What’s the main point of law school? To get you a job! Although it’s tempting to spend all of your time and energy with your head in the books, it’s important to build your career while in law school, too.
Read on for job search basics, some of our pet peeves in law student hiring, and an overview of the job application materials you’ll need to perfect to get a great position. And, for those balancing work and law school, we’ve got tips for you, too.
Enjoy!
Job Search Basics
- Why It's Worth Spending Your Saturday at a Conference After graduating law school, you are joining the legal community. This community is one where you will want to continue growing and learning. Relationships are critical and going to events allows you to meet people and network. Your career doesn’t start when you graduate from law school; your career is starting right now.
- Don't Have Time for Coffee and Networking? Wrong! In this post we combat one common excuse we hear for not following up after networking events: “I just don’t have time.” You do!
- Thinking About the Job Hunt? What You Should Be Doing This Summer What law students aren’t thinking about the job hunt these days! Whether you are a rising 2L or 3L, there are things you can do this summer to make sure you are moving forward with your job hunt.
- Caution! Don't Restrict Your Job Search to the OCI Process! OCI's are just one of the many job-hunting methods you can take advantage of. Here are three options that law students overlook when they rely exclusively on OCI.
- Seven Ways to Make the Most of your 3L Year Some critics of legal education assert that the third year of law school is unnecessary and should be eliminated. Reducing law school to two years would curtail student debt and add an additional year to career earnings, with potentially little effect on career readiness, they argue. But for now, law school remains a three-year program. Whether you’re approaching your third year with enthusiasm or, more likely, ennui, you’ve got to get through it. Here are some tips for making the most of it.
- How to Use the Summer to Jumpstart Your Job Search Unless you’re one of the super lucky law students who have already landed a permanent position, chances are you’re worried about finding a job. Well, stop worrying and start taking action! The summertime is a great time to jumpstart your search.
- I Got Really Bad Grades Last Semester, Can I Still Land a 1L Summer Job? Yes! The answer is an overwhelming yes!! Immediately block out all the pretentious buzz and chatter that has told you otherwise, because building your confidence and accepting this truth is the first step to landing a job this summer.
- Unconventional Networking Methods for Law Students Networking. It's scary and uncomfortable for many law students, but there are a lot of ways to network. Read here for strategies that you may not have considered before.
- Help! It's Already Summer and I Still Don't Have a Summer Job! Panicking about your nonexistent summer job? Take a deep breath, calm down, and read this to figure out some steps you can take!
- Is It Too Early To Be Thinking About Summer Internships? Although the summer may be several months away, it is time to start thinking about summer internships. Not sure where to start? Here are a few things to consider.
- Podcast Episode 114: Law School Networking 101 Networking can cause a lot of anxiety, but it doesn't have to! Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, this episode can help you take a new approach to building your professional network.
- Podcast Episode 120: Preparing for the 1L Job Hunt (With Ex-BigLaw Recruiter Sadie Jones) If you're a 1L getting ready for your job hunt, this is the podcast for you! We talk about how to prepare and apply, and what types of jobs will be best for your future.
Job Application Materials
- Building a Resume in Law School The concept of building a resume during law school is rarely lost on the common overachieving, planning, list-making law student. Law students fret to secure a constant stream of internships, clerkships, clinic experience, volunteer experience, and summer associate positions. In the midst of all the stress and chaos of law school, keep these big-picture resume building points in mind.
- Advice From a Law Recruiter: Top Tips for a Perfect Resume This former law recruiter shares her tips for crafting the perfect resume and cover letter.
- Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire! Transfer Students in Law School If you’re the new kid on the block this semester, here are some things to consider as you approach your first round of exams.
- Video Profiles: This Is Not Your Father’s VHS Camera We are excited to have a guest post from Jason Randolph, the co-founder and CEO of ViewYou. ViewYou lets you create video resumes, which are interesting ways to go about your job hunt (as long as you make sure you put together a great looking, professional video).
- Six Essential Cover Letter Tips for Law Students Whether it’s applying for a summer internship, an associate position, or a permanent job after graduation, you will eventually be faced with writing a cover letter. While your law school hopefully provides support for the basics of cover letter writing, we here at Law School Toolbox wanted to share with you our top six cover letter tips. These tips will help you write an effective cover letter that catches the eye of any recruiter.
- Should I Do a Law School Extracurricular? Skeptical about giving up so much valuable study (or sleep) time to participate in law school extracurricular activities? Here are some reasons to take part that may not have occurred to you before.
- 5 Ways a Law School Resume is Different from a College Resume Read on to find out five important ways a law school resume differs from a college resume.
- Did You Work on Your Resume During Law School Winter Break? If you didn’t get a chance to do so in the fall, now is the time to make sure your resume is up-to-date and ready to send out at a moment’s notice. Oh, and don't forget these things either.
