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September 29, 2006
Inside the Minds of Employers: Retention
In order to give everyone a little perspective into the minds of potential legal employers, I spoke with an alumnus in San Francisco who works for a mid-sized “lifestyle” firm this week and asked him what his firm looks for when they bring someone new into their office. He said that most applicants overlook the fact that the major concern for law firms is retention. To a certain extent, applicants, either for clerk or attorney positions, are looked at similar to investments. Hiring committees know that it is going to take a new attorney a few years until they start becoming profitable. The firm needs to believe that you are going to stay at the firm for awhile, not just to get a couple of years of experience so they can run off and go somewhere else. Of course this happens, and will continue to happen, but when writing cover letters or interviewing with firms, this is something that you should be aware of. This alumnus moved to San Francisco from Cleveland without a job, said that students need to have a firm answer to the question of why you want to relocate. While it is not impossible to get a job in a city if you have no ties to the region, it definitely helps.
Posted by naa3 at September 29, 2006 10:42 AM