Nuts and Bolts Of a 3L Search for a Post-Grad Job
Most UC Hastings students (and nationally) do NOT get their first post-law school job through OCI. Many get offers late in their 3L year; others (about 40%) get employment after graduating.
Year-after-year, a survey of law school graduates shows that the most common methods of getting a post-law school job are:
- Self-initiated contact with a targeted employer (29%)
- Being referred by a colleague, professor or friend (20%)
- Responding to a posting, advertisement or career office listing (20%)
- Being offered a permanent position by a former employer (2.5%)*
* NALP survey of the Class of 2005; other years are similar; statistics cited are for offers extended after graduation
Mass mailings rarely pay off. Mass applications to posted jobs pay off, for 20% of applicants. What does pay off for nearly 50% of applicants is the work of identifying the kind of work you want to do and building a personal connection to targeted employers who offer jobs in that area.
We outline a suggested plan for an effective job search here. For humorous advice that includes detail and lots of real-life stories, we recommend Guerilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams... regardless of your Grades, your School or your Work Experience! by Kimm Alayne Walton, JD. Copies can be found on the bookshelf in the Office of Career and Professional Development (“OCPD”). It is a good resource for in-depth discussion to get your creative juices going and for gentle but expert reminders of job-search protocol.
1. Develop a Career Plan (or 2 or 3) -- Plans A, B and C.
Why do we suggest Plan A, B and (at most) C? (1) To encourage you to dream big and go for that dream, but also have a safety plan or two you can fall back on; or (2) To allow you to pursue alternative plans (different cities, different practices, different types of employers) without losing focus. We recommend a limit of 3 options because it is important to channel your energy and present a committed demeanor to ensure your job search does not become inefficient or uninspired, which can sap your energy and make you less attractive to employers.
If you have multiple plans because of multiple interests, you can pursue jobs in each plan simultaneously. Do respond honestly, but discreetly to questions about your search, to show a committed approach despite a multi-pronged search. If you have one big dream, give yourself a reasonable time limit to go for Plan A and give it your all; if it doesn’t work out, go for Plan B.
In sum, the steps to develop a career plan if you don’t have one already are:
- Self-Assessment: Identifying what you need, enjoy and are good at
- Research: Identifying potential employers, salaries, job functions & career paths
- Decision: Committing to 1 to 3 options – Plans A, B and at most C
2. Identify Target Employers:
Identify and gather information on employers in your area of interest. The key is to find how many employers there are that you might be interested in – organizations, firms, public entities, legal or non-legal. Create a chart, spreadsheet, notebook or other tool to use to write down employer names and keep track of contacts with and personal connections to those employers.
Show your contacts the employer list and ask them what they think – are the listed employers good places to work; do they know anyone there; etc. If you are able to rank the employers you are hoping to pursue by preference - top 20, top 10, etc – it helps you prioritize.
Many firms and organizations have websites – check them out for information that will get you more in-depth knowledge about the potential employer. Look at practice areas and profiles of their attorneys to find information of interest or connections (did they go to Hastings? Same college or university as you? Clerk for the judge you are externing for?).
Keep a lookout for any information that deepens what you know about the organization, the lawyers who work there, and the leaders/decision-makers. Intelligence gathering increases your chances of finding a connection, increases your appeal to them once you get an interview, and will inform your choice if offered a job. Look for mention of the employer in legal newspapers (or do a Lexis search).
A great, often overlooked, resource is UC Hastings alumni. You can submit an Information Request to the Alumni Office asking for alumni in a geographic area who practice in specific areas of law. Once you get the list you can send them a letter requesting an informational interview. When you interview alumni ask how they got their job, who hires entry level lawyers, what are the better places to work and why, what would those employers be looking for in an entry-level lawyer, etc.
3. Build a Professional Community (aka networking):
“People Don’t Get Invested in Resumes. They Get Invested In People.” Guerilla Tactics @ 661. (Read Chapter 10 if you need convincing.)
Networking essentially involves (1) talking to people you know about what you’re seeking (they like you; they want to help; but in order to do so they need to know what you are looking for and why you fit in that field); and (2) meeting new people strategically, by going to the places where you’ll find those who do the work you seek.
You are going to be working for a long time and the people you’ll be spending time with will be others also working in this field. Remember when you first walked into your 1L section? That was your new community – you probably knew no one. Every other student had the potential to help you (trade seats; trade notes; form a study group, etc). Other lawyers and business people are in a similar position. You won’t know who you loath and who you like, who can help and who cannot, until you meet them. Be open to all; considerate of all; deepen your professional relationship with those you enjoy being around.
(a) Benefiting from your existing contacts: Make sure everyone you know is aware of the type of job you are seeking. Think about getting out a sheet of paper and listing every personal contact you can think of. Include the obvious, such as lawyers, classmates, alumni mentors, career office counselors and friends. Include all the not-so-obvious, such as friends-of-friends, relatives, friends of your relatives, law professors, former employers (non-legal), coworkers/clients from your former jobs, alumni from your undergraduate school who now practice law, former teaching assistants, undergraduate professors, service providers that you use frequently (yes, even your hair stylist and the barista at your local coffee shop -- see Guerilla Tactics @ 657 for stories of students getting a job over a cup of coffee).
