by Marina Sarmiento Feehan, JD, Assistant Director
Still searching for that summer law clerk position? Unemployed or recently laid off? Having a “Job Search Action Plan” can help you conduct an efficient, effective search and keep you on track until you reach your goal.
Here are a few items to check off as you start your search:
• Update your “Marketing Materials”. Prepare your Resume, Cover Letter, Writing Sample(s), References, and Transcripts (undergraduate and graduate).
• Get Organized. Manage your search by creating a system of organization, as simple as an Excel spread sheet or binder, to keep records of employers to whom you sent resumes, contacts, research on potential employers and any other items related to your search.
• Make a Contacts List. Create a list of family, friends, acquaintances, other lawyers, professors, and any other persons who you can contact to help you in your search, either with leads, openings or information.
• Identify Your Ideal Employers. Compile a list of employers for whom your skill would be a good match. You’ll want to send them targeted, focused mailings with a personalized resume & cover letter.
• Identify Resources for Job Postings. Identify websites, legal newspapers, bar associations, professional newsletters, and other sources of job postings.
The Multi-Faceted Approach
A successful job search utilizes a multi-faceted approach. Instead of just relying on one method to find a job, such as applying to online job postings, your Job Search Action Plan will yield a job faster if you attack your job search using different tactics:
1. Conduct Informational Interviews. From the list of contacts you created, set up meeting to interview and gather information or leads from your contacts, alums and other persons in your field of interest. I got my current position at USF through an informational interview. I was interested in re-entering the field of Career Services and sent an email asking for a meeting to discuss opportunities in the field and ten minutes later, I got a phone call asking me to come in for a real interview. How did I know to contact USF? I contacted my former colleagues at Hastings and Golden Gate and met with them to find out what the current market for career services. They told me that they heard USF was experiencing some changes and suggested I contact them. Now I work here.
2. Attend Job/Career Fairs and Conferences. At some job fairs, employers conduct interviews on site. You can also make new contacts and identify new employers of interest.
3. Network: Build and Maintain Your Contacts. Attend legal events, join www.LinkedIn.com, a professional networking site to expand, manage and organize your network. The Office of Career Planning maintains the University of San Francisco School of Law networking group on LinkedIn which you can join to reach alums in your field of interest. Keep in touch with your network and let them know how your search is progressing.
4. Volunteer - Build Your Skills. Consider volunteering at government or public interest agencies to maintain and build upon your skills set while you are searching for work. For law students, look into clinical coursework opportunities at the law school such as the Child Advocacy Clinic, Criminal Juvenile Defense Clinic, or Mediation; or consider doing a clinical internship (working for school credit) for public interest/public sector agencies, private firms or corporations. Join a journal and learn the Bluebook citation style.
5. Join and Attend Legal or Non-Profit Organizations and/or Bar Association events. Consider taking a leadership role in a legal or non-profit organization focused on your field of interest. Joining a professional bar association will help build your network and expose you to important members of the legal profession. One especially effective way to meet attorneys is to volunteer to plan an event. Lawyers like to hire whom they know. Coordinating an attorney event is a terrific way to network without feeling like you are “using” people. Instead, you are working on a common goal as part of a team, getting to know other attorneys with similar interests.
6. Send out Targeted Mailings. Send focused and customized cover letters and resumes to the list of potential employers you identified. If you received any job leads from your contacts or network, contact those leads. Be sure to follow-up with employers, via phone call or email, if you have not heard from them in 2 - 4 weeks to indicate your interest.
7. Visit Your Law School Career Services Office. Conducting a job search on your own can be lonely frustrating work. A job search is a job in itself! Visit your law school career services office for help with your search. More than likely, they have handouts, alumni contacts, and job listings resources you may not have found on your own. For students and alumni who are conducting job searches outside of the Bay Area, “Reciprocity” may be available to allow you to use another law school’s career services office. All reciprocity requests must originate from USF’s Office of Career Planning so please contact our office for the necessary forms. Almost all schools are closed to reciprocity during the fall interview season and reciprocity is typically granted by another school on a case-by-case basis.
The Office of Career Planning is open all summer. Contact our office to set up an appoint to create your personalized Job Search Action Plan: lawcareer@usfca.edu or (415) 422-6757.
