university campus and the Law School. Parking and lunch are provided, compliments of the Law School.
The Radisson offers special room rates for employers traveling to Los Angeles to participate in the Fall interview program. If you are interested, please contact guest reservations at (213) 748-4141 and let them know you are participating in the Law School's OCI program. Travel costs are not covered by the registration fee. - Program Schedule
Interview hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a 60 minute lunch break from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Unless you have made special arrangements in advance with us, you should plan to spend the day at the Radisson Hotel. Students may sign up to interview with employers up to and throughout the day. All interview sign-ups are conducted by the Career Services Office. You may want to contact our office a day or so prior to your scheduled interview date to find out what changes may have occurred in your schedule.
Any additional materials you wish to provide to students on the day of interviews may be sent directly to Virginia Ortiz, Catering Manager at the Radisson Hotel. - Reserving a Hospitality Suite
If you would like to host a hospitality suite for students during your on-campus interviews, you may contact Virginia Ortiz at (213) 748-4141 to schedule a room at the Radisson Hotel. Please note: During early interview week, August 11-15th, the Radisson will have a limited number of rooms (6) available in the Grand Ballroom and the Radisson will charge employers a fee for the hospitality suites. The rooms are adjacent to the Central Ballroom and will be available on a first come, first served basis. See floor plan at http://www.radisson-midtown.com/ under groups and meetings. If interested, we recommend you contact Virginia Ortiz as soon as possible after receiving confirmation of your OCI date to schedule your hospitality suite. - Hosting an On-Campus Reception
If you wish to schedule an on-campus reception for students to meet with your representatives, please contact Linda Richardson at (213) 740-7397 to coordinate dates around other recruiting and Law School events. Note: While we are not able to control the scheduling of all events, we can help to minimize possible conflicts.
If you would like to host your reception near the Law School, the University Club is a small informal venue with several meeting spaces including a heated outdoor patio area and the Pub. For a more formal setting we also have the Town and Gown banquet room.
University Club
(213) 740-2030
http://www.usc.edu/bus-affairs/uclub/ Town and Gown, Catering and Conference Services
(213) 740-5956
http://hospitality.usc.edu/catering%20and%20conferences/tg/info.html When you have finalized your date, please provide us with detailed information about your event as soon as possible and we will add it to our Career Services calendar and the Law School Events calendar. Please provide us with the class year you are inviting, title and description of your event and include the date, time and location it will be held via email at lrichard@law.usc.edu.
To advertise your event, we will be happy to post information in the Career Alert (our e-newsletter for students) sent weekly, on Wednesdays, during the academic year. If you would like to provide us with six copies of your announcement, we will also post them on bulletin boards in the Law School building.
A week prior to your event, you may also want to send a messenger to distribute announcements to the student mailboxes. Although we do not have the staff to assist you with the distribution of your announcement, we would be happy to show the messenger where the Law School student mailboxes are located. We have approximately 195-225 law students per class year (1L, 2L and 3Ls).
USC Gould School of Law Grading System and Ranking Information
The Law School grading system uses both numbers and letters, ranging from 1.9 to 4.4, with letter-grade equivalents ranging from F to A+. This combination affords faculty more grading nuances while still presenting grades that are easily understandable.
USC Law School does not rank its students. We do, however, provide the GPA cutoff for the top ten percent of each class. This limited rank information is calculated and published at the end of each academic year.
Summary Explanation of the Current Grading System
The current grading system uses both numbers and letters, ranging from 1.9 to 4.4 with letter-grade equivalents ranging from F to A+. The combination affords faculty more grading nuances, while still presenting grades that are easily understandable. For example, although both 3.3 and 3.4 are grades of B+, the 3.4 carries a slightly higher numerical value and therefore contributes to a higher GPA. CR is assigned as the satisfactory passing grade in courses that are not graded numerically or when a student has elected to take a numerically graded course on a CR/D/F basis.