If you have regular contact with them, think carefully – are you positive they know what you are looking for and why you are excited about doing that work, or why you think you’ll be good at it? If not, make it your goal to tell everyone you know what you are looking for. As you go along you’ll get comfortable enough to start adding why you are excited about getting that kind of job; soon you’ll be able to say in a quick sentence why you think you’ll be good at that job.
Reconnect with people you don’t see regularly. Start from the heart, e.g., “I wanted to reconnect; find out how are you; let you know what is happening in my life.” Make sure before you hang-up or before the email exchange stops that they know what kind of job you are looking for and why you think you will be a good fit.
(b) Expanding your list and making contacts in your field of interest: Attend events with other like-minded people and potential employers. Expanding your network will create personal connections between you and people who are hiring. Don’t worry if you don’t meet the hiring partner or top leader of the organization. What matters is making a contact that gets your foot in the door.
How do you make the connection? Go where others who work in the field go.
- Attend CLE seminars and talk to the other attendees and go up afterwards and talk to the presenters; you can ask to volunteer if you're shy or can’t afford the program.
- Become a student member of the bar association in your geographic area.
- Join specialty sections of the bar association in your field of interest. Check out findlaw.com for a list of professional associations.
- Fill out the Hastings Alumni Office Information Request form and hand it in (or send an email request to alumni@uchastings.edu). The Alumni Office will run a database search to identify Hastings alum who work in a particular practice area and geographic location.
- Talk to a professor of those classes you love or the classes you are taking because they are important to the field.
- If you’ve written an article or note on a topic, contact a practitioner in that area and ask if you can send them your article for review. Submit the article for publication in a legal journal with your bio. Or—contact a practitioner in your field of interest and tell them you’re writing an article and want to interview them!!
Don’t expect too much when you first meet people. Tell the people you meet what you are looking for and why it excites you. Don't ask them for a job. Instead, ask for easy things -- advice, information and recommendations/resources (Kimm Walton calls this asking for “AIR”). If there is a good connection, they’ll volunteer more as the professional relationship deepens. If not, you’ll get advice, information and recommendations, and a contact.
The dream goal is to make a personal connection with someone who is connected to each of your top targeted employers. Why? Because, as Kimm Walton advises, employers are risk-averse. Having a friend or colleague pass your resume on, or seeing a name they recognize in your cover letter, gives them comfort – they feel connected to you already.
If you haven’t made such a connection, do not despair. You have learned – from the advice, information and recommendations you gained from your contacts – a lot about practicing in this area. You will use that to advocate for yourself in your tailored letter and resume.
4. Advocate for yourself with potential employers:
How you apply for jobs shows employers how you’ll perform. The good lawyer in you will shine through when you are organized, fact-oriented, positive, and considerate of your audience.
(a) Get and stay organized: Keeping track of the details will make you more prepared and confident and will project to employers a detail-oriented, careful person – ideal traits in a lawyer.
- Plan your first contact with the targeted employer and what specific individual you will contact: Will you ask for an informational interview with an alum? Will you pass on your resume and letter to a contact you already have? Will you ask someone connected to the firm if you can include their name in the first line of your letter (e.g., "Bob Smith recommended I contact you.")? Will you call the employer and ask for the name of the individual in charge of hiring? Will you go online to the firm website or martindale.com and pull up the name of a Hastings alum in the office and address you letter to that alum, asking to forward the letter on to the person who handles hiring?
- Keep track of all your targeted employers and contacts: Set up a spreadsheet, chart, list, notebook, post-it notes or whatever works for you to keep track of whom you’ve spoken to, whom you’ve sent prospecting letters to, whom you’ve sent information interview requests to;
- Follow up: Set up a system to remind you to follow-up a week or ten days after making the initial contact. We are told time and again by employers that failure to follow up is a major reason job seekers don’t get hired quickly. Just because they don’t call doesn’t mean they aren’t interested! Most of the people you write to will be extremely busy, and if you tell them in your letter that you’ll follow-up, an easy thing for them to do is set aside your letter and wait for your call. Don’t lose opportunities to another job-seeker who has more gumption to call! If following up is not naturally comfortable to you, develop a follow-up “pitch” and keep it in front of you when you call, e.g.: [If assistant answers the phone: “May I please speak to [the person to whom you addressed the cover letter]. Why am I calling? To follow up on a letter I sent him/her last week.” [To letter addressee:] “I am ___, a UC Hastings 3L/recent grad and I’m following up on the letter and resume I sent on ___; I am very interested in working for your firm and hope your hiring needs might include someone with my background ... “ But use your own words!
- If you get invited in, send thank you notes promptly afterward! (An alum recently told us that she was able to get a friend-of-a-friend an interview and the student was well-liked, but did not get the expected call-back because no thank you was written; the partner was expressed that given all the time she spent with her, she expected an acknowledgement.)
