The Contacts Roadmap

Are you attempting to figure out:

1. What you want;
2. Why you want it;
3. And who you know that can help you get it?

Below is the link to a book full of strategies to help you think through all of those questions and to organize the answers in a clear format. 

From Lemons to Lemonade in the New Legal Job Market: Winning Job Search Strategies for Entry-Level Attorneys

I am not the first person to discover the helpful hints of this book and I actually found out about it through a very interesting blog entitled "The Girls Guide to Law School."  Not only do I suggest you read her review of the book, please peruse her many posts on other areas of law school survival.

http://thegirlsguidetolawschool.com/02/cool-idea-for-legal-networking-make-a-contacts-roadmap/

Resume Writing: The "I Have Nothing" Conundrum

"I haven't really done anything to put on a resume."  Really?  I seem to hear this line...A LOT.  By the time we graduate law school we should be able to fill multiple pages with our accomplishments, do-gooder moments, and employment.  So, where do I start when a student walks into my office with this line?  We have a conversation...a sometimes very long, drawn out conversation, in which I am feeling more like a therapist than a career consultant, but in the end the conversation is very worth the time.  Hopefully, this "I have nothing" student has, at the very least, a very general template of a resume, although, at times, s/he may literally have nothing.  It is important for any person, whether your a student or not, to recognize achievement.  Just because you weren't a Rhode Scholar and 4.0 student doesn't mean you have no contribution to your own personal and professional development.

First and foremost, I want a student to tell me about who s/he is and how they ended up in my office.
 
Where are you from? 
Where did you go to high school? 
College? 
Graduate School?
What did you participate in while in school? 
What jobs have you had? 
Are you married?
Do you have any kids? How many? 
What do you do in your free time? 
Why did you pick that major in college?
Why are you in law school?  

As I ask these questions, I frantically am jotting down notes.  And, although this process may seem intimidating to the student at first, I begin to explain to them all of the things they can put down on their resume.  I grab a red pen and circle items I have written down that they should include on their resume and why.  Many students begin to realize just how incredibly unique and powerful their life experiences have been and that they can put those experiences down on a piece of paper.

Now comes the hard part... 

How do I organize all of this "stuff" onto one page (or maybe two)?  The editing phase of building a resume is brutal and can span over the course of several weeks.  Many students become frustrated that they haven't completed it in a few short hours, but it will pay to be patient.  It is important to take the time to review and revise multiple times.  Give yourself the time to do it right.  And feel free to send it to me along the way.

Facebook: The Online Resume

I remember when Facebook was in its infancy.  I was a consultant for my sorority and traveling all over the country.  Staying on touch with people back home was becoming a bit time consuming.  All of my friends were telling me I NEED to get on Facebook, even my mother was a strong proponet for the thing.  I eventually gave in to the hype and joined the popular world of social media.

Soon enough, I was receiving friend requests from those chapter women I was working with at the time.  And, soon enough, I realized the extremely negative impact Facebook was having on my initial impressions of them.  Pictures and quotations I wouldn't have the nerve to secretly send to my close personal friends were being found in my newsfeed daily.  I was absolutely horrified at some of the things these people were saying back and forth to each other. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the occassional "naughty word" for some extra punch and I have been "tagged" in my share of photos that include items such as (gasp!) an alcoholic beverage or two.  But there is a line that we all must dance when it comes to what others will see and how that may affect our own life.

As I explained to women around the country through my travels, "you need to think of Facebook as your own personal online resume."  Yes, there are those professional platforms, such as LinkedIn, but the popularity of Facebook and it's wide use will make is susceptible to background checks by potential employers.  The last thing you want an employer to see is you tagged in an Facebook album titled, "Too Drunk to Remember..." with a wide array of pictures of you in compromising situations.  

Or think of it this way...You will eventually become "friends" with someone who may be able to get a job for you down the road.  But if you solicit their assistance after you have dropped the f-bomb 50 times in your status updates over the last month, good luck.  Some people may not mind that sort of crudeness, but others will be completely turned off or will not want to be associated with you and risk putting their own reputation on the line.

I understand Facebook and other social media sites were created for that very purpose; to be SOCIAL.  So many people who read this message will argue that it's not meant to be a professional site, and, therefore, they should not have to customize their social profile to be professionally appropriate.  That's fine if that's what you think, but I can guarantee you potential employers are looking, and they won't hire you if they don't like what they see posted. 

Hanging a Shingle

This is a great article/podcast from the ABA Journal on how to start your own law practice.  I hope you find it as informative as I did!

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/podcast_monthly_episode_22/?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly_email

Why Are You Here? The Importance of Self Assessment

Now that I have taken on the role of a career services specialist, it astounds me that so many of our students reach law school and have not, once, stepped into their undergraduate or high school career services office.  Nor have students discussed future employment plans with an academic advisor.  I say "now that I'm a career services specialist" due to the fact that I was among that overwhelming amount of students. 

I can't recall a single conversation taking place during my undergraduate years with a career coach or advisor that reached below an "on the surface" conversation of, "So what do you want to be when you graduate?"  I would give them an answer like, "I plan to go to law school and be an attorney."  They would hear my answer, say something along the lines of, "that's great," or "good luck with that," and our conversation would be over.  The question I yearn people to start asking as a follow up to the standard, "what do you plan to do when you graduate" is, "Why do you want to do that?" 

I think so many people heard the law school/attorney answer and automatically assumed I had it all figured out.  On the contrary.  I knew I wanted to be in a profession that helped people.  Well....that narrows it down.  Please don't take this post as me wishing I would not have gone to law school.  I am very grateful for my education, the people I met, and the connections I still have from law school.  I just wish someone would have sat down with me at some point in time and asked the question, Why?

So...here I am, wanting to ask you the question.  Why are you where you are?  But beyond the why, I want you to think of those things that make you truly happy.  Think about the kind of person you are.  Does your chosen profession allow you to do those things?  Will your degree assist you in eventually reaching your "dream job?"  I also want you to take some time for yourself and complete some self assessments.  Find out exactly what drives you, what causes you pause, what you absolutely detest doing, and what inspires you every day.  Until you sit down with yourself (or a career counselor/advisor) and ask those questions of yourself you may stroll through life never knowing exactly what you were placed on this earth to do. 

I found a few self-assessments online and find this one to be thorough and helpful.  I think if we all took the time to complete more assessments like this, fewer students would be coming out of school and saying, "Now what?" 

http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/enrollment/file74450.pdf