Many LL.M. students would like to work in the United States during or after their studies. When I ask them what kind of position they are looking for, the answer is often something like this:
“I am open to anything and everything. I am in no position to be picky and should be open to any opportunity given to me.”
I sympathize with this sentiment, and it comes from a good place. However, it will be an LL.M. student’s basis for failure.
Two problems with the “anything” approach
There are two concerns with the “anything” approach. The first is that many LL.M. students use the “anything” approach to avoid addressing what they need to address: Where do you want to work and why? What do you really want to do? Many students neglect introspection as a crucial part of their professional development. If I do not know what to search for, I have two options: I can search for nothing or anything. Both will lead to the same place: nowhere.
The second issue is the belief that one will find more opportunities by being open to anything. In other words, the thinking seems to be that choosing a goal will limit one’s opportunities. This is not true. “Anything” is impossible to find, and what is impossible to find can never be an opportunity.
Two Different Things
We must separate the willingness to accept any job offer from our search object. Every job search starts with a search object, and “anything” is not a search object. Have you ever searched for “anything” on Google? I am sure you never did. You always search for something. You may have altered your search term, but you did so to find something particular. Likewise, when you search for a job, you must start somewhere.
Again, deciding on a search object is different from our willingness to accept an opportunity that does not align one hundred percent with that for which we were looking. The decision to choose an opportunity that was not intended has nothing to do with our search object. In other words, you may be willing to take any opportunity, but you should not search for just any.
The Employer is Not Looking for Anyone
Another problem with this “anything” approach is that we will find it does not ever serve an employer’s needs. While we are looking for “anything,” an employer is never looking for “anyone.” She will be looking for someone whose objective is to work for her and her organization, who has the background and experience necessary to serve her clients and is willing to put in the required effort for that specific position. If we are looking for anything, we will never be an employer’s someone.
Desiree Jaeger-Fine is a writer and author of Pursuing Happiness: One Lawyer’s Journey, A Short & Happy Guide to Networking, and A Short & Happy Guide to Being Hired.
