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

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Re: Mourning and Weeping in the Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting)

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Oct 13, 2018 9:51 pm

QContinuum wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Hahaha Ever feel like you’re under-qualified for big law, morally above shitlaw, and over-qualified for damn near everything else?
I don't get the TLS belief that shitlaw is morally better than biglaw. They're both morally questionable, the difference being in biglaw you don't actually have to see the clients or witness the damage you've caused.
I don't think the above poster is arguing that small law is "morally better" than BigLaw. If anything, their "morally above shitlaw" claim suggests they view small law as morally worse.

FWIW I agree that most of BigLaw's probably better, morally speaking. It's generally large corporation v. large corporation (whether transactional or lit).
My mistake, I meant the opposite, that biglaw isn't really morally better than small law, despite the common belief here.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:32 pm

Keep mass mailing and following up with firms that have yet to reject you. I had mass mailed 300+ firms since August with nothing to show for it, until my latest round of follow-up emails, which led to interviews with two Big Law firms, and eventually to an offer. Don’t give up hope if you are still looking.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Oct 22, 2018 1:43 pm

Got no-offered after a 2L summer big law job. Mass mailed, hustled aroud during breaks/weekends. Networked and used all my relationships - professors, classmates, contacts made during OCI. Got an offer from another big law firm 3-4 months from graduation. Currently hustling as a first-year associate.

Hang in there!

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

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Got no-offered after a 2L summer big law job. Mass mailed, hustled aroud during breaks/weekends. Networked and used all my relationships - professors, classmates, contacts made during OCI. Got an offer from another big law firm 3-4 months from graduation. Currently hustling as a first-year associate.

Hang in there!
What was the move/chain of events that landed you at your current job?

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

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Oct 22, 2018 2:23 pm

I saw a bunch of job openings on simplicity and kept in regular touch with my career services (T14). Some of my professors reached out to the hiring partners and HR personally. After a long series of informal meetings and a ton of heartbreak, I landed a screener with a big law partner. The interview process took 4 months but it had a happy ending.

The biggest challenge was keeping my spirits up and being motivated during my 3L year. The things which helped me most were a couple of classes that I really loved and a very supportive circle of classmates.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 23, 2018 8:17 am

Anonymous User wrote:Keep mass mailing and following up with firms that have yet to reject you. I had mass mailed 300+ firms since August with nothing to show for it, until my latest round of follow-up emails, which led to interviews with two Big Law firms, and eventually to an offer. Don’t give up hope if you are still looking.
If you don’t mind, could you say which cities your two callbacks were in?

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Keep mass mailing and following up with firms that have yet to reject you. I had mass mailed 300+ firms since August with nothing to show for it, until my latest round of follow-up emails, which led to interviews with two Big Law firms, and eventually to an offer. Don’t give up hope if you are still looking.
If you don’t mind, could you say which cities your two callbacks were in?
In a major Southern market (I.e. Dallas, Houston, Atlanta)

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

Post by blcoleman » Wed Oct 24, 2018 2:13 pm

Look outside your geographic area, inexperienced attorneys' are a dime a dozen...You have to get paid full time experience. I was getting no traction ( or at least not enough decent salary traction) in my geographic area. Ended up moving almost 1500 miles for a judicial clerkship, there are NO attorney's here ( yes I am in the frozen north) but I make over 50k as a law clerk and I KNOW I could get a job here after. But am currently looking at moving back down south now that I have this on my resume, its being much better received.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Nov 02, 2018 3:35 pm

I completed a judicial clerkship in August and am still on the job hunt. So many interviews and nothing...very hard to retain any confidence when nothing has worked out.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:08 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I completed a judicial clerkship in August and am still on the job hunt. So many interviews and nothing...very hard to retain any confidence when nothing has worked out.
I am kind of in the same boat as you, except with worse credentials, but don't give up because I am not haha. So much of life is a war of attrition. Learn from each one. It will happen, it takes time. How many final rounds have you gotten to?

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 07, 2018 2:14 am

Idk what else to do.

I just graduated in June, top 13% of my class (lower-tiered school), law review, moot court, passed the bar.....and I am still searching for an associate position.

I've been applying, networking, and interviewing like it's my job (and frankly, it has been), but nothing is sticking. I landed a couple interviews at big firms, but have either not heard back after following up or have been passed on.

I don't know what else to do, so any leads on entry-level associate positions or advice in general would be super great. I'm in the NYC/NJ area.

Additionally, it'd be great if someone could offer some guidance on resume gaps after grad. I was working as a graduate legal intern at a national organization up until last month, but have since resigned because I was missing too many face-to-face networking opportunities. Everyday that passes I get more nervous that everyone in the 2018 class is gaining experience and I'm still searching.

Thanks in advance!

