Recruitment Program FAQs

• What is the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program?

  The Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program, formerly known as On-Campus Interviews or OCI, is an opportunity for Mitchell Hamline students to connect with employers who are seeking to fill current and future open positions for law students or attorneys. Through a coordinated series of programs and processes:

  • Coordinated Recruitment. Employers post open positions to the Recruitment Programs platform in Symplicity, allowing students to apply for multiple jobs with a universal application deadline and generally similar interview timeline, enabling better, more-informed decision-making by employers and students.
  • Guided Preparation. The Office of Career and Professional Development (CPD) guides students through the application process, including:
    • Offering advice for researching employers and networking with attorneys
    • Providing feedback to application materials
    • Assistance navigating the Symplicity application platform
    • Facilitating mock interviews and other interview preparation
  • Informed Hiring and Employment Decisions. Employers select candidates to interview and hold first-round interviews during a condensed time-span, enabling students to gather information about and assess opportunities in a singular time period before making decisions.
  • Learn more by watching the Nuts and Bolts of the Summer Recruitment Program (recorded April 2023) and Researching Employers, Networking, and Preparing for Meet the Employers (recorded June 2023)!

• Will the Recruitment Program be in-person or virtual?

  Recruitment activities coordinated by the Office of Career and Professional Development at Mitchell Hamline School of Law will take place through a variety of formats, both on-campus and virtually. Students will have opportunities to engage with their JD Career Counselors, the Office of Career and Professional Development, and programs and workshops to help them prepare their application materials and get ready for Summer Recruitment both virtually and in-person on campus. Mitchell Hamline’s Annual Meet the Employer’s Reception will be held in-person, on-campus, on June 27. Employer interviews coordinated by the Office of Career and Professional Development may take place either on-campus or virtually, depending on employer preference. Please take note of employers’ interview format and location, which are viewable in the employers’ job listing in the Recruitment Programs portal on Symplicity. If you have questions or concerns about the format of the interview, please contact your JD Career Counselor.

• Who can participate in the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program?

  • Students: All Mitchell Hamline students are invited to participate in the Recruitment Program and should carefully review the participating employers and their respective position descriptions and eligibility criteria to determine to which positions they would like to apply.
    • Some positions will seek students of a particular class year, academic background (for example, a science degree), or availability (i.e., part-time school-year or full-time summer position).
    • For example, some employers are looking to hire 2024 graduates as new associates, while others are looking for students for summer associate programs or law clerk or externship opportunities during the school year and/or summer.
  • Employers: 
    • Large Firms: Many large law firms will participate in the Summer Recruitment Program to hire for summer associate positions for the following year. For some of these larger law firms, on-campus recruiting programs, like Mitchell Hamline’s Summer Recruitment Program, are the only way they hire law students.
    • Small and Mid-Sized Firms: Oftentimes, small and mid-sized firms utilize the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program to hire school year and/or summer law clerks, with a potential to stay at the firm during the school year or start earlier in the spring semester and continuing through the summer and even beyond.
    • Public Sector and Nonprofit Employers: Public sector employers, such as county attorney’s offices, public defenders, and state and federal agencies, as well as non-profit agencies, are welcome and encouraged to participate in the Recruitment Program.
    • Corporate Employers in a variety of industries have also utilized the Recruitment Program to find students to fill summer, school year, and post-graduate positions.

  Larger law firms participating in the Recruitment Program often set required or preferred grades, class ranks, and other expectations. That being said, participating law firms are generally eager to hear from a wide range of students and aim to take a holistic view of students’ attributes and strengths. Other employers who participate in the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program, including smaller or mid-sized firms, public employers (such as County Attorney’s offices), corporations, and nonprofits, often place less emphasis on grades and other quantitative measures as much as the large firms.

  While the Recruitment Program is sometimes the only way some employers hire, it is certainly not the only way to secure a job or externship! Many employers choose not to participate in the Recruitment Program because the timing is not compatible with their hiring needs. Instead, these employers will recruit and post job opportunities for Mitchell Hamline students on Mitchell Hamline’s Symplicity jobs database or may participate in other coordinated recruitment programs through Mitchell Hamline or other organizations (such as the Minnesota Justice Foundation or Twin Cities Diversity in Practice) at other times during the school-year. If you have questions about searching for and applying to jobs outside of the Recruitment Program, please contact your JD Career Counselor.

  Who is participating in Mitchell Hamline’s Recruitment Program in Summer 2023? You can view employers currently registered by logging into Symplicity and reviewing the Recruitment Programs page. The list will be updated on Symplicity as additional employers register…so check it frequently! Students are encouraged to research those employers participating and consult their JD Career Counselors if they have any questions.

• If I participate in the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program, what will the process look like?

  The first step for students wishing to participate in the Recruitment Program is to update your profile on Symplicity so that it reflects your accurate class year as of August 2023. This will ensure that you can view the positions for which you are eligible depending on your class year. If you are a Blended Learning student or otherwise on a non-traditional law school timeline, please consult with your JD Career Counselor about how best to view and apply to the positions that align with your graduation plans.

  Once you have updated your class year, you should be able to view the opportunities available for your class year through the Recruitment Programs portal in Symplicity. You can then review the employers’ postings, research those employers that interest you, and draft and upload your resumes and other materials requested by employers. Beginning May 31, you can apply to those employers with whom you want to interview by submitting the materials as requested by each employer. The application deadline for positions posted through the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program is July 11, 2023 at 11:59pm.

  On July 12, 2023, employers can begin reviewing the materials from students who have applied for their positions and select the students they wish to interview. Students can check Symplicity beginning on Tuesday, July 18, to see if they have been invited by an employer to interview (“pre-selected”). If they have been invited to interview (“pre-selected”), the student can select an interview time via Symplicity. Students with questions or concerns about accessibility with virtual or in-person interviews should contact careers@mitchellhamline.edu.

  After students interview with employers, employers will communicate with students directly about next steps, which may include a second round of interviews, known as “call-back” interviews. Historically, call-back interviews would take place at the employer’s office, typically last two to four hours, and often involve a series of interviews and a meal. In our post-COVID world, we have seen more variation in the format of these call-back interviews. Not all employers will utilize this second round of call-back interviews before making their selections. After employers have concluded their individual interview processes, they will determine which students they would like to hire and contact students directly to extend offers of employment.

• Is the Mitchell Hamline Recruitment Program accessible if I require the use of a screen reader or live captioning?

  Yes. The Office of Career and Professional Development will make every effort to work with employers to ensure that interviews and other recruitment activities coordinated through the Recruitment Program are accessible to students who may need accommodations due to a disability. Students with questions or concerns about accessibility with virtual or in-person interviews should contact careers@mitchellhamline.edu.