When job hunting we all think of the usual suspects: firms and the government. Occasionally someone remembers something about non-profits. What we all tend to forget about is think tanks.
These policy institutes employ lawyers. Sometimes they even let them practice law. Yes, that’s right, there’s more than just “JD Preferred” out there.
A list for your perusal:
Happy job hunting, friends.
http://policyjobs.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373&Itemid=436
I don’t know about everyone else, but when I first started perusing USAJobs for jobs to apply to I took one look at the General Pay Scale and went “what the hell does this mean”? I had no idea what I could or couldn’t apply to, other than GS15 seemed to pay pretty well for government work, so it clearly couldn’t apply to lowly entry-level me. I’m pretty sure that first time resulted in me immediately closing the window and tabbing back over to facebook. Needless to say, the job search this year has been rife with denial and emotional shut downs at the sheer prospect of educating myself on absolutely everything related to law jobs (and procuring one) overwhelmed me.
So I did what any self-respecting student born in the internet age would do – I googled. And then I googled some more. And then I came across this lovely gem of an article: The Ultimate Guide to the GS Page Scale. Complete with FAQ.
The most helpful/relevant section for budding law grads was the discussion on how to determine where you stand on the pay scale if you’re not already within the system.
The run down:
What does this translate to practically? Most newly-minted J.D.s are hired at GS-9, and then bumped to GS-11 with bar passage. Also, if you see a job listed at GS-11 and it doesn’t absolutely require bar passage to begin with, you should probably apply for it. Additionally some GS-11 and GS-12 attorney positions allow you to substitute experience in internships, judicial clerkships, and your position on things like Journal or moot court for the total years of work experience if you don’t yet have bar passage.
Lesson: Don’t discount yourself too early and read job postings carefully. Further, most postings on USAJobs have a contact name with an email where you can send questions. When in doubt, ask someone.
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.
My least favorite part of the 10th Amendment is that there are 50 different bar exams. Unlike Pokémon, you don’t want to pass them all. But, for job searchers, this means there are 50 different state bar associations that might just be able to help you out. Some states have publicly accessible career centers, others job boards, and others yet classified ads. I linked to career oriented pages when I was able to, otherwise you should land on the homepage.
Alphabetically:
Missing, Presumed Unemployed 