Career Planning Tip 1: You need not know exactly what job you want next to start a quality job search. Waiting for total clarity will not help you move forward, it will keep you right where you are.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 2: What are the barriers keeping you from meeting your career goals? If you don't identify them, you can't eradicate them.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 3: Employers, supervisors, and mentors can help you find career direction, but they cannot supply it for you.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 4: Correctly crafted, a cover letter foreshadows, not repeats, the information on your resume and prepares the reader to view the resume in the light you want it seen.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 5: Join the ABA, state and local bar associations, and take a leadership role as early and often as possible.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 6: Find a mentor early in your career. Be one throughout it. (Donna Gerson)
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 7: Interviews are about drive and focus and likeability as much as they are about tasks you've handled and schools you've attended. Address qualities as well as the quantity of work you can do.
(Excerpted from the American Bar Association – Career Counsel Tips Archive)
Career Planning Tip 8: Networking works. Other people will reach out to help you move forward. Career Planning Tip 9:
Carry business cards. You never know who may run into.
Career Planning Tip 10:
Your resume is your marketing tool. It should be a factual account of your career and academic accomplishments and not simply a listing of your activities.
Career Planning Tip 11:
Individuals will vary in their career assets. Career assets include many variables such as:
- [Related] Work Experience
- Specific Skill Set(s) & Subject Matter Expertise
- Size and Strength of your Contact
- Network
- References
- Interviewing Style
- General Communication Skills
- Demonstrated Ability to Work
Productively with Others
- Law School Grades
- Community Service/Activity
- Demonstrated Examples of Mature Judgment
Of course, there are many other career assets to be developed during your law school experience.
Career Planning Tip 12:
Be sure that the contact information for your references is current. This includes the reference's e-mail address, telephone number and employment address. Also, be sure their job title is correct.
Career Planning Tip 13:
While in Law School, some of your best networking opportunities may take place with peers and colleagues. Oftentimes other students know about position vacancies at the firms and organizations that they work at. Let others know when you are seeking employment as they may share relevant information with you.
Career Planning Tip 14:
The federal government is expecting a multitude of job openings in the next few years due to the impending retirement of current federal employees. Thirty percent to fifty percent of present federal employees will be eligible to retire in the next few years.
Places to start exploring current federal job openings include:
www.usajobs.gov
www.federaljobs.net
www.studentjobs.gov
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