The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls) Forum

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:05 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
6) This might be a controversial opinion, but I do not think that anyone gives a fuck about cover letters. Make it as short as possible. Unless, there is some unique circumstance, I do not think overly thought-out cover letters are necessary or appropriate for the general application. All it can do is hurt you (misspellings, etc).
100% agree. I did not even submit a cover letter when applying for the job that got me out of the vale of tears after 7 months (big law staff attorney gig) and again did not submit a cover letter for my next job after that (mid law associate). Keep it super short and simple. It comes down to your resume and substantive work experience.
Yeah my employer clearly didn't read my cover letter because it had a typo in it. I remember discovering the typo right after I submitted the application and figured I was fucked. I told my hiring partner about it about a year after getting the job and she said she wouldn't have selected me for an interview if she had noticed it.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:25 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Had an interview across the country scheduled for next week. Found out today that they have to reschedule. Checked with Delta, and they say my only options are either to pay a $200 change fee on my $205 ticket, which I can't afford, or to throw away the $205 I already spent...

How's everyone else's day going?
It's disappointing law firms do this and don't pay for the ticket or expenses. Law firms, especially big firms care so much about "prestige" and image. But they don't treat interviewees well.

If they really cared about perception they'd pay for it. Many tech companies will pay for flight and hotels for interviews, as well as give a generous allowance for food expenses. Many will give an extra night so you can see the city. I haven't interviewed at one that didn't do this.

If you're interviewing in the same state and plan to drive instead, they'll offer to pay for your car rental and fuel. You don't spend any money during the process. The plane tickets, hotels are all booked by them and they pay for it.

Even startups try the best that they can.

PorscheFanatic

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by PorscheFanatic » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:29 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Had an interview across the country scheduled for next week. Found out today that they have to reschedule. Checked with Delta, and they say my only options are either to pay a $200 change fee on my $205 ticket, which I can't afford, or to throw away the $205 I already spent...

How's everyone else's day going?
It's disappointing law firms do this and don't pay for the ticket or expenses. Law firms, especially big firms care so much about "prestige" and image. But they don't treat interviewees well.

If they really cared about perception they'd pay for it. Many tech companies will pay for flight and hotels for interviews, as well as give a generous allowance for food expenses. Many will give an extra night so you can see the city. I haven't interviewed at one that didn't do this.

If you're interviewing in the same state and plan to drive instead, they'll offer to pay for your car rental and fuel. You don't spend any money during the process. The plane tickets, hotels are all booked by them and they pay for it.

Even startups try the best that they can.
What are you talking about? Every firm I interviewed with paid for my flight, meals throughout the trip, hotel, and ubers to and from the airport in both cities.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:31 pm

PorscheFanatic wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Had an interview across the country scheduled for next week. Found out today that they have to reschedule. Checked with Delta, and they say my only options are either to pay a $200 change fee on my $205 ticket, which I can't afford, or to throw away the $205 I already spent...

How's everyone else's day going?
It's disappointing law firms do this and don't pay for the ticket or expenses. Law firms, especially big firms care so much about "prestige" and image. But they don't treat interviewees well.

If they really cared about perception they'd pay for it. Many tech companies will pay for flight and hotels for interviews, as well as give a generous allowance for food expenses. Many will give an extra night so you can see the city. I haven't interviewed at one that didn't do this.

If you're interviewing in the same state and plan to drive instead, they'll offer to pay for your car rental and fuel. You don't spend any money during the process. The plane tickets, hotels are all booked by them and they pay for it.

Even startups try the best that they can.
What are you talking about? Every firm I interviewed with paid for my flight, meals throughout the trip, hotel, and ubers to and from the airport in both cities.
I'm talking about the post I just replied to. What are you talking about?

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by PorscheFanatic » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
PorscheFanatic wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Had an interview across the country scheduled for next week. Found out today that they have to reschedule. Checked with Delta, and they say my only options are either to pay a $200 change fee on my $205 ticket, which I can't afford, or to throw away the $205 I already spent...

How's everyone else's day going?
It's disappointing law firms do this and don't pay for the ticket or expenses. Law firms, especially big firms care so much about "prestige" and image. But they don't treat interviewees well.

If they really cared about perception they'd pay for it. Many tech companies will pay for flight and hotels for interviews, as well as give a generous allowance for food expenses. Many will give an extra night so you can see the city. I haven't interviewed at one that didn't do this.