Each number-grade on the grading system has a letter-grade equivalent. The grading scale includes the following number grades and letter-grade equivalents:
|
USC Numerical Grade |
USC Letter Grade Equivalent |
USC Numerical Grade |
USC Letter Grade Equivalent |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4.4 |
A+ |
3.1 |
B |
|
|
4.3 |
A+ |
3.0 |
B |
|
|
4.2 |
A+ |
2.9 |
B- |
|
|
4.1 |
A+ |
2.8 |
B- |
|
|
4.0 |
A |
2.7 |
B- |
|
|
3.9 |
A |
2.6 |
C+ |
|
|
3.8 |
A |
2.5 |
C+ |
|
|
3.7 |
A- |
2.4 |
C |
|
|
3.6 |
A- |
2.3 |
D |
|
|
3.5 |
A- |
2.2 |
D |
|
|
3.4 |
B+ |
2.1 |
D |
|
|
3.3 |
B+ |
2.0 |
D |
|
|
3.2 |
B |
1.9 |
F |
Should you have any questions regarding the grading system, please contact the Career Services Office at (213) 740-7397. We look forward to seeing you in the Fall and thank you for your interest in the students at the University of Southern California Law School.
Submitting your Fall OCI Registration Fees
In the last several years, the Career Services Office has not changed their OCI registration fees. However, due to the recent rate increases at the Radisson, you will see our registration fees have increased. Please note: After you have submitted your registration fees, there is no additional cost to employers. The Career Services Office will handle the scheduling of all interview rooms and therefore employers are not required to contact the Radisson to reserve a room. Lunch and parking are also complimentary for the interviewers during OCI.
Listed below are the rates for participation in the Fall On-Campus Interview program:
- $350 per room, per day - Employers with 1-25 attorneys (overall employer size)
- $600 per room, per day - Employers with 26-100 attorneys (overall employer size)
- $750 per room, per day - Employers with 100+ attorneys (overall employer size)
- $0 per room, per day - Public interest law and government agencies
Should your firm have to cancel your interview date, please advise us as soon as possible. A fifty percent refund will be provided if cancellation is made at least 45 calendar days prior to the scheduled interview date. If the cancellation occurs less than 45 calendar days prior to the interview date, no refund is possible.
Please make your check payable to "USC Gould School of Law" and mail to the USC Gould School of Law, Career Services Office, 699 Exposition Blvd., Room 110, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071 along with your NALP Forms and recruitment brochures. For your convenience, we have provided you with an invoice for your completion (on the next page). Alternatively, after you have registered and we have confirmed your OCI date, an invoice will be available via Symplicity (in the Accounts Tab).
Click here to download an invoice
Submitting Your NALP Forms and Recruiting Brochures to the Career Services Office
In addition to registering online, please provide the Career Services Office with four copies of your NALP Form and recruiting brochures (if available in print). These materials should be three-hole punched.
If your organization is not a current NALP member you may go to the NALP website at http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=68 and complete the law firm, corporate, public interest or government questionnaire using the NALP Data Collection System. Note: NALP Forms can only be completed using the online Data Collection System. The system will allow employers to complete, print, and save a copy of the NALP Form (in PDF format) whether or not the employer intends to list online or in the print directory through NALP.
Please forward your materials to the USC Gould School of Law, Career Services Office, 699 Exposition Blvd., Room 110, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071.
Click here to download the 2008 Fall OCI Interview Checklist
Post a Job/Resume Collection (Option 2)
Download the Full OCI Document
Details on Posting a Resume Collection for Fall Recruiting
For employers who are unable to interview on campus but would like to consider second and third year law students for summer or permanent employment in the coming year, we invite you to participate in a resume collection via the USC Law Symplicity system.
This year you will be able to go directly to the OCI system to:
- Post your resume collection by completing the OCI/Resume Collect Form online;
- Accumulate the resumes of students interested in your organization until August 27th;
- Then, Create a Resume Booklet for your review; and
- Communicate with students via Symplicity's electronic mail merge system
Please refer to the Symplicity Guide for detailed instructions in submitting your OCI Registration and/or Resume Collect Forms via the Symplicity OCI System.
