Tag Archives: entry-level

Lost & Found – Rebooted

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Now that I’ve officially sat for the bar, I find myself with a fair bit of time on my hands. But, as my lovely readers know – it’s not “free time.” Unless you translate “free time” to mean “time to search for jobs.” Therefore, I’ve gotten back on the horse. Below are this week’s finds:

Internship

Entry Level (0-1)

Junior (1-3) 

Mid (3-5)

Senior (5-10) 

Partner (10+)

Academic

Contract

What Does it Mean to be “Entry-Level?”

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I’ve been combing job boards all week, trying to scrounge up more positions to apply to. Whenever I see the words “entry-level” or “recent grad” I get ridiculous amounts of excited. And then it happens. I’ve clicked on the posting, begun to scroll down, and *POOF* all of my excitement evaporates into a cloud of disgruntled bitterness. I’ve reached something that says “requires bar passage” or “bar passage required at the time of application” or “requires proof of bar license.”

I have exactly none of these things. Why? Because I haven’t graduated from law school yet. I haven’t taken the bar yet. I will be taking the bar this July and I certainly hope I obtain bar passage when the results come out later in the fall.

Why does this embitter me so? Well, quite frankly it’s because legal employers aren’t stupid. They know darn well that there are exactly two times a year that someone may sit for a state bar exam. They also know that, with a few exceptions, you can only sit for one state at a time. And furthermore, they know that by April you’ve already financially committed to which state you’ll be sitting for and won’t be able to add an additional state until February, when you can sit for the next bar exam.

So, when I read through these positions I can’t help but think “do they really want someone who is “entry-level?” And, the answer I’ve come up with is a bit disheartening. In today’s economy entry-level isn’t usually a new grad. Rather, it’s someone who is still job hunting from the prior year’s graduating class. Or someone who has been clerking. Or someone who has been taking contract work.

No one wants to take the time to train the fresh meat. No one wants to risk employing someone who might not pass the bar their first time out of the gate. Everyone wants a sure bet.

So, as a soon-to-be new grad, how do I market myself? How do I let an employer know that I’m not the fresh meat they fear me to be? My resume is chock-full of clinic and internships and my work experience prior to law school. My cover letter clearly literates my skill sets. But, I know that when a recruiter is faced with 600+ candidates (common in the age of internet applications) that we’re lucky if half of our applications get face time. Getting off that pile in the first place is really the whole battle.