If you're interviewing in the same state and plan to drive instead, they'll offer to pay for your car rental and fuel. You don't spend any money during the process. The plane tickets, hotels are all booked by them and they pay for it.

Even startups try the best that they can.
What are you talking about? Every firm I interviewed with paid for my flight, meals throughout the trip, hotel, and ubers to and from the airport in both cities.
I'm talking about the post I just replied to. What are you talking about?
What firms did you interview with that didn't pay for interview expenses? That's not something that happens at the "big firms." It sounds like you have experience with startups, but did you actually interview at big firms?

You literally print the form off the NALP website, send it to the firm with all your receipts, and then the firm writes you a check. I said "what are you talking about" because your information is wrong with respect to "big firms."

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Feb 05, 2018 6:25 pm

hey- the bYU link isn't working right now

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by shantideva » Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:24 pm

Hey, this thread was really helpful to me when I was an unemployed 3L so just wanted to pay it forward.

Saw this fellowship listing earlier today:
https://serviceyear.org/californiajusti ... ow/VbO4YJ/

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 10, 2018 12:13 pm

Out of the vale in a fedgov honors program.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by shantideva » Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Out of the vale in a fedgov honors program.
Congrats! :D

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 14, 2018 6:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Out of the vale in a fedgov honors program.
First of all congrats! Second, how did you get into an honors program post grad?

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:17 pm

Here is a job that doesn't require bar results to be hired. http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/docs/postings/LegCounI.pdf

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by andythefir » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:46 pm

New Mexico’s 12th DA is hiring.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by shantideva » Sat Feb 24, 2018 6:18 pm

andythefir wrote:New Mexico’s 12th DA is hiring.

What's the hiring system like for NM PD?

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by andythefir » Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:04 pm

shantideva wrote:
andythefir wrote:New Mexico’s 12th DA is hiring.

What's the hiring system like for NM PD?
Goes through a central state process, which is why it’s way less haphazard than the DAs.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:00 pm

Class of 2017 here. Still in the Vale. I'm living with my parents, and while I know I'm incredibly lucky to have their support, after almost a year I'm also feeling overwhelmingly spoiled, useless, and shitty about still being unemployed and watching them using their retirement on my monthly student loan payments. I'm sorry about the long post and just the general childish tone of it, I just feel stuck and I'm hoping for some opinions on this whole situation.

My parents have (understandably) been increasingly frustrated by my lack of progress, and it's leading to a series of very long, damaging fights between us. Long story short, they think that something must be wrong with me, and I am not doing enough to fix this. I am (I won't get into details here because I'm tired of having to defend myself to my parents on the exact same topic every other day, just please assume that I am). I asked them what would make them feel better, and they said if they saw me socializing/spending time outside rather than sitting locked up in my room. They suggested getting a part time job while I'm searching for legal work (which I would leave off my resume).

So, question: did/do any of you work a part time non-legal job while job hunting? What recommendations do you have? This is complicated by the fact that my parents don't want me to be seen if I did have such a job. They don't want me to be seen by their friends and have the friends make snide remarks about me to them. But this would end up eliminating a lot of potential options, like major fast food or retail. Night shift work is mostly overnight restocking, which I wouldn't mind in theory, but I don't think I can carry over 40 pounds, and I don't think anyone looking at me would believe I could, either.

If I'm considering part time non-legal jobs, should I just try to do legal jobs I haven't wanted to apply to? I'm talking about personal injury/insurance defense/civil litigation, which there seem to be a lot of openings for, but I haven't applied to because 1) I want to do corporate work and I'm not sure how much having a bunch of litigation on my resume would help and 2) this seems silly when I don't even have a job, but I'm worried about exit options - I interned briefly at a personal injury firm while in law school and while it was a very positive experience and I learned a lot, interviewers when I was looking for a position next actually laughed at me when I talked about it.

Alternatively, do you have any recommendations for volunteering I could do? Ideally I'd do pro bono lawyer work, but I'm kind of afraid to do that because I'm really at a rock bottom in terms of self confidence right now. I'm feeling very insecure about my personality in light of the job situation, which makes me feel a lot of pressure to fit in and be professional, especially around other lawyers, which usually translates into me being awkward and robotic. I don't know how bad it really is, but the thought of other lawyers in a small legal community remembering me as that weird unpleasant person stresses me out to no end. I know I am a bit socially awkward, but I feel like at least I used to be funny and enjoy being around other people. It's just really demoralizing to act and be perceived in a way that I'm not. I was hoping that if I were in an environment where I don't have to talk to people if I don't want to, it would take the pressure off and I could learn to be myself again. I was looking for something like tree-planting, but with a schedule to it, like once a week.