Not Recruiting this Fall? (Option 3)
Download the Full OCI Document
Details on Posting Jobs/Resume Collects Year Round for USC Law Students and Graduates
The USC Law Career Services Office maintains a Job Bank for students and graduates on Symplicity. Legal employers may easily post year-round for law students or lateral positions for experienced attorneys at no charge. If you are interested in hiring a law student as a clerk or permanent associate or if you need to hire an experienced attorney for a lateral position, we can assist you with your hiring needs.
Employers may specify their preference for receiving resumes and additional application materials. Materials may be sent to the designated contact by:
- Online Collection of Resumes: Through Symplicity, employers can access the materials from the students who responded to the job posting, and then generate a resume booklet.
- Direct Contact: Applicants may be instructed to send materials directly to you via email, fax, mail or your organization's web site.
Please refer to the Symplicity Guide for detailed instructions in submitting your job listing via Symplicity.
Simplicity Guide
Symplicity Sign-In Page for Current and New Users
Current Users on the USC Law Symplicity System
Log-in to: https://law-usc-csm.symplicity.com/employers/
Enter your email address and the password that was previously assigned. If you do not recall your password, click "Forgot my password" tab and enter your username (email address) and click "Go". A new password will be emailed to you shortly. (You may change that password in your "Profile" section once you log-in.)
The Career Services Office would like to have current information about your organization for USC law students and graduates. Please take a moment to update your organization's contact information and profile on Symplicity if not current (see next page for details).
New Users to the USC Law Symplicity System
Log-in to: https://law-usc-csm.symplicity.com/employers/
Click the "Register" tab and complete your company information, services requested (by checking on-campus interviews, job postings, profile and professional network) and contact information. Be sure to complete all information with a red asterisk, as it is required to successfully register you as a new user. When you are done, click "submit." Once we accept your registration, you will receive an email with a password. To log-in return to the employer's sign-in page and click the "Sign in" tab to enter the system.
Managing Your Personal Account/Profile on Symplicity
Accounts/Personal Profile
Employers are requested to review their Personal Profile in "Accounts" and update if any changes. Click "Submit" to finalize and move on to your Organization's Profile, OCI and/or Job Posting Systems.
Managing your account by using the "Account" tab
Personal Profile Tab
You may manage your account using the "account" tab. We recommend that you continue to keep your personal information updated throughout the recruiting season. To update your information, click the "Personal Profile" tab, complete the form and "Submit" to finalize.
Password Preferences Tab
If you would like to change your password, click the "account" tab from the home page, then click the "Password Preferences" tab. To change your password, enter a new password and re-enter it again. Click the "Save" button (and not the reset button) to finalize. You have now changed your password. Be sure to write it down or send an email to yourself, as our office is unable to retrieve it for you.
Managing Your Organization's Profile on Symplicity
Profile Tab
We encourage you to fill out your organization's profile with information you would like our students to know about you. Many students will utilize this information as they select employers to interview with during the recruiting season.
Go to the home page and click the "profile" tab (at the top of the menu). You may decide to fill out all or part of your organization's profile:
- Who We Are (type of organization, overview, practice areas, firm address)
- Key Statistics (website, size of organization, domestic and international locations)
- Company Culture (work environment, dress code, diversity, training)
- Company Logo
If you choose to leave sections blank, they will not be blank when the student views information online. Instead, any information left blank, simply will not appear on the student screens.
Summer Evaluation and OCI Feedback Forms (Fall 2007)
At the home page, click "OCI". Note: You are required to complete the summer evaluation and OCI feedback forms to move on to OCI Schedule Request.
2007 Summer Evaluation Form
Choose "Yes" to complete the 2007 Summer Evaluation Form and click "Finalize" when done. Choose "No", if there are no students who participated in your summer associate program and click "Finalize".
Note: To exit the summer evaluation form and move on to the feedback form, you must select "Finalize" and not the "Save" button.
OCI Feedback Form
Click the "OCI Feedback" tab if you have not previously completed the feedback form. See callbacks on the feedback page and select either "yes" or "no" if you participated in the 2007 Fall OCI program. If you selected yes, please complete the feedback form and click "Finalize" when you have completed all of the survey. If you finalize the feedback form before you are complete, you may contact the Career Services Office at (213) 740-7397 to un-finalize. Note: The system will not allow you to make modifications once you have finalized your feedback form.
