It’s August, and by now you know what law firms are going to be interviewing at your school this fall for summer and permanent positions. Given the shaky legal job market, you’re probably facing slim pickings.
I’ve noticed that beyond on campus interviews, many students overlook free and readily available resources at their law school. It always surprises me how sometimes students don’t take advantage of them.
For example, you could:
1. Meet with a Career Counselor at your law school’s Career Office. Beyond the often mandatory 1L career appointment, students sometimes don’t use the Career counselors. They can be a great source of knowledge—they are tapped into the job market—and can help you figure out how to best position yourself. It can’t hurt to pick their brains.
2. Take advantage of your school’s Mentor Program. Most law schools offer a list of their alumni who have specifically agreed that students can contact them. Why not take advantage of this opportunity? They are already expecting to hear from you.
3. Join your local Bar association. Student memberships are cheap and sometimes even free. Membership to the very same bar association after you graduate could cost you hundreds of dollars. Why not join now? While you are at it, join a practice area committee in one of your areas of interest. That way you get to go to the meetings, and have a huge potential ready-made network of lawyers in the practice area you want to get into.
4. Use your law school’s Reciprocity program for an out of town job search. I’m assuming you are looking at your school’s job listings. But did you know that often your school can arrange for you to have short-term reciprocity to use an out of town law school’s career center? Ask your school about their reciprocity policy.
There are no guarantees–but I have seen using the above resources lead to students finding jobs—even in a bad economy.