- Ahead of the Curve: So You Want to Transfer Law Schools... Do you think that the law school you've started with isn't quite the right fit for you? He are some ways you can set yourself up during your 1L year to make a change.
- Podcast Episode 12: Resume and Cover Letter Basics Are your resume and cover letter ready to send out today? The truth is you should write your resume now to avoid having to rush and create one when an opportunity presents itself. Today we are discussing resume and cover letter basics for law students.
- Podcast Episode 77: How to Get Great Letters of Recommendation for Anything Today we’re talking about how to get great letters of recommendation, whether you need them to apply to law school, get a job or clerkship, or for some other purpose as a law student.
- Podcast Episode 111: Resumes and Cover Letters (with an Ex-BigLaw Recruiter) Concerned about your job applications? Our podcast guest has reviewed thousands of legal resumes in her life and is here to answer some frequently asked questions on the dos and don’ts of resume and cover letter preparation.
- Podcast Episode 127: Avoid These Resume No-Gos Wondering what to do -- and what not to do -- on your resume? Tune in to hear ex-BigLaw recruiter Sadie Jones talk about things to avoid doing on your resume.
Balancing Law School and Work
- 5 Tips for Balancing Work and Law School After the toil and tedium of 1L year, most students look forward to gaining some practical experience at a legal job as 2Ls and 3Ls. Working at a law firm, government agency, court, or other legal office will expose you to different practice areas and give you a chance to learn real world skills (hopefully while getting paid). But balancing a job and a full-time law school course load will come with challenges.
- Balancing Life as a Night Student Law school in and of itself is a challenging experience. Going to law school while working full-time may almost seem absurd. The faces and comments friends, co-workers and complete strangers made at me when I announced that this is what I was going to do were almost discouraging. Are you sure you can do this? How are you going to manage work? But when are you going to study? I almost began to doubt the idea myself. Six years later, I am here to tell you that you can do this. You will manage work. You will have time to study. And yes, you will see your family.
- How to Get Involved in the World Outside of Law School Law school can be an insular place. Here are some great ways to get involved in the outside world during law school.
Job Hunting 101: Pet Peeves
- Job Hunting 101: It’s Not All About You It’s a tough market out there. That’s why we’re introducing a new series: Job Hunting 101. We’ll cover the basics, but also tell you the stuff no one else is going to tell you. Starting right now…newsflash, getting a job has very little do with how awesome you are. So shut up about it.
- Job Hunting 101: Project a Consistent Image Have you ever met someone in one context (school, work, etc.) and later seen them again in a totally different context? What’s your reaction? Here are some tips on how to keep a consistent image.
- Job Hunting 101: Don’t Neglect Your Headshot Back in the day, as in pre-LinkedIn, no one knew what you looked like when you applied for jobs. Now, that’s changed. Your headshot is a key component of your online professional identity, so here are a five tips for getting it right.
- Job Hunting 101: Did You Know Your Law School May Pay for Conferences? Many law schools have programs for students to apply for funding to attend conferences. If you ask around, you just might find out that there is money available to you to attend conferences or networking events—so you don’t have to pay for them yourself. Here are some tips on finding funding.
- Networking Tips for 1Ls We're talking about what you can do as a 1L to get a head start on recruiting.
- Job Hunting 101: Get Out and Meet People You need to simply get out and meet people in the legal community! Not only will they be your colleagues in the coming years but meeting practicing lawyers and other law students can be a valuable learning experience for you. Here's why.
- Job Hunting 101: What Makes You Unique? We are each made up of a unique set of experiences, which makes each of us a unique candidate for a job. You must figure out what makes you unique and how you can communicate that to potential employers. Here are some tips on how to do that.
- Job Hunting 101: When Networking, Ask for Help! A mistake law law students make when networking is rather simple: they forget to ask for help! Asking for help can reveal opportunities for quality connections.
- Tips For Finding a 1L Summer Job Late in the Game Finding that first summer job can be a challenging and stressful process that continues throughout the spring. It can be stressful if it's later in the season, and you still haven't landed a summer job. But remember, the important thing about your 1L summer is that you get SOME legal experience – so keep an open mind and put your best foot forward!
- Job Hunting 101: Google Yourself Have you Googled yourself lately? If you haven’t, you should. You might be wondering what can be done to clean up your online presence. Don’t worry; we are here to help.
- Job Hunting 101: Be Careful Who Your Facebook Friends Are Think about your friends on Facebook and what you post. Do you want your boss or professional connection to see those posts? Is that the image you want to portray to potential employers? In this post we talk Facebook.
- Job Hunting 101: Follow Up Don’t drop the ball! Following-up is a key part of finding a job. Find out just how important it is here.