MS Law Careers

Using Westlaw and Google in Your Job Search

2010-12-10T10:03:00.000-06:00

Looking for a job with a federal agency? Have Westlaw access?

December 7, 2010 at 12:45 pm • Filed under Career Resources

Elizabeth Peck, Director of Public Service at Cornell Law School brought this great job searching tip to our attention after coming across this resource suggestion in Finding and Funding International Public Service Opportunities (an online guide updated annually by NALP members at the Universities of Arizona and Georgia, and at the William & Mary School of Law).

Westlaw maintains a database of federal agencies’ regional offices across the U.S. and the world. The database gives you the ability to search by more than 100 practice areas to locate the agencies which need lawyers with particular practice specializations.

To search the database: login to Westlaw and then go to Home –> Career Focus –> Law Student Jobs Online –> Federal Careers for Attorneys.
Also, don’t forget to utilize the federal career resources available to you for FREE on PSLawNet, including the 2010-2011 NALP Federal Legal Opportunities Guide and more.

Put the Googles to Work Finding Job Openings
December 8, 2010 at 12:58 pm • Filed under Career Resources, Public Interest Jobs

Yesterday we shared how to utilize Westlaw to search for jobs with federal agencies. Today we wanted to highlight another job searching suggestion from the AvidCareerist Blog: set up Google Alerts to search for jobs as part of your on-line strategy.

My job search clients and I use Google Alerts, in addition to job boards, to find job openings on-line. Alerts pull more openings than the major boards, they pick up openings from Craigslist, and they help my clients find niche job boards for additional feeds.

“What’s a Google Alert and how do I set one up?” you ask. See here.
The AvidCareerist in her blog uses the job title example of a “contract recruiter” — how can you translate this to looking for public interest legal positions?

Let’s say you are looking for a staff attorney position at a nonprofit, you could set up the following alert: {“staff attorney”} {litigate AND research} {“staff attorney” AND apply}. What if you want to restrict this to search for ONLY jobs in California, then: {“staff attorney”} {litigate AND research} {“staff attorney” AND apply AND california}.
If you are interested in a particular practice area, for example civil rights, you could set up an alert tailored to that preference: {“attorney”} AND {“attorney” and apply or submit} AND {“civil rights”}. You can also set up alerts to search for new opportunities at specific organizations, for example: {“attorney”} AND {“attorney” and apply or submit} AND {“U.S. Department of Education”}. To set up your personalized google job alerts go here.

A note of caution from the AvidCareerist:
However, put a strict limit on the amount of time you spend using alerts and feeds to find and respond to job openings. Why? First, as mentioned above, you will only find a tiny portion of the available openings using these tactics. Second, these are the easiest openings to find. Thus, you will have a lot of competition from other job seekers. I suggest that you spend no more than 30 minutes a day building feeds and alerts and responding to postings. How do you that? Only respond to postings that you are well qualified for.

Want more job search resources? Visit PSLawNet’s Career Central.

Pursuing A Public Interest career

2010-11-08T09:31:00.000-06:00

Pursuing a Public Interest Career: Key Insights from NALP/PSLawNet Public Service Mini-Conference and EJW Conference and Career

Today’s guest post is shared by Leeor Neta, the Assistant Director for Public Interest Programs at Golden Gate University School of Law. After attending the 2010 NALP/PSLawNet Public Service Mini-Conference and EJW Conference and Career Fair he is sharing key insights from programming he attended at both conferences on GGU’s Law Career Services Blog.

Best Advice I Know on Pursuing a Public Interest Career

On the last day of the NALP / PSLawNet Public Service Mini-Conference, I attended a panel discussion that indirectly shared some important advice on how to pursue a public interest career. I say that the advice was “indirectly shared” because the purpose of the panel was to discuss pathways to public policy and think tank careers. Two of the four panelists (Nicole Austin-Hillery, director and counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, and Alejandro T. Reyes, associate counsel for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) are involved in some of the most prestigious impact litigation and legal policy work in the nation.

Both of the panelists agreed that lawyers who work on policy need to understand the nexus between law and enforcement. In concluding that the “best policy percolates up from the street,” Ms. Austin-Hillery explained that a policy lawyer can’t craft effective policy unless she understands her clients and understands how to get them to tell their stories. A policy lawyer needs to make brief and effective arguments under pressure. A policy lawyer also needs to know how to work with opposing forces and different interests to negotiate on her clients’ behalf. Because effective communication and negotiation skills are the key to policy work, the entire panel agreed that a lawyer wanting to work on policy needs a solid foundation in litigation.

The panel also suggested that law students interested in policy work try to work for state legislatures, researching and helping to draft proposed legislation. International work experience, moot courts, and writing opportunities are also considered important. Everyone agreed that working for the Administrative Office of the Courts and State Bar Associations were ideal — and less competitive — ways to acquire policy work experience.

The panel’s best advice pertained to all aspiring public interest lawyers. First, they advised — as I have already done for many of you — that law students identify five to ten offices that they would like to work for and try to join their advisory boards. Many of those offices might need independent legal advice and the work that one does as a board member is a great way to leverage an employment offer once a position opens up. Students should consider a two-week immersion program, some of which are extremely affordable (one of the panelists described a program in Mexico that costs less than $800!).

Finally, the entire panel agreed that the best candidates for entry-level positions demonstrate through their resumes and cover letters that they were born to pursue the job for which they’re applying. Their resumes demonstrate a seamless progression of attention and commitment to a specific area. Therefore, “the sooner you can decide what it is you want to do with your legal career, the better prepared you will be when you apply for your first job.”

Guide to E-Professionalism for Law Students

2010-08-13T10:59:00.000-05:00

Reprinted from NALP Bulletin, August 2010. 2010 National Association for Law Placement, Inc.® All rights reserved.

A Guide to E-Professionalism for Law Students:
Five Steps to Create and Maintain a Professional Online Persona
by Kristen Uhl Hulse

What Is Social Networking?
Social networking is about making connections online,whether they are personal, professional, or a combination of both. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are the leading social networking websites, each offering a unique platform to help you share information with your personal and professional contacts.

• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com), which allows users to make “connections” with professional contacts, has over 65 million professional users in over 200 countries.(See http://press.linkedin.com.)

• Facebook (www.facebook.com), designed to facilitate online connections between “friends,” is the most visited Internet website. (See Facebook Surpasses Google in Weekly Traffic,available at www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_14698296.)

• Twitter (www.twitter.com),a relative newcomer to social networking,is a micro-blog that allows users to communicate with “followers” in short 140-character messages (“tweets”).

Making connections online can yield favorable offline results, such as making new professional contacts or networking to find a new position. Conversely, it may also expose you to unintended risks and consequences. It is therefore important to manage the information you share online(your “online persona”)to help you achieve your professional goals. This concept is known as e-professionalism.

Any information that you share online may influence an employer’s view of you, even if the employer cannot legally consider the information in employment decisions. With that in mind, this advice is designed to assist you in promoting yourself as a professional online, offering five simple steps to help you create and maintain a professional online persona.

STEP ONE: Identify your online social networking goals and choose the social networking platform accordingly. Law students typically use social media to keep in touch with family and friends, reconnect with fellow alumni and former colleagues, make professional networking contacts, and even search for jobs. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter may all be used for those purposes, but some are better than others for maintaining a professional image. Choose a social media platform aligned with your current goals, mindful that your goals may change. Err on the side of professionalism because it can be difficult to clean up “digital dirt” in the future.

Once you have chosen an appropriate platform, manage the content you post online. Any information you post on a social networking site creates an electronic record that may be accessible for years. Because employers may be able to locate your online posts and photos in the future, take steps now to establish a professional online persona.

STEP TWO: Conduct due diligence on your online presence. Is there disconnect between your online persona and your offline persona? Find out by conducting “due diligence” on your online presence. Whether you are an active user of social media or you have chosen not to participate, chances are information about you is publicly available online. Before you can begin managing your online identity,you must first determine what your online persona is now. To do this, run a search of your name (including your maiden name if relevant) on www.google.com, www.bing.com, www.pipl.com and search.intelius.com.

Assume any information you retrieve is discoverable by an employer. Many legal employers have admitted to running searches of a candidate’s name, the results of which can influence the employment process. Remember: your online persona is part of the complete application package you submit to employers. What you post publicly online may be just as important as what you have printed on a formal résumé.

STEP THREE: Clean up your online presence to reflect a professional online persona. Start by thoroughly examining the information you have posted on social networking sites, including status updates, photographs, and even responses to friends’ comments. You do not have to be posting about illicit behavior to raise an employer’s eyebrows. For example,consider the following Facebook or Twitter status updates:

• LAWYER “is stuck on a conference call with a bunch of idiots. Calgon, take me away!”

• LAW STUDENT “just got a job offer! Selling my soul to the devil for financial stability!”

While social media make it easy to share information with friends, be careful when doing so, particularly on Facebook. Even if your personal pages are private, your friends’ pages may be publicly accessible, allowing personal information you post on friends’ pages to be discoverable. Similarly,Facebook friends have the opportunity to “tag” photos of you without your permission.When interacting with a friend online, ask yourself: Does your friend have privacy controls? Do you know your friends’ friends? Assume that if you are telling a friend something sensitive online, the whole world will know your secret.

Beyond interacting on a friend’s page, friends might post material on your page that you may not wish the public to see — for example, “Care to take a ‘sick day’ and join me at the beach on Friday?” or “What time did you get home last night? Can’t believe we drank all those tequila shots.” Think carefully about the image you convey in any status update, photograph, or blog posting. Review information you have posted online as if you are an easily offended employer and purge any questionable material.

There are additional ways to mitigate the risk that a potential employer will find personal information. First, become an expert in Facebook’s privacy settings. From your profile page,select “Settings” for an extensive list of settings to provide different access to identified groups. Note that Facebook changes its privacy settings often. Thus, “fan” the Facebook Privacy page for automatic alerts each time Facebook alters its privacy settings.

• If you have personal AND professional friends on Facebook, create “Friend Lists” to control the types of information visible to various parties.
• You may restrict who can view your Profile, Search, News Feed and Wall, and Applications, allowing you to block a list of work colleagues from seeing certain activities.
• Once your Friend Lists are operational, you can assign new friends to a list when accepting friend requests.

Set Facebook e-mail alerts to notify you of Wall postings and “tagged” pictures of you. You can then act quickly to remove questionable material. Unfortunately,it is impossible to have complete control over what your friends post on your online profile. However,by choosing your Facebook
“friends” wisely and by requesting that they not post questionable items, you will hopefully prevent professionalism pitfalls.

STEP FOUR: Actively manage your online persona to meet your social networking goals. Once you have performed “due diligence” on your online persona and cleaned up your existing online identity, the next step is to actively manage your online persona. Conduct a self-assessment by asking yourself what kind of student you are now and what kind of lawyer you want to be. Specifically, what do you want your public online profile to be?

Based on your goals from Step One, implement an online strategy to manage your online persona. Online reputation management is a key component of e-professionalism. While you may not be able to erase negative online personal information, you can take steps to minimize negative content. In other words, you can create positive content through strategic use of social networking.

LinkedIn
Begin by setting up a professional profile on LinkedIn. LinkedIn’s high Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means it often appears at the top of search engine results. The higher on the screen positive search results appear, the lower the likelihood that the public will find negative information. A professional public profile on LinkedIn helps you establish and maintain a professional online persona. However, be sure your online information matches your offline résumé because employers may check the consistency and accuracy of both.

For tutorials on how to use LinkedIn professionally,visit the LinkedIn Learning Center at learn.linkedin.com and the LinkedIn Learning Center for Attorneys, learn.linkedin.com/attorneys/.

Facebook
As a social networking site designed to facilitate information sharing between friends, Facebook should be used exclusively for personal use to minimize instances of unprofessionalism. Lock down your Facebook privacy settings to ensure that only your personal contacts can view your Facebook activity. Like LinkedIn, Facebook has a high SEO, so failure to impose strict privacy settings runs the risk that your personal information will be publicly visible. For further guidance, see “Nine Best Practices for Attorneys Using Facebook,” www.insidefacebook.com/2009/12/22/9-best-pra
ctices-for-attorneys-using-facebook/.

Twitter
Although Twitter is designed to accommodate both personal and professional networking, you can use the site to emphasize your professional presence. Namely, you can use Twitter as a means of branding yourself as a professional in a particular area. Like LinkedIn and Facebook, Twitter has a high SEO and is a powerful tool for self-marketing. Twitter enables you to post tweets that are visible to the public (if tweets are unprotected) or your preapproved followers (if tweets are protected). Decide whether you want to use Twitter personally or professionally and do not mix the two (or set up separate personal and professional accounts).

If your goal in using Twitter is personal, “protect” your tweets so they will not appear in search engine results. However, if your goal is professional,leave your tweets public.

To get started, see “How to Use Twitter as a Lawyer,” blogforprofit.com/2008/09/11/how-to-use-twitter-as-a-lawyer-part-1/.

Google Alerts
Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) allow you to get e-mail updates of the latest Google results based on your search criteria (for example, your name and/or e-mail address). Results often include social networks, online forum postings, and captions for Flickr photos. Alerts enable you to regularly monitor your online persona. Similarly,you can search for your name and apply for automatic updates on Twitter at search.twitter.com/.
For further suggestions regarding online reputation management,see “Google Reputation Management: Tips on How to Fix Your Reputation and Remove Negative Results,” www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/10/google-reputation-management.html.

STEP FIVE: Be accountable for your online persona. Even if you implement these best practices today, an employer may still find something questionable about you online and seek an explanation. This allows you to clarify or put the material in context. It is crucial that you react professionally and accept responsibility. If it is a picture of you partying at Mardi Gras, explain that this behavior is in your past and that it was poor judgment to post the picture online. If it is a comment that you posted on an inflammatory blog as a law student,explain why you felt so passionate at the time. Mistakes are made — be prepared to be accountable when this might happen.

When answering an employer’s questions about your online materials, do not be defensive, and try to handle the questions with composure. Remember that in many cases, the employer may be trying to see how you react under pressure and whether you have learned from your mistakes. Use the opportunity to demonstrate you now have the judgment and maturity necessary for the position. Finally, if you wish to engage in social media
from your office, be sure to check whether your employer has an official social media policy governing employees’ use of social media. Legal employers are increasingly implementing such policies,and while some are lenient, others are strict and may monitor your access to social media networks from the office and your online posts. Review your employer’s policy carefully and follow it.

You now have the tools to actively manage your online persona to put your best “e-footprint” forward. This will help mitigate the risk that you will be held accountable for past online indiscretions. Become a strategic user of social media by being cognizant of your purpose for using social media. Participate in social networking in a way that enhances your online identity, so that your online activity advances — rather than impedes — your offline professional goals.

Kristen Uhl Hulse, Esq., is Associate Director, Graduate Career and Professional Development, at Georgetown University Law Center.

Marina Sarmiento Feehan, Assistant Director, Office of Career Planning at the University of San Francisco School of Law, provided editorial assistance.

Alternative Career Paths

2010-06-29T13:48:00.001-05:00

Alternative Career Paths for Those With a J.D.

Katherine Frink-Hamlett
New York Law Journal
June 29, 2010

Faced with a tepid legal marketplace, law students and recent graduates (whether deferred, downsized or simply dismayed) need to rethink their career strategies to adapt to this brave new world. With significantly fewer entry-level associate positions available, now is the time to consider alternative opportunities that may not have initially appeared on your radar screen.

Many attorneys, myself included, entered law school with little to no information about the realities of practicing law or even the range of positions that are available to smart folks who hold the almighty juris doctor degree.

We simply figured that the LSAT was far more palatable than the GMAT (no math); we'd take three years to get a law degree since we basically liked school anyway (better than working, right?); and, then with a wave of the magic wand we'd start our prestigious law careers at a big, fat law firm making big, fat law dollars (mission accomplished).

Sure, a few of us had a bit more savvy and were eyeing judicial clerkships from day one. And, of course, there were the well-meaning, altruistic students who planned to change the world through public interest endeavors. But, for the most part, law students have an extremely myopic view of just how far and fast the J.D. can run.

In reality, there are several careers available to lawyers, including recent law school grads, that go beyond the so-called traditional practice of law. Here, three specific areas will be considered: procurement, compliance and legal administrative opportunities.

In addition to describing the substantive functions, suggestions will be provided on how to secure these roles as recent law graduates and whether, as a practical matter, these positions permit a transfer to traditional law practice should there be a desire to switch lanes.

While these careers are frequently referred to as "alternatives," the truth is that they simply represent the range of professional opportunities available to attorneys.

Some, like procurement and compliance, have been around for years. Others, like legal administrative roles, have recently emerged as relatively new careers primarily generated by the 21st century law firm model.

PROCUREMENT

Law students and recent grads may wonder what exactly procurement is. "Procurement is really just a term for how corporations go about the business of purchasing goods and services," explains I. Javette Hines, an attorney who is the senior vice president of supplier diversity and sustainability at Citi. Hines' primary responsibilities are to provide coaching and training to suppliers to make sure that they understand the company's business needs and overall objectives.

In doing so, her role requires that women and diverse businesses have access to corporate opportunities so that the company's suppliers mirror its diverse communities and marketplace footprint. In addition, she acts as a coach and trainer to the company's internal stakeholders to optimize their sourcing strategies.

Like so many attorneys in non-traditional practice areas, Hines stumbled into her procurement career.

After graduating from law school, she completed a short-term temporary assignment with the goal of moving to New York to write a screenplay. However, her plan changed when she landed an entry-level opportunity as a software procurement specialist with a major international corporation.

As a recent law school grad, she entered into the procurement world by drafting and negotiating software contracts. Through a series of promotions, various special projects and external career moves, Hines ultimately obtained her current position.

She emphasizes that understanding "processes and procedures" is critical to success in a procurement function, particularly as those procedures pertain to various components and categories of the company's business needs. Additionally, stellar communication skills are paramount to effectively articulate these concerns to suppliers and business leadership.

Hines encourages law students and recent grads who are interested in further information about procurement to visit the Web sites of the Institute for Supply Management and The Global Sourcing Council to obtain details about this growing and dynamic area.

And, if you're wondering whether a career in procurement prevents a return to the so-called traditional practice of law, rest assured: you can go back.

Why? Because procurement frequently includes drafting, negotiating and reviewing a wide variety of contracts so it is not a U-turn but more like a fork in the road.

In fact, procurement professionals are frequently tapped by legal departments to manage the negotiations for outsourcing transactions or serve as business and/ or government relations managers. By the way, Hines is still waiting to write that screenplay.

COMPLIANCE

Like Hines, Carol Baldwin Moody, senior vice president and chief compliance officer of a major insurance company, found her claim to fame in a so-called nontraditional practice area: financial compliance.

Recognized by Black Enterprise as one of the most powerful African- American women in America, Moody oversees a team of 175+ employees and is charged with the heady task of making sure that the company's vast insurance operations are in compliance with a multitude of ever-changing state and federal regulations applicable to their financial products.

She warns that it may sound easy, but in reality there may be 60 rules that apply to one product, covering activities ranging from regulatory approval to required disclosures. This entails meeting with business people and making sure that they are doing their jobs right.

As Moody emphasizes, "we are a business of trust" and the rules are "supposed to help our customers." As a result, process mapping and design competencies are key skills that any lawyer must have to create and implement compliance programs that make sense for their business.

"Most lawyers do not make good compliance [officers] because we are very conceptual and compliance people have to be process oriented," explains Moody.

She further emphasizes that a good compliance professional is a solution finder because at the end of the day, businesses do not sell compliance, they sell financial products.

Moody recommends that law students and recent graduates who are interested in seeking compliance opportunities take the time to learn what regulators are talking about, especially the "hot topics." And, she suggests visiting the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission to assess the risks of greatest concern to the commissioners.

Once you get your foot in the door, she encourages compliance professionals to seek out process mapping courses to improve their data analysis and processing skills.

Also, if you become associated with a broker-dealer, it is extremely advantageous to obtain extra designations like Series 7 and Series 24 licenses.

Joining a legal department from a compliance role is a no-brainer. From a recruiting perspective, a candidate's compliance experience is highly coveted and frequently a stated requirement or a strong preference.

For example, when asked whether she, as a compliance professional, could transition back to traditional legal practice, Moody responded, "I could easily become general counsel of a company."

LAW FIRM ADMINISTRATION

While law firms may have limited associate opportunities, there may be opportunities in administrative areas such as professional development and diversity.

Maja Hazell is the director of diversity and inclusion at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and her role is broadly focused on diversity as she helps firm management chart a course of business as it relates to the firm's culture.

Hazell explains that "diversity issues show up everywhere:" human resources, recruiting, marketing, etc.

It's her primary responsibility to work in a collaborative fashion to synthesize these various firm functions around diversity and inclusion. In some cases this may entail working with the firm's diversity committee or interfacing with professional development.

Before considering a move to the administrative side, Hazell suggests developing skills to obtain an understanding of what it means to run a successful firm.

If you have practice experience, consider working with administrative, partner and recruiting committees to become involved in firm strategies and problem solving.

As a law student or recent graduate, entry-level positions like recruiting assistant or coordinator are realistic stepping stones that will allow you to transition into a manager's or director's role.

Hazell warns, however, that you may face an uphill battle in convincing a potential employer that you are genuinely committed to an administrative career.

Also, unless you have prior practice experience, returning to traditional law practice may prove difficult so you'll probably want to keep your bar licenses up to date as well as taking on pro bono opportunities.

And, as with all career moves, Hazell emphasizes that it is "all about who you know."

In addition to procurement, compliance and legal administrative opportunities, there are a host of careers that recent graduates can consider, ranging from contract administration to legal publishing.

Even in this challenging market, a law degree can provide meaningful career opportunities for law students and recent grads.

Stay flexible in your approach, be willing to look beyond the obvious, and just hang in there. There's a place for you; it's just a matter of time.

Katherine Frink-Hamlett, a graduate of New York University School of Law, is president of Frink-Hamlett Legal Solutions Inc. and can be reached at katherine@frinkhamlett.com.

Expert Opinion: Getting (and Giving) the Most in Your Summer Internship"

2010-06-18T14:46:00.001-05:00

From the PSLawNet.org Blog:

This week’s Expert Opinion, on how to maximize your summer internship experience comes to us courtesy of Deb Ellis, Assistant Dean for Public Service at NYU School of Law, where she directs the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship Program and oversees the Judicial Clerkship Office. Prior to heading PILC, Deb had a varied public interest career, including serving as Legal Director of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, where in 1992 she argued Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic before the U.S. Supreme Court. She also served as Legal Director of the ACLU of New Jersey, and as a Staff Attorney at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, and at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Deb graduated from Yale College and from NYU Law where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern Scholar. She clerked for the late Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Montgomery, Alabama.

Exams are over and you’ve begun your public interest internship! How can you be the kind of intern that employers will rave about and hopefully want to hire as an attorney someday?

From my perspective as both a public interest practitioner and now a law school counselor, I have developed eight tips based on what I look for when I hire: individuals who take initiative — who can figure out what needs to be done on their cases and projects. In short, I look for people who are proactive.

Sometimes students find that it takes a change of perspective to be proactive after a year spent in classrooms, where their role is more passive. But in the work world it is essential to take responsibility for your own learning. If you make that effort – to think through your priorities, contribute as much as you can to your employer, and be a team player – you will learn the most, and have the most fun, too.

Tip 1. Know your goals and be proactive in seeking out opportunities to accomplish them.
Early in the summer, identify what your goals are. Possible goals include:
• Creating a writing sample
• Strengthening legal research skills
• Observing court proceedings
• Developing client interview skills
• Representing a client at an administrative hearing
What should you do once you identify your goals? Because your first responsibility is to meet your employer’s needs, you have to be strategic – if you simply announce your goals, you will be viewed as self-absorbed and entitled. Many employers will make it easy by asking about your goals. But if they do not, you can still seek out opportunities to develop your skills. It may sound like a truism, but if we know our goals, we are more likely to look for ways to accomplish them. For example, if you want to create a writing sample and the employer gives you an option to write either an outline or a memo, you would choose to write the complete memo.
Identifying your priorities will give you the courage to volunteer for assignments that may seem intimidating. I recall, regretfully, how early in my career I passed up an opportunity to do a substantial argument in federal court because I thought I was too junior. Now I’ve learned that the only way to gain experience is to seize it!

Tip 2: Discuss your internship with your supervisor before or soon after your arrival.
It is best if your supervisor initiates such a meeting, but if she does not, you should be proactive and ask if you can meet briefly to discuss the office’s expectations of interns. Among the issues to discuss are:
• The office’s needs and expectations
• How to request guidance on an assignment
• Whom to go to if you need more work
• Your eagerness to do a particular kind of work (such as create a writing sample), subject to the office’s needs
• Reading that could help you contextualize your work

Tip 3: Be realistic about your expectations for feedback.
Realize that your supervising attorneys are busy people. Their job is to serve their clients, not to mentor you, although they would like to do both. It is realistic to ask for written feedback on one piece of major writing; it is unrealistic to expect feedback on every assignment you hand in. Realize that in the work world, handing in a project and receiving no feedback is par for the course. In some cases you can figure out if your supervisor found your work valuable by observing how she used it—was your research incorporated into the brief she filed with the court?

Tip 4: Honor your duty of confidentiality to clients.
Assume that all case matters and client information are confidential unless your supervisors inform you otherwise. If a matter is confidential, you may not discuss it with those outside your office, except in terms that are sufficiently vague as to protect the identity of both the client and the adversary. Be careful! Do not discuss cases or clients in elevators, on the subway, or in other public places.
Tip 5: Be professional in all conduct and prepared at all times.

• Wear appropriate dress (no tank-tops, shorts, or very short skirts). If you want to be able to observe court appearances, dress in suitable clothing on every day a court appearance is possible. For some offices, this means every day.
• Get to know the support staff by name. Always say “please” when asking for assistance and “thank you” when they have completed a task for you.
• Always carry pen and paper (and use them). As a supervising attorney, nothing irked me more than when a student came to a meeting unprepared to take notes.
• Always be on time, in the morning, and for meetings. You may observe that attorneys come in late – don’t assume that you can, too.

Tip 6: Meet with your supervisor mid-summer to evaluate your progress.
In the hundreds of intern evaluations that I read each year, I’ve noticed that students find a mid-summer evaluation much more productive than an end-of-summer one, because it gives them a chance to immediately implement the feedback they receive. Thus, I advise you to meet with your supervisor (or if you don’t have one, the attorney whom you have done the most work for) mid-way through the summer to ask how you are doing. Ideally, your supervisor will initiate this meeting. However, if she doesn’t, you can subtly “manage up,” and ask her if she would have time for a brief meeting because you would like to ensure that you are doing all you can to be an effective intern.

Tip 7: Be indispensable and take advantage of all learning opportunities.
• Attend lectures, discussions, brown bag lunches, outings or field trips. Some organizations take note of which interns attend all of the events that the office provides. The more involved you are, the more likely it is that the employer will want you back!
• Be a team player. Do your own copying and faxing, and offer to help the attorneys with these tasks as well.
• Find ways for your supervisor to depend on you. Make sure every citation is perfect. As a junior member of the team, you may know more about technology than your supervisor—this is a good way to be indispensable.
• Downtime is an opportunity—and Facebook is NOT your friend! Use downtime to observe court, look for new projects, or do background reading. No one ever became indispensable by playing Farmville.
• “How can I help?” is one of my favorite queries—whether from my son before dinner or from a colleague on a busy day.

Tip 8: Make your supervisor your mentor.
Most attorneys want to be a good mentor, but often don’t have the time for leisurely lunches or long chats. Make it easy for them to mentor you by using any time you have together to ask questions and seek their advice. For example, if they’re walking out of the office to get coffee, ask if you can join them. During a break in a meeting, don’t text – talk to your colleagues.

Conclusion: Having hired dozens of interns and attorneys in my career, I know that internships are crucial: hiring a former intern as an attorney meant that there would be no surprises—we knew in advance how sensational she or he would be! Being proactive as an intern will guarantee that you will gain the skills, knowledge, and recommendations that will help launch you in your public service career. Good Luck!

Resources for Postgraduate, Public-interest Fellowship Applications

2010-06-16T08:12:00.001-05:00

From the June 14, 2010 PSLawNet Blog

This is about the time of year that rising 3Ls start thinking seriously about crafting proposals for postgraduate, public-interest fellowships. Project-based fellowships, like the ones offered by Equal Justice Works and the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, involve a law student submitting a proposal to the funding agency at the beginning of the Fall, 3L semester. In the case of Equal Justice Works, year 2011 fellowship proposal applications will be available on July 5 and are due in on September 15, 2010. As for Skadden, the applications are now available here and are due in on October 4, 2010.

Project-based fellowships are coveted, and competition for them is fierce. Hundreds of public-interest minded law students vie for relatively few positions. For instance, at Equal Justice Works, 43 Class-of-2010 graduates were awarded fellowships. Skadden awarded 27 fellowships to Class-of-2010 grads, down from 36 in 2008.

This is all the more reason to craft the strongest proposal possible. Take advantage of PSLawNet’s tip-sheet, Project-based Fellowship Applications: Take Cues from Those Who Know. Among other advice offered in this handout:

•Create Your Own Fellowship Team: identify people who can help you with the application process, including career services/public interest advisors and faculty or alumni who received fellowships and/or served on fellowship selection committees.
•Build a Relationship with Your Would-be Host Organization: A relationship with your would-be host is a vital part of the successful fellowship application (and the successful fellowship). It’s best to apply with an organization that you have previously worked for. But if that is not possible, it is wise to still propose a project that relates to work you have done, so that you can demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and passion to do the job.

•Focus on the Clients: It’s about the clients, not about you and your career goals. Make sure to emphasize how your project makes an impact and who the beneficiaries of your project are. Can you get client input for the proposal?

•Do Not Take Yourself out of the Proposal Driver’s Seat: A senior program manager at a funding organization notes, “Sometimes when I read an application…it reads like the host organization supervisor thought up a project and then found a fellow to fit the bill rather than a personal passion coming through in the project description.” Funders wish to support a specific project driven by a fellow, not a new staff attorney position for the host organization.

•Do Not Be Vague or Unrealistic: Avoid making the project proposal excessively grand, including too many ideas (i.e. the kitchen sink). While the goal is typically for the project to sustain itself after the fellowship term ends, the fellow should still specifically map out realistic objectives to be achieved during their term. (Note: The opposite can happen too when the application is too narrow and not capable of sustaining itself so that the reader cannot see it lasting two years and beyond.)

For additional tips and more general information, see PSLawNet’s Postgraduate Fellowships Information & Resources Page.

Please remember, too, that project-based fellowships are not the only game in town. Organization-based fellowships, which don’t involve a third-party funder in the application process, are much more plentiful and can provide equal opportunities in terms of gaining experience and developing professionally. Again, use PSLawNet’s Postgraduate Fellowships Information & Resources Page and search the hundreds of fellowship (project- and organization-based) listings in PSLawNet’s opportunities database. We are doing our annual update of fellowships listings now, so if you see one that’s out of date, just check back in a few weeks or get in touch with the employer/host organization directly.

Good luck!

Building a Professional Network

2010-06-08T10:39:00.003-05:00

From Mary's News Box
by Mary Crane

http://www.marycrane.com/readMaryNewsletter.jsp?newsletter_id=20

A graduate of George Washington Law School, Mary Crane lobbied in Washington D.C. for nearly ten years before pursuing her life-long interest in food and wine. Crane enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America and, upon graduation, worked at the White House as an assistant chef. During this time, Crane discovered the interplay of food, wine, and business. Her desire to share this unique knowledge yielded Mary Crane & Associates.

Today, Mary travels North America delivering high impact, high energy programs to Fortune 500 companies and more than 50% of the AmLaw100. She helps new employees quickly assimilate in today’s fast-paced work environment. She also helps managers understand how to best recruit, motivate, and retain today’s newest workers.

Mary has been featured on 60 Minutes, Fox Business News and ABC Radio. She has been quoted extensively in a variety of print and electronic media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, and Fortune.com.

BUILDING A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK

The people who not only survived—but thrived—during the Great Recession of 2009 were the people who had previously invested time and effort building strong personal and professional networks. In some cases, these people had access to more information about developments in their industry, something that allowed them to prepare for the downturn. In other cases, as unemployment rose, these intrepid networkers received early information about work opportunities as they developed. And in virtually all cases, these people had a bevy of contacts upon whom they could lean for pure emotional support.

The most effective networks are the ones that are consciously constructed and carefully nurtured. To the extent that you are helping someone think through their own networking needs, consider the following general guidelines:

Networking Guidelines

1. Start by understanding who and what you currently know.

Unless you’re a recluse, odds are you interact with lots of people on a day-to-day basis. To begin building your network, create a list of the people you know personally and a separate list of the people you know professionally. Then, go through both lists and quantify how frequently you connect with these people. Make a note as to whether most of your connections are face-to-face or electronic.

Make yet another list of the organizations to which you belong. With each organization, note how frequently you attend its meetings and events. It might also be worth noting whether you always attend the same one or two organizational events, though the organization hosts others that have piqued your interest. For example, you have consistently attended the local bar association’s tax section education programs but never signed up for the association’s young lawyers monthly get-together.

Ask yourself how frequently you add new contacts to your network. Also, examine the extent to which you regularly offer to help your contacts by providing them with information or put them in touch with others.

2. Identify your goals.

People build personal and professional networks for a variety of reasons. Make sure you understand your own goals.

If you are a new graduate looking to land your first job, your networking goals might include: Acquiring loads of information about any possible job openings; gaining some visibility among adults who are not your college peers; and acquiring the opportunity to make personal connections with people who can provide advice and support.

If you are an established professional who now seeks to use your network for business development purposes, networking goals might include: Deepening your relationships with current clients; identifying prospective clients; and becoming viewed by colleagues as a trusted professional to whom they would feel comfortable referring business.

3. Look at a variety of different types of groups.

Ideally, personal and professional networks help provide access to extremely diverse skill sets. So don’t hesitate to choose groups and activities that are unrelated to your chosen career path or profession. And, in order to ensure that you regularly attend group meetings and events, choose groups and activities that you truly enjoy.

Some research suggests that among the most effective networking opportunities are those that incorporate some type of “shared activity.” These are unscripted activities organized around a common point of interest, for example, roll-up-your-sleeve events like preparing food in a soup kitchen or sorting collected clothing to be sent to a disaster relief area. According to the research, networkers at “shared activity” events are more likely to engage in genuine conversations and thereby get to know each other more thoroughly. (See B. Uzzi and S. Dunlap, “How To Build Your Network,” Harvard Business Review, December 2005).

Feel free to join groups where you’ll primarily meet people over a coffee and Danish or cocktails, but make sure you also join groups that host “shared activity” events.

4. Recognize that building a network takes time.

The most effective networks are comprised of people who know and trust each other, and trust rarely develops overnight. For this reason, make sure to reach out to members of your network regularly, at least every three to six months. Electronic updates are fine, but face-to-face connections help deepen relationships faster.

And by the way, for the same reason, get started on building your network right now. Don’t put it off until fall. And certainly, don’t put it off until the next economic downturn. You know you need a network. Start building it today.

5. Be prepared to help others.

If you think networking is all about you, you couldn’t be more wrong. Successful networkers make sure they give to others as well as take. Every time someone helps you (points you to a job opening, suggests how you can improve your résumé, refers some business to you), make sure you quickly follow-up with your thanks. Then, look for ways that you can return the favor.

Before you...attend a networking event, make sure (you) are aware of the following five practical networking tips:

Networking Tips:

1. Before attending the event, prepare your introduction. This should include your name and one or two sentences that tell the other person something about who you are and what you do. Make your introduction memorable. In fact, view this as your own 30-second commercial.

2. Eat something before attending a networking event. Throughout the event, your focus should stay on making new contacts, not satisfying hunger pangs. And whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of grabbing a drink and a plateful of nibbles at the same time.

3. Everyone attends networking events with the understanding that they have a responsibility to mingle. Use the business card exchange to bring conversations to an end. After a brief conversation, simply say, “I enjoyed talking with you and would like to stay in touch. Do you have a business card?”

4. As soon as you leave the event, review the business cards that you have collected and make notes regarding specific conversations. Then, in the days, weeks and months that follow, use this information to constantly reconnect with people in your network.

5. Follow-up. Attending a networking event is the first step to building a relationship. Follow-up with people regularly, making sure that you give just as much information, assistance, and support as you receive.

How to Work for the UN or other IGOs

2010-06-01T14:25:00.002-05:00

HOW TO WORK FOR THE UN OR OTHER IGOS
May 27, 2010 at 1:05 pm •
http://pslawnet.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/how-to-work-for-the-united-nations-or-other-inter-governmental-organizations/

Today’s post on possible career routes into Inter-Governmental Organizations like the United Nations comes from Sara Rakita, Associate Director of the Public Interest Law Center at New York University School of Law. Sara has worked extensively on human rights and the rule of law, primarily in Africa. Before joining PILC in 2006, she served as a long-term consultant to the Ford Foundation, where she was responsible for piloting and setting up TrustAfrica, a new African grant-making foundation that is now based in Senegal. Sara spent five years as an Africa Researcher at Human Rights Watch, including two years as the organization’s representative in Rwanda. Sara has also consulted for Amnesty International, Global Rights, USAID, and the Austrian development agency. Sara holds a J.D. from NYU, an M.I.A. from Columbia University, and a B.A. in international studies from The American University. She is fluent in French and has a working knowledge of Spanish and Russian.

Lots of people would love to work for the United Nations or other Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs), but it’s not always apparent how to get there. Indeed, there is no single path. In an effort to demystify a process that is not always transparent, this post will explain some of the main channels into IGOs.

As a baseline, it helps to have a background in international law, foreign language skills, and experience working and living abroad. But, even with all of this, this is still a VERY challenging sector to break into. Getting a job at IGOs or the UN takes a whole lot of networking, persistence, and creativity – with a measure of luck and being in the right place (and often knowing the right people) at the right time.

Internships
Most agencies recruit interns – see http://www.state.gov/p/io/empl/ for a list. These internships can provide great opportunities, skills, and connections you can use in future IGO/UN job searches. One rather important caveat: IGOs typically have a rule that interns cannot be hired as employees in the six months following completion of their internships. Still, internships can help position you to get a paid job later. Furthermore, the prohibition only applies to the specific agency; you are eligible to apply immediately at many other agencies – so if you intern, for example, at the International Criminal Court you could apply for jobs with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia which is also in The Hague. Interning is a great way to get your foot in the door, get to know an agency, prove yourself to potential employers, build your resume, and make contacts!

Entry-Level Programs
Many UN agencies and IGOs have organized entry-level programs for “young” and “junior” professionals. These include programs for young lawyers and others for law-related positions that focus on development, human rights, refugee protection, etc.

• The best way to get hired by the UN Secretariat (the main UN Headquarters) is through the Competitive Recruitment Exam. People hired through this channel get permanent employment contracts. The exam is offered annually in certain fields for nationals of certain countries – but the nationalities and fields change each year. In recent years, Americans have occasionally been eligible to sit for the exam in Legal Affairs, Political Affairs, Human Rights, and Economic Affairs. The process was put on hold in 2009-2010 while the UN tried to clean up its roster of candidates, but is set to resume next winter. For details see http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/examin/exam.htm. Getting hired this way can take at least a year, so it’s not always the best option for your first job after law school but it is good to get the process started. Also note that some other agencies have separate examination programs; the UN High Commission for Refugees is at http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c497.html.

• A number of governments also sponsor two-year JPO Programs for young professionals from their countries (or in some cases developing countries) to work with certain agencies; information about JPO programs is available from sponsoring governments is at http://www.jposc.org/content/programme/other_programmes-en.html. Opportunities for US citizens are limited, but can be found at http://www.state.gov/g/prm/c25774.htm.

• In addition, the UN sponsors a UN Volunteer (UNV) program that often hires young lawyers for positions with peacekeeping missions and other offices in developing countries. Don’t be fooled by the word volunteer – UNVs typically receive stipends and generous per diems. This program can be a great way to get experience and get a foot in the door. See http://unv.org/ for more details.

A few points to keep in mind:
1. Entry level programs at IGOs are highly competitive and many require a minimum of two years prior experience. To boot, they often have age limits of 30-35.
2. Some agencies, like the World Bank, prefer students with LL.M.s.
3. Passports matter. It helps to be from a country that is “underrepresented” in that agency. Good news: the United States is currently underrepresented in the UN and, after years of resentment against Americans for not paying our dues, we are all paid up. But other nationalities may still get preference in some offices.
4. Networking is always helpful in getting these positions.
5. Application processes can be very lengthy – it can take up to a year, sometimes much longer, from the time of application to starting a job.
Application Tip: When applying, it is best to go through formal channels listed on the organization’s website and also to use personal channels (networking) to make sure they actually consider your application.

Full-Time Positions
Many positions are listed on the main UN job site, http://careers.un.org, and at http://www.unsystem.org/jobs/job_opportunities.htm. The State Department publishes a bi-weekly list of international vacancy announcements http://www.state.gov/p/io/empl/.

But don’t stop there! Every agency from the African Development Bank to the International Criminal Court to the World Trade Organization has its own website and its own employment page (a good list of links can be found at http://www.state.gov/p/io/empl/125507.htm). Most of these organizations have satellite offices based in other countries, some of which have region or country-specific websites – e.g. UNHCR mission in Sri Lanka or the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia, of which the US is a member – where they may post jobs that do not appear on the central websites. Not all positions are posted publicly and some may only be posted internally.

Confused? The UN job system used to be (aptly) named Galaxy – it often felt that applications went into a black hole. In my many years of doing international work, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who just applied for a position from the website without contacts and actually got the job, though they do exist. While the UN has made efforts to improve the process, perhaps this is another good time to mention that networking will usually be the best way to not only find out about job opportunities, but also to make sure that your application is looked at.
A word on job categories: professional positions at the UN are labeled with P: P-2 positions are considered entry level, though they really require at least 2 years experience, and with more experience you can progress to a P-3, P-4, etc.

Contract and Consulting Work
Outside of these formal channels, IGOs often hire professionals on a fixed-term or short-term contract basis. They may become available when a staff person goes on maternity leave or on mission overseas. These jobs may also materialize if there is a big new project that an office needs help with. Postings may be labeled “Consultancies,” “Consultants,” “Short Term Contracts,” Experts,” “Project Vacancies,” etc. Networking is the best way to find out about these opportunities, as contract and consultant positions are not always posted.

It can be stressful to take these short-term positions (believe me, I know), but if you really want to get there these can be your best option. Why is it worth it? You will start to make good contacts, giving your networking a huge boost. And you can often apply for other positions as an internal candidate once you are in. I have known many people who started on a short contract but are still there years later. The UN can be sort of like the Hotel California in that sense, once you check in you can never leave…

About that Networking
So, as you have gathered, it really helps to have contacts on the inside! But how can you find these contacts? Internships of course are a great way. Also be sure to ask your international law professors who they know. Bar and other professional associations can also be helpful – International Law Weekend at the New York City Bar (held every year in October) or the American Society for International Law’s annual April meeting in Washington, DC are both excellent. You may also consider joining the UN Association of the USA.

In conclusion, the UN is not an easy nut to crack. But for those of you who are determined to get there, I hope this serves as a useful roadmap to a highly sought after destination. I don’t necessarily recommend that you focus a job search solely on IGOs, but it is definitely worth pursuing along with other options. Good luck!

Never Send A Generic Cover Letter

2010-04-16T09:52:00.001-05:00

NEVER SEND GENERIC COVER LETTERS.
http://abovethelaw.com/- April 16, 2010

The following is an excerpt from a posting on AbovetheLaw.com by an attorney who received a letter from an applicant addressed to “Dear Sir or Madam.”

“I just received a resume and cover letter from a young attorney seeking employment in my firm. I honestly don’t notice things like spelling errors because I can’t spell myself, but I’m sure the letter and resume were flawless technically. I didn’t even read it that closely because the cover letter was addressed “Dear Sir or Madam:”

Here’s my response to the job seeker. Yes, I addressed it to him personally, but I’ll keep that private for his sake.”

I recently received your resume & cover letter. While I’m not hiring right now, I thought I’d give you some feedback that might help in your approach.

1. Take the three minutes or so that it requires to research each firm to at least get a name to address your letter to someone. I don’t like being called “Dear Sir or Madam.” Especially when it would only take about 30 seconds to find my name online. This shows that you did NO research into my firm to see if you might be a fit for what we do. You are trying to push the match onto me. I don’t need you to make more work for me. I only hire people who make my life easier.

2. Your cover letter was all about you, and frankly, none of your experience has anything to do with my firm’s work. Again, if you had taken just a few minutes to search online, you would have found out what we do. Then you could make a decision. You could either write a cover letter that tells me how you’ll make my life easier, or you could save a stamp.

You have an interesting background – especially the National Outdoor Leadership School training. In Colorado, leading with that might be more effective than leading some of the legal experience you’ve had that really doesn’t translate to the local legal market.

I wish you the best in your job search.

LinkedIn is More Than Just Your Profile

2010-04-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

LinkedIn is More Than Just Your Profile
by Allison Shields on April 7, 2010

I just returned from ABA Techshow 2010 and noticed that more and more lawyers are embracing social media. The general consensus among lawyers seems to be that LinkedIn is the most ‘professional’ of the networks, but in my experience in speaking with lawyers about social media, I’ve found that lawyers are “on” LinkedIn, but they are not using it effectively. Many don’t know what to do other than posting a profile, responding to invitations and occasionally inviting others to link. But they take no other action and rarely follow up.

You would not go to a networking event, collect business cards, do nothing with them, never follow up and expect to get business. You would not join a networking group, put your name on the membership rolls and then never show up and expect to get business. In the same way, you cannot expect to get business from LinkedIn without participation, follow up and engaging your connections.

First, as with any other undertaking, you need to know why you’re joining LinkedIn. What are you hoping to get out of it and who do you want to connect with? To learn more about purpose and social media, see this post on the Legal Ease Blog: http://legalease.blogs.com/legal_ease_blog/2009/12/social-media-for-lawyers-whats-your-purpose.html

Some quick tips for using LinkedIn:

■Upload your contacts and invite others to link with you
■Personalize your invitations; let the contact know how you know them
■Customize your profile page url: include your name, firm name or brand
■Join Groups and follow what’s happening in your area(s) of interest and in your clients’ industries
■Update your profile periodically; make sure it reflects how you help your clients and how you are different
■Let your personality shine through
■Keep your status current
■Join discussions to share your expertise and learn from others
■Post events and invite others to participate or attend
■Consider recommendations; even if you don’t want to ask for them, be generous about giving them to others
■Use the Questions and Answers section to share information and build your expert status
■Use search features to find people in industries or businesses you’re interested in
■Look at your connections to see who they are connected to and ask for introductions
■Follow up and take your LinkedIn relationships offline; pick up the telephone or meet for coffee

Allison Shields is a law practice coach and consultant with Legal Ease Consulting, Inc. She writes the Legal Ease blog and the Lawyer Meltdown e-newsletter

Six Tips for Developing Leadership Skills in Law School

2010-03-09T08:26:00.000-06:00

Author Todd Belcore is a third-year law student at the Northwestern University School of Law. He is the president of the Student Bar Association, and was awarded the 2009 PSLawNet Pro Bono Publico Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to promoting public service in his law school community. After graduation, Todd will serve as an Equal Justice Works Fellow with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.

Six Tips for Developing Leadership Skills in Law School

1.Listen. Leaders help others to solve problems. As a leader you must be able to discern the needs and interest of your audience – whether it’s clients, coworkers, or others - as quickly as possible. The good news is that people usually tell you what their needs and interests are. The bad news is that we advocates are sometimes too busy to really hear them. Listening is a perennially underrated skill that informs or implicates nearly all others. In law school, just like any other setting, you have the opportunity to learn more about interests, personalities, opinions and perspectives of others. Listening does three invaluable things: 1) it will broaden your perspective; 2) make you communicate in a more responsive and responsible manner; and 3) help inform how to approach an issue in a way that addresses others’ needs rather than simply your perception of their needs.

2.Make ideas come to life. Everyone has ideas. Fewer can turn ideas into real programs, events, classes or policies. Leaders get those results. This phenomenon is actually a developable skill. If there is something your law school doesn’t offer, a program that hasn’t been implemented, an event that hasn’t been made available, an organization that hasn’t been formed, don’t be afraid to come up with some ideas and mobilize around changing that. This process alone will require you to plan, gather resources, build a base of contacts, and determine the audience you must convince to make that idea come to fruition. This process will essentially be mimicked no matter the level of the project you take on so the more experience you get with it, the better.

3.Make yourself uncomfortable. A leader has to be in touch with his or her limitations. However, in order to learn precisely what those are, you must challenge any assumptions you have of yourself. What are you uncomfortable doing? Do you perceive that to be a weakness? Can it change? There is no better opportunity to answer those questions than in law school where there are a plethora of curricular and extracurricular opportunities. I have friends who came to school “knowing” they would never be oral advocates who are now on the trial team because they challenged their assumptions.

4.Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Leaders know they may have done something well, but they can always do better. Don’t be afraid to admit and learn from mistakes. There is often no better way to grow and learn than to make a mistake and ask for constructive criticism. Fortunately, law school is typically a good place to receive feedback but in the event you are not getting any or enough feedback, seek it out. You can’t fix areas that could use improvement unless you know about them, so ask for feedback.

5.Learn to manage personalities. All leaders need help, and good leaders know how to get it. As society becomes more diverse and complex, it becomes more vital than ever to be able to work with – and influence – people with varying personality types, backgrounds and power. (Even amongst people with similar backgrounds and personality types, differences in work style will emerge; you should learn to notice those and learn how to work with all people based on their individual characteristics.) Law school provides you with an opportunity to recognize personality traits and work styles of your peers and coworkers, and to learn how to work efficiently with them. Take advantage of this opportunity as frequently as possible.

6.Find your voice. Leaders are true to themselves. Law school is the ultimate place to not just learn about case law, but to learn more about yourself. However, it is also a place where you can lose yourself amidst the briefs, reading and argument. Therefore, it is critical to think about who you are, who you want to become and how law school will help you get there. Don’t just engage the law, but consider the law in light of your personal history and experiences. Don’t just take a side, but let that side be informed by loved ones and people you have met along the way. Finding your voice is not only personally fulfilling; it makes everything easier to communicate. It also reflects a level of comfort with oneself that makes a favorable impression on those around you. Every law school experience is a chance for you to find your voice, and to use it.

Public Interest Interviewing Tips

2010-02-10T09:09:00.001-06:00

February 7, 2010

For many public-interest minded law students, whether they are hunting for summer or postgraduate work, winter and early spring constitute interview season. Harvard Law School’s Office of Public Interest Advising maintains a very helpful interviewing resource webpage, which includes lists of questions to expect from interviewers. And PSLawNet offers a concise, bullet-pointed interview tips guide. Some key points:

- Take advantage of mock interview opportunities. Explore with your career services office the possibility of setting up mock interviews so that you can work out the kinks and develop a comfort level with the formality of interviews. Ideally, the (mock) interviewer will be an attorney with some experience in the area of work that you are trying to break into. Even if you feel you are a strong interviewer, there is absolutely no downside to practicing. For instance, you may be asked a question in the mock interview that challenges you. By thinking through it and developing an answer in a no-consequences environment, you can hit it out of the park during a real interview.

- Be able to explain your motivation. Public interest employers look for students who have a genuine interest in their organizations’ missions. If you have past work experience in an area related to the job you are seeking, that demonstrates a personal commitment. By all means, you should highlight this experience during the interview. Even if you do not – and many law students do not have a lot of public interest experience under their belt when they begin school – you must prepare to explain what motivated you to apply for the specific job.

- Don’t just prepare to answer questions; prepare to ask them. A good interview is a conversation, and you risk seeming disinterested if a potential employer offers you an opportunity to ask questions and you take a pass. You should prepare a short list of questions based upon your pre-interview research about the organization, and perhaps even a question for the interviewer personally, such as, “How did your career path lead you to your current position?”

Five Things I Wish I'd Known in Law School

2010-02-02T08:07:00.001-06:00

The following was written by Andy Cowan. Andy graduated cum laude from the Cornell Law School in 2008. He summered at the Pro Bono Project of New Orleans and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and now works as a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Lowell, MA. Andy is an editor of the Public Defender Blog “Incorrigible Dicta” at http://www.dictablog.net.

Some of these “five things that I wish I had known” come with advice that I did in fact follow, but in many cases I did so out of stubbornness more than any specific knowledge that they might be good things to do. I didn’t load up my schedule with criminal law and say no-thanks to corporations in my third semester because I thought it would get me a job, I did it because I liked criminal law and thought corporations would be boring!

1. The “Standard” Curriculum and Career Services Advice May Not Fit Your Needs.

Depending on where you go to school, much of the career services and professional development infrastructure (including advice you get on course selection) may be designed to set you on track for a job you don’t want. If you have a public interest career services office, take advantage of it! Also, ask the advice of other public interest law students. Why should you take corporations, taxation, and securities regulation in your third semester if you want to be a public defender? You shouldn’t! I’m not saying you should never take those classes (see #4, below), but remember that the beginning of your second year is when you need to be thinking about setting yourself up for a second-summer job. If that’s not going to be in the same field as your first-summer job, you’re going to need to convince interviewers that you’re serious about it–and one way to do that is to take classes related to what you really want to do. When I interviewed for my second-summer job at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, I had just finished a first-summer job in New Orleans doing civil work. When Jen Thomas interviewed me, her first question was, “I see you spent your first summer doing civil legal services. You know we do criminal work, right?” I was fortunate that I was not only able to say “oh yes, that’s where my heart really is!” but also that I was taking criminal procedure and a number of capital defense classes (including clinic) that semester to prepare myself for a career in criminal defense. Put your tuition money where your mouth is! And if you’re not entirely sure what you’re going to do with that second summer, cover your bases.

2. Moot, moot moot for the home team!

In a similar vein, you hear a lot of emphasis placed on being editor-in-chief of law review as the key to a good job. If you’re looking to go to a Vault 100 firm, this may be vitally important. Law review gets a lot of emphasis, but consider moot court or mock trial, too! When you’re going to start your career in a courtroom, it helps immensely to have courtroom experience–even if it’s make-believe. I would not be nearly as fluent with case law nor as able to withstand grilling by an unfriendly judge, had I not mooted my heart out in law school. I took nearly every moot court opportunity available to me, and by the time I graduated I was entirely accustomed to hearing strangers in black robes batter me with irrelevant questions. I wish I had known at the time how important it would be; I might have done even more!

Also, if you are going to do a journal, consider a public-interest-focused journal over the “top” journal at your school. In our business commitment can be a lot weightier than prestige. I worked on the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, and never regretted my choice not to enter the competition for Law Review. Likewise, PSLN’s Katie Dilks worked on the Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, and I cannot imagine that anybody here looked down their nose at that experience!

3. Relocating is Hard

I grew up in an academic family. Relocating was part of the experience. For as much as the legal market stresses geographical connections, I was raised on the notion that one goes where the job is, and that might be thousands of miles. As I conducted my nation-wide job search for a public defender job, I found my flexibility to be both an asset and a liability. The asset part is simple: being able to say “I want to be a public defender more than I want to live in any particular place” shows commitment like nothing else–so long as you sound sincere and are sincere. On the flip side, when I interviewed for my current job at CPCS, the director of the Northampton office (where I was interested in going) suggested that I might have heard thus-and-such about Northampton. I had to admit that I had, in fact, heard nothing at all about Northampton. On a good day, I’d be able to point it out on a map. I also told the hiring committee to place me as far away from Boston as they could, because (having spent no time in Boston), I assumed that Boston was like New York, and I did not want to spend time there. I now commute from Boston. Oops.

Relocating is hard for another reason. If you’re moving someplace just for a job, you may be walking into an environment where you don’t know anybody except your coworkers. That may be more or less of a problem depending on how social you are and how easily you make friends, but remember that you may not be moving with an instant network of similarly-situated people like you may have done if you relocated for college or law school.

4. You should take classes that aren’t directly relevant to your intended career.

I eventually took corporations, and I’m glad I did. Less than three months into my job as a public defender, we had to figure out how we could serve a discovery subpoena on a foreign corporation, and I would have been totally lost without that background. Once you’ve established a foundation with classes relevant to your career pursuit, take a wide variety of other classes, because you never know what will be useful in practice. Have some intellectual curiosity, and don’t be so snooty about the “public interest track” versus the “corporate track.”

5. Cover letters are important, and not hard.

I know, I know–you hate writing cover letters, it’s like pulling teeth, you have twenty million things to do and who’s going to read them anyway? Nobody, if that’s your attitude. And they’re not going to hire you, either. I felt very much in the dark about cover letters until we had a support staff vacancy in my office and I started helping out with screening resumes. The difference between a good cover letter and a bad one is startling, and important. Your resume says a bit about who you are, but it probably doesn’t say why you want the job or why the job should want you. It’s not rocket science. Write a bit about what you bring the table, why you’re an asset. If it’s not obvious how your experience prepared you for the job you’re applying for, explain that. And do not address your cover letter “to whom it may concern” or “dear sir or ma’am.” Addressing your cover letter to the person who makes hiring decisions shows interest and attention to detail. If it’s not obvious from the vacancy announcement, call and ask “to whose attention may I address my application?” It also shows that you’re applying for this job on purpose. A form cover letter or a one-line “find attached my resume” suggests that you are not serious about this and need to get out the door before the bar tab runs out. If you’re still feeling lost about how to write a good cover letter, ask the internet–or better, your career counselor.

While we’re on the topic, skip the “objective” section on your resume. It’s an unpersuasive waste of ink; at best it duplicates your cover letter. At worst somebody looks at it and says “too bad that’s not what we’re hiring for.”

Income-Based Repayment plan Q&A

2010-01-14T10:10:00.003-06:00

The Department of Education has published a comprehensive list of Questions and Answers regarding the Income-Based Repayment plan.

Questions 4, 5 and 6 address eligibility.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/IBRQ&A_template_123109_FINAL.pdf

Seven Ways to Flunk a Job Interview

2010-01-08T08:40:00.002-06:00

Seven Ways to Flunk a Job Interview
by Adriana Gardella

Mistake #1: Drop your guard in front of “the help.”

Interviewing is stressful. Sometimes you just want to explode. But don’t. At least not in front of anyone who could influence the hiring decision.

Ron Panaggio, regional HR manager for security systems provider SimplexGrinnell recalls one candidate who took himself out of the running when he thought no one was looking. After meeting with Mr. X, a strong contender, Panaggio, who was then working for Emery Worldwide in New York, asked the receptionist who greeted the candidate to share her impressions. Turns out, Mr. X had launched into a profanity-laced tirade about the company’s lack of visitor parking spaces.

Panaggio notes that although the guy may have had a point — the parking situation wasn’t ideal — his delivery, and his questionable decision to attack his would-be employer set off warning signals. “If he was that critical about parking, we could only imagine how he was going to react to substantive policies that he disliked,” says Panaggio.

Employers know that job seekers interact with receptionists and other support staffers — often with their guards down. “They don’t see those people as decision makers, so they tend to be more genuine in their interactions with them,” says Panaggio. But employers routinely ask these employees for feedback. “We like to see whether the interview persona matches the unscripted persona that walks through the door,” says Panaggio. Consider that the next time you’re waiting for a tardy interviewer (who’s probably busy and making do with a reduced staff).

Mistake #2: Over share.

Candidates worried about explaining employment gaps on their resumes have been getting way too personal, says Wanda Cole-Frieman, an executive recruiter for Blue Shield of California. While she enjoys building rapport with the applicants she meets, certain topics are off-limits — or should be. They include descriptions of your medical conditions and information about your sick parents or childcare woes.

It’s not just a matter of propriety. Chatty candidates put interviewers in an awkward position when they raise issues that could identify them as members of a legally protected class. Cole-Frieman recalls that one of her colleagues was forced to contact the legal department for guidance after a candidate announced that he used marijuana for medical purposes. The legal drug use wasn’t a dealbreaker, but raising such issues won’t endear you to interviewers. “We’re trained to say, ‘Thanks for sharing, but Blue Shield doesn’t consider those factors in its hiring decisions,’” says Cole-Frieman.

Mistake #3: Assume your resume speaks for itself.

Your resume may have helped you get the interview, but it won’t get you hired. Susan Strayer, a career coach who also works in corporate HR for a Fortune 500 company, urges job seekers to go out of their way to connect the dots for interviewers, highlighting their work experiences with stories that clearly describe what they accomplished in each role and how it relates to the position they are seeking. Don’t assume that your interviewer is familiar with obscure acronyms and non-intuitive job titles that have no significance outside the organizations that use them.
Strayer recalls meeting with an unsuccessful candidate who breezed through his resume, touting his “A-76 experience,” a term that meant nothing to her at the time, and never pausing to explain it. Strayer says he would have been better-served by taking a moment to add, “If you’re not familiar with A-76, it’s a government mandate to ensure tasks are performed in the most cost-efficient way. My role on the A-76 project was to...”

Mistake #4: Show the interviewer how important you are.

You’ve got places to go and people to see — we get it, you’re a big deal. But when an employer has taken the time to meet with you, your undivided attention is a must. “You’d think it was a joke, but employers tell us about candidates who check voicemail and e-mail, text, and even take phone calls during the interview,” says Corinne Gregory, president of Social Smarts, a program that teaches social skills, primarily to young people.

Note to Gen-Yers (and iPhone addicts of all ages): Acing the interview is your primary mission. If you lack the impulse control to keep your hands off your phone, leave it behind.

Mistake #5: Talk the employer out of hiring you.

Especially in this tight job market, you may find yourself interviewing for positions you would ordinarily consider beneath you. That’s what happened to Russ Merbeth, now an attorney with Integra Telecom when he applied for an in-house counsel position with another company. During two days of interviews, Merbeth says he expressed his doubts about the position, which he viewed as poorly conceived and not perfectly suited to his talents. “I basically rewrote the job description for them,” he says. Not surprisingly, they hired someone else.

While Merbeth’s story ended happily — eventually — he would have been wiser to keep his options open. “Always close strong, and get the job,” he says. “You can reject it later.” It’s advice you likely won’t hear from recruiters, but then they’ve already got a job.

Mistake #6: Stalk your recruiter.

There’s a fine line between enthusiastic and desperate, and you don’t want to cross it. Human resources consultant Jessica Miller-Merrell was impressed following her interview of a VP-level candidate for a position with OfficeMax, where she worked at the time. The guy was one of two finalists for the job — until the phone calls.

Two days after the interview, Miller-Merrell was out of the office, attending an all-day training. She had forwarded her office calls to her cell phone and noticed 15 hang-ups, all from the once promising candidate. Though he finally left a message (about a matter so trivial that Miller-Merrell can’t remember its substance) the obsessive hang-ups left a negative impression on her. “Someone at this level should be able to maintain composure and professionalism at all times,” she says.

Mistake #7: Treat social media communications casually.

These days, many employment relationships begin — or end — with social media. To ensure that yours falls into the former category, heed this tale.

Mark Sullivan, director of talent acquisition for Time Warner Cable in Austin, Texas, posted a link to a Senior VP-level job description that he needed to fill on LinkedIn. Among the candidates who responded, was a woman who wrote, “Dear Mark, That link don’t[sic] work.” Her next sentence began with a lowercase letter and was missing a crucial “the.”

“Whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or instant or text messaging, you still have to be professional in every communication related to your job search,” says Sullivan. So, keep yourself in the running by proofreading before you hit “send.”

New PSLawNet Blog

2010-01-04T13:32:00.001-06:00

I’m very pleased to report that PSLawNet has launched a blog at http://pslawnet.wordpress.com/.

We hope that the blog will be a valuable resource for you.

Tough Love for New Associates

2009-08-05T07:47:00.004-05:00

Commentary: Tough Love for New Associates

Jason Braun
Texas Lawyer
August 04, 2009

Downloaded from http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/CareerCenterArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202432739826, August 5, 2009

My professors in law school taught me case analysis, courtroom techniques and legal research skills, but they overlooked one important area: the practical realities that exist within a firm.

When I became a lawyer, a partner gave me what I now realize was great advice: "Don't think like an associate," she told me. "Think like a partner." I wisely nodded my head. "Of course," I solemnly replied, hoping she would not notice my confusion.

Truth be told, I really did not understand her advice. But over time, I learned that the basic premise behind the advice is to put the client first and let the partner be your guide.

New associates love being lawyers -- or at least should -- and hopefully their first and foremost goal is to become a great lawyer. Over the past few years, several tenets have helped me on the way to that goal. Some I learned quickly; others I learned through trial and error.

PARTNERS ARE ASSOCIATES' FIRST CLIENTS
New lawyers should act as though they owe a fiduciary duty to their firm and its partners, whether or not the law recognizes one. Those who act on this belief will respond to situations appropriately.

Associates should always strive to provide the partner with perfect work. Here is a little secret: You will fail miserably numerous times. But do not be disheartened if the partner says your perfect brief is complete and utter trash. Keep striving for perfection, and the criticism will lessen. I guarantee you will learn more through criticism than through praise. Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. Do not rely on the partner to catch mistakes and fix them. If a document is not good enough to go to the client, it absolutely is not good enough to go to the partner.

Also, keep an eye out for potential problems that could impact the firm. Remember, think like a fiduciary and look out for the firm's best interests, just as you would a client's. Anything that could hurt the firm or the partners is your problem. That means "it" -- whatever it is -- is never just someone else's problem.

FOLLOW THE LEADER
Some associates complain ad nauseam about partners who criticize their appearance or yell at them. They whine about the long hours the partners demand and are indignant that partners refuse to listen to their ideas regarding a case. Don't be one of those associates.

In a profession full of type-A personalities, most associates will work for partners who get visibly angry at something an associate does. They may even work for the dreaded partner who shouts at associates for making mistakes. In my opinion, those are the best partners because when you make a mistake, you will never forget it.

Lawyers are expected to sacrifice leisure time and family time to get projects done for clients. In a client's world, there are no excuses for bad results. In an associate's world, that means "my children are sick," "my dog just died" or "I am going through a messy divorce" are never excuses for bad results. Clients may sympathize, but they will do so while searching for a new firm to represent them.

In addition to a lawyer's work product, clients make judgments based on appearance and attitude. Always assume that the partner knows the client's likes and dislikes. Let the partner be your guide as to how you should conduct yourself at the firm and in front of clients. If the partner tells you to cut your hair or shave the goatee, he or she has a good reason. So start shaving -- with a smile.

The same advice goes for anyone who thinks bringing backpacks to a firm is hip, cool or somehow a symbol of independence. The old adage "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" is true.

MAKE YOUR OWN RAIN
In firms, those who make the rain also make the rules. Associates who want to make their own rules should become rainmakers themselves. The legal industry is a service industry, and lawyers must constantly market and sell their services.

First rule of thumb, always carry business cards. Fumbling for business cards in your wallet and mumbling that you left them back at the office never makes a good impression. When attending an event, keep business cards in an easily accessible place, such as a coat pocket or, even better, a card holder.

Once armed with business cards, use them. The cards are useless if they remain in a pocket. Start by exchanging cards with other attorneys. Meet other lawyers and follow up with lunch. Often other attorneys are the best source of business referrals.

Do not expect immediate results. Associates who keep meeting new people and building contacts will be in a position to obtain their own clients someday. Have patience. The process can take years. Business development is a lifetime commitment.

CHEERLEADERS CAN BE TOUGH
This is the touchy-feely category that many associates do not believe has a place in the stern and serious world of law. A new lawyer can be a hard-as-nails associate, fighting aggressively with opposing counsel, and still be a great morale builder.

Everyone works better when morale and spirits are high. Not surprisingly, partners want morale to be up at the firm. Many associates, however, are entirely self-absorbed and pay constant attention to how they are feeling after having two bad days in a row. Get over it.

The firm is better served when associates focus on building the morale of others. Many associates take a hands-off approach to staff issues, believing those issues are the domain of the human resources department. That is a mistake. While human resources has its place, associates will reap benefits from learning when someone is not doing well or could use some help getting through the day. Do something nice for them as a pick-me-up.

Associates can have a positive impact on a firm's culture, whether they are at the bottom or the mid-level. Every firm suffers low morale from time to time. Do not accept it. Do something about it.

I hope these concepts will be as useful to you as they have been for me over the past several years. While success is never guaranteed, you are now off to a good start. Good luck.

Jason Braun is an associate with Ajamie LLP, a litigation/arbitration boutique in Houston. His principal practice areas include business, fraud and financial litigation; insurance coverage and construction litigation; and commercial and securities arbitration.

Interview Question: Why should I hire you?

2009-07-31T08:50:00.004-05:00

Interview Question: Why should I hire you?
July 29, 2009

Downloaded from http://cuberules.com/2009/07/29/interview-question-why-should-i-hire-you/ on July 31, 2009

Open-ended interview questions from hiring managers are great ways to solicit information from job applicants. What’s lousy about the open-ended questions, however, is when they are simply open-ended and not open-ended about the job. As a result, “Why should I hire you?” is a dangerous interview question. You have no context with which to orient your answer to what the hiring manager is looking for in the position. So your answer can be spot-on or wildly off base. Just what you want in an interview…

Start with your value to work; your personal brand. While each of us has done work that qualifies as a “position” — let’s say a nurse — each of us also brings particular skills to the job that differentiate us among nurses.

For example, my tag line is “rubber meets cloud.” I’m good at implementation of projects. I can see the high level of work and gateways and management intentions while being perfectly capable of getting into the weeds of the tasks with anyone to get the work done. That’s one of my special job skills that I bring to project management.

Or, my special skill as a manager is that I figure out how to get the best work out of each individual on my team. I have various ways of doing that, but I have a track record of getting teams working well together to get stuff done. You have that same unique set of skills for the work you do as well. It might be delivery, creativity, focus, problem solving, process fixing or a hundred other things. Use your personal brand to show value to the job description.

When you get asked an open-ended question about you rather than the job, the only criteria about the job you can fall back on is the job description. Consequently, before the job interview, you need to have already decided what value you bring to the major portions of the job description. You start with your personal brand values and then go through the job description and apply the values to the job. If the job description reads that the person needs to work in a fast-paced environment and one of your unique skills is your ability to quickly reorient your focus, you can build part of an answer to a “why should I hire you?” question based on the fact that you quickly change focus as the daily pace changes while still achieving your goals.
Having 2-3 of these “unique performance values” related to the “job description” will give you the cleanest way of beginning to answer the “why should I hire you?” question.

Scot Herrick

Avoid a Common Interview Pitfall

2009-07-31T08:43:00.004-05:00

Avoid a Common Interview Pitfall
By Jessica Stillman
July 30th, 2009 @ 11:28 am

downloaded from www.bnet.online.com July 31,2009

Even if you’ve perfected your pitch and learned to summarize your accomplishments in a compelling and concrete way, interviews are not safe ground, especially for those who are relatively new to them. Interviewers have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, not least of which is questions seemingly designed expressly to trip you up. Putting aside the loathed “what are your weakness?” question, blog Cube Rules describes another type of interview question that seems to have no correct answer, calling these “forced choice questions” and giving examples:

· “What is more important to you, the money or the job?” Great, if I say “the money,” the hiring manager doesn’t think I’m motivated to do the work. If I answer with “the job,” the manager doesn’t think I’ll be upset with a smaller salary offer.

· “Do you prefer to work alone or with others?” Swell, I can like to work by myself and be thought of as a poor team player with no collaborative abilities, or else I work so well with others I can’t get anything done by myself.

Helpfully, Cube Rules also throws the floundering interviewee a life buoy, suggesting ways out of the bind. Perhaps the simplest solution is to says yes to both answers. For example, in response to the second question above, CR suggests a possible reply: “I like working alone when I need focus and productivity to complete my work. But I like working with people to brainstorm ideas, help get better solutions to problems and help others for what they need.” And if saying yes to all options doesn’t work? Then there is an alternative:

A second way to answer the forced choice is to pick a third option that isn’t presented by the interview question. “Do you work better with a manager that gives you free reign to complete your work the way you want or do you like being micromanaged to get your work done?”

For that type of question, you ignore both options presented and offer up a third alternative to answer this question. “I like a manager that provides clear direction, is open to seeing early versions of the work so we can make sure I’m on track, and to help clear obstacles that might prevent me from getting done.”

Facebook, Twitter and More: The New Rules of Social Networking

2009-07-24T08:16:00.002-05:00

By Elaine Pofeldt
published on BNET.com 7/16/2009

If you aren’t using social-media sites to tap into career and business opportunities in today’s tough economy, you should be. A survey released in January by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than one-third of all Americans now have profiles on social-networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, up from just 8 percent in 2005. And it’s not primarily kids, either:

The average LinkedIn user is 40 years old; most Twitter users are now 35 and older; and people
from 35 to 54 now represent the biggest group of users on Facebook. “You get access to people via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter that you can’t get in other ways,” says Sharon Rich, founder of outplacement consulting and coaching firm Leadership Incorporated. “I think it’s mandatory to be on there.”

Social-media sites can become a time suck, so you’ll need to limit the time you invest in them each week. But done right, social networking is a powerful way to build your professional reputation, find out about job opportunities, and keep abreast of the latest news and gossip in your industry.

Things you will need:
• An updated resume. Have this handy so you can transfer relevant information to different social-media sites quickly.
• A digital photo of yourself. Get a good head shot of yourself showing you at your professional best to use in your profiles.
• Your e-mail contact list. Once you join a network, you’ll want to quickly send invitations to connect to your professional contacts. In many cases, this can be done automatically using tools on each site.

Build a Powerhouse Profile on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s business-only focus makes the site popular with successful professionals (so far,
the site has 43 million members in more than 200 countries), so it’s the best place to start your social-media push. LinkedIn’s large amount of traffic also means that your profile there is likely to be the first thing that potential employers and clients see when they google your name, so it’s important to invest some time in building a strong profile. “Why not tell the story your way?”
says Randy Hain, managing partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search in Atlanta. Hain knows
firsthand the value of a good profile: He recently signed a client (who will do an estimated
$100,000 to $200,000 worth of new business this year) when the client searched for Hain’s LinkedIn profile after reading an article he wrote in a trade publication.

Checklist
How to Shape Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
• Seek out recommendations from past bosses, key clients, colleagues, and direct reports to create a 360-degree picture of your strengths. Tell them that you’ll be happy to do the same for
them.

• Instead of a generic job title at the top of your profile, such as “Owner of John Doe and
associates,” use a short description of valuable credentials that you can quantify, such as “20-year veteran of $100 million in high-tech mergers,” advises Chris Muccio, author of the
book 42 Rules for 24-Hour Success on LinkedIn.

• Fill out the “Interests” section with pursuits, such as charitable projects, that reinforce your
value to potential employers and clients.

• For consistency and branding, use a good head shot of yourself as your photo, and use the same photo on other social networks, advises Megan Hendricks, director, employer relations at the College of Business at the University of South Florida.

• Opt for a free vanity address for your profile that uses your full name, such as
linkedin.com/in/janedoe, so colleagues can find your profile easily.

Use LinkedIn’s Tools to Research Potential Job Opportunities
LinkedIn’s profiles of more than 360,000 businesses and organizations can be used to gather invaluable intelligence on job openings and opportunities. Start by entering your target company’s name in the search bar at the top of the page and specifying “Search Companies” to find its LinkedIn profile. From there, you can see the names of current employees that are in your network, job openings, the names of recent hires, employees who have left the firm, and even the top feeder company and the most popular next employer among those who have left.
You can also choose to “Search Answers” on the name of a particular firm to see questions
its employees have posted for other members to answer, their replies to other questions, and Q&As that mention the company. These pages can provide useful information on the corporate culture or current challenges the company is trying to solve that will help you with your cover letter and interview strategies.

To find out about unadvertised job opportunities, try contacting people you know at the target
company, including those who are second- or third-degree connections (to contact them, you’ll
need to get an introduction from your mutual contact first). If your network is small and you
don’t know anyone at the target company, consider upgrading to a paid business account on
LinkedIn, which starts at $24.95 a month. With one of these accounts, you can contact anyone
on the site directly, although there’s a limit on how many people outside your network you can
contact per month. When contacting strangers, it’s a good idea to browse their profile and see if there’s any common ground in either their work or personal interests you can point to that will make your initial message warmer.

Another way to expand your network is by joining LinkedIn discussion groups pertaining to your industry and becoming active in posing and answering questions. Bill Snyder, 42, recently ended a long job search by answering a question on LinkedIn about which were the best conferences for meeting the heads of nonprofit organizations. The question turned out to have been posted by the founder of a start-up called We-Care.com, who then invited Snyder to a lunch the next time he was in town. One month later, he offered Snyder a job as the company’s general manager.

Tweet Your Way to Greater Career Visibility
Twitter is a fast-growing “microblogging” site that lets you send out frequent 140-character
messages (“tweets”) to a network of people who have opted to follow you, as well as to follow
the updates of anyone in your network. Many professionals use Twitter to send short bits
of useful information, such as business tips or links to interesting articles, to help build their
professional visibility and make new contacts. The trick is to make sure you limit yourself
to messages that are truly useful (or at least entertaining), so that they’re of value to your
followers.

To make sure you build an appropriate audience, go to the “Settings” menu and check the box
that says “Protect My Updates.” This will enable you to approve each new follower request
— a smart move if you want to block spammers on the site. Conversely, choosing to follow
well-connected thought leaders in your field can help keep you abreast of trends in your
industry, as well as the latest gossip. One good way to find people and sites in your industry
is to search by what are called “hash tags” — key words preceded by the “#” sign that people
can include in their tweets to make them searchable. For example, to find people posting about law or lawyers, you’d search under “#lawyer,” take a look at all the relevant tweets, and then choose to follow some of the people or groups with the most interesting posts.

Master the Delicate Art of Using Facebook Effectively

Facebook can be a great way to reconnect with old friends who may now be in a position to
help you with your career goals, as well as to stay in touch with colleagues on the site. But
since there’s always a chance that someone in your network could post an embarrassing photo of you or make comments you don’t want your work contacts to see, make sure you’re familiar with the site’s privacy settings before building out your network of friends. Go to “Settings” at the top of your page, choose “Privacy” from the pull-down menu, and you’ll come to a page that lets you control who can see almost every posted item on your page, who can post messages to your wall, and even whether strangers can search for you and how much of your profile they can see.

Facebook is also rife with professional groups that you can join and subsequently exchange news with others in your industry and make new contacts. Simply type in the name of your profession or industry into the search bar and you’ll see a list of relevant groups, most of which you can join immediately. While these groups on Facebook are sometimes not as active and professionally focused as those on LinkedIn, they still can be a good way to meet new people.

Facebook can be particularly useful for getting the word out and building a community around
a new business venture, but experts advise setting up a separate “fan page” of your venture
to avoid making your personal page too promotional. John Mooney, principal of marketing
firm JRM Communications LLC, recently advised a Manhattan client who sells waffles from
a mobile truck to create a Facebook group. The client sends out news of the truck’s future
whereabouts to people in his network that he’s invited to become fans, which has helped increase sales significantly. “They’re all in New York, and they’re all really into food,” says
Mooney of the group’s members.

But of course. Social networking is all about quickly finding people in every possible niche.
Especially the one that matters most to your career: that marvelous niche of folks who might
just help you succeed.

Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TIPS FOR WRITING PROJECT-BASED FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS

2009-07-09T14:29:00.003-05:00

PROJECT-BASED FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS:
TAKE CUES FROM THOSE WHO KNOW

What Works:
• The Sooner the Better: The best time to start thinking about and researching fellowships is during your first summer or the beginning of your second year.

• Your Fellowship Network: Identify people who can help you with the application process, including career services/public interest advisors and faculty or alumni who received fellowships and/or served on fellowship selection committees. Create your own team.

• Get to Know the Application: Read application instructions in detail, and provide exactly what is asked for. Fellowship proposals are as much science as they are art.

• Don’t be a stranger: If you have pre-application questions for the funder, ask them. Your thoughtful questions and concerns can make an impression on the funder.

• Build Host Relationship: A relationship with your would-be host is a vital part of the successful fellowship application (and the successful fellowship). It’s best to apply with an organization that you have previously worked for. But if that is not possible, it is wise to still propose a project that relates to work you have done, so that you can demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and passion to do the job.
o A legal services director who has successfully hosted several fellows says, “[I]n all but one instance, our applicants have had experience with us as a summer and/or semester intern…. [W]e can write a more persuasive letter from the host perspective if we know the work of the student … Having worked with the student as an intern also helps us to more effectively assess how well the student will fit into the organization on a permanent basis.”

• Host is Key, but You’re the Principal: The fellow should drive the application process. Reviewers can immediately tell when the host is fishing for funding.

• The Silver Bullet: Your proposal should identify the problem you will address and make clear why your project is the solution to that problem.

• Demonstrate Your Passion: It is not enough to declare that you are passionate. Demonstrate how your passion has manifested itself in your work/school experiences!

• Client Focus: It’s about the clients, not about you and your career goals. Make sure to emphasize how your project makes an impact and who the beneficiaries of your project are. Can you get client input for the proposal?

• Catchy Title Won’t Hurt – Your application is competing for attention with many others. Can you craft a lead-in sentence that captures the essence of your project?

What to Avoid:
Do NOT sell yourself short. Yes, it’s true that fellowships are sought-after and competition is fierce. But you must throw your hat in the ring. Fellowships are individualized experiences for committed individuals who catch the reviewers’ eyes. Your application can do this.

Do NOT be sloppy in your application, and do not veer too far off the course they set for you.

Do NOT take yourself out of the proposal driver’s seat. A senior program manager at a funding organization notes, “Sometimes when I read an application…it reads like the host organization supervisor thought up a project and then found a fellow to fit the bill rather than a personal passion coming through in the project description.” Funders wish to support a specific project driven by a fellow, not a new staff attorney position for the host organization.

Do NOT give up. Do not be discouraged if you apply for, but don’t receive one of the “bigger” fellowships like Skadden or Equal Justice Works. Every year highly qualified candidates with fabulous projects are not successful simply because there is limited funding. Do not take it as a judgment of your qualifications. Get back into PSLawNet and look for the many remaining fellowships with later deadlines, find the ones that are a good fit for you, and start applying!

Do NOT be too vague and/or unrealistic. Avoid making the project proposal excessively grand, including too many ideas (i.e. the kitchen sink). While the goal is typically for the project to sustain itself after the fellowship term ends, the fellow should still specifically map out realistic objectives to be achieved during their term. (Note: The opposite can happen too when the application is too narrow and not capable of sustaining itself so that the reader cannot see it lasting two years and beyond).

Do NOT underestimate the importance of a project timeline. Reviewers look not just at what you want to do, but how you plan to do it. The best project idea goes nowhere if there is not well-conceived plan for implementation.

These fellowship tips were offered by several individuals who play key roles in the fellowship application process, including former fellows, senior staff at fellowship funding organizations, senior staff at fellow host organizations, and law school public interest career counselors who have successfully advised past fellowship applicants.

Visit PSLawNet for more information on postgraduate fellowships: http://www.pslawnet.org/postgraduatefellowships

Five Ways to Find Opportunity in a Faltering Economy

2009-06-25T15:04:00.001-05:00

Five Ways to Find Opportunity in a Faltering Economy
1133 Broadway, Suite 706, New York, NY 10010 • Tel: 646.641.0600 • Fax: 800.895.9559 • ari@arikaplanadvisors.com
Copyright © 2009 Ari Kaplan Advisors LLC

Executive Summary
I taught English in various summer camps, as a college student. Fast-forward 17 years and to my surprise, one of the campers saw my profile on the social networking website Facebook (after no contact for almost two decades) and sent me a note. Welcome to the era of opportunity, circa. 2009. My former student’s effort highlights that making contact with others is no longer the problem. If you want to reach hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of people in a short amount of time in 2009, you can do so. Comment on a popular blog post, upload a catchy YouTube video or create a group, perhaps one for long lost English teachers, on the professional online network LinkedIn. Turning your initial contacts into long-term relationships is a worthy goal. And those that stand out by helping others build relationships benefit by earning a powerful form of acknowledgment, reflecting more on their character than their ambition. Here are five ways to find success.

1. Profile Your Peers and Clients
Find individuals at your office or in your community who are doing something noteworthy, even if it is something small. You can write an article or record the conversation as a podcast (with permission, of course) recognizing his or her achievements. It demonstrates your interest (and technological aptitude in the case of the podcast), yet also allows you the chance to get to know individuals on a more personal level. Show your social media know-how by posting the profiles on the social messaging website Twitter (feel free to visit me at Twitter.com/arikaplan).

2. Use ‘Google Alerts’ For Others
Add those people you just met at a meeting or industry event to a Google alert (Google.com/ alerts), which will advise you each time a person on your list is mentioned online. This may provide you with thoughtful opportunities to connect in a meaningful fashion. Consider adding terms that have absolutely no value for you, but could give you the chance to help others, which would be particularly welcome in today’s softening market.

3. Share Press Leads
With the immense popularity of the US-based online source provider HelpAReporter.com (HARO) and the allowance for sharing (though not posting) press leads, look for ways that your colleagues and other contacts can earn well-deserved press in print or other forms of broadcast media. The 70,000-plus subscribers to the free HARO service receive three e-mails per day with a variety of queries from reporters looking for experts to comment on stories they are preparing, ranging from the shopping habits of European tourists to the proposed economic policies of the new US administration. While you may not be the right expert for some (or any) of these requests, consider sharing them with those individuals who could provide the insight for which the journalist is searching.

4. Guest Blog
I do not have a blog, but I do participate in the digital conversation as a regular guest on Law.com’s Legal Technology blog (legaltechnology.typepad.com). Those interested in getting started, but not ready to make a permanent commitment, may want to consider contributing to other popular blogs or collaborating with colleagues. Doing so will build a level of comfort with the medium and help the writer find his or her voice. While blogging can be used to demonstrate one’s interest in a specific area, it can also be used to highlight the writer’s familiarity with the key thought leaders in the industry. In that way, it is a powerful networking tool and those who provide thoughtful, well researched content can quickly establish themselves as trusted authorities offering valuable information.

5. Jump on the Social Networking Train
Facebook is no longer for a younger generation trying to find their summer camp English teachers. A growing cross-section of the legal community is also using the platform to enhance the depth and consistency of their connections. It offers opportunities to reach out to clients and prospects on a more personal and multi-dimensional level, which helps to build friendships rather than simply contacts. There is even an increasingly popular invitation-only service targeted specifically to this group called Legal OnRamp. Twitter is also becoming a great supplement, and even alternative, to blogging because it allows for the same type of commentary and a similar audience. For many, it is more approachable because of the 140-character limitation. There seems to be less pressure to contribute as frequently as a blog, but more incentive to produce thoughtful content since there are identifiable followers.

Conclusion
Marketing means different things to different people. For those that use their toolkit to demonstrate their character as well as their value, 2009 will be another successful year.

Veering Off Law Firm Career Path May Be the Way to Go for Some

2009-06-24T12:33:00.000-05:00

Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer
June 24, 2009

When Raymond Bayley, CEO of legal services firm Novus Law, was describing the state of the legal profession to a group of Georgetown University law students recently, he spoke of non-lawyer ownership of law firms coming to Britain, an opinion by the American Bar Association allowing non-lawyers to handle certain legal work, changes to compensation models, the ACC Value Challenge, a dissatisfied client base and a disaggregation of legal services. Put more succinctly, the industry is changing. And that means lawyers' views of their career paths need to change as well.

"The industry and the profession has an obligation to help those in the profession, but this is a situation where we are in an environment that is so radically different than the past, lawyers have to take ground-level responsibility for where they are going," Bayley said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer . "The whole industry is in turmoil, so each lawyer, before they look to the profession, has to look inside and say: 'Who am I and what do I want to do when I grow up?'" And that might mean a career alternative or a career transition, David E. Behrend of Career Planning Services for Lawyers said. He is helping lawyers find alternative uses for their law degrees and transitioning them into new industries.

"The skill setting knowledge that lawyers get in law school is very valuable in other industries," Behrend said. The best manager in Major League Baseball, he argued, is law grad Tony La Russa. Lawyers have opened business franchises, led nonprofits and joined the Peace Corps, he said.

The toughest obstacle is shedding the tunnel vision that often plagues lawyers, he said, particularly when they are specialists and view their skill sets as limited to one area. There are job openings out there, but with several applicants vying for each spot. Behrend said it's the job opportunity lawyers need to look for -- or create for themselves. That might mean, especially for freshly minted lawyers, taking advantage of their bachelor's degrees. It could also be a willingness to take on two part-time jobs or a position with an emerging company that might bring with it more risk. These decisions often depend on the age of the lawyer and family circumstances, but there are opportunities for all experience levels, he said. "I firmly believe that almost all lawyers with their education have employment security, but not necessarily job security," he said, "meaning that they should be able with some assistance to find capable work of a professional nature."

But Behrend is blunt with the attorneys he counsels about the realities they will face in the market. "The public does not feel sorry for the lawyer one bit," he tells them. "No one is going to feel sorry for you."

While they might not be taking pity on lawyers, there are organizations out there that are interested in bringing lawyers on board in varying capacities. And it's both unemployed and employed attorneys looking at these alternatives.

Glenn Manko, director of executive search at The Dubin Group, handles searches for attorneys and non-attorneys alike. He said companies are now seeing opportunities to bring in lawyers in a number of different positions who, a few years ago, wouldn't have considered leaving the partner track. Some enter as a head of business affairs or corporate development and others are just looking to serve as more of a consultant on the business end, Manko said. Corporate America is starting to come back in terms of hiring and attorneys are looking to create more functional resumes that speak to their specific skill sets, he said. Manko spends a lot of time working with clients on breaking down their experience and identifying how certain skills could apply on the business side.

Art Bousel's company, Lawyer 2 Lawyer Coaching, began 10 years ago after he received a number of inquiries asking how he had transitioned out of the law firm world and into another business. Right now he is seeing a lot of attorneys looking to small businesses by taking experience from a prior career or their legal specialty and trying to market themselves to businesses in those fields. Often those relationships start on a part-time basis, he said, because there isn't a need for a full-time commitment. But that can often grow into something more substantial. Finding a job is definitely possible in this market, Bousel said, but it takes ingenuity, determination and the guts to work the streets and know what's out there. That, and the four Ps. The "determinative" factor in finding an alternative career, he said, is personality. The other "Ps" are patience, pride and proof.

Job seekers have to have patience, let go of pride that might be stopping them from taking a step back and looking at other options, and have the ability to prove to their target employer they can handle the job. That might mean working on a volunteer basis or for a nominal fee to start, Bousel said. Finding a job in this market also means sending your resumes to places you normally wouldn't, Bayley, an adviser to Georgetown's Corporate Counsel Institute, said.
Maybe a recent law school graduate could find a job at a law firm, but it would be in China, Singapore or the United Arab Emirates, he said. They might look to consulting firms like Navigant Consulting or Huron Consulting Group, content creators like Thompson or Lexis Nexis, or technology companies involved in e-discovery matters, Bayley said. The federal government is also "hiring lawyers like it's going out of style" and nonprofits are a possibility, he said.
Bayley said his company views the legal world as being separated into legal work and lawyer work, with about 70 percent involving legal work that can be done outside of a typical law firm model or by a non-lawyer.

When asked whether lawyers looking to make these transitions would be facing pay cuts, Bayley said: "There's going to be a rationalization of the pay structure and I think that, in time, law firms might find themselves competing in more of a free market, free economy labor market."
Turning a legal background into a multi-pronged role at an emerging company, for example, could end up far more economically beneficial because of stock options and other incentives, Bousel said.

Regardless of the specifics, some industry consultants are optimistic about the options available to lawyers looking to break free of the traditional career path. The advice they dispense is straightforward. What will carry attorneys through these transitions is largely an entrepreneurial spirit. That might mean volunteering, working more than one job, creating a new business or creating a position for yourself by proving your value to a company. In any case, it means thinking outside the law firm box.

New Job Search Features on Martindale.com

2009-06-19T13:54:00.004-05:00

Martindale.com has just instituted two major enhancements:

1. A job board, which is free for job seekers. You can access it at www.careers.martindale.com .

2. A new social networking site for attorneys, called Martindale-Hubbell Connected. The site has just been rolled it out to attorneys this summer; further roll outs to faculty and to law students will take place over the next few months. This is a great way for attorneys to connect with each other and could become a valuable networking tool for students in the coming year. You can check it out at www.martindale.com. Look for the link to "join connected,", and be sure to watch the short video when you get to the site

Land Your Dream Job on Twitter

2009-06-08T14:05:00.004-05:00

Whether you are already a Twitter guru, or are just beginning to curiously test its waters, here are the best resources for finding your legal dream job on Twitter, with a bit of general Twitter advice as well.

General Twitter Advice

If you’re not yet on Twitter, here are my short and sweet tips:

Sign up at Twitter.com; fill out the 140-character bio, use your real name as your username; include a good photo; design a free and easy professional background design at Twitbacks.com; use bit.ly to shorten links for your tweets; download Seesmic Desktop to manage your Twitter feeds and posts from your desktop; and add yourself to Twellow.com and to JD Scoop’s list of lawyers and legal professionals.

Then add value (news posts, advice, resources, etc) to your followers, and remember that all your tweets are searchable on Google. Learn about the many ways that lawyers and legal professionals can use Twitter in Robert Ambrogi’s post “Tweet 16: 16 Ways Lawyers Can Use Twitter.” For further basic Twitter guidance, read Shane Richmond’s one-page step-by-step guide to getting started on Twitter.

Legal Job Searching on Twitter

Search for “legal,” “law,” “attorney” or “paralegal” on TwitterJobSearch.com and see recent (down to the second) posted legal jobs.
Find legal jobs by following the Twitter feeds. Please note that all of the Twitter feeds posted are for FREE job and career boards. However, you may need to sign up for free accounts on Monster.com, LawJobs.com, or Careerbuilder.com in order to access some of the posted jobs. In addition to “following” these feeds on Twitter, you can also subscribe to their RSS feeds, and have the feeds sent to your Google Reader account (set one up to follow news, blogs, and other RSS feeds), so that you will never miss a tweeted job posting.

- by Leora Maccabee on June 4, 2009

Downloaded 6/8/2009 from http://lawyerist.com/2009/06/04/land-your-dream-job-on-twitter/#more-2449

Equal Justice Works Announces 2009 Ole Miss Summer Corps Members

2009-06-04T15:02:00.006-05:00

Equal Justice Works is excited to announce our 2009 Summer Corps members. With a record of 1,184 applications this year, the selection process was extremely competitive.

We would like to extend our congratulations to University of Mississippi School of Law for its student participation in Summer Corps this year!

This year's 420 Summer Corps members represent 147 Equal Justice Works law schools. These first- and second-year law students will each receive a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher upon completion of a minimum of 300 hours of summer service at a nonprofit public interest organization. Summer Corps members will provide critically needed legal assistance to low-income and underserved communities in 44 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, Summer Corps members gain first-hand experience and legal skills in areas such as client intake, individual representation, research and writing.

Summer Corps members are engaged with a broad range of issues, including civil rights, community economic development, death penalty, disability rights, housing, domestic violence, education, public benefits and workers' rights.

University of Mississippi School of Law
Marisa Christensen, Mississippi Taxpayer Assistance Project (part of North Mississippi Rural Legal Services)
Oxford, MS
Kourtney Ikard, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS
Laura Nichols, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS
Joseph Tucker, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS

From: http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs/summercorps/lawschools

CREATING AN ONLINE PERSONA

2009-05-08T11:04:00.002-05:00

CREATING AN ONLINE PERSONA
By Chandlee Bryan

You know the drill: a strong resume and a targeted cover letter are essential starters for any internship or full‐time job search.

Today, your “second life”—the one you live online—is an equally important part of the overall process. As early as 2006, a survey conducted by ExecuNet revealed that 77% of recruiters conducted internet searches on candidates. For many candidates, the search was a “game changer”: 35% of recruiters reported rescinding offers based on what they found online. Expect to be “Googled,” and if you have a distinct name—expect to be found.

The purpose of this article is two‐fold:
1. To provide strategies for basic online reputation management, and
2. To share tips and tricks for creating an online presence that can enhance your job search.

Online reputation management is a “must‐do;” cultivating an online presence is optional. You need to know how you’ll be found online, and to monitor your own “digital dirt.” The question of “to be or not to be” public with your career interests is a trickier issue—and is, in many ways, dependent on your career goals and aspirations. A strong online presence that showcases your command of social media may strengthen your candidacy for positions in media, communications, or marketing; if you seek to work for a public figure, law firm, or government office (such as the CIA or the NSA)—your online presence could potentially hinder your job search. Career services staff, alumni, and working professionals in your area of interest can help you determine whether an online persona can complement—or hinder—your job search strategies. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on how should you present yourself; a great way to start is to surf and observe—watch how others do it and borrow strategies from the sites you admire most.

ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Even when you’re among friends on Facebook with privacy settings locked, the information you post and share online has all the confidentiality of a postcard. Assume anything you post or—are tagged by—is visible to the world‐at‐large, and may be viewed in the job search process.
Don’t assume you are safe. Here are five strategies you can use to manage your online reputation:
1. Know what’s out there. Establish a baseline knowledge of what information is available about you online—as well as others who share your name. A great way to get started is to use the Reach Branding Online ID Calculator: http://www.onlineidcalculator.com/

2. Monitor Your Digital Dirt

Set up an “Ego Search”: Establish a Google News Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) on your name so that you receive results of any mention of you (or those who share your name) that hits the Internet.
Untag yourself in non‐flattering Facebook photos or status updates that would make your mother blush.

3. Research how other people you know with similar interests present themselves online. Finding others with similar interests, conducting informational interviews with alumni in PACNET, and asking questions of current employees in your intended field can help you answer the question: What should my online presence goal be?

Aim to have content on the web be “professional” not “confessional”

4. Have a conversation with your employer about their comfort level with your online presence, find out company policies about using social media, and be conscientious: Don’t share information that reflects poorly on you or your employer. Maintain privacy and don’t go on the record with information they would not want shared.

5. Be aware that personal information can “float.” Try to keep any mention of your professional interests relatively consistent… It’s okay to go on the record saying, “I’m exploring possibilities in which I could combine my knowledge in and . It’s less okay to say “I’ll do anything as long as I can live in San Francisco.”

DEVELOPING AN ONLINE PRESENCE
You can influence your own online presence in a myriad of ways and on a wide array of platforms.

Social networking sites: e.g. Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo, Twitter
Social Bookmarking: Share insights, initiate and participate in discussions, and “DIGG” important topics. Sites for social bookmarking include Delicious, DIGG, ShareThis, and StumbleUpon
Blogs: You can comment on other people’s postings, write your own as a “guest” or host your own through sites including Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress. Twitter is a popular micro‐blogging site.
Electronic Portfolio/Personal Website: While there’s no guarantee employers will look at your personal website or portfolio, you can create a site to showcase your skills and provide samples of your work.

Developing an online presence is a process—not a transaction. As such, you may find it’s easiest to start with tools that are easy to use and highly visible. One such tool is LinkedIn, which has been called the “Facebook” of the business world. LinkedIn features include tools to network and grow relationships “within three degrees” of connection to you, a question and answer forum, and a people search function that you can use to see how others present themselves—and find new potential contacts for informational interviews. As LinkedIn is widely used, we’ve developed a special list of tips for getting started on the site.

GENERAL NETIQUETTE TIPS
1. Don’t Flame Out. If you disagree with someone, always do so respectfully—especially if you are commenting in an online forum and use your own name. “Flames” and profanity can help you strike out in the job search.

2. A customized approach always trumps an “automated” one. Personalizing invitations and sending messages tailored to meet the needs and interests of your audience will result in a higher return. This is true on applications from LinkedIn to Twitter—especially with regard to invitations.

3. “Do as the Romans do.” If you are trying your hand at a new technology application or platform, watch how seasoned users of the technology before actively using it yourself.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there are unspoken conventions for many social media applications. For example, the micro‐blog Twitter is commonly used by job seekers and business owners who wish to develop and strengthen their online reputation. On Twitter, users post “tweets” (messages of 140 characters or less) and can follow streams of other users and “be followed.” Twitter Netiquette guidelines: You’re more interesting to the community if some of your messages are “on brand” (i.e. commenting on areas you wish to be known for) and other messages share personal interests and preferences. If your material is consistently “all about you,” your followers may become “qwitters” (Twitter term for individuals who stop following you).

You can find how‐to guides for getting started with many social media applications. Read up on the technology before you start, and you’ll be ahead of the game when you develop your online profile.

4. Consider everything you write as a mini‐writing sample. As you never know what employers are going to find, you want to present yourself well. Good spelling and grammar can provide the tipping point in a hiring decision. Show you have what it takes.

5. Sound bites are in; strive to be brief, concise, and specific. Conventional wisdom maintains that employers spend 30 seconds or less on a resume. With social media, expect a quicker pass. Develop your materials so that they can be reviewed in an “eyeball”: Is your message easy to digest? Can I tell what you are looking for or talking about within the first ten seconds?

BUILDING ONLINE PRESENCE

There are several ways to develop and increase your online presence. Here, we spotlight blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter. With all of these forms of communication, the best way to start is to watch how other people do it, and ask questions.

GETTING STARTED WITH BLOGGING

BLOGGING: Before you start your own blog, consider making insightful comments on other people’s blogs. Some bloggers will say you need to write everyday; if your goal is not to be a professional blogger, I would aim to go weekly or biweekly instead.
Chris Brogan is a well known social media strategist who has e‐books on online presence and the web 2.0 job search available on his site. Here he provides 10 Blogging Tips and additional advice If You Intend to Blog Seriously (Chris Brogan)
Penelope Trunk is the “Brazen Careerist” and writes about the intersection between work and life. She has a team of millennial bloggers who blog with her. Here are her Easiest Instructions for How to Start a Blog (Penelope Trunk)
GETTING STARTED WITH LINKEDIN
LINKED IN: One of the most important things to do in LinkedIn is to fill out your profile accurately and completely. As the cost to search LinkedIn for potential talent is free for unpaid subscribers (and minimal for users), employers routinely use LinkedIn as a place to identify potential hires. Therefore, it’s important to have a great profile. Not sure what to say? Start with an advance people search. See how other people present their skills, interest and experience and write your own using best practices from others. (Note: Employers search Linkedin profiles on key words in title and summary, so fill out these sections in full with relevant information.) Once you have a strong profile, expand your connections, join groups, and browse questions and answers…you can even explore job listings.
Getting the Most out of LinkedIn A Career Services guide to using LinkedIn, written by Chandlee Bryan, author of this document.
Leveraging 2.0 Job Search Skills Good introduction to LinkedIn. Covers how to get started and why it is a good tool for your job search:
I’m On Linked In, Now What? Blog maintained by Jason Alba, author of “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?” Great tips for how to use, maintain, and thrive with your LinkedIn accounts.
Write Your LinkedIn Profile for your Future Chris Brogan, social media marketing expert, shares strategy on how to develop your LinkedIn profile so that your past experience is presented in context with future career goals.
GETTING STARTED WITH TWITTER
Twitter is a searchable public forum; don’t share any information you wouldn’t want your friends or perspective employers to see. As with Facebook, employers actively monitor “how they’re talked about” and how current and potential employees represent themselves online. You can create a pseudonym but most people use their own names and include a short bio. Posting on Twitter is a “dance” between the personal and the professional: users frequently pick a topic to talk about (i.e. job search, Philly gelato venues, observations from 39th and Spruce). Using this framework, a majority of messages will be written about “on message” with other personal observations thrown in. If you choose to write almost exclusively about your topic, make sure every fourth or fifth observation provides a personal glimpse of you. (Of if you choose to go personal, make sure you post on professional message every four messages.) The trick on Twitter is to offer a unique perspective but not to bore your followers with incessant “tweets” (posts) about the same exact topic all the time. The best way to get started on Twitter is to create an account, add your bio and start posting short messages of your own. Search Twitter’s search engine by key words to identify users of potential interest and to observe how they tweet. Once you have at least five messages, you can “find” and “follow” others…Most users are alerted when they have new followers, and will then evaluate your content to decide if they should be “following you” back. How to Twitter The Social Rules and Tips for Gaining “Followers,” Why Opinionated People Win A new user shares her experience using Twitter, including writing suggestions for content Newbie’s Guide for Twitter Social media expert Chris Brogan’s straight talk on how to get started.
Round‐Up of Users Guides and Tutorials for Twitter From Pistachio Consulting, a firm specializing in the business use of Twitter and other “microsharing” applications

E. Chandlee Bryan, M.Ed. is a career coach and resume writer at Best Fit Forward (www.bestfitforward.com). A former member of the Penn Career Services staff, Chandlee specializes in helping job seekers position themselves for new opportunities. She also speaks and writes on best practices for integrating social media in your job search.

Expanded Federal Employment Resource Center on PSLawNet

2009-05-08T08:08:00.000-05:00

With interest in federal legal careers building rapidly among law students and attorneys, NALP's PSLawNet site features a newly enhanced federal government careers page. This thorough resource, available at at http://nalp.cmail4.com/t/y/l/hilhdd/dilughyi/a, emphasizes simple explanations about federal hiring processes and points of entry to federal jobs, downloadable resources, and answers to FAQs.

Free Video/Podcast on Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times

2009-05-08T08:05:00.000-05:00

As a public service, NALP and ALI-ABA are pleased to offer Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times — a 75-minute presentation by Marcia Pennington Shannon and Susan G. Manch of Shannon & Manch LLP, who generously donated their time and talent to this special project to assist lawyers and 3Ls who are currently seeking employment.

The presentation addresses the current state of the legal employment market, the five basic steps for an effective job search, and such additional considerations as financial assessments, emotional ups and downs, gaining experience while waiting for the next job, and negotiating in a down market. To view or download, go to www.nalp.org/legalcareertransitionvideo.

You are encouraged to share this link with law students and lawyers who are currently seeking a job.

PSLawNet Public Interest Career Resources

2009-04-14T09:14:00.005-05:00

Public Service Career Library
Welcome to PSLawNet's central outlet for public interest career resources. These resources are organized in five subsections:

General Public Interest Resources (which include materials on a wide array of public interest career opportunities).
Government Service Resources
International Public Interest Resources
Postgraduate Fellowship Resources
Canadian Resources (for Canadian PSLawNet users and those interested in public service opportunities in Canada).

General Public Interest Resources

NALP Law School Guide to Public Interest Careers - The essential "bible", written by and for law school public interest career counselors.
PSLawNet's Public Interest Job Search Fundamentals
Yale Law School Public Service Careers Guide (published and updated annually by the Yale Law School Career Development 0ffice) - this guide offers a terrific overview of how to launch a public interest career.
University of Virginia Public Service Job Search Resource Guide - this guide provides information about how to find a public interest law job, including where to find the employers, resume and interview tips, how to finance a public interest job, how to apply to public interest employers, and lists sample application materials.
Harvard Law School Public Interest Specialty Guides - HLS publishes several guidebooks focusing on specific public interest practice areas and settings, including:
Conservative Public Interest Law
GLBT Rights
Immigration and Refugee Advocacy
Civil Legal Services
Public Defender Careers
More practice area-specific guides are freely available in PDF form at the Harvard Office of Public Interest Advising site. You may also find background information on the types of work attorneys are likely to encounter in a number of public interest practice settings, including work with charitable foundations, on political campaigns, and many other settings.
Yale Law School Environmental Law Practice Guide
Public Interest and Plaintiff's Law Firm Guide - produced by Columbia Law School and Harvard Law School, this guide provides an overview of public interest career opportunities in for-profit law firms, including advice on how to land jobs.
Internship Opportunities in Capital Defense Offices - This webpage is maintained by the Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and includes current internship opportunities with public defender and capital defense (death penalty defense) programs.
How to Make the Most of Your Summer Job - a Harvard Law School publication that is quite useful to law students beginning internships and summer public interest work experiences.
Yale Guide to Firm-Sponsored Split Public Interest Summers - Several law firms have instituted programs that enable law students to work part of the summer with the firm, and part of the summer with a public interest organization, with the firm paying the students' salaries for the entire summer. These generous plans allow law students to explore two types of legal practice and demonstrate the firms' strong commitment to pro bono work.

Government Service
PSLawNet's Resources for Government Careers
NALP's Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide - this annually-updated publication, produced by NALP, the Partnership for Public Service, and the ABA, offers tips for seeking federal attorney positions, definitions of terms used in the employment application process, descriptions of dozens of federal offices that employ attorneys, and much more.
2008-09 Guide to Public Sector Legal Job Applications - this Georgetown University Law Center publication includes tips for constructing resumes and other application materials. Working on Capitol Hill - Yale Law School=s guidebook breaks down the types of employment opportunities available on The Hill and includes personal narratives from Hill employees.
May 2008 Report on Federal Student Loan Repayment Programs - this report by the 0ffice of Personnel Management outlines executive branch agency use of loan repayment programs in recruitment and retention efforts.
Guide to Criminal Prosecution Careers - a Yale Law School Publication providing information on both summer and permanent hiring processes in U.S. Attorney=s and local prosecutors= offices. (For more information on careers in criminal justice, see our Prosecution/Public Defense Career Resource Page.)

International Public Interest Law
PSLawNet's International Resources
Finding and Funding International Public Interest Opportunities - This online guide provides useful background info and recommendations for students/attorneys embarking on international public interest careers. It is annually updated by NALP members at the Universities of Arizona and Georgia, and at the William & Mary School of Law.
Intergovernmental Organizations - Harvard Law School provides helpful background information about Intergovernmental 0rganizations (IG0s), explaining types of IG0s, types of legal issues, and more.
Finding Employment Opportunities with International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) - Pick up tips on how to pursue a broad array of legal careers on the international stage. Created for NALP by the New York University=s Public Interest Law Center.
Tips for Students Seeking International Internships - A concise, valuable tip sheet drafted by an international human rights attorney at New York University=s Public Interest Law Center.
Postgraduate International Fellowships Guide - A listing of international fellowship opportunities around the globe, produced by Columbia Law School=s Center for Public Interest Law.
Yale Law School Guide to International Public Interest Careers - Provides background-level and detailed information for those pursuing public interest careers.
Postqraduate Fellowship Resources

PSLawNet's Postgraduate Fellowships - Information & Resources
Guide to Postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships - Produced annually by Yale Law School, this guide is ideal for law students who are beginning to explore postgraduate fellowships as a career option.
The PSLawNet 0pportunities Database contains between 200-300 fellowship listings, updated annually to provide current application deadlines and job descriptions. If you are a registered PSLawNet user, log in on the homepage; or, register here. PSLawNet's Fellowship Application Deadline Calendar organizes fellowships by application deadline.
The NALP/PSLawNet Comprehensive Fellowships Guide is an annually-produced print compendium of fellowship listings in the PSLawNet database. It is purchased by law school career services and public interest advising offices. Check with your school to see if they have it.
Postgraduate International Fellowships Guide - A listing of international fellowship opportunities around the globe, produced by Columbia Law School=s Center for Public Interest Law.

Useful web sites/electronic newsletters-stay up-to-date on important issues!

http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/ - E-Clips - News about Equal Justice Works, public interest law, legal education, and other items of interest

http://www.brennancenter.org/ - The Brennan Center issues two regular "E-Lerts." The Fair Courts E-Lert alerts you to important developments concerning judges and the judiciary. The Legal Services E-Lert summarizes news and opinion pieces about free and low-cost civil legal aid.

http://www.nlada.org/ - The National Legal Aid and Defender Association's Equal Justice News contains the latest news items affecting the public defense and civil legal aid communities.

www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is the national source of information, resources and assistance to support, facilitate, and expand the delivery of pro bono legal assistance. The Standing Committee and its project, the Center for Pro Bono, encourage lawyers to do pro bono work and help them connect with opportunities that meet their needs. Programs, projects and services help pro bono programs, advocates and policymakers address the legal needs of the poor.

http://www.lsc.gov/ - publishes LSC update, an E-newsletter for the legal services community.

How to succeed at your summer and first jobs

2009-03-27T10:15:00.003-05:00

From the 3/26/09 Wall Street Journal Law Blog

Advice from John Quinn, one of the founders of the LA-based litigation shop, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges.

How to succeed at your law job:

First, it’s important to ask questions. Never leave a partner’s office after getting an assignment without knowing exactly what’s expected of you and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Second, it sounds basic, but it’s worth mentioning: You need to be reliable. If you promise a memo or a piece of research by a certain time, it absolutely has to be delivered on time.

Third, I think that young lawyers just have to realize that this job — performed at a very high level — is labor intensive. That’s not at all about billable hours, either. To do well, you simply have to work hard. There’s no way to write a great brief without putting in a lot of time, and that’s what pretty much every first-rate piece of work requires. It doesn’t matter if you’re the brightest person I’ve ever met, the best lawyers work hard. There are no shortcuts.

Lastly, take ownership of the matters assigned to you. Don’t just follow orders. Think strategically. Anticipate what needs to be done and do it, before you are asked. Do not be shy. We want to know what you think.

Communication skills are crucial to succeed

2009-03-25T12:32:00.003-05:00

Steven C. Bennett / Special to NLJ.com
August 25, 2008

Law is a service profession. Good service depends on good communication. Good communication must be relevant, focused and timely. Yet, law school essentially teaches future lawyers nothing about good communication skills. There are courses in legal writing and advocacy, but little about the day-to-day practice of law. Freshly-minted lawyers, as a result, often have poor communication skills. Such under-developed skills can, in practice, be as harmful to a budding career as lapses in judgment or even downright incompetence.

Let's review some key aspects of good communication that junior lawyers should begin to develop in their first days of practice. These skills are enduring. No matter the area of practice, type of position (government, in-house or law firm), and no matter the size of institution with which the lawyer associates, good communication skills will always serve a lawyer well.

Ask questions The most basic form of communication, designed to maximize exchange of relevant information, is the question. Yet, many bright, motivated junior lawyers, accustomed to asking questions in law school, suddenly are struck dumb during their first days in practice. Perhaps they assume that the partner or other senior lawyer must know all the relevant facts and issues that the junior lawyer should possess to understand an assignment. Perhaps they fear that asking questions may reveal their ignorance or somehow constitute an annoyance. All these attitudes and assumptions are invalid. You can never ask too many questions, and there really are no "dumb" questions.
Remember:

You must ask questions to make sure you fully understand an assignment (including when it's due, the preferred format, and a rough estimate of how much effort you should put into the assignment – "once over" or "no-stone-unturned").
When obstacles arise during a project (and they inevitably will) you must formulate your best suggested solution, and then ask questions to make sure that your solution is approved.
When you think you're done with the assignment, you must confirm that fact, and ask questions to see whether there's anything else you can do to help.

Check in regularly

Busy senior lawyers prioritize their days. Client calls, court appointments and the like generally have top priority. Research, writing and consultation with other senior lawyers comes next. Last on the list may be checking up on junior lawyers. Many senior lawyers hand out assignments, and assume that they will be done, on time and in good form, unless they hear to the contrary. This "see-no-evil" supervisory approach means that junior lawyers must regularly "check in" with senior lawyers, to report their progress and to discuss any problems.

Consider:

Even if the assignment is going well from your perspective, the senior lawyer may have new information, or new directions, that will affect the assignment.
Check in regularly, to find out whether circumstances have changed. Check in sessions can be great opportunities for you to integrate yourself into a practice team. A report on your progress may lead to a longer discussion on strategy for the matter, giving you a sense of the "big picture," and helping you learn how such projects get done.
Even the briefest of check in messages (an email or voice-mail summarizing your progress) gives the senior lawyer confidence that you are on track, and an opportunity to correct any missteps in your approach.

Vet drafts

Many junior lawyers harbor tremendous anxiety about their writing abilities, which can produce a "you can't see it ‘til it's done" attitude. Worse, some junior lawyers send out materials (to senior lawyers and even to clients) without soliciting input from their immediate supervisors. The result may be grave disappointment or embarrassment.

Notice:

The point here is not to foist all responsibility for your written work on to your supervisor. Do your best work, always. Do not turn in a "rough draft," if you know it requires revision, and you know you have the time to revise it.
Outlines and rough drafts, however, can be an essential part of good communication. By providing them to your supervisor (early, to give a reasonable opportunity for review) you may communicate (quite cogently) your thoughts about the matter, and open a dialogue with your supervisor on the merits of your approach (versus any alternatives the supervisor may have in mind).
Failure to share drafts and outlines can produce communications errors that may undercut your hard work. For example, a misspelling of a client's name, or failure to use the proper title, while trivial in the scheme of things, can irritate your audience in ways that prevent a fair assessment of your effort. Quick review by a supervisor can eliminate these and other communication errors.

Respond promptly

Many clients and senior lawyers wait until the last minute to ask junior lawyers for help. As a result, when they ask, they generally need (and expect) a prompt reply. Even when the matter is not urgent, moreover, a prompt reply is a sign of respect, generally well appreciated. Yet, many junior lawyers can fall into mental traps about such communications.

Observe:

A prompt, incomplete response beats a complete, tardy response virtually every time. Reply promptly even if your answer is "I'm not done yet" or "I can't talk in detail right now." Clients and senior lawyers understand that you may be busy. They do not understand when you go missing for extended periods.
Anticipate your absences. Tell clients and senior lawyers when you will not be available. Put an "away from office" message on your voice-mail and email. Remind your secretary to tell people you are out. Make sure to reply as promptly as you can after you again become available.
Use the regular "check in" system to avoid emergency, last-minute calls from clients and senior lawyers. Ask (frequently) about their expected future needs. Suggest steps that could be taken now (or soon) to advance the project (rather than waiting to perform the same steps later, at the last minute).

Good communication will serve you well, throughout your career. Develop and hone good communication skills, just as diligently as you develop substantive skills in your chosen area of practice.

The author is a partner in the New York City offices of Jones Day, and a member of the firm's Training Committee. His publications include The Path to Partnership: A Guide For Junior Associates (Praeger 2004). The views expressed are solely those of the author, and should not be attributed to the author's firm or its clients.

PRACTICAL SKILLS FOR RETURNING TO LAW PRACTICE

2009-03-25T12:23:00.000-05:00

New Directions is a two semester, three-part bridge program designed to give lawyers the substantive law updates, professional skills and the practical experience they need to return to the legal workforce. Many business, legal and other professionals are seeking to return to their professions after taking a break for child-rearing, pursuit of a different career or other reasons. Pace Law School has developed a program to assist attorneys in their efforts to return to the legal marketplace as an attorney or in an alternative legal career.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
• Two-semester program consisting of an academic semester and an externship semester.
• Externship will place participants with a sponsor organization which will provide supervision and mentoring.
• Session 1 will continue the 2008 focus on training General Counsel (and their outside counsel or other practitioners) and will offer practical legal skills covering a variety of practice areas. The focus for Session 2 has not yet been confirmed.
• Refresher courses in legal research and writing
• Networking with the legal community
• Resume and cover letter preparation
• Interview preparation including mock interviews
• Training with on-line legal databases as well as other information and software systems

The Open Houses for the second session will be held on April 28, 2009 and May 21, 2009, from 5pm-7pm.

Second session: July 13, 2009 -- December 18, 2009

Each session begins with a weeklong "boot camp" designed to refresh lawyers' skills with the basic tools of the job market, including how to craft a resume, how to approach an interview, how to use the Internet for legal and job-related research, communications skills, basic computer skills, and networking and marketing skills. Classroom work runs for 10 weeks, on Tuesday mornings from 9am-1pm and Thursday evenings from 5pm-9pm. The 10-week externship begins upon completion of the classroom component. The externships require a minimum commitment of 150 hours.

The application deadline for Session 2 is June 15, 2009.

To apply, please send a current resume and statement of interest, (no longer than 2 type-written pages), which explains why you are interested in this program and how it fits in with your career goals. Please e-mail these materials to Amy Gewirtz at agewirtz@law.pace.edu. There is no application fee, but an interview may be required.

In order to provide the individual attention that we believe is integral to the New Directions program, we purposely aim to enroll a relatively small group of attorneys for each session of the program. In that regard, we encourage you to apply early.

Stimulus Money and Jobs in Government

2009-03-25T08:51:00.003-05:00

Regardless of your views on the federal stimulus package, it is creating jobs in government. Some agencies need to fill the jobs quickly and, thus, aren't listing them. You may want to check with federal agencies in your area to see if they are hiring. And, of course, set up an automatic e-mail notification with usajobs.com to receive daily job notices based on your criteria.

An upside of recession: opportunity for reevaluation

2009-03-18T12:51:00.001-05:00

William A. Chamberlain / Special to NLJ.com
February 23, 2009

In a time of short days and increasing numbers of pink slips, it is easy to let our concept of what is possible for us narrow down with the early twilight. But one of the few upsides of the recession is the opportunity to reevaluate not only what we want in a job but also who we are. Beyond the paycheck, having a job that we love and that aligns with our values allows us to use our talents and skills in ways that make us feel productive or helpful or creative.

Self-assessment, in whatever form works for you, can open up possibilities, give you direction and give you the confidence as you pursue your search. Asking a few key questions is the first step. Are we satisfied with our jobs? With some parts of our jobs? Do we enjoy going to work? If we have been laid off, did we enjoy what we did? What do we want to do next? On a more practical level: What will make us attractive to our next employer? What skills do we possess beyond the list of projects on our resumes? Are we great with spreadsheets? With any or all forms of technology? Do we thrive on working with people? Do we enjoy managing? Are we more entrepreneurial? What do we dislike? Staring at a computer screen all day? Meetings? Do we meet new people easily? Do we enjoy writing? What motivates us? Money? Prestige? Altruism? Security? Self-assessment gets us thinking in terms of "career" rather than "job."

While Lawyers tend to prefer "doing" to "being," time spent in "stillness" and reflection can help us to determine the right direction for our careers. Our best ideas usually come to us when we are in a reflective mode. Those of us who are laid off should resist the temptation to apply to the first job we see. Taking some time off to regroup is a necessary part of the job search. Try a self-assessment instrument like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Strong Interest Inventory. While no one instrument tells us all we need to know to pursue that next job, such self assessments can provide useful information. Not surprisingly, in Myers-Briggs terminology, the legal profession tends to select for those who identify as thinkers — those who favor the impersonal, logical and objective over the subjective and interpersonal — and judgers, who are organized and work-focused. Myers-Briggs feelers have a tougher time in law, but we need more of them. Feelers bring the human dimension to legal issues and often pursue public interest jobs — and career services positions. If you are a feeler or an entrepreneurial type in a large law firm, you may have felt out of place and alone — a layoff might be a wake-up call to pursue a better fit.

Take a look at a number of good books that will help you better understand your talents and passions. The first third of Deborah Arron's What Can You Do with a Law Degree? focuses on self-assessment, with practical exercises to explore whether you want to leave law at all and to evaluate transferable skills as well as interests and values that shape your ideal job. The final third of her book contains a list of resources for various law-related careers such as advertising and legal publishing. The classic What Color is Your Parachute? and various books by Barbara Sher, such as Wishcraft, provide step-by-step advice on getting what you really want from work. Sher shows how so-called obstacles and limitations can be overcome by creative brainstorming, often with a supportive group of friends — or a career counselor. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron outlines a process to overcome writers' block that is equally useful working through job search frustration or inertia. Start each day, she suggests, with a few minutes of free writing — about whatever comes to mind without any kind of critical eye. For me, that exercise is a great way to bring up what's on my mind and free my thinking for the day. Finally, Timothy Butler's Getting Unstuck provides a guide to working through life's crises or periods of "impasse." One of the developers of a widely used CareerLeader assessment tool for MBA students, Butler advocates experiencing the negative feelings of impasse before creating a map that will lead to a more fulfilling and exciting career. He provides helpful exercises to get beyond the negative feelings inherent in the loss of a job.

Once you have a better idea of what you want to do with the rest of your working life, get moving. Don't overlook informational interviewing, an underutilized method for discovering a new path. Think about people you know or have read about whose jobs you would like to have (okay, Oscar-nominee is a long shot). What is it about these jobs that attract you? Don't limit yourself with "Oh, I could never do that!" Ask for half an hour of time from an informational contact. Or ask your law school or undergraduate career office to steer you toward helpful alumni. Before you meet with your informational interviewee, develop a list of questions from your research on the web or in print. Check out Lisa Abrams' Official Guide to Legal Specialties or read up about other fields. Get as much information as possible about the person you are interviewing and his or her job — both the good and the bad. If you can find out the salary range, all the better. Ask what a typical day is like. What does the interviewee read online or in print to stay current? How did she or he get into the field? What additional education or training would be helpful or essential? Don't ask for a job! The interviewee surely will mention an opening if he or she thinks you're the right fit. Do ask for suggestions of others to talk with, and, of course, follow-up with a thank-you note. Keep your new contacts apprised of developments in your search — they are now a part of your professional network.

My first question for students who have no idea about what they want to do: What do you do for fun? I don't ask them to begin with a book or the MBTI . Rather, I inquire about what they enjoy most about law school and about previous jobs or internships. What were their dream careers when they were contemplating law school? The job search comes down to what will make us happy going forward. Especially in the darkest economic times, we need to begin a job search not from a place of anger, frustration or fear. Self-assessment can help you avoid taking another job where you are not happy — you will not last long there in any case. On a practical level, if you take the time to explore your likes, dislikes, skills, interests, and values you will have answers to the two basic interview questions: "Why are you here?" and "Why should we hire you?"

William A. Chamberlain is assistant dean, Law Career Strategy and Advancement, Northwestern University School of Law.

Networking is key to navigating recession

2009-03-18T12:46:00.003-05:00

Ari L. Kaplan / Special to NLJ.com
March 2, 2009

There have been thousands of layoffs in the legal market since the financial crisis began, but if you are one of its casualties, you have options and can still create opportunity. In the current market, those who continue to think of ways to provide value to others will stand out in a sea of people that is only growing more crowded as the credit crunch lingers.

Start thinking about who inspires you in your community and why. Then try to meet one or all of those individuals. It is important to begin this process of finding inspiration because as you hone those skills, you will be able to nourish your appetite for interesting and unique perspective throughout your career. The manner in which you can meet them varies depending on your style. Some people are comfortable cold-calling or e-mailing prospects. Others prefer to use technology. Still others are only comfortable with an introduction by a friend. While all of these methods work, you may not have the luxury of pursuing only the option with which you are most comfortable.

Buoyant times allow us to relax, but in leaner periods, we must explore all possibilities for distinction. That said, your personal style is critical to your professional success. Many types of personalities can arrive at the same destination — they just need to do so by taking different routes. If you are more comfortable in small groups, consider individual interviews or small discussion groups. Meal-time events, e.g., dinner clubs, can be productive gatherings where contacts are more inclined to discuss issues of greater importance to them, including family, sports and hobbies. These conversations provide deeper insight into an individual than changes in the market or frustrations with billable hours. Book clubs offer a similar environment. The key to finding value in these interactions is to use what you learn for genuine follow-up. For instance, if an individual mentions an upcoming vacation, you can e-mail him or her in a few weeks and ask about the vacation. If he or she has an important client meeting in a few months, you can calendar that event and wish him or her luck. You can do this by e-mail, phone or handwritten note (a personal favorite for many), but the act itself is more critical than the means. Also, consider interviewing people that you want to meet or with whom you would like to develop stronger relations. Start a podcast, which can be as simple as posting telephone interviews online, or write an article. Again, it is the act, rather than the method that will help you enhance your profile. You can follow up on what you learn by developing panel presentations to bring members of your new network together. If you can find ways to spotlight career milestones and showcase the achievements of another, you will go beyond building a network. You will begin setting the foundation for friendship. Those who think of others are often more successful because of the reflection it brings on their character.

Consider conducting a survey to connect. Identify an issue that is of importance to the population of people that you are trying to reach. Then contact members of that community and ask them about the problem and potential solutions. It is a great opportunity to get to know someone and it positions you as an insightful advisor. Once your survey is complete, you can publish the results and position yourself as an expert in the area you have covered. It will enhance your name recognition and encourage others to market your work. Journalists will be curious about your findings and many will be looking to your results to benchmark their own insights and performance. The key to getting your conclusions published is to position it as relevant at the time you are issuing the results. For example, if it is early in the year, you can position it as a tool for planning for the next year. Since the economy is a popular issue in the current environment, you can characterize your survey as a means for streamlining operations by incorporating some of your conclusions. Depending on the confidential nature of your study, ask certain participants, particularly those who may have a higher profile, if you can quote them because it will associate them with your work. As others Google them, they will find you. They will see that you are associated with high caliber individuals and make similar judgments about your qualifications.

Many lawyers (and most professionals) believe that client development and even career satisfaction are the result of luck. Some people get lucky with their mentor, with their assigned practice area and with their first client. The truth is, everyone benefits from random luck at least once. The great ones, however, attract luck as well. The chance you have in the downturn is an important one, and you get to choose to take advantage of it. You can build the foundation for your next opportunity, when it is almost effortless, or wait and force it into a complex schedule competing with many other prospects when you find employment again.

Ari L. Kaplan, a lawyer and a writer in New York City, is the author of The Opportunity Maker: Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development from Thomson-West (2008). He delivers keynote presentations, in-house programs and university lectures at law schools, bar associations and law firms nationwide. Download a free discussion guide on creating opportunities at http://www.AriKaplanAdvisors.com. And, for a free 1-hour program on ideas for creating job and business development opportunities, contact the author directly at ari@arikaplanadvisors.com.