I hate admitting this...
My name is Dany and I had a mid-way-to-finding-out-bar-results crisis. Unlike the slightly more common mid-life crisis, I did not have the financial capabilities to buy a motorcycle, a new wardrobe, or go on an extravagant trip. Fortunately, I did not require the toupee or sordid affair either, so I guess it balances out. I was half-way to finding out bar results in early September, and the only income I had was from a part-time gig (we're talking like 20 hours a month max at minimum wage) that only required a high school diploma. I had not had any interviews in months for a law job, and even doc review wasn't looking like it would happen. Needless to say, I was a little down. And when down about not having a law job, trying to write a pithy, humorous blog about not having a law job turns into a pity blog with lots of depressed rants. And as there are enough of those on reality television shows (I assume, I can't afford cable), I figured I would spare you.
I had two anniversaries in September. The first was with my SO. And while I turned the coq au vin purple by using the wrong kind of wine and cried at inappropriate moments, it was surprisingly not a disaster. Actually, it was really great. But I will be keeping those details to myself, thank you very much.
The second anniversary was a significantly less enjoyable occasion, especially since it did not involve any home-made ice cream. With September came the realization that I'd been applying for a full-time post-law school job for over a year. With no full-time job to show for it. I'd even applied to Hooters with no success. This, my friends, prompted the mid-way-to-finding-out-bar-results crisis.
Fast forward another month or so, and I found out that I passed the bar. With passing the bar I received a wonderful hangover and my first doc review gig. Not something to necessarily write home about, but it is something that allowed me to buy more of those forever stamps to use on future letters home (or on applications, more likely). Now, in the past doc review had been a fall-back. It was what many law grads did until they found their dream job. It paid well, was relatively steady, and mind-numbingly boring. It still pays well. It's still mind-numbingly boring. But at least in a 75 mile radius from where I live, it is no longer steady. But I got a gig. I thought, hey, this is the turning point. I'll work steadily, make some money, and keep applying for jobs. The project lasted three days. It was 75 miles away. And it happened to be on the same day as my sporadic part-time job needed me to work. So I got to leave my apartment at 5am, drive 75 miles, stare at a computer screen and check boxes for ten hours, drive 75 miles to my other job while trying not to spill my tuna dinner on myself (nobody wants an employee who smells like fish), work another four hours, go home, and repeat for two more days. Woot. In all honesty though, doc review can be interesting. My third day I got to do stuff that was more relevant to a trial, and not just clicking boxes. Plus there's free coffee. Lots of free coffee. And as you learned in law school, always take the free food (or coffee) when you can. And the pay is good. And technically speaking, it is legal experience.
But it was only three days. So since graduating, I have worked a total of three days (roughly 30 hours) in a position requiring a law degree. Not great, but still better than some of my friends, so I can't complain. But as a I said, doc review is in a lull at the moment, just like the rest of the legal market. So the job that once was a steady fall-back for us leftover kids is no longer steady. Plus there's more of us leftover kids. I recently read an article in the Washington Post entitled Will Law School Students Have Jobs After They Graduate? that put this into perspective. In a nutshell, there are more and more law students graduating, with fewer law jobs available. And given how mathematics work (I am taking their word on this, math is not my strong suit), the problem will only get worse as there are significantly more law students graduating each year and entering the market than there are new law jobs becoming available, and there are still thousands of unemployed law grads from previous years. This is a scary statistic, but it's real and unfortunately we have to deal with it.
So now what? Even in bleak times, we can not just give up and go into hibernation. Life keeps moving. I only got three days in as a lawyer, and my part-time job is very sporadic. Therefore, I am still treating job searching like a full-time job, as you should try to do too. My tips so far:
1) Network. I hate it, but it's necessary. If you've passed the bar, join the local bar association. Usually it is free the first year for new lawyers. If there is an area of the law that you're interested in, join a committee or two. But make sure you are active in these committees, and not just writing them on your resume. Employers will ask about them. Plus being involved means you will meet people who do what you're interested in, and that can't be a bad thing.
2) Play Where's Waldo. Search for jobs every way you can. Searching is not a passive activity, you need to be proactive. Create a Monster account, a LinkedIn account, an Indeed account. Keep searching your law school's career website. Look for other types of job search engines. Post your resume on different sites. Search daily. Twice daily. As often as you can. Assume that you have not found Waldo and keep looking. Even if you get an interview keep looking. Look until you have accepted that offer letter and you're packing your lunch for that first day of work.
3) Search outside the box. You have more skills than a law degree. Find out what they are and look for jobs that match that. Sometimes you have to come to the realization that you will not get your dream law job right away. Hell, we may never get it. But you still need to pay back those loans, and it's November - payback time. Plus maybe some of those other jobs will be more up your alley, or at least provide an avenue from your current status to your future law job.
4) Update. Keep all your application materials current and looking great.
So, even though I really thought I'd have a job by now, I'm not giving up. I've come out of hibernation. I am in full search-and-network mode. I am retrying some of the advice I've gotten. I will report on this soon. I'm even trying this one piece of advice, something about a glass half full. I hope that means I'm doing the right thing by always refilling my bourbon once its down to one finger. Anyway, I'm out of hibernation. Just in time for Thanksgiving and loan repayment.
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