If you selected no, click "Finalize" and not "Save" to move on to OCI Schedule Request.
2008 Fall Recruiting: Registering for OCI and Resume Collections via Symplicity
At the home page, click "OCI." Note: If you did not complete and finalize your profile, summer evaluation or OCI feedback forms (pages 18-19) the system will take you to these sections for your completion. After completion you will be able to go to the OCI "Request Schedule" tab.
Click the "Request Schedule" button and complete the online registration form.
Please follow the step by step instructions listed below when completing your form. If you need assistance, please don't hesitate to contact the Career Services Office at (213) 740-7397.
- Office Registering For: If you are scheduling interviews for only one office location, select the office you are registering for in the drop down menu. (If the office is not included in your selection list, please contact the Career Services Office to give you authorization via Symplicity.)
If you are scheduling for multiple office locations, select your office as the registering office if you are interviewing on-campus. Important: If your office is not coming on-campus in the Fall, you must select one of the offices that is interviewing. However, you may add your name as the primary contact person. - Sessions: Depending on your interest, click one of the following in the drop down menu:
- 2008 Fall OCI: Aug. 11-15 (early interview week)
- 2008 Fall OCI: Sept. 9-11 (after fall semester classes begin)
- Resume Collect (2008 Fall Recruiting)
- Days required on-campus: Choose the number of days you would like to conduct interviews on-campus. Important: If you did not select the correct number, cancel your registration and start again. (The system does not allow you to modify your request.)
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Allow interviews with related offices: Important: If you are registering for more than one office location, select "yes."
- Class Years to Interview: Choose the class years you would like to interview (i.e. 2Ls or 3Ls). To select more than one class year, click 2L, then hold the Ctrl button and select 3L.
- Class Allocations: Allocate the percentage of each class you are interested in interviewing. The allocations must add up to 100 percent.
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Interview Length: Select the length of the interview slot. You may choose a 20 or 30 minute interview length.
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Rooms(#): Select the number of schedules you want. Each schedule accommodates approximately 20 interviews (the actual number of available slots depends on the interview length).
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Time Slot: Select whether you would like a morning, afternoon or full day of interviews.
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Slot Matrix /Office Allocations: If you checked "yes" to allow interviews with related offices, the system will automatically add the Slot Matrix box. Check the Slot Matrix box to verify that each of offices you are registering for has been listed under Office Allocations. Important: If the system does not add the Slot Matrix box or does not list each of the offices you are registering for under Office Allocations, please cancel your request and contact Linda Richardson in the Career Services Office at (213) 740-7397. We must add the additional offices before you resume your online registration.
Not Applicable to Resume Collect - Slot Office Mode: The system gives you a choice of completing your registration by "Matrix" or "Percentage" modes. Please select the "Percentage" button to review your options. Note: The majority of employers will register in the Percentage Mode.
Not Applicable to Resume Collect
Percentage Mode:
The system automatically places a check mark next to each office location listed on the Slot Matrix/Office Allocations menu. If you are not registering for a particular office, please remove the check mark. (Only those offices you are requesting a schedule for should be selected.)
The system automatically assigns 100% "No Preferences" to [any] of the locations you have selected in Office Allocations. If this is fine, leave preferences as is and the interview slots will be assigned randomly among offices to equal 100%. However, if you would like to limit the number of interview slots available to each of the registering offices you may modify your schedule by allocating percentages.
For example, to allocate percentages for LA, NY and SF offices enter the percentages in the Slots (%) column.
The numbers should total 100%.
OFFICE ALLOCATIONS -------------------------------- Location Slots (%) -------------------------------- LA 50% NY 25% SF 25% -------------------------------- TOTAL 100%
If you assign less than 100% to one office location and leave the other percentages blank, the remaining percentage will go to all other offices. For example, LA was assigned 60% and the other offices left blank as shown below. LA will interview 60% and NY, SF and DC will interview 40% to total 100%.
