Summer associates begin work any day now. Want to make them ecstatic? Offer a job right away. (Okay, that’s not going to happen.) Want to make them happy? Follow these tips, which we gleaned from our 2013 Summer Associates Survey. It includes the question, “If you could tell the the firm to change one thing, it would be?”

Give feedback ASAP. “Trying to get constructive criticism was like pulling teeth around the office,” one respondent wrote. “It would be nice to have more consistent feedback from assigning attorneys,” another said. “Some gave amazing, helpful comments, while others gave little.” Some summer associates found it frustrating to have to wait for reviews that came midsummer or even later. One wrote: “It would be better if summer asso­ciates received feedback on their reviews following the completion of each assignment. That way, if a summer didn’t do as well as they would like on one assignment, they could troubleshoot for the next assignment.”