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September 23, 2009
Tips to make you more marketable to employers!
For 2L and 3L students, this summer should have been a great opportunity to get an idea of what it will be like to be an attorney after graduation. Summer experiences are a wonderful way to get a perspective of how employers run their offices, handle cases and interact with staff.
Now that you are back into your busy class schedules, it is time to make sure you handle your job search and professional development like a separate class where you set aside a certain amount of time. Here are a few tips to be more marketable to employers:
Join local bar associations in the region where you intend to live after graduation or during the summer time. Most bar associations will allow law students to join for free. Each association has its perks to membership. For example, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) sends daily emails to its members with current issues in the Ohio courts. Updates on local law will assist you in better understanding the legal market in your region and provide you with an opportunity to engage in intelligent conversation with prospective employers.
Attend bar association events and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars. A prospective employer will be impressed that you took the initiative to attend a CLE for the sole purpose of gaining more information in that area of law. If the bar association charges a fee for a CLE or events, ask the association if you can volunteer instead of paying the fee. That will allow you to not only attend an event but have a specific task assigned once you are there. If you attend events at bar associations, make sure to speak with attorneys attending the event. Do not stay in one group with law students and friends you came with! This defeats the purpose of attending the event.
Make sure to place your activities with the bar associations on your resume. If you need assistance with ideas on how to properly place a CLE or bar membership on your resume, contact your career counselor!
Reach out to practitioners and alumni! Be proactive about reaching out to attorneys and employers for informational meetings and advice. Employers and alums remember what it was like to be in school seeking information related to employment. They are happy to help you but you must ask for it! If you would like to reach out to alums in your geographic preference, please contact your CSO career counselor.
Continue to look forward! Looking for employment can be a treacherous task but it is important to continue and persevere through the entire process. Remember a decision to nothing is a decision to do something! Make sure to continue doing research and applying to employers you envision yourself working for throughout the school year and do not give up!
Posted by kcc17 at September 23, 2009 11:41 AM