Or, should I just suck it up like a full grown adult and leave? I'm obviously doing something wrong. My parents have said that I am too comfortable with this situation and I wonder if they're right, and this needs to be a sink or swim scenario. I don't have anywhere to go or much money, but I have enough to keep paying the lease payments on my car for a little while, and I could probably find somewhere legal to park it overnight. A full time minimum wage job wouldn't be enough to make my monthly student loan payments, but I think there's an income variable option.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, even flames. At this point I think there's nothing you can say about me that I haven't thought myself, and I'd like to be proven wrong.

Update (3/28) Out of the Vale! I was able to pick myself back up from my funk and stop worrying about small town gossip. I just received an offer from an interview last week, and I'm going to accept. It's vendor/construction contract review for a mid-sized non-profit that does a lot of work in the community, which I'm pretty pleased about. Thanks again for all the thoughts, everyone.
Last edited by Anonymous User on Wed Mar 28, 2018 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by andythefir » Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:40 pm

So you’re unemployed, depressed about being unemployed, and turning your nose up at job openings because you’re holding out for a different kind of job? That makes no sense.

New mexico’s 3rd, 5th, 6th, 12th, and 13th DAs are all hiring right now. You’re never going to get work unless you get that crucial 1st year of training, and the longer the hole the worse it’s going to get.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by kyle1978 » Mon Mar 05, 2018 6:52 pm

I second andythefir. You should really be applying to anything. I would highly recommend working in NM's rural DA offices for a couple years. You will get a shit ton of experience and responsibility, you will be employed, and due to the nature of the job you will gain confidence. To me, you sound like an overwhelmed young woman, which you may or may not be, but you are in a situation where you need to act and not sit idly by.

Inspiring Quotes:

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose. - LBJ
Success isn't owned. It's leased, and rent is due every day - J.J. Watt

Good luck
andythefir wrote:So you’re unemployed, depressed about being unemployed, and turning your nose up at job openings because you’re holding out for a different kind of job? That makes no sense. New mexico’s 3rd, 5th, 6th, 12th, and 13th DAs are all hiring right now. You’re never going to get work unless you get that crucial 1st year of training, and the longer the hole the worse it’s going to get.
Anonymous User wrote:Class of 2017 here. Still in the Vale. I'm living with my parents, and while I know I'm incredibly lucky to have their support, after almost a year I'm also feeling overwhelmingly spoiled, useless, and shitty about still being unemployed and watching them using their retirement on my monthly student loan payments. I'm sorry about the long post and just the general childish tone of it, I just feel stuck and I'm hoping for some opinions on this whole situation.

My parents have (understandably) been increasingly frustrated by my lack of progress, and it's leading to a series of very long, damaging fights between us. Long story short, they think that something must be wrong with me, and I am not doing enough to fix this. I am (I won't get into details here because I'm tired of having to defend myself to my parents on the exact same topic every other day, just please assume that I am). I asked them what would make them feel better, and they said if they saw me socializing/spending time outside rather than sitting locked up in my room. They suggested getting a part time job while I'm searching for legal work (which I would leave off my resume).

So, question: did/do any of you work a part time non-legal job while job hunting? What recommendations do you have? This is complicated by the fact that my parents don't want me to be seen if I did have such a job. They don't want me to be seen by their friends and have the friends make snide remarks about me to them. But this would end up eliminating a lot of potential options, like major fast food or retail. Night shift work is mostly overnight restocking, which I wouldn't mind in theory, but I don't think I can carry over 40 pounds, and I don't think anyone looking at me would believe I could, either.

If I'm considering part time non-legal jobs, should I just try to do legal jobs I haven't wanted to apply to? I'm talking about personal injury/insurance defense/civil litigation, which there seem to be a lot of openings for, but I haven't applied to because 1) I want to do corporate work and I'm not sure how much having a bunch of litigation on my resume would help and 2) this seems silly when I don't even have a job, but I'm worried about exit options - I interned briefly at a personal injury firm while in law school and while it was a very positive experience and I learned a lot, interviewers when I was looking for a position next actually laughed at me when I talked about it.

