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Author Topic: How do you use contacts?  (Read 1831 times)

Holden Caulfield

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How do you use contacts?
« on: November 06, 2008, 12:17:05 AM »


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jacy85

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Re: How do you use contacts?
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2008, 07:16:23 AM »
Edit:  didn't quite read close enough this morning...

Anyway, I would just ask him or her questions about their experience, and ask for advice.  If they're agreeing to meet you, they can probably anticipate most of what you'll ask.  Ask about how they ended up practicing in the area of law they're in, how they got their first job out of school, and things along that line.  You can also ask for any advice they have about law school, your job search, interviewing with firms, etc.
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jimmyjohn

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Re: How do you use contacts?
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2008, 07:49:03 AM »
Just have a conversation with them like you would anyone else.  It's not that hard. 
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Dr. Balsenschaft

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Re: How do you use contacts?
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2008, 10:29:02 AM »
It's definitely strange.  I had a conversation with such a contact my 1L year.  I didn't know what the hell I was suppose to be talking about.  I talked about what he thought of certain firms in the area, what he thought were promising areas to go into, and what he thought about my admittedly uninformed ideas about my future career.  I also tried to find out, without asking him directly, what it was like for him getting his first job and how he got to where he was. 

Really, I wanted to work at his firm, but I of course never mentioned that.  That would be rude, it makes for an uncomfortable conversation, and it didn't need to be said anyway because it was obvious.  Sometimes ignoring the elephant in the room is a good thing.

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Katfid54

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Re: How do you use contacts?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2008, 10:33:39 AM »
Not going to lie, I thought this thread was going to be about corrective lenses.
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VP_tgp

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Re: How do you use contacts? First, as a great source of information.
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2008, 01:40:14 AM »
You can view contacts in this context as informative sources of real-life perspectives.  You'll want to ask these soon-to-be fellow colleagues how they rate successes and challenges in their particular field.   Feel free to ask them to share the outcome of a particularly complex scenario, as well as what they best learned from it.  This is a good thing to do at any stage of your legal education.

In truth, any meeting you request with a professional in an area of law practice in which you are interested is an important resource in your job search efforts.  The more informed choices you make with respect to employment will guide your curricular choices in the second and third years of law school.

If your meeting with a contact doesn't yield an expected job offer, it's still a valuable source of information for you.  It also allows you to polish your networking skills and learn what these professionals believe are the trends, practice areas, and locations for jobs.

As an Admissions Consultant with a background in career services, I am happy to answer other questions you have about the 1L job search process.

Sincerely,

thomas grexa phillips/Veritas Prep Admissions Consultant/www.VeritasPrep.com
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