the ULTIMATE biglaw (or any intense corporate job) survival guide

📥 subscribe to my substack: cecexie.substack.com/
✍️ ask me a question: cecexie.com/ask-cece
0:00 - intro
1:52 - leverage cognitive biases
6:16 - manage people, not time
11:09 - 150% your time estimate
13:11 - delay sending emails
15:13 - professional comparative advantage
18:34 - daily "me" time
20:47 - know why you're still there
🫶 support my work: / cecexie
🎙️ listen to my podcast: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
💕 f o l l o w m e 💞
@cecexie everywhere
instagram: / cecexie
tiktok: / cecexie
twitter: / cecexie
website: www.cecexie.com
🎶 all music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
🖲️ co-edited with / @aftonlin
❓ F A Q s ❓
how old are you? 32 ('91 baby)
which schools did you go to? yale (undergrad) and harvard (law school)
what did you major in? economics
what was your gpa and lsat score? 3.86/176
what sign/MBTI/enneagram are you? aries, ENFJ, 3w4
are you sure you're not a virgo? no part of my star chart is virgo or an earth sign, i swear

[@OhNoNotAgain42]

30+ years in “big” engineering, construction, utilities & local government here: Most of this is REALLY good, well summarized and relevant to “big” anything. I would emphasize the “be an expert at something nobody else is”. You MUST constantly look to see what is coming in the future and develop expertise. Career has always been a long game of musical chairs. Don’t be the one without a chair when the music stops.

[@vtorious9102]

"Make cognitive biases work for you" is the best advice. You truly are a master of psychology!

[@trinhn.truong2609]

Third year big law associate here and I'm JUST starting to implement inconsistent email responses! It's been a huge weight off my shoulders to finally understand what requests are truly urgent.

[@court_16]

I'm about to start a job in management consulting and this video made me feel sooo much less anxious! Thank you! There's so much value here.

[@sofiali9416]

I’m not in big law, I’m in my 2nd year in financial services, but I absolutely loved this video and have missed your advice so much! Looking forward to your book 😊

[@CeceXie]

yay, that makes me happy to hear! it took me a while to figure out how to have a consistent youtube workflow, but there will be much more to come! thanks for watching and supporting 🩷

[@simonealdredge]

I’m in my third year in biglaw this is massively helpful!!! Thank you Cece!!!!

[@work-in-progress]

Wow this info is so useful. I'm in final year of law school navigating the corporate route. I cherish you so much, this eased my anxiety too. Thank you!!

[@donyconjux1]

Thanks for another banger of a video Cece! Appreciate you so much!

[@bonnieforyou]

As an undergraduate applying to corporate internships in another field, I found this video so insightful and well articulated! Thanks for sharing!

[@doggykins7777]

Loved this video! So organized, funny, clear, and informative

[@karenalbarreto]

Thanks for the survival kit ! I swear strategic smart working is the only way ahead.

[@cire9836]

i've been working in consulting for the past year or so and almost all of these tips are things i use every day to survive! definitely applicable for professional services and happy to get some good extra advice too :)

[@rhythmlueng]

Love your well structured videos! Informative and insightful! Most importantly, enjoyable!

[@CeceXie]

thank you so much! 🩷

[@hadleymenk6976]

This is so helpful for more than just law! I used to work in PR and all these things were applicable to that too, or really any client-focused role

[@Sam_A_Sam]

Watched first 6 minutes and it was really interesting and surely useful, even though I'm not in Big Law. Thanks.

[@meganmiller1213]

Thanks Cece! Perfect timing as I'll be a new first-year in just 35 more days!!

[@gabatronOG]

Great Video Cece, and thank you for all of these helpful tips! I also find these helpful in a general office work environment. Also your voice is very relaxing, I would definitely love to hear podcasts as well!

[@CeceXie]

you're so welcome! i targeted the tips to biglaw but really felt that they had wider applicability, as well :) and i would loooove to do a podcast again one day with a network, so who knows--maybe that will be in the future!

[@gabrielalondon5088]

This video is incredible. I had to stop folding laundry so that I could take notes.

[@vidvoizze]

Cece!!!! I’m an aspiring law student, currently in my senior year. Be it watching your law school 2012 commonapp essay video or this video about big law, I love how you’re so real, so articulate and how I like to say “well lawyered”! Thanks for the informative content!!

[@PoSHEmediaglobal]

Love love your content Congrats again

[@swaggintime3334]

I am so so appreciative for all this amazing advice! I am in the midst of law school applications right now. Thank you so much!

[@swaggintime3334]

Also, it would be so amazing if you could post more about law school and how to get head while in law school! Thank you for everything you do!!

[@CeceXie]

oh gosh--i'm not sure i'm the best source for law school advice (some profs loved me; some didn't care for me; i graduated with good but not latin honors grades) but i will think about doing a video where i just talk about my experience and the things i did which have paid off dividends even now!

[@a.sydney5036]

Love this so much. I'll be sharing.

[@Ren2736]

Love this! I am a first-gen high school grad (not even to mention first-gen law student) and just landed a BigLaw 2L summer associate gig,. I am absolutely terrified and feel totally out of my depth in terms of what to expect, so this could not have come at a better time. Thank you for all the helpful content you provide!

[@CeceXie]

omgosh being a summer associate is the BEST!! don't stress too much about all of these tips for the summer--just enjoy yourself and get to know people/partners/the work. then come back to this video when you're a first-year :)

[@SchocoMacGirl]

loved the e-mail thing...I often did the "opposite". I love (occasionaly!) working through the night, but it was absolutely not accepted at my workplace at the time. So I went to bed at 4 and delayed the e-mail to 7:30; early riser lol...never ever. (it was not big law; but during my stations at my law traineeship in Germany).