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

Post by FamilyLawEsq » Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:07 pm

If interested in central Pennsylvania:

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:34 pm

This is really killing me. Looking since August, I went to a good school but some have told me it will be very hard to get a biglaw job. Others including people on hiring committees have said it's totally doable, will probably just be lower-tier biglaw. But I don't know how things will work out for me and I feel such anxiety about what I should be doing. If I can't get a decent firm I'd rather just retrain for some other career...I'm trying to build momentum to set up my plan B, but while it's uncertain whether this will work out it's been hard to really do what I need to do for that. Running out of money. I just hope something works out soon.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 08, 2018 7:29 pm

This has probably been asked to death 1000 times, but just for the sake of getting an updated answer, does anyone know if/when hiring picks up during the 3L year?

More specifically, does anyone know if there are firms (big/mid) that are known for picking up 3Ls and if so, when? (specifically wondering about NY/DC [DMV])

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

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Nov 12, 2018 4:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:This has probably been asked to death 1000 times, but just for the sake of getting an updated answer, does anyone know if/when hiring picks up during the 3L year?

More specifically, does anyone know if there are firms (big/mid) that are known for picking up 3Ls and if so, when? (specifically wondering about NY/DC [DMV])
I am in a similar boat to you, but I have encountered several firms that said they hired through the spring or early summer. I have also been told that there is a time when hiring picks up in January/February though I have heard this mostly from clerks (seems to correspond to when bonuses go out). I have also been told that some firms hire laterals at a bunch of random times, if you can position yourself this way. If anyone more knowledgeable can correct me I welcome it.

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

Post by 2013 » Tue Nov 13, 2018 9:46 am

Anonymous User wrote:This is really killing me. Looking since August, I went to a good school but some have told me it will be very hard to get a biglaw job. Others including people on hiring committees have said it's totally doable, will probably just be lower-tier biglaw. But I don't know how things will work out for me and I feel such anxiety about what I should be doing. If I can't get a decent firm I'd rather just retrain for some other career...I'm trying to build momentum to set up my plan B, but while it's uncertain whether this will work out it's been hard to really do what I need to do for that. Running out of money. I just hope something works out soon.
You need to just try to find any legal job. If you’re the type of person who is biglaw or bust, you are probably thinking of “retraining” for management consulting or something, which won’t work:

It sounds like you graduated this year, so you should try to find any law job. People, especially in this economy, have been able to o from midlaw to biglaw fairly easily. Just get something for now and then try to build up a skill set that you can use in a year when you apply to biglaw.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:23 pm

The struggle is still very real out there. I am trying to move out of a smaller firm into a bigger one. Hoping to land something soon...

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 14, 2018 3:18 pm

Had a call back with a firm over a month ago, still no news... hoping they would at least get back to me before Thanksgiving...

At least one day out of a week I feel this unbearable sense of despair that I will never get a legal job. Today is one of those days. Being a 3L at a T14 with nothing lined up is truly the worst. I don't look forward to my classes next semester at all, nor graduation/bar trip.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Had a call back with a firm over a month ago, still no news... hoping they would at least get back to me before Thanksgiving...

At least one day out of a week I feel this unbearable sense of despair that I will never get a legal job. Today is one of those days. Being a 3L at a T14 with nothing lined up is truly the worst. I don't look forward to my classes next semester at all, nor graduation/bar trip.
3L is fine. I graduated recently and let me tell you it can be far worse lol. You will get something, if you keep trying and you are a good candidate rn. It wasn’t a good idea for me to reach out to firms that year for various reasons, but be happy you can apply now and be confident. You can do it

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

Post by ladybug1989 » Thu Nov 15, 2018 3:18 am

Anonymous User wrote:Had a call back with a firm over a month ago, still no news... hoping they would at least get back to me before Thanksgiving...

At least one day out of a week I feel this unbearable sense of despair that I will never get a legal job. Today is one of those days. Being a 3L at a T14 with nothing lined up is truly the worst. I don't look forward to my classes next semester at all, nor graduation/bar trip.
I graduated from a lower T14 in May and landed a big law job at the end of September. Don't stress out, you're going to get more attention from firms after you graduate (I had several big law interviews), and even more attention once you pass the bar (if you don't land something sooner). I also had a couple big law interviews 3L spring. Make sure to have a contact in your career services office who will reach out to you with openings that are not listed.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:31 am

Hey all,

Back in the vale after being laid off a few days ago. I knew it was coming but didn’t expect it so soon. The firm was having major economic issues. And this is a booming economy. I can’t wait to see that firm go bankrupt during a recession.

I have an interview today so please wish me luck. Guess I just need to smile and act like everything is fine.

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

Post by Porkypots » Fri Nov 16, 2018 1:15 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Hey all,

Back in the vale after being laid off a few days ago. I knew it was coming but didn’t expect it so soon. The firm was having major economic issues. And this is a booming economy. I can’t wait to see that firm go bankrupt during a recession.

