Professionalism and Landing that First Legal Job
You’ve gotten through a semester of law school, you know how
to IRAC, but now its time to take your legal knowledge to the next level by
securing a legal clerkship for the summer, and maybe through the remainder of
your education. However, gaining that
job can be difficult, but with some few tips, your first legal job may be
easier to find then it appears.
Know your Academic Standing:
Although you never want to see
yourself as a number, you want to take into account that some larger firms and
government/corporate entities tend to only hire the top 25% and above. If your grades meet this requirement, and
depending on your interest, it may be worth looking into options like this
available for first year students. If
you’re not in the top 25%, no need to worry! Many smaller firms and
government/corporate entities hire from all walks of academic success!
Update Your Resume/LinkedIn Profiles/Create Cover Letters:
If you haven’t already, go ahead
and update your resume and LinkedIn Profiles.
One of the easiest ways to get noticed is through a solidly built
resume, which highlights relevant skills that show the employer how you can
grow their area of law and practice even further. LinkedIn is a great way to supplement your
resume as you only have so many pages to highlight yourself on paper, where
LinkedIn gives you the ability to display courses, more jobs, involvement,
endorsements, and professional recommendations.
Finally, work on some base cover
letters. You will obviously want to
tailor each cover letter for the job, but having these basic forms that outline
your skill sets and some proper wording never hurts!
For Resume/Cover Letter
Resources, please visit the Office of Professional Development Located in the
Law School! You can schedule a meeting
with the assistant dean of professional development, or look to sample cover
letters and resumes!
Tighten up your Writing Sample:
Now that you have a semester of
school down, you also have a few writing samples to show how you argue legal
issues to your boss. It’s important to
get these in the best form possible, as employers want to see how you write,
and how you can persuade them to follow your course of action in a particular
issue. If you did well on a particular
memo or motion, go ahead and tighten up the grammar and citations to make it
even more convincing. If you didn’t do
so well on a memo or motion, talk to your legal research and writing professor
on how you can fix it for the future.
Make Sure to Dress Professional:
This should come as no shocker, but
when interviewing season comes, you need to look the part. Even if you join a firm with a casual dress
code, you still need to come to the interview in business attire! If you have a suit, go ahead and get it dry
cleaned! If you do not have one, it may
be time to consider an investment in one!
Need more tips? Please feel free to visit the following:
