What do I do? Seriously?

Manwaithiel

Okay....

I'm not graduating until December 18th. I know it's kind of a long ways off...but I feel like I should be trying to apply for jobs now. Am I seriously jumping the gun?

There are a few legal secretary/legal admin assistant positions I'm finding that are  perfect. Right in my area, one's right up the alley of law I'd like to practice, good pay, I qualify etc.

Should I hold off applying for a bit? I feel like I'm under the gun, but maybe that's just me freaking out.

What did you guys do?

frogurt814

I know at my company, that the hiring process can take awhile (corporate crap.)  Anyway, I personally do not think it's too early to start applying for jobs.  If you get called in for an interview, you should be honest about school and tell them when you are graduating.  Maybe you could even start working a few hours here and there to get acquainted with the place and what not.

waltzingmatilda13

I would definitely start applying for jobs now. I would assume you will have your education on your resume which will state that you are earning your degree in December 2010, so people should be able to figure that out. If they don't you can bring up in your interview and let them know how excited you are to start working as soon as you finish school.

Last time I applied for a job it took 2 months from the closing date until I actually started work and in these economic times the sooner you get started the better off you will be.

baystateapple

Do it, but tell them that your graduation date isn't until Dec. 18th.  Just be honest.

Manwaithiel

Yeah, my resume has a very clear graduation date at the very top where my prospective bachelor's degree is listed. At the very least they won't spend much time on resume if that's a nixing factor for them. Thanks, ladies!

[Deleted User]

Definitely start looking now, esp with the way the economy is. A lot of times in the corporate world, you have to go through several interviews and their could be a few weeks in between. Some even require their own company training that could last a while. Just make sure you are honest with them and note your anticipated graduation date on your resume. I also graduated in December and was looking for jobs in the early spring. That is what my advisor recommended and the economy wasn't in the shape it is now.

aerinpegadrak

I don't think it's too early; at my current job, I think it took nearly two months between submitting my resume and actually getting a job offer.  I got the offer in early May, but I told them I couldn't start until June 1st because of graduating, moving, and getting settled, which they were fine with.  I'm also debating starting the job hunt, but because we're not moving until April, I'm probably going to hold off until after the holidays.

gottahavashorti

Start looking now.  I graduated in May and wasn't able to start looking for jobs until late April because we weren't sure where we'd be living by fall.  And I wasn't able to start devoting a ton of time to searching and applying until the beginning of June once school and the wedding were over.

I'm still searching for something full time and in my field and it's been months.  I wish I'd known where we would be months before graduation in order to have that time to search.

justinsfiancee

I got hired 5 months before I started my job so I'd start now they'd probably hire you.

ehathewa

Apply now!  I would have been applying months ago! 

Your resume can have an expected gradutation date on it.  And like PPs said just be honest about when you graduate and when you are available to start work. 

mysticl

I recently found employment after searching for several months.  There were several places that I applied that took 3 or more months to even call me for an interview and then another month or more to make a decision.    So in other words, start applying now.  If nothing else it will help you get comfortable with the interview process. 

bablingbrooke

I applied for my first post-college job in February and got hired in April to start two weeks after graduation.  And that was in a good economy.  Start NOW.

Manwaithiel

Sent off my first application! Thanks, everyone for your advice =DD

bablingbrooke

FYI: When you get to law school you pretty much start your job search from day one and start it seriously just after your first year ends (yes, this is for your post-grad job).  Something to look forward to!

Manwaithiel

Holy crap! That's a really long job search. Is that like summer associate's programs and such?

bablingbrooke

If summer associate programs are still around when you go to law school, yes.  They are disappearing fast--there's been a significant cutback since I started law school in '08 and more and more firms are scaling them back or dropping them completely since the business model doesn't work in a deep recession.  But also for other jobs--think of them as building on each other: working as a research assistant during your 1L summer gives you research skills that strengthen your resume for when you find a job (hopefully a SA position!) for your 2L summer, which you then use to find a good post-3L job/clerkship.  Your summers aren't your own anymore, and that's kind of a good thing--that's the only time in law school you gain any marketable skills

BTW, I'm not trying to freak you out, I'm just giving you the advice I wish I'd heard before I started!

Manwaithiel

Oh no, I'm glad you're telling me these things. I am definitely trying to take it one step at a time, but I don't want to just run in and dive into something without having some idea of what I'm getting myself into. I'm already starting to stress about my LSAT. I keep going from not thinking about it, to thinking I did alright, to thinking, "What if I just totally bombed it and get a 140 or something???" I know the last thing is really unreasonable, I just can't seem to think about other things.

I've actually resorted to helping my roommate study for her PCAT. That's how desperate I am for distraction. Along with Knotting of course...

tldh

Knot away.  You might want to try yoga also.  I've found that this completely stops my mind from thinking for the hour I'm doing it.

