Complete Failure

[Is my life a complete failure???]

Is my life a complete failure???

Yes

 20 (44.4%)

No

 25 (55.6%)

Total Members Voted: 45

[thorc954]

All I was saying to the OP is that he/she should look into public interest as well.  It turns out he/she already did.  Therefore, the point is moot.

I don't think anything I have said since I got on this board is elitist, and either way, I dont care.  The topic of most of my conversations on here is big law because that is the only area of law that interests me.

That said, I forgot about craigslist.  OP, you may want to look on there for some work.  I have a friend that got his job off there (he summered somewhere than the firm merged and they didnt take his class).

Anyway, Miss P., I never said that the OP had bad grades.  I think he/her gpa put him/her over the curve for the school and probably closer to the top 30%.  Anyway, I have no experience searching for public interest jobs, but I was suggesting that OP look into them.  I think he/she has a connection to jersey as they live and went to school there and could likely find something there if they applied. 

Anyway, I am not going to bicker back and forth about this anymore since none of this is really helping the OP anyway. 

Okay, likewise.  I agree that this probably isn't very helpful.  I just think that it looks a lot like self-congratulation when people who admit that their only interest is biglaw and that they have no experience looking for public interest jobs hop into a thread with an unfounded claim that public interest employment is less competitive than the private sector.  Your craigslist suggestion is a good one.

(I didn't accuse you of saying that the OP had bad grades, btw.)

I agree 100%.  That is why I didnt pretend like public interest was less competitive.  I just said that some public interest is inevitably less competitive just like some private sector stuff is less competitive.  I was just making sure that OP was exploring public interest as well as private sector.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day

[Dip827]

thanks for all the comments i really appreciate them. 

[Dip827]

so i've been using:

lawcrossing
craigslist
rutgers career site
pslaw
monster
careerbuilder
robert half
hirecounsel
blind resumes
other law schools career sites

are there any other sites worth looking at??

[Matthies]

so i've been using:

lawcrossing
craigslist
rutgers career site
pslaw
monster
careerbuilder
robert half
hirecounsel
blind resumes
other law schools career sites

are there any other sites worth looking at??

You should be going to local bar association meetings. I went to a lunch yesterday, met three new people, and a lunch today and got another job offer. There was 1 other law student between the two of these events and about 100 lawyers. You’re like a kid in a candy store, lawyers love talking to law students about themselves and what they do, it makes them feel young again and they all have law school in common with you. These people have jobs to offer or likely know somebody who has a job to offer. They are only going to advertise jobs on schools websites or god forbid Craigslist if they can’t find someone through word of mouth recommendations.

Advertised jobs are often that way because no one wants them. Go were the lawyers are. Yes its extremely uncomfortable at first. Do it anyway, you will meet people if you force yourself to go. I am still nervous and I’ve been doing this for years. I almost turned around left today because this was a new group and I did not know anyone there. Turns out as soon as I said “I’m a law student” the president of the bar association group where I was asked me to sit at her table. She introduced to everyone,  two of who happened to be adjunct profs at my school and one was an alumni that was on my journal, that led to a conversation which led to “ I need some help would you be interested in working a few hours a week for me and see how it goes?” I had no other competition because no one else knew about this opportunity.

I mean I know I’m speaking a foreign language when I try to tell people maybe you should join and go to the professional organization of your profession, but bare with me its makes, I dunno, intuitive sense that you might actually meeting working freaking lawyers there. Go figure? Who would you rather hire someone you have met personally or some random person who cold mailed you a resume. Yes, its rocket science I know.

[Miss P]

Great advice, Matthies!

I would also suggest looking on state websites (there's usually a section about government job opportunities -- and in some states, as in NJ, local listings are included), newspapers, the Law Journal (if there is a local one for your area), and idealist.org.  Also, here's one good job listing from NY: http://www.dhr.state.ny.us/pdf/human_rights_specialist_1.pdf.  It's a JD-optional job, but it pays decently and it could be great experience.

[Dip827]

thanks matthies - i've tried a couple of county bar associations, alumni web-boards and some other bar organizations i'm part of. 

[This is wrong.]

I'll second Matthies' advice.  Bar associations and volunteer work at places where there were only a few law students led to three different employment/internship offers for me in my first year, as well as a huge network of people who were sincerely interested in my success (I must be a good schmooze or something).  It's like lawyers are so despondent about their own lives, they either want to see you fail miserably or see you become an astounding success under their wing.  Try to find the latter group.  hahaha

[Matthies]

thanks matthies - i've tried a couple of county bar associations, alumni web-boards and some other bar organizations i'm part of. 

Going once or twice is not enough you have to regularly attend, and you have to be social. Make it part of your regular routine and just go. You will meet people who can help you if you go on a regular basis. Pick 2-3 sections that interest you and go regulalarly, keep using your other search methods as well, but start now making contacts.

[Miss P]

Your position is elitist because you keep claiming that the jobs you and your peers wouldn't choose in places you wouldn't choose to live are a dime a dozen merely because most of the people who take them or live there don't have your credentials.

I wouldn't choose to live in a crappy town because I've ALREADY lived in a crappy town.  And it is objectively crappy. I don't know whether my peers would choose those jobs or not.  Additionally, I'm going for biglaw, but I am giving advice on this thread because it's ADVICE.  OP can take it or not.  As I've said, I've hired for these positions, and I know many people (including my own family members) who've graduated from T4s or middle-of-the-class at lower T2 or T3 who start out in not-so-competitive government or public interest jobs in places people don't want to live.

The only thing "elitist" positions I've taken on this board are that some jobs are better than others, and it's easier to get jobs if you have a good GPA at a top law school.

Because it's "ADVICE" it can't be a little smug and elitist?  Whatever keeps your healthy self-image alive.  To me, describing the things you don't want to do and the places you don't want to live as "crappy" speaks for itself.

I think you and I have agreed earlier that there are very few non-profit JD jobs available right now (due to charity ratings or otherwise), and the pool of qualified applicants for the less selective among these jobs is huge. Thus, the notion that the jobs are "less competitive" than private sector jobs is just not realistic.  The OP may be more qualified for them (on the basis of his/her credentials) than s/he is for your firm where everyone's pants break at the right point, but that's another issue altogether.

[Miss P]

Oh, come on.  "Oh, I wouldn't know a crappy town."  We all know that everyone in NYC thinks EVERY other town is crappy! 

The only thing we could probably agree on is that this conversation is no longer productive.  Because you've turned from discussing the topic to attacking me personally. So let's consider this one over.  I don't feel like arguing with you about "whatever keeps my healthy self-image alive."

I do agree that this isn't productive.  I'm sorry if my comments appeared unduly personal.  I intended only to question some of the assumptions you were making -- ones that seemed fairly elitist to me.  It's pretty rich for someone who talks about how crappy other people's towns and jobs are to get sensitive about being told she has a "healthy self-image" though.