Alternatively, do you have any recommendations for volunteering I could do? Ideally I'd do pro bono lawyer work, but I'm kind of afraid to do that because I'm really at a rock bottom in terms of self confidence right now. I'm feeling very insecure about my personality in light of the job situation, which makes me feel a lot of pressure to fit in and be professional, especially around other lawyers, which usually translates into me being awkward and robotic. I don't know how bad it really is, but the thought of other lawyers in a small legal community remembering me as that weird unpleasant person stresses me out to no end. I know I am a bit socially awkward, but I feel like at least I used to be funny and enjoy being around other people. It's just really demoralizing to act and be perceived in a way that I'm not. I was hoping that if I were in an environment where I don't have to talk to people if I don't want to, it would take the pressure off and I could learn to be myself again. I was looking for something like tree-planting, but with a schedule to it, like once a week.

Or, should I just suck it up like a full grown adult and leave? I'm obviously doing something wrong. My parents have said that I am too comfortable with this situation and I wonder if they're right, and this needs to be a sink or swim scenario. I don't have anywhere to go or much money, but I have enough to keep paying the lease payments on my car for a little while, and I could probably find somewhere legal to park it overnight. A full time minimum wage job wouldn't be enough to make my monthly student loan payments, but I think there's an income variable option.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, even flames. At this point I think there's nothing you can say about me that I haven't thought myself, and I'd like to be proven wrong.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:33 am

Anonymous User wrote:Class of 2017 here. Still in the Vale. I'm living with my parents, and while I know I'm incredibly lucky to have their support, after almost a year I'm also feeling overwhelmingly spoiled, useless, and shitty about still being unemployed and watching them using their retirement on my monthly student loan payments. I'm sorry about the long post and just the general childish tone of it, I just feel stuck and I'm hoping for some opinions on this whole situation.

My parents have (understandably) been increasingly frustrated by my lack of progress, and it's leading to a series of very long, damaging fights between us. Long story short, they think that something must be wrong with me, and I am not doing enough to fix this. I am (I won't get into details here because I'm tired of having to defend myself to my parents on the exact same topic every other day, just please assume that I am). I asked them what would make them feel better, and they said if they saw me socializing/spending time outside rather than sitting locked up in my room. They suggested getting a part time job while I'm searching for legal work (which I would leave off my resume).

So, question: did/do any of you work a part time non-legal job while job hunting? What recommendations do you have? This is complicated by the fact that my parents don't want me to be seen if I did have such a job. They don't want me to be seen by their friends and have the friends make snide remarks about me to them. But this would end up eliminating a lot of potential options, like major fast food or retail. Night shift work is mostly overnight restocking, which I wouldn't mind in theory, but I don't think I can carry over 40 pounds, and I don't think anyone looking at me would believe I could, either.

If I'm considering part time non-legal jobs, should I just try to do legal jobs I haven't wanted to apply to? I'm talking about personal injury/insurance defense/civil litigation, which there seem to be a lot of openings for, but I haven't applied to because 1) I want to do corporate work and I'm not sure how much having a bunch of litigation on my resume would help and 2) this seems silly when I don't even have a job, but I'm worried about exit options - I interned briefly at a personal injury firm while in law school and while it was a very positive experience and I learned a lot, interviewers when I was looking for a position next actually laughed at me when I talked about it.

Alternatively, do you have any recommendations for volunteering I could do? Ideally I'd do pro bono lawyer work, but I'm kind of afraid to do that because I'm really at a rock bottom in terms of self confidence right now. I'm feeling very insecure about my personality in light of the job situation, which makes me feel a lot of pressure to fit in and be professional, especially around other lawyers, which usually translates into me being awkward and robotic. I don't know how bad it really is, but the thought of other lawyers in a small legal community remembering me as that weird unpleasant person stresses me out to no end. I know I am a bit socially awkward, but I feel like at least I used to be funny and enjoy being around other people. It's just really demoralizing to act and be perceived in a way that I'm not. I was hoping that if I were in an environment where I don't have to talk to people if I don't want to, it would take the pressure off and I could learn to be myself again. I was looking for something like tree-planting, but with a schedule to it, like once a week.

