Take care of your mind and body, exercise
regularly, and don’t let a protracted
employment search shake your confidence.
The Rankings
pand his search to include
government, public interest and even locations
outside of the tri-state
area. Even though the
market remains challenging, K. Frink-Hamlett feels
that he is in better control
of his future and has even
started sky-diving again.
phical flexibility. If you
have contacts in other
locations, now is the time
to make the connection.
Alternatively, use www.
martinale.com to target
specific firms.
What Frims Want
sistance but not in a position to hire an experienced
attorney on a full-time or
even part-time basis. However, they may be able to
hire an eager, third-year
law student. Remember,
you may only obtain part-time or temporary employment, but at least you
will be able to gain experience and earn income.
• You may find one firm
to hire you on a full-time
basis. Otherwise, think
about taking on two part-time positions. It’s almost
like splitting the summer,
but instead you’re splitting the week.
and attorneys are forwarding résumés to firms
that are not hiring and,
in many cases, are vigorously firing. Further, in
all likelihood you are attempting to communicate
with personnel whom you
don’t know and who certainly don’t know you.
This approach never
works. Just ask the hundreds of law students who
have taken this approach
and still don’t have a response, let alone an offer.
Instead, conduct a targeted search.
K. Frink-Hamlett was
wise to reach out to personal contacts since they
will naturally have a greater interest in reviewing his
résumé and responding
to his inquiry. As already
noted, the only responses
he received were from the
law firms where he had
personal contacts.
You should also reach
out to your personal con-
tacts to advise of your
search. In addition, consider the following:
• For the most part,
large law firms have their
first-year associates in
place and are the least viable options for potential
employment opportunities if you are a third-year
student. With reference to
any pre-law school experience that you may have,
target 20 to 30 small and/
or mid-sized firms using
www.martindale.com.
For example, K. Frink-Hamlett has a prior background in human resources so initially he should
target labor and employment firms with 2–9, 10–24
or 25–49 attorneys. Don’t
forget to include the outer
boroughs in your search.
• Initial contact should
be done by e-mail with
your résumé attached.
Include a very brief cover
note indicating that you
are a third-year law student seeking employment
and emphasize that you
are flexible as to compensation and employment
arrangements (e.g., temporary, part-time, etc.)
and let them know that
you will follow up with a
telephone call.
• Make a follow-up telephone call to confirm receipt and emphasize your
willingness to be flexible.
Genuine flexibility means
that you’ll do everything
from research to filing
court papers.
Some small or mid-sized
firms may be in need of as-
The situation improves:
After indicating his willingness to work on a
part-time basis, the firm
has continued K. Frink-Hamlett’s employment.
Although the permanent
offer remains rescinded,
he is now looking to ex-
Rule No. 5:
Be Flexible
Be extremely flexible
when conducting your
search. Consider government and non-profit entities. In early April, a job
fair was held in Newark,
N.J. to bring deferred associates together with
non-profits seeking assistance and is being scheduled for a repeat in May.
Also allow for geogra-
Rule No. 6:
Take Care
of Yourself
and Have Fun
Whatever you do, take
care of your mind and
body. Be sure to exercise regularly and don’t
let a rescinded offer or
protracted employment
search shake your confidence. Remember, you
will get through this. Get
going and good luck! •
1. The true identity of the
third-year law student has
been withheld.
