Taking a Structured Approach to Job Applications
I’ve spoken to a lot of law students over the years about the job search process and have been through it myself after striking out at OCI at the beginning of my 2L year. The most difficult thing for most people is the lack of structure. Without following a systematic approach, it’s easy to get discouraged when you do not see immediate results.
The issue is that setting up a structured approach takes effort, and if you don’t know where to start it’s easy to push it off indefinitely for fear of wasting time doing something that does not work. Especially when that time can be used for studying and preparing for class.
I get into each of the following steps very granularly in The Complete Guide, but at a high level a structured law firm job search has each of the following:
It is very focused. Instead of applying generally to transactional or litigation practices, you should choose one or two practice areas you are interested in and focus exclusively on them. For example, I was laser-focused on finding a job at a tax practice when I was looking for a job in my 3L year.
It includes a very tight email cover letter. The cover letter needs to be short and to the point. If your cover letter takes more than several moments to read, chances are it will be ignored by the people you send it to.
It includes a process for identifying the right people at each firm to send your cover letter to. You may think that applying through the job portal is the way to go. After all, that’s what it is for, right? Not the case. You are much better off sending your email cover letter to actual attorneys. I explain this in much more depth in the guide because this is such a core aspect of making sure you get noticed.
It sends follow-up emails to the cover letter. If you ask any sales person, they’ll tell you that the initial email rarely gets a response. That’s why follow-up emails are so important. To make sure you get noticed, it pays to automate your follow-up emails (much like sales professionals).
It keeps careful track of each application and outcome. Knowing where you applied and when is critical because it helps you track your progress and keep you on pace. Beyond that, as I explain thoroughly in the segment on dealing with rejections, it’s okay to reapply to firms after a rejection as long as some time has passed. The only way to know how much time has passed is to keep careful track of your applications.
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