Direction for a 1L — part two

Preparation for an informed decision.

Here is more advice for the 1L (or anyone) looking for some direction regarding a particular area of law to pursue.

This post covers a potpourri including: i) effective networking etiquette; (ii) resume pointers (and helpful summer jobs or other work experience); and (iii) when to make a decision about which path to pursue.

• Effective Networking Etiquette.

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Direction for a 1L — part one

Network smart to get direction.

LegalJob recently met with a 1L looking for some direction regarding a particular area of law to pursue. All he knew was that he is interested in working at a big firm. The advice provided could be applicable to other 1Ls or even any law student. How do you pick an area when you have no idea what a real lawyer in that practice area does all day?  Even if you did, how could you determine whether you would be good at that practice? Or whether the area would interest you?  Also, how do you know that big firm life is for you?

• Targeted networking (with a specific purpose) — Meet with as many firm lawyers as you can with touch points to learn their story and get advice

• Use the many information resources available at the career services office of the law school
• Have the folks there print you lists of people with which you have three or four touch points in common

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Should I go to law school

How will you distinguish yourself?

For this week’s mailbag, LegalJob attempts to provide some insight to help address the common question of “should I go to law school given the uncertain job market and the huge cost?”  There are plenty of sites that provide good advice about pros and cons to consider.  Here is one.

With the benefit of hindsight and observation of the most successful law school graduates, LegalJob provides the following question for potential law school students to consider:  Can you distinguish yourself sufficiently from other law graduates based on your education and/or previous experience or based on the legal niche you plan to pursue?  In other words, are you minimizing your risk (at least somewhat) that you will be unemployed after graduation with lots of debt? Here are some examples of potential game plans:

• Undergraduate degree in accounting and planning to focus on tax or corporate law;
• Undergraduate degree in engineering and planning to focus on intellectual property law;
• Undergraduate degree in journalism and planning to focus on first amendment/media law;
• Experience in commercial real estate and planning to focus on property/real estate law;
• Experience as an auto claims adjuster and planning to focus on insurance law; and
• Experience working 0n political campaigns or working for politicians and planning to focus on election law;
• No prior experience in environmental law but pursue an opportunity to be a research assistant to an environmental law professor or pursue an opportunity (even if unpaid) to work at a government agency that would expose you to the area; and
• You have a distinguishing characteristic in that you speak a different language, come from a different country, or have some other talent and you pursue opportunities during law school that enable you to leverage this trait.

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An example of effective networking

Formulate a plan and execute.

LegalJob met with a job candidate recently who demonstrated effective networking.  She was not pursuing a legal job (for now), but her approach should be helpful to all job seekers.  Details are provided below.

Facts:  She was interested in working at a non-profit which did not have any openings posted.  She talked to various people to determine the objectives of the organization, how she could be help the entity meet those objectives, and who she should contact to pursue this interest.  She was given a couple of names of people to contact, including people on the board of this organization.  She found out about a reception the non-profit was hosting and she crashed the party.  She made use of every minute at the party by skipping the food and drinks at cocktail hour and walking straight up to board members and other influential people at the company and making her case for why (and how) she would be effective at the company.  She obtained several business cards, including those of decision makers at the company.  She followed up the next day by express regular mail with her materials and her short but effective cover letter making her case.  She was asked to interview with the company within one week.  At the time of this posting it is known whether she had her interview.

• Take away points

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Advice for job seekers — part three

Ask thoughtful questions, show enthusiasm, and close strong.

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Quiet confidence

Demonstrate confidence but not arrogance.

The following was posted in response to a question submitted for Mailbag Monday.

Q:  I thought I had a great interview with a firm and had the experience the firm was looking for and my grades were strong (although I did not go through the Fall interviewing program).  I did not get much feedback with my rejection (other than a one liner response from the HR person suggesting that I may have been overconfident) so I was wondering if LegalJob had any thoughts since LegalJob knows me and is familiar my credentials.

LegalJob:   A couple of thoughts. (more…)

Transition from government to private practice — part two

Stay ahead of the pack.

More advice concerning planning for transition to the private sector from government…

• Keep track of successes big and small.  This tip goes with the previous thought (in the first post) about writing everything down but it gets its own category because of its importance.  Employers want to see experience but in particular they are interested in how creative you are.  How many times did you solve the problem and how did you do it.

• Find mentors that have made switch to private practice or worked in private practice.  Ask them questions, identify their effective work habits and mirror them.

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Transition from government to private practice — part one

Plan ahead to maximize your choices.

LegalJob answered the following question in Monday’s Mailbag series concerning planning for transition to the private sector from government:

“Since you have experience in both the private and public sector, do you have advice for someone beginning their legal career in government to eventually transition to a firm? What things should/shouldn’t I be doing now to make the leap in a few years?”

Great question.  There are several items to keep in mind:

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Advice for job seekers — part two

Communicate your strengths.

This post provides some best practices for interviewing.

Best practices include demonstrating commitment to living in the firm city for a long time, and knowledge of the firm, and articulating how you will specifically contribute.

A third post will follow with additional interviewing tips and keys to effective follow-up.

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Advice for job seekers — part one

Distinguish yourself from the other candidates.

Below are some tips for big firm job seekers.

This information will be posted in two parts.

This part provides ideas for demonstrating serious interest and commitment to a particular area of law and for providing effective resumes.

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