Or, should I just suck it up like a full grown adult and leave? I'm obviously doing something wrong. My parents have said that I am too comfortable with this situation and I wonder if they're right, and this needs to be a sink or swim scenario. I don't have anywhere to go or much money, but I have enough to keep paying the lease payments on my car for a little while, and I could probably find somewhere legal to park it overnight. A full time minimum wage job wouldn't be enough to make my monthly student loan payments, but I think there's an income variable option.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, even flames. At this point I think there's nothing you can say about me that I haven't thought myself, and I'd like to be proven wrong.
Tough love 101:
1. Apply to those jobs even if those aren't the ones you want. It'd probably be better for your self-esteem and resume to be using your JD, rather than retail/food service.
2. Get or update a LinkedIn and look for recruiters. It is at least a sign that you are "putting yourself out there."
3. Join your local bar association. While it seems like you may not be up to social events, you can sign up to attend CLEs, learn of pro bono opportunities, and see what local attorneys are doing.
4. Get a therapist or try group therapy. There are low-cost therapy options if you don't have insurance, or you can even look online for it.
5. If you want to do pro bono legal work but you're self-conscious being around other attorneys, try other types of volunteer work so you can meet people and still feel like you're helping others. You can slowly move into doing actual pro bono work.
6. Get a routine. If you're at home all day, I'm guessing you aren't being disciplined with time use. Setting small, attainable goals and checking them off can be helpful. Especially if you have someone holding you accountable (like a therapist).
7. Do something for your parents. I have no idea what the living arrangement is like, but doing something kind or thoughtful for your parents could show your appreciation and maybe lead to some reconciliation.
8. Expand the types of jobs you are applying for (legal and non-legal).
9. Expand the geography of where you are applying for jobs.
10. You need to talk to people. The longer you go not talking to people, the harder it will be when you actually have to (e.g. interviewing, having friends)

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 06, 2018 5:32 am

Anonymous User wrote:Class of 2017 here. Still in the Vale. I'm living with my parents, and while I know I'm incredibly lucky to have their support, after almost a year I'm also feeling overwhelmingly spoiled, useless, and shitty about still being unemployed and watching them using their retirement on my monthly student loan payments. I'm sorry about the long post and just the general childish tone of it, I just feel stuck and I'm hoping for some opinions on this whole situation.

My parents have (understandably) been increasingly frustrated by my lack of progress, and it's leading to a series of very long, damaging fights between us. Long story short, they think that something must be wrong with me, and I am not doing enough to fix this. I am (I won't get into details here because I'm tired of having to defend myself to my parents on the exact same topic every other day, just please assume that I am). I asked them what would make them feel better, and they said if they saw me socializing/spending time outside rather than sitting locked up in my room. They suggested getting a part time job while I'm searching for legal work (which I would leave off my resume).

So, question: did/do any of you work a part time non-legal job while job hunting? What recommendations do you have? This is complicated by the fact that my parents don't want me to be seen if I did have such a job. They don't want me to be seen by their friends and have the friends make snide remarks about me to them. But this would end up eliminating a lot of potential options, like major fast food or retail. Night shift work is mostly overnight restocking, which I wouldn't mind in theory, but I don't think I can carry over 40 pounds, and I don't think anyone looking at me would believe I could, either.

If I'm considering part time non-legal jobs, should I just try to do legal jobs I haven't wanted to apply to? I'm talking about personal injury/insurance defense/civil litigation, which there seem to be a lot of openings for, but I haven't applied to because 1) I want to do corporate work and I'm not sure how much having a bunch of litigation on my resume would help and 2) this seems silly when I don't even have a job, but I'm worried about exit options - I interned briefly at a personal injury firm while in law school and while it was a very positive experience and I learned a lot, interviewers when I was looking for a position next actually laughed at me when I talked about it.

Alternatively, do you have any recommendations for volunteering I could do? Ideally I'd do pro bono lawyer work, but I'm kind of afraid to do that because I'm really at a rock bottom in terms of self confidence right now. I'm feeling very insecure about my personality in light of the job situation, which makes me feel a lot of pressure to fit in and be professional, especially around other lawyers, which usually translates into me being awkward and robotic. I don't know how bad it really is, but the thought of other lawyers in a small legal community remembering me as that weird unpleasant person stresses me out to no end. I know I am a bit socially awkward, but I feel like at least I used to be funny and enjoy being around other people. It's just really demoralizing to act and be perceived in a way that I'm not. I was hoping that if I were in an environment where I don't have to talk to people if I don't want to, it would take the pressure off and I could learn to be myself again. I was looking for something like tree-planting, but with a schedule to it, like once a week.

