This year, over 300 law firms, public-interest organizations, and government agencies will be coming to Boalt to interview second and third year students as part of our On Campus Interview Program (OCIP).
There’s a wealth of detailed information about this program on CDO’s OCIP webpage (click on “Interview Programs” under “Jobs” on the right sidebar menu of the CDO homepage). It contains employer research tools, calendars, FAQs and other helpful links. You will also find a link to the 2008 OCIP Guide — the comprehensive guide to the entire OCIP process (its also available in hard copy format in the CDO). The Guide should serve as your “first-stop” in familiarizing yourself with the OCIP process and your primary source for all things OCIP-related.
Interviews will be held at the Hotel Durant, beginning on August 25 and ending on September 8 (though there are important deadlines coming up this week and next). Participants bid online (via the b-Line) for interviews in two separate rounds of bidding, Phase 1 (covering employers interviewing during the first week – August 25 – 29) and Phase 2 (covering employers interviewing between September 2-8).
Bidding for Phase 1 began last Thursday, August 14 at 9 a.m. and ends on Tuesday, August 19 at 5 p.m. Unfortunately, absolutely no extensions can be given. We suggest that you print out a copy of your bid sheet for your reference prior to the close of bidding. Note: Once the bid section of the b-Line closes you will not be able to print out a copy of your bids. Your class schedule and other conflicts must also be entered by this deadline.
How early (or late) you bid has no bearing on how successful you will be, but the process takes longer than you may think and you should not risk getting caught in any last minute electronic “bottleneck”.
Phase 1 interview schedules will be available for viewing and cancelling beginning on Wednesday, August 20 at 9:00 a.m. The ability to cancel interviews will end at 5 p.m. 3 days before the interview date. No changes can be made to interview schedules after that time. Students are required to attend all interviews obtained and students who do not show up for an interview are putting the remainder of their interviews at risk.
Phase 1 Post Bidding Open Sign-Ups will begin on Thursday, August 21 at 9 a.m. Open signups will close at 5 p.m. the day before the interview date. Students can add themselves into open interview slots directly from the b-Line. Check the Open Sign-Ups section regularly, as online cancellations take place in real time, so new openings appear frequently. Details on how to sign up for open slots can be found on page 8 of the OCIP Guide.
All 2L and 3L students have been automatically included on an OCIP mailing list, which is how we will be communicating important information and last minute changes that arise during the season. We will also forward emails directly from employers, such as invitations to receptions, etc. If you plan to participate in OCIP, it is imperative that you remain on this mailing list and check your @berkeley email address regularly.
Before you can access the OCI section of b-Line, you will need to fill out a brief online summer employer evaluation. (If you try to access the OCI section before filling out the evaluation, you will be automatically redirected to the Evaluations section of b-Line until you fill in at least the few required fields). It will only take a few minutes and will be of enormous assistance to current and future Boalt students. You have the option of responding anonymously (by selecting “no” in response to the required question “May students contact you for further information about your summer experience?” towards the bottom of the evaluation form) and employers are not given access to them.
You will be able to view other students’ evaluations (as well as all of the Evaluations from the past two summers) by clicking on the “Search” Tab in the “Evaluations” section of b-Line. There is also a “quicklink” to the Evaluations right on the b-Line homepage.