Tag Archives: legal job search

Lost & Found – Rebooted

Posted on by
Reply

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

Lost & Found (Afternoon Edition)

Posted on by
Reply

Internships:

Entry Level (0-1):

Junior (1-3):

Mid Level (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Partner (7-10+):

Contract:

JD Preferred:

Lost & Found

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday Spoils:

Internships:

Entry Level (0-1):

Junior (1-3):

Mid (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Partner (7-10+):

Contract:

JD Preferred:

Lost & Found

Posted on by
Reply

Internships:

Clerkships:

Entry Level (0-1):

Junior (1-3):

Mid Level (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Contract:

JD Preferred:

When Witness Protection Begins to Look Like an Attractive Career Alternative

Posted on by
Reply

I have a friend who recently told me about a dream she had. She was running from the mob because she stopped some sort of trademark infringement. The upshot of this public service was that the US government paid her $40K. The downside was obviously being shot at. But, in her dream she didn’t actually get shot – which she felt was worth $40K. However, if she were to be continually hunted by the mob she wasn’t sure $40K would cover being put in witness protection.

Then we thought about this for a second and had a jinx-moment where we both said “except in witness protection they arrange for you to have a job”

….An arranged job?

I should probably figure out how to do that immediately This may be the best thing since arranged marriages.

Networking 101: And Why I Am Terrible At It

Posted on by
Reply

Networking is like a four letter word in law school. We all know we need to do it. Or, rather, we all know we should do it. But, when it comes to doing it many of us would rather leave it to the MBA students over at the business school. I mean, you’re schmoozing with someone for the sole purpose of making friends who will help you get a job. Something about it just sort of feels a little dirty. Nothing about it feels genuine. And yet, in the world of law, it is often the only way to get your resume off the stack and into someone’s hands.

Some of us come to this skill set more naturally than others. I, though gregarious and fun-loving, am not a natural networker. Rather, I am that awkward kid that sits there holding my cocktail like a life preserver mumbling “don’t take my stapler.”

I don’t lack self-esteem. When it comes to my professional skill sets, I’ll be the first to tell you how accomplished I am. I’m a great listener. I also have awesome analytical reasoning skills. I also have great public speaking skills and am not shy in crowds. All of these traits have been fairly helpful in law school. But – yes, there’s a “but” – I am horrible at asking questions. That’s right, I am not good at asking about things I want to know about. And this fact alone seems to make my networking experiences seem like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from.

It’s not a shyness thing – I am a fairly gregarious and engaging person. I have no hang ups with public speaking. It’s not a fear of sounding stupid either. I have no shame.

Sometimes I think perhaps I listen too well, and by the time the interviewer comes around to the “do you have any questions for us?” phase of the interview, all of my questions have been answered. I simply don’t know what to ask about. And I suck at making up questions on the fly. For an interview this innate deficiency is really easy to mask – I prep like hell and make a list of questions that are relevant to the employer and the prospective job well in advance. However, for networking, I often find myself struggling with where to begin.

With a little practice I’ve learned to hide this flaw, masking it with smiles, nods, and frequent trips to the available food and drink. If it’s a group event, I also listen attentively to the other question-askers, using context clues to help me piece together something I might ask that’s not redundant but also useful. And then I ask for a business card. But that’s not really enough.

Step two is the follow up email. Figuring out how to connect outside of the networking event is challenging at best. If they’ve offered to do something specific like, say, look over your resume this part is easier. If you’re asking to meet for coffee its a whole different ball of wax. And my biggest pitfall? Getting around to emailing in the first place. I will sit on business cards for weeks until it gets to the point where I feel like emailing is uncomfortably awkward. And then I feel guilty about the fact that so much time has lapsed – which usually causes even more time to lapse. And even more guilt and shame to accumulate. Until I’ve finally decided to start over with a new group of people only to struggle with this key follow-up step again. Like I said, its a train wreck I can’t look away from.

But now that time is of the essence and my job search is entirely dependent on me learning right this very second to do all of these things I’m so very bad at I find myself jumping straight into the deep end. More events. More business cards. More awkward emails. I even have a spreadsheet to track it. Basically, learning to network is like learning to ride a bike. The only way to learn is to do it over and over again until you get it right. Sometimes you crash into the bushes but you just have to get back up and try again.

Until then, I hope my foibles are as entertaining to everyone else as they are to me. I’ll be in the corner, drinking red wine, mumbling about how someone took my stapler.

 

 

Lost & Found

Posted on by
Reply

A little late, but it’s finally up.

This Monday’s edition of Lost & Found feels a bit heavy on the mid-senior level positions. I would love any tips in regards to internships and entry level jobs. I know it’s slim pickings this close to summer, but any ideas on where to look are appreciated!

Internships:

Judicial Clerkships:

Entry-Level (0-1):

Junior (1-3):

Mid-Level (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Contract:

JD Preferred:

Lost & Found

Posted on by
Reply

Alright fellow job seekers, here are a few listings to get you through the weekend. And remember, suggestions for broadening my search are welcome – just leave it in the comments!

Intern:

Entry-Level (0-1):

Junior Associate (1-3):

Mid-Level (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Contract:

Non-Legal/JD Preferred:

A (General) Guide to the GS Payscale

Posted on by
Reply

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:

  • GS-9: MA/MS, J.D/LLM
  • GS-11: Ph.D, Equivalent doctoral degree (which arguably a J.D. qualifies as), or 3 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education

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.

 

Lost & Found

Posted on by
Reply

Alright internet, off to a slow start this week – sorry about that. I didn’t do much job hunting over the weekend, so it took me a bit to compile this. Also, dearest readers, if you know of a good place to find entry-level law jobs (preferably for new grads) I could use all suggestions I can get. I’m starting to run dry on places to look.

Internships:

Entry Level (0-3):

Mid-Level (3-5):

Senior (5+):

Contract: