Career Strategy

How to Find a Job

Most jobs are never advertised through a law school or elsewhere. How do law students discover these jobs? By seeking out employers and selling themselves. Your self-marketing campaign should have several targets, i.e., target several regions or practice settings, or types of legal work. The key is your ability to articulate persuasive "pitches" for each target. You must convince the employer that:

• You've thought through why you want to work there.
   
• That you have something to offer their organization.

Here are 10 steps to successful searching:

1. Determine what geographic areas you can target.

Consider the following:

• Where you have ties already.
   
• Where you've had ties in the past.
   
• Where you'd like to live after graduation.
   
• Where you'd find the populations or issues you'd like to work with.
   
• Where you can travel often enough for meaningful job-search visits.

2. Assess all the types of legal organizations that can provide great experience. Be flexible and open-minded.

• Small law firms.
   
• Federal government agencies.
   
• State government agencies.
   
• Local government agencies.
   
• The court (Federal or State).
   
• Public interest (Non-Governmental) organizations.
   
• Corporate legal departments.
   
• Law schools and other legal academia.
   
• Study abroad.

3. Inventory your contacts. Be open-minded and don't rule anyone out. Anyone can be a "contact."

Think of:

• Your friends.
   
• Family members and family friends.
   
• Prior employers (No matter what type of job.).
   
• College advisors or professors.
   
• Non-legal professionals (i.e., Doctors, Dentists, Accountants, Consultants, Bankers, Educators, Stockbrokers, Insurance Personnel, Architects, Fundraisers, etc.).
   
• Your college or high school alumni association.
   
• Villanova alumni networks.
   
• Community organizations (i.e., Homeowner Associations, School Boards, PTA Groups, Religious Communities, Running Clubs, Basketball Teams, Book Groups, etc.).
   
• Lawyers you've met in any context (Speakers, Interviews, "Day in the Law," Receptions, etc.).
   
• Military personnel or groups, if you or a family member were ever in the service.
   
• Bar associations or other legal professional groups.

4. Get organized.

Whether you use computers or paper, get yourself the following:

• Calendar - to keep track of your applications, follow up, interviews, deadlines, etc.
   
• A "Job Search File" to keep target information, correspondence, phone messages, e-mails, resumes, transcripts, writing samples, etc. Ideas include: 3- ring binders; accordion files; personal digital assistants or other technology. Choose a system you can easily use and maintain.
   
• Organize your files according to what makes sense to you. Some ideas: location; practice specialty; type of employer (i.e., Prosecutors).
   
• Chart a networking plan. List your contacts and phone, e-mail, fax, or mailing information Track your goals for each contact, your communications, and dates for appropriate follow-up.
   
• Collect news and other information as you find it. For example, if you're interested in working for the New York Public Defender, you may notice a news article about important changes to that office. If you keep the article, when you eventually do contact them you can use the information.

5. Research to identify organizations in your target zones.

Start with a manageable number for each target zone. Say you're interested in working in the Philadelphia region and hope to get litigation experience. Break your plan into manageable chunks by starting with 20 each:

• Small litigation firms in counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.
   
• Government or non-governmental public service agencies.
   
• Judges.
   
• Corporate legal departments.

6. Use the Career Strategy website and Library for your research.

Here are some examples to get you started.

• To target private law firms, Martindale Hubbell is a great place to start.
   
• Alumni directories and associations for Villanova and elsewhere.
   
• To identify government agencies (State and Federal) check the web.
   
• Local legal directories or other "phone books" for lawyers.
   
• To identify non-governmental public interest organizations, check Bar Association websites and directories. Many such groups do not have individual websites.
   
• Check out where VLS students have worked in the past by reviewing the "Employer Evaluations" at the Career Strategy Library.
   
• To find judges, start with the Judicial Clerkship FAQs & Timeline on the Career Strategy website.
   
• Explore the Career Strategy Library, including the BNA Directory of State & Federal Judges, the Philadelphia Region Legal Directory, and official court websites.
   
• For corporate legal departments and other company positions, try the Directory of Corporate Counsel, American Corporate Counsel Association, Philadelphia Business Journal Book of Lists (other US cities also available), Hoovers, etc.

7. Tailor a persuasive "pitch contact" for the employers you've targeted.

Show your target list to your contacts to see if they can provide you with insight, inside scoop, or an actual referral.

For organizations where you have direct or indirect connections, try to make your initial contact more personal, i.e., by telephone or in person. Follow up with a letter (with resume) that says "Further to our conversation…"

For organizations where you don't yet have connections, prepare a persuasive written pitch (i.e., your cover letter and resume). Demonstrate that they stand out to you for well-informed reasons.

Consider whether a more personal contact could be effective. For example, some successful candidates invested the time into hand-delivering their resumes to employers they've targeted. By asking to see the hiring person (whose name you should have gotten in advance by telephone), you may actually luck into an "on the spot" interview. If used intelligently and efficiently, this strategy can bear fruit.

8. After 2-3 weeks, if you haven't heard anything, follow up politely.

Many employers cannot devote the resources needed to respond to every unsolicited application. So be persistent, but be polite. If the response is "no need at this time," consider following up every 6-8 weeks. Things can change dramatically for a smaller law office over time-especially as summer grows nearer. Smaller law offices hire on an "as needed" basis. Need is determined quickly and not usually very far in advance. Your patience and discipline may pay off in the end.

9. Offer to work part-time.

Indeed, if you've got your heart set on a particular employer, consider volunteering for a limited "test drive" period (i.e., 2-4 weeks) to show them what you can do.

10. Be patient and never panic.

For the vast majority of students at Villanova and comparable law schools around the USA, the job search is a long process that candidates must attack in a disciplined, energetic way. Keep busy during "waiting periods" by repeating these steps as needed. Revisit, rethink, or expand your target zones. Develop 20 more employers in each. Make contact with the employers on your new list. Leave no stone unturned. Investigate every VLS recruiting program. Attend as many programs as you can. Explore every lead that sounds remotely interesting. By searching aggressively and with an open mind, you may be surprised by the variety and number of opportunities you find.

Back to the Top