[@Katherine-vn9eg]

I'm just starting my job as an investment banker, and though its not big law, there are so many similarities between the two. Thank you so much this is exactly what I needed to hear today, and probably will need to hear every day for the next few years lol

[@tmThuy]

Omg I love these tips

[@annisabenjamin5505]

These are so good. Thanks for sharing

[@ngoctran1510]

Wish this video was out when I first started my legal career! Agree with all the tips you shared!

[@enlalucha1120]

Great video!

[@altyd493]

What a great video!

[@user-hl1ip7if9r]

Thank you!

[@a.sydney5036]

This is a really good video. Let me play it back one more time.

[@drjtyson]

Very, very helpful video

[@bowenpaintertraillawyers]

Great tips!

[@davineje8626]

There was so much value in this video. Thank you very much for the quality advice, Cece!

[@rekt3651]

You look so gorgeous ❤❤. Always love your info vids

[@PoSHEmediaglobal]

I just started a new job so this is helpful

[@ruthwaweru5986]

Inconsistent rewards 🎉🔥

[@esthaaaaaa]

Can I just say, that thumbnail game tho 💯👌🏼👏🏻

[@jeremyhand4700]

you lead people, you manage resources

[@cmfsobl]

This is great for project managers working with cross functional teams! Haha

[@TelzAll]

I'm unemployed but this is a good video I enjoyed it

[@DoubleAAnime]

14:32 What emails? I can’t catch what you said Great advice!!! I worked in sales with companies that monitor your computer with their software to make sure you are using the laptop and staff also can see if you are green on Slack… It was so annoying and unnecessary. Since we are sales they also had a gps on the laptop and do indeed check where you use it 😬

[@tomatofeind2019]

substantive emails :)

[@CeceXie]

like @tomatofeind2019 said, "substantive emails" and i'm so sorry they did that!! this type of employee tracking is so off-putting to me and really triggers my teenage rebellion, ugh

[@CarysGM]

Two words- mouse jiggler. Great way to get around that green Slack button bs.

[@cfloster]

6:05 ok are you working consistently across the globe or like who is doing law in the middle of the night - bc i am actually curious

[@jeffallenwang]

Hey Cece! Would you (in hindsight) have not gone to Harvard (but still T14) with way less loan debt, knowing you wanted Big Law anyway which is really attainable at any T14?

[@CeceXie]

not at all! i really enjoyed my time at HLS, and the grading system (basically no +'s or -'s) let me relax enough so that i took classes and learned for enjoyment rather than GPA (which was a lot of my undergrad experience). i think i was a much better, more engaged student as a result, was able to make some great lifelong connections with students and faculty, and was able to (this is dumb but is a reality) reap the signaling benefits of the yale/harvard resume. i wouldn't recommend that everyone do what i did, though--i had a lot of privileges (no undergrad debt, don't need to support my family) and value experience and decreased performance anxiety quite highly (and probably more than the average person)

[@jeffallenwang]

​@@CeceXie Makes sense! I have a similar outlook choosing my law school (Berkeley - also no grading system), and what you said really resonates with me. Thanks for the response!

[@danielmoore9214]

Which law firm did you work at ??

[@xBERNiiCES2]

Not in law, but love the content!!

[@keepingupwithlaw]

Hi Cece, I'm a corporate lawyer in India. If I shift to US, will I get a job there in law firms or as an in-house counsel?

[@CeceXie]

Both options are potentially available, although I think firms may be more willing to sponsor work visas for lawyers

[@SH-ly1uy]

I remember Steven He: emotional damage

[@ingridyau3012]

I can't do these and I feel like Corp culture is not for me

[@dylanmoon6545]

This is giving me brain worms

[@Nevereveronce91]

First❤

[@CeceXie]

whoo!! 🥇

[@JenPurple2022]

Lawyers like and make money from talking and talking and talking to the extend wearing ppl out or changing their minds Business ppl engineers just like get the s* done.

[@MrBUGS713]

Attractive people don’t get paid more because they’re attractive. There’s no relation between them.

[@troyflatland5299]

That talking over bit of the intro threw me into a full blown panic attack wtf is wrong with you?!

[@andrycrisiana]

This video is a bit disappointing because it is again all about strategizing, structuring, and playing the corporate game - it seems that Cece is out of Big Law but Big Law is still a bit in her.

[@CeceXie]

i assure you--if i knew how to permanently and irrevocably change the nature of the corporate game so that playing the game wasn't necessary, i would! but in lieu of that, i thought that shedding light on the invisible rules of the corporate game was second-best. biglaw is definitely still in me, but that's because strategy and playing the game will always be in me, which i don't view as necessarily a bad thing. do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do, y'know?

[@andrycrisiana]

@@CeceXie Hi Cece, I am always a bit hesitant in making a comment because somehow I feel it may be perceived negatively. This was not my intention, I actually find your journey fascinating. I guess as a viewer I would expect that perhaps you could go a step further and really let go of the corporate jargon and mindset. When you write "strategy and playing the game will always be in me, which i don't view as necessarily a bad thing. do what you have to do in order to do what you want to do, y'know?" I feel like you are not really outside of the "climbing the ladder" mindset. You don't have to, of course, but would be nice to see you really coming from the other side with a whole new perspective on life, career, and life that is not so "structured". Perhaps you want to but maybe it is just too comfortable to go back to the old ways to setting plans and goals and strategies to climb yet another ladder? Again, please do not take this in the wrong way, I really wish you success and I am looking forward to reading your book soon! :)