- Stay connected. An initial “No, we’re not hiring” from an employer doesn’t necessarily mean, "No, never, forget it", but rather that they are not hiring now. Maybe there will be an opportunity later. One alum recently told us she received an invitation to interview in February with a firm she had written to in September.
(b) Tighten and tailor your resume:
- Is it up-to-date?
- Have you gone over it with a counselor in the Office of Career and Professional Development?
- Is your legal experience emphasized?
- Does each job paragraph lead with descriptions of the highest, most challenging, and most lawyer-like work you have done?
- Does the writing, editing and proof-reading reflect well on you?
(c) Advocate for yourself in prospecting and application letters: Think of the letter as your advocacy piece. There is a format – just like a memo, brief or demand letter – that works best. Use that format to market yourself.
- One page only.
- Avoid starting too many sentences with “I.”
- Focus on what the employer needs and how your background, skills, experience and strengths match that need (don’t focus on what your employer offers you);
- Be specific in the first paragraph about what you are seeking – an informational interview or a specific job (use the specific title). When possible, in a phrase or sentence demonstrate why you are particularly interested in this exact employer.
- Provide, in the second paragraph, evidence, with specific references to the facts of your background, of experiences and skills that will make you the perfect employee in this position. Think of the job you know or hope they have and your skills and experiences as 2 separate puzzle pieces. This paragraph shows them how perfectly your puzzle piece matches theirs. Do not repeat what is in your resume. Instead, refer to what is in there as back-up evidence to your statements, or give additional detail beyond what is in the resume. Address each letter to a specific individual.
(d) Interviewing: Present your most confident, relaxed self.
- Thorough, but short, answers – assume a 15 second attention span to question answers;
- Practice how to describe your strengths – at least 3 of them, in 15 second sound bites;
- Practice responses to anything that worries you – grades, commitment, holes in your resume, etc. Such responses should be factually correct, but as positive as possible. Acknowledge responsibility without unnecessarily accepting or implying blame. For example: “I was used to a very different academic environment and it took me a while to adjust. My overall grades are not what I wanted them to be, but they steadily improved each year and I did well in the classes related to this area of law, which is what I seek to practice.”
- Never say anything negative about another employer. This is hard if you were treated poorly or unjustly. But diplomacy, reserve and good judgment will serve you better than spotlighting another’s poor judgment or blaming another. Work with an advisor or mentor on how to describe the situation in the best light, using the actual facts. Conclude with what you learned or how you acted to improve your skills, then move on. Become practiced at your positive answer until you feel you can say it without defensiveness or hesitation;
- Have thoughtful questions ready to ask interviewers.
The counselors in the Office of Career and Professional Development can assist with any of these steps! You can ask for an appointment with any counselor by calling the main phone number: 415 565 4619. Starting March 1 of your 3L year, you can contact the Graduating Student Advisor directly and use her coaching and counseling services until the February after you graduate.
Resource List:
Resources for Self-Assessment:
- My Ideal Job, OCPD handout (for in-depth self-assessment, see an OCPD counselor);
- Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type, by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron-Tieger (OCPD bookshelf);
- The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success,by Nicholas Lore;
Resources for Research:
- Guerilla Tactics ... (Chapter 2)
- See the resources in section 2 below
Resources for Decision Making:
- Should You Really be a Lawyer? The Guide to Smart Career Choices Before, During & After Law School, by Deborah Schneider, JD & Gary Belsky
Resources to Find Employers to Target:
- America’s Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree, by Kimm Alayne Walton, JD
Private Firms
- Martindale-Hubbell: www.martindale.com or on Lexis at http://lawschool.lexis.com. (You can search by the town of the firm and the kind of practice it has - the “Location/Practice” tab. If you like, you can include your desired firm size. Remember that many smaller firms and attorneys are not listed in "Mar-Hub", as they call it.
- The Yellow Pages "Attorneys" section – yes, folks, it's true. Attorneys are listed alphabetically, then by practice area (the ones who pay for it), and you can check out all the advertising. Extremely handy and comprehensive.
- HastingsCareersOnline
- OCPD handout: Firms Hiring Recent UC Hastings Grads
- For specific practice areas, there are resources listed in our handout “Where to Start Researching Employers”, which you can access on the Hastings website.
- Professional associations or sections of local bar associations, explain your interest and ask if there is a publicly available mailing or membership list. Sometimes the mailing list is even available through the association’s website Public Interest Organizations
- PSLawnet.org - great site for researching public interest and public sector organizations.
- www.idealist.org
- www.fdncenter.org
Corporations:
- Martindale- Hubbell: www.martindale.com or on Lexis at http://lawschool.lexis.com (lists some corporate law departments).
- Best Places to Work lists in Fortune Magazine, Working Woman Magazine or from Great Place to Work Institute -- http://www.greatplacetowork.com/
- Going In-House: A Guide for Law Students and Recent Graduates, by Donna Gerson
Government:
- Binders in OCPD
- Bar committees and speciality organizations whose members are government lawyers
Networking Resources:
- Building Career Connections: Networking Tools for Law Students and New Lawyers, by Donna Gerson