I think one of the hardest things about job searching is that we all have a vision of ourselves living and working in a particular part of the country. Except, in this economy we just can’t be that picky.
I know, it’s hard. You sit in front of your computer staring at that job posting thinking “I could move to Vegas. I’m young. Living in Vegas could be fun.” And then you click over to something else (probably facebook or gchat) and before you go back to your other tab you think “do I really want to move to Vegas?” And so the inner turmoil begins.
You begin an unintentional list of pros and cons. Pros: Sunny, Casinos, Night Life; Cons: Crime, Old people at casinos, Will I have any time to enjoy the night life? You debate just how much housing might cost (and further procrastinate by visiting craigslist to check the average price of a 1 Bedroom). You think of how far away your family will be. Because it’s April, and you’ve likely already registered for one bar exam, you bemoan the fact that you’d have to take a February bar. Or that they might not even look at your resume because you’re not taking the Nevada bar and it’s too late to switch. And, ultimately, you angst about Vegas not being the Location of Your Dreams.
As law students, we’re taught to be targeted in our approaches to things. We have goals. We reach our goals. When we’re working in the city (or even the region) of the country we want to work in is unrealistic, we just don’t know how to process it. I know “processing” for me often involves a box of cookies and some nexflix continuous streaming.
And, half the battle is that we only really know how to job search where we’re used to looking. At worst, we shy away from the unfamiliar. At best, we bumble through trying to find jobs in a region we know little to nothing about.
But, there is hope! Something that your Career Services office either forgot to tell you or glossed over – Law School Career Offices have reciprocity agreements with one another.
What does this mean? Well, you know that nifty job board that you can log into by virtue of being a student? Every other law school has one as well. And all of these job boards have unique postings. In order to help students with searches across the country, schools have set up reciprocity agreements granting students from sister institutions access.
What does this mean for you? Go, now, to your career office and get that list of sister schools. Email your career counselor requesting information on gaining access and email their career counselors requesting information on gaining access. Hopefully, with enough email prodding you’ll eventually have a much, much larger job board to look at.
And more job postings means more applications. More applications (hopefully) means more interviews. Which brings you one step closer to gainful legal employment, right?
I certainly hope so.
Missing, Presumed Unemployed 