Brooke is right though.  You have to spend the next few years building your resume.  The law clerk job I had as  2L and 3L paid the least amount of money possible but the attorneys let me do everything except sign my name on briefs.  The school's career services actually called the partners because they couldn't believe that I had attained as much experience as I had.  It led to my first job as an attorney being the lead litigation associate at a firm.  Week one I was defending depositions.  Month four, I was in trial.

bablingbrooke

Another piece of law school advice: After ANY exam (LSAT, MPRE, Civ Pro, the bar (I presume)) you need to just erase it from your mind.  You can't control it, and it's out of your hands now.  If you follow no other piece of advice I give you, follow this one.  If you rerun them in your head you'll go mad.  Don't drive yourself crazy.  

bablingbrooke

And ditto Tricia--the best experience comes from the lowest-paying jobs.  A friend of mine did a SA gig this summer at a national law firm in their IP division.  She spent her whole summer writing memos to file and going to lunch.  I worked for free for a public defender--I did arraignments, drafted and argued motions, even second-chaired two trials!  I still can't believe how much experience I got.  So my friend may have made more money, but I think I had a more valuable experience.

tldh

On that note, once you are in school, do not, under any circumstance talk to anyone about the exam. Ever.

Heads up Brooke:
When you take the bar, order room service if you have to.  Do not eat anywhere that other bar takers will be because there will always be the know it all PITAs who insist on discussing the test within earshot of you.  It's bad enough without them.  I was up every couple hours after day one this July because for the life of me, I couldn't remember answering a Torts question in the essays.  I finally remembered what it was four days later.

For Ohio's exam I drove to a Columbus suburb where I knew no one would be and totally fell off the low carb wagon at an O'Charley's:  I ate three baskets of rolls, a large bowl of loaded baked potato soup, a full slab a BBQ ribs and two orders of fries with extra BBQ sauce.

bablingbrooke

Thanks for the tip!  I actually did something similar for the LSAT--I had to take it in Podunk since I registered late so I stayed at a hotel, ate take-out Chinese, and was in complete solitude the night before the exam.  It was great and I definitely plan to do the same thing for the bar.  

And that advice bears repeating: don't EVER discuss exams or grades under any circumstances.  Everyone wears earplugs during exams and I just finally decided to leave them in until I was with just my friends because I didn't want to hear question 4 rehashed and hear people give different answers than I did.  It'll make you crazy.  I have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about grades; in this context, said policy is a lifesaver

tldh

One more thing...and I'm really not trying to scare you to death here...but it goes along with not discussing grades.

All law schools grade differently but if yours is like mine, it's super competitive at exam time: There were a set number a As, Bs. Cs, Ds and Fs that were given out.  The theory was that you are competing against eachother in practice so start now.  That meant that there were only a couple high grades given and a set number of Ds and Fs that had to be given. 

This lead to having to keep you notes and books under lock and key and never letting laptops out of your sight - especially if you were pegged as one of the smart ones.  These things did get stolen.  A friend of mine had his notes stolen two weeks before exams.  I found out who had them and had the pleasure of informing them that if they didn't find their way back into my friend's locker, I'd start talking.  Oh yeah, my friend was US Army and had spent ten years as a Ranger in Black Ops.

tldh

I think I just figured out why I have no patience for whining newbies who think we are mean.  They have no freakin' idea what mean is.  I lived with it for three years.  Actually longer than that - the joke is that my school's grads practice with brass knuckles.

bablingbrooke

My school inflates grades  It's actually impossible to get less than a B-.  

It's also a really happy law school.  People are friends.  My hard drive died three days before my exams and I my backup drive also failed.  One FB post and tearful phone call to my best law school friend and I had notes and outlines from 10 different people.  They were amazing.  I get sad when I hear about how competitive a lot of schools are.  I wouldn't want to do it if it was like that.  Our school really drilled into us that we will be each other's colleagues someday and your reputation will follow you around, so make sure you carve out a good one for yourself.  Seriously, everyone buys into it and it's made for a great experience.  Closest thing to a kumbaya atmosphere you can have in a law school

Manwaithiel

O_O

Okay...recap. Don't talk about exams. Ever. Get the job with the most experience, not necessarily the best pay. I did the same things you guys did for the LSAT. I was in a hotel room by myself in the middle of Virginia (read: middle of nowhere), ate lots of yummy Bloomin' Onion and baked potato from the Outback next door. I did not bring study stuff with me. I watched SVU all night. I got a lot of sleep. I felt awesome the next day. I guess I'll just rinse, repeat for all further examinations.

That is, if I get in somewhere.

Wow....=/

Manwaithiel

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_seriously-4?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:37Discussion:4f773083-a389-42a4-b558-648f5c19f5d9Post:8a53a412-553f-4617-a4f4-35a72b7243cd">Re: What do I do? Seriously?</a>:
[QUOTE]One more thing...and I'm really not trying to scare you to death here...but it goes along with not discussing grades. All law schools grade differently but if yours is like mine, it's super competitive at exam time: There were a set number a As, Bs. Cs, Ds and Fs that were given out.  The theory was that you are competing against eachother in practice so start now.  That meant that there were only a couple high grades given and a set number of Ds and Fs that had to be given.  This lead to having to keep you notes and books under lock and key and never letting laptops out of your sight - especially if you were pegged as one of the smart ones.  These things did get stolen.  A friend of mine had his notes stolen two weeks before exams.  I found out who had them and had the pleasure of informing them that if they didn't find their way back into my friend's locker, I'd start talking.  <strong>Oh yeah, my friend was US Army and had spent ten years as a Ranger in Black Ops.
</strong>Posted by tldh[/QUOTE]

What brilliant mind decided stealing stuff from him was a good idea??