Or, should I just suck it up like a full grown adult and leave? I'm obviously doing something wrong. My parents have said that I am too comfortable with this situation and I wonder if they're right, and this needs to be a sink or swim scenario. I don't have anywhere to go or much money, but I have enough to keep paying the lease payments on my car for a little while, and I could probably find somewhere legal to park it overnight. A full time minimum wage job wouldn't be enough to make my monthly student loan payments, but I think there's an income variable option.

Any thoughts would be appreciated, even flames. At this point I think there's nothing you can say about me that I haven't thought myself, and I'd like to be proven wrong.
Why not work for a legal temp agency like Robert Half? It would at least get you out and around legal folks, and opportunities open up as you get to know people and they see your proficiencies. Linkedin is probably an easy way to find a recruiter in your area. After that, just call them up. These people have am incentive to place you into legal work. You can take a break when needed due to the temp status of many of their positions. If one of the employers likes your work, maybe it becomes permanent... which is not all that uncommon.

I think that getting out and around people, building back your confidence, and remembering the value you have as a smarty pants go-getter is important for you at this point (remember, you're a law grad... you are a smart type A who's in a rough patch that you aren't used too).

Do: see if you can get on IBR. It will limit, or eliminate, your payments based on what you are making. It will also relieve some of the tension between you and your parents, I'm guessing.

Don't: run off and live in your car. You need all the help you can get, at least until you get back on your feet. You might have to suck it up for a bit, it might be a bit humiliating, but you'll get there.

Do: get in touch with your friends, law school friends, and network through the local bar association. You'd be surprised by how many people want your success, and what these connections can do for you. I had major problems with this for a while because I didn't want anyone to know I was on hard times. But people are so much more underatanding and helpful than you think.

Full disclosure: I went through something similar. Mine started in law school, with the end of my marriage. It continued after law school, and wrecked my ability to take the bar and secure the position that I wanted. Stepped away from it all for a bit, and when I came back I found that legal didn't want me anymore, and neither did anything else because I didn't have experience. Did exactly what I'm telling you with Robert Half, was placed into many non-attorney positions. But eventually one of those partner assistant roles required me to edit the crap arguments he would write, which surprised him because I hadn't let on to my legal experience. This turned into writing full on arguments, and then getting hired. And this was a springboard into the firm I'm working for now, because my confidence was back, and I built a resume that was at least keeping me tangentially in the legal arena, and had interesting interview points about climbing back and being acknowledged for my legal skillset along the way--to where I was hired as an associate.

Give it a shot. Much better than minimum wage, and will at least get you back into the legal-professional setting.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by RCSOB657 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:22 am

You should have set up your income based repayment program before you left school. I really hope you didn't take private loans which would foreclose this from you.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by RCSOB657 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:23 am

And when I say toy should have already done it, I mean TODAY, DO IT RIGHT NOW.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by anon sequitur » Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:57 pm

If you are limiting yourself to only certain types of jobs 10 months after graduation and six months after bar results, you are seriously sabotaging your career. Are you geographically flexible? Are you holding out for biglaw, or only jobs starting at $100k+? The answer to those questions has to be yes and no, respectively. Otherwise you are going to be competing with another round of fresh graduates in a couple of months, with no legal work on your resume to set you apart from them. You need to be really realistic about your job opportunities right now, and taking a less than ideal position where you are now, or moving across the country to the middle of nowhere for something more attractive are likely your best bets. For God's sake, don't just sit at home waiting for your dream job to come to you. Your parents are right, you need to do something different. Don't bother with a part-time job, that's not going to help your legal career at all.

You should either find a real legal position as quickly as possible, or continue using your parent's support to do a formal volunteer legal position for a few months, and use this as a springboard to something better (I did this myself, except it was a school-funded fellowship rather than family support; went from unemployed at graduation with no prospects to a real career less than three years later). I also had to move to a different part of the country that I wasn't really thrilled about moving to get that career started.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by omar1 » Tue Mar 06, 2018 3:37 pm

I'm surprised that the fact that it's been almost a year since your graduation and you're jobless hasn't opened your eyes. I understand a month or two to look for your dream job, but 10 months and not even applying to jobs you "don't like"? You have amazing parents cause they should've told you long time ago to move your lazy butt and get a job.

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Re: The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 06, 2018 7:06 pm

OP again. Thank you all for your replies. I really really appreciate the detailed advice and anecdotes and motivation. I'm now doing IBR and will be applying more widely. I'll also try recruiters/bar associations and the other things you all suggested.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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