I’ve been walking on clouds over the last few weeks as I accepted an offer at a firm and am employed for the summer of 2021! It has definitely been a process, but my job search wasn’t as insurmountable of a task as I thought it would be. I’ve compiled my tips for succeeding on your 2L job search!
- Plan early!
I started my process in February of my 1L year for my summer 2L job search. That is over a year in advance. The biggest advantage was being able to compile information and watch what the 2Ls were doing far in advance rather than crunch for information in the month or two where job hunting gets serious in Fall of 2L year.
2. Understand your strengths and weaknesses and use them appropriately.
I’ve been surprised to find out that this can be a major issue, especially with my friends with high GPAs and no work experience. Off the cuff, I think it’s coming from a misunderstanding of what employers are looking for. Yes, they would like a high GPA Candidate but they don’t really care about the GPA itself, they care about the skills. For most students that means emphasizing the work you put into school, how much you enjoyed the law, your commitment to learning, and how you capitalized on resources (teachers, academic programs) to achieve the successful GPA. Then on the weakness field, don’t worry about blowing up and fluffing your experience if you don’t have much-especially during the interview. Share your interests and some desire to dig in and grow your expertise. Try to avoid going overboard in the interview and constantly boasting about your skills and accomplishments.
3. Think about where and who you want to work with.
I knew I want to take advantage of Diploma Privilege and stay in Wisconsin for at least 5 years. While it’s not impossible to find a job in a place where you don’t have many ties to, it’s much more difficult. I had connections with several different firms and talked to them about their hiring criteria and I was very surprised that ties to the area was a deal maker or breaker with all of them.
Your co-worker community important. I can’t stress this enough for K-JD candidates. Coming out of a career, I experience shitty office culture and co-workers and that was an area I did not want to compromise on. I’d happily work in a 3 person firm that handles DUIs if I like my coworkers and can eek out a living. Not going to lie, I thought that that would take me out of contention for most larger and more cut-throat firms but that actually made me stand out with a firm known for quality lawyers. Understanding my values helped me find a great fit that I can see myself with in the long term.
4. Be someone your interviewer would like to work with.
This is the flip side to part of the last point. Remember, your interviewer is looking for a potential coworker. Relax and be your charming self without the first date nerves if you can.
5. Practice the questions you know will come up on the interview.
Why did you go to Law School? What is your background? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Name one time you failed and one time you succeeded, what were your takeaways?
Questions like these will come up on the interview, so plan ahead and go over them with someone that will have good feedback. Your goal should be answers that flow naturally and highlight a skill or two if possible.
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