Celebrate Graduation!

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” ~Henry David Thoreau

I would like to congratulate all our graduates! You have worked hard, learned well and reached new heights. These three years may seem to have flown by, but I remember when you were all 1Ls in the CSO Orientation, listening to the 2Ls and 3Ls talking about their jobs, wondering whether you would ever sound so confident and knowledgeable. And now you do. You are about to enter our Noble Profession at last!

I have a special message for those of you who are looking for jobs. Graduation can be bittersweet for those who have yet to secure a job offer. Questions from parents, relatives and friends about “what’s next” can take some of the joy out of the day. It is an understandable question, but for law graduates, who have the bar exam ahead of them, a premature one. The timing of legal jobs is thrown off by that 3-month postponement of your availability. For a great number of employers, there are later timelines for offers:

1. August/September, when you’re ready to work full-time.
2. November, when the bar results (in New York) are announced.
3. January/February, when you are admitted to practice.

These jobs are often with District Attorneys, small/medium firms, public interest agencies, almost any category! Even large firms and judges have hired later. The timing of an offer is not a measure of the quality of the job, nor of the candidate! As these times approach, I hope you will keep the CSO updated on your search so that we can help you on your way, and encourage you in your pursuit.

So in addition to my heartfelt congratulations, I want to encourage you to savor these celebratory days. You have earned every minute of them! Remember that Commencement is just that--a beginning. Not a deadline.

And to everyone in the class of 2008...you ROCK!! Keep in touch!

Spring Has Sprung, Summer is Coming!

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go."
~Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe

Walking to the Jacobs parking lot on Saturday, I saw a robin
nesting in the flowering tree outside Park Hall. After a teasing us for a few months, Old Man Winter has finally released his grip on us, and Spring is really here. Little shoots and buds, birds and insects are waking and emerging.

And so are legal employers! Even though some of the more visible jobs hire a year or more in advance, remember what it was like looking for a job before the wacky paradigm of the “law school job search” warped our expectations. Before law school, you didn’t go to the Gap to apply for a job, only to tell them that you want to start in 10 months! Employers hired you closer to when you were ready to start.

Small firms, public interest agencies, solo practitioners, and all kinds of great summer and graduate employers fall into this “real world” category! Especially if they don’t have a designated HR or recruiting person/department, if they post jobs at all, the vast majority of them don’t think about summer until the snow is all melted and they see their first robin!
What does that mean for you if you’re looking for a job right now? Here are some things to do:

1. Don’t give up on the CSO’s postings on Symplicity. Jobs continue to roll in all through the month of May and into June.

2. Now is the time to recontact those employers that may have told you that they “weren’t looking right now, but they’ll keep your resume on file.”

3. Don’t be afraid to approach a small law firm or solo practitioner and ask if they need extra help for the summer. They are much more equipped to make a decision about their needs now.

4. Public interest volunteer positions can sometimes be the best and most hands-on experiences. Even if you can only afford to volunteer one day a week with a Legal Aid Office or Public Defender or DA, it will look just as good on your resume. Check the employer section of Symplicity (employer type=Public Interest) or PSLawNet.org or Idealist.org for organizations to approach.

5. If you haven’t come to the CSO with an update on your search lately (or ever), come on in! Everyone’s search parameters are different, so we can sit down, help you devise the most efficient strategy, and help find you contacts and leads.

6. If you’re graduating, realize that employers may still not be able to make a decision about their needs until you’re ready to start work. That will be AFTER the bar exam. Graduation is an unfair and illogical deadline to give yourself to have a job offer. (You can quote me to your Mom and Dad). Don’t beat yourself up on the timing, and keep your eye on what your ultimate dream job is!

After a long winter, it feels wonderful to look forward to summer! Enjoy this time of year (exams notwithstanding), don’t panic, but get do excited about getting some great experience! Look around, explore, inquire, ask, seek. You might discover an opportunity, secret and wonderful, hidden in plain sight, just like my little robin in the tree outside Park Hall.