I have an interview today so please wish me luck. Guess I just need to smile and act like everything is fine.
goodluck! you got this.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Nov 20, 2018 6:53 pm

I had a CB (not through OCI - had got the interviews through a partner I knew personally at the firm) at a mid size firm to start as a fall associate in 2019. It's been two weeks and heard nothing. Is November off-cycle recruiting month? Would love to get insight on when do usually firms get back with at least a yes or no.

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:29 am

Just got out of the vale 2 weeks ago...only wanted in-house in major city from a T25 the other side of the country...lol I did it after 350-400 (literally lost count) applications. I went to a few job fairs, got my resume passed along but no one was interested...and I'm black like how are you not interested?! I never list my GPA! Only 2 legal internships, 1 year work experience at Fortune 50 (lol I'm only at math, I write like a kindergartener).

TL;DR

WHO I AM: black, personable, dumb as rocks, but I'm a good time.

WHAT I HAD:

GPA: 2.7 (Got a D+/- (who cares it's a D) 1L year in international law...the US doesn't care, why should I?) So I made my bed at that point. 3L year found out I had a brain tumor (it's chill now, nbd), BOTTOM 5%; if we're going to keep it all the way real I've always been a bad student...high IQ, but I lack intellectual depth.
School:T25 (oh it's definitely a trap school, but hey T25, ma!)
Applications:350-400 (lost count, personalized each one)
Interviews: 3 (1 non-paid, 1 super duper small tech startup [two interviews, no response], 1 over the phone interview [current job])

WHAT I WANTED: 9-5, in-house, NYC, niche, little or big I didn't care, $75-100k (like let's be real I have a D on my report card...b-b-but I deserve the world!)

WHAT I GOT:
9-5, in-house, NYC, broader than my niche, household name company, big law bucks, youngest in my department by ~20 years

It's only been a month but I love it, it's more than I could ever ask for. I wake up every morning pinching myself that someone chose me.

Advice:

don't settle and screw the haters, you're the best!
"If somebody says no, you're talking to the wrong person."~Kris Jenner
I made over 350 personalized cover letters with local addresses targeted for EVERY SINGLE company I wanted.
I also love dying social platforms like TLS and Tumblr and read inspo/quotes.
Listen to a lot of Kanye West, I admire his confidence.

IMO a lot of networking is lip service, but hell I'm charming but not sure if I would hire me either if I saw my grades either but lots of people wouldn't even ask me yet! I even had people that would REACH out to me and say how easy I am to talk to versus other students but never an interview. Like I'm black, in this political climate, don't you just want to let me in so I can be on the splash page of your website?

All in all, it was just luck. I wish the best for all of you. You're smart and determined. Great things are coming, there is so,so much to look forward to!

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

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Just got out of the vale 2 weeks ago...only wanted in-house in major city from a T25 the other side of the country...lol I did it after 350-400 (literally lost count) applications. I went to a few job fairs, got my resume passed along but no one was interested...and I'm black like how are you not interested?! I never list my GPA! Only 2 legal internships, 1 year work experience at Fortune 50 (lol I'm only at math, I write like a kindergartener).

TL;DR

WHO I AM: black, personable, dumb as rocks, but I'm a good time.

WHAT I HAD:

GPA: 2.7 (Got a D+/- (who cares it's a D) 1L year in international law...the US doesn't care, why should I?) So I made my bed at that point. 3L year found out I had a brain tumor (it's chill now, nbd), BOTTOM 5%; if we're going to keep it all the way real I've always been a bad student...high IQ, but I lack intellectual depth.
School:T25 (oh it's definitely a trap school, but hey T25, ma!)
Applications:350-400 (lost count, personalized each one)
Interviews: 3 (1 non-paid, 1 super duper small tech startup [two interviews, no response], 1 over the phone interview [current job])

WHAT I WANTED: 9-5, in-house, NYC, niche, little or big I didn't care, $75-100k (like let's be real I have a D on my report card...b-b-but I deserve the world!)

WHAT I GOT:
9-5, in-house, NYC, broader than my niche, household name company, big law bucks, youngest in my department by ~20 years

It's only been a month but I love it, it's more than I could ever ask for. I wake up every morning pinching myself that someone chose me.

Advice:

don't settle and screw the haters, you're the best!
"If somebody says no, you're talking to the wrong person."~Kris Jenner
I made over 350 personalized cover letters with local addresses targeted for EVERY SINGLE company I wanted.
I also love dying social platforms like TLS and Tumblr and read inspo/quotes.
Listen to a lot of Kanye West, I admire his confidence.

IMO a lot of networking is lip service, but hell I'm charming but not sure if I would hire me either if I saw my grades either but lots of people wouldn't even ask me yet! I even had people that would REACH out to me and say how easy I am to talk to versus other students but never an interview. Like I'm black, in this political climate, don't you just want to let me in so I can be on the splash page of your website?

All in all, it was just luck. I wish the best for all of you. You're smart and determined. Great things are coming, there is so,so much to look forward to!
Thanks for your post. What kept you going? I’m getting pretty discouraged here...

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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