LA 60% NY (leave blank) SF (leave blank) DC (leave blank)
Matrix Mode:
You may select the Matrix Mode instead of the Percentage Mode if you would like to allocate a specific office location to a specific time slot. See the following example:
9:30 am Los Angeles 9:50 am Los Angeles 10:10 am Los Angeles 10:30 am Los Angeles 10:50 am Los Angeles 11:00 am Los Angeles 11:20 am Los Angeles 11:40 am Los Angeles 12:00 pm Los Angeles 12:20 pm (break) 1:30 pm New York 1:50 pm New York 2:10 pm New York 2:30 pm New York 2:50 pm New York 3:10 pm (break) 3:20 am New York 3:40 am New York 4:00 am New York 4:20 am New York 4:40 am New York 5:00 am New York
- Additional Requests: Please use this space to indicate documents students should bring to their interviews and/or include other information, you would like to display to our students.
- Hiring Criteria: Please use this space to indicate your required or preferred hiring criteria. Please be as specific as possible about requirements, such as undergraduate grades, law school grades, law review, moot court participation, other law journal and clerking experiences, foreign languages and technical background or degrees (i.e. AE, BME, ME, EE, ME, Computer Science, MS, Chemistry, Biology Physics, able to sit for the Patent Bar) required or preferred.
- Scheduling Notes: Use this space to indicate any special scheduling or day of interview requests, i.e. accessibility requirements, late start times for interviews or any other requests our office can help you with.
- Survey Questions: Please read and answer any survey questions (if provided).
- Policy Affirmation: USC Gould School of Law Non-Discrimination Policy Employer Acknowledgment
The Law School is firmly committed to a policy against discrimination based upon ethnicity, national origin, disability, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or age.
Accordingly, the career services facilities of the Law School are available to employers whose practices are consistent with this policy. Please affirm that your employment and hiring practices are consistent with the USC Gould School of Law non-discrimination policy to register for Fall OCI.
After you have completed the registration form, click "submit" and your request will appear in the "Schedule Requests" section. Note: If you are interviewing for additional offices or class years independently of the schedule you have requested, please continue to select the "Request Schedule" button to complete additional online registrations forms.
If you need to make changes after you have submitted a schedule request, please contact our office at (213) 740-7397 of via email at careers@law.usc.edu for assistance.
Posting Jobs/Resume Collects Year Round for USC Law Students and Graduates on Symplicity
- Select "Jobs / Resume Collect" (at the top of the menu)
- Select "Add New"
- Choose "Position Type" from the drop-down menu
- Enter job title and job description in designated fields
- Select Email, Accumulate Online and/or other
- If you would prefer direct contact, applicants may be instructed to send materials directly to you via email, fax, mail or your organization's web site. Please include detailed instructions in your job description for candidates to apply.
- If you choose to accumulate resumes online (Resume Collection), you may enter an expiration date when students are required to submit their application. Note: You may access the materials from the students who responded to your job posting at any time, and then generate a resume booklet. Note: Symplicity will notify you via email when your job posting deadline is approaching.
- Select which documents you wish to receive from applicants
- Please note: USC Gould School of Law does not allow students and graduates to electronically submit transcripts. If requested, students are instructed to mail transcripts directly to employers.
- Enter your job posting and job expiration dates
- Enter work schedule, class level, practice areas, salary and location
- Click "Submit" to finalize
To review the application materials of candidates applying to your employment opportunity:
- Log back on to Symplicity.
- Click "Jobs / Resume Collects" (at the top menu)
- Select "Student Resume" tab and review the list of candidates who have applied to your position. (If there are no candidates, you may wish to extend the deadline and re-post your job opportunity.)
- Select each student in the box left of the student last name or the plus key above the checkboxes to select all
- Select one of the three batch options:
- Mail to Check - allows you to directly email selected student
- Save as Excel - Creates excel file of student name and submitted documents
- Generate Book - Creates online resume book that is available for download. Select "Publication Requests" tab in the Jobs/Resume Collection section to download and review student resume collections.
We hope you enjoy using Symplicity. If you experience any problems or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would be happy to help you trouble shoot and navigate the system. You may reach the Career Services Office by calling (213) 740-7397, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or via email at careers@law.usc.edu.
