first day of work at the firm. most of it was just general orientation, but in the afternoon the other student and i actually got to interview a client for information we needed for her case. i definitely used my skills. it felt great to know enough about the law to discern what kinds of questions to ask.

thus, the small fortune i am spending in school paid off the tiniest bit today. this feels so momentous because this job should last me through my last year of school and then i take the bar and after that i should earn a decent living for my very expensive skills. so many years of job dissatisfaction are over!

wow. 4 years ago

i almost can’t believe it. i was sure that i was qualified and i had excellent recommendations, but i also had this silly program that i don’t fit in anywhere. i am socially adept and generally get along with people, but i’m also very often the odd ball. no big deal, except when it comes to getting hired at a small firm where fitting in is a big deal. it wasn’t my best interview. i came out of it thinking i had really blown it by being so blah (it was a blah, rainy day too). but whatever doubts the hiring partner might have had during the interview, my recommendations definitely won her over.

yay! and it pays! and if they like me, i can keep the job over the next school year! :) :) :)

this can be called done when i get my first paycheck which probably won’t happen until june. but it’s on the calendar! 4 years ago

i have an interview with a dream firm!!! they are just a handful of lawyers and they do exactly the kind of law i am interested in. plus, they are really public interest minded. that’s really important to me.

i heard from someone inside the firm that i am one of their top candidates! they loved my resume and apparently heard the judge i worked for last summer rave about me. i just need to clean up my writing sample and nail the interview. my insider told me that the interviewers were very nice, so it should go better with them than with the warrior women in that public interest group. she’s even willing to preview my writing sample.

i’m ecstatic and hopeful. 4 years ago

well, i indirectly heard that that public interest group that interviewed me weeks ago did not, in fact, hate me. the person who told me that also said that they were checking my references. i’m sure if they were going to hire me they would have called by now. my guess is that they are holding me as an alternate in case one of the people they made offers to declined.

i did hear from the judge, however. she offered me first shot at the internship, which helped boost my ego a bit after all the lack of enthusiasm i was getting from other potential employers. that’s a reward from some networking, i’m sure.

this could be a good opportunity for me because this judge handles a different set of claims than the judge i worked for last year. i’ll learn a ton and probably make tons more connections through her. that, combined with the other networking groups i have joined, will definitely increase my chances of getting a paid part-time job next year.

i should get paid a little from this internship through work-study. plus, there is a possibility i could split my time if a better paying opportunity comes along. at least i have a job in my back pocket, provided nothing goes awry. 4 years ago

ok. i had my interview earlier today. it was the most grueling interview i have ever had. they either love me or hate me. i’m not kidding. i don’t see how there could be any middle ground here. i described the experience to several other students and a professor and even they are not sure whether the interviewers love me or hate me but agree that it has to be either one.

they literally challenged everything that came out of my mouth, from what i want to do after law school to what i think about family law. it was kind of ridiculous. i stood up to them, though, while humbly acknowledging my lack of experience. but seriously, one attorney seemed to take a combative stance with me over a position that i admittedly (really, i admitted it) based on my scant experience in the field. plus, they actually hate the judge i worked for last summer (she has a serious reputation). when her name came up, all six interviewers shifted in their seats. but i told them that i grew to really like the judge and think of her as a great mentor. i think that might be why they could really hate me. this one attorney to the left of me didn’t say a word through the entire interview but by the end of it had this look on her face like she was holding a glob of mayonnaise in her mouth.

i don’t know. it could be that they really liked me and were just challenging me. in which case, i think the interview went really well, because i had thoughtful answers to all of their questions. if they really do hate me, it would be really dumb, because i actually have thoughtful answers to their questions. i professed to being dedicated to my career path, and however misguided my ideas of how the actual practice is, at least i really think about it! i even explicitly acknowledged my lack of experience and mentioned that i was actually looking for real experience (should be obvious). and seriously, if they hate me because of my association with a judge for whom i have great respect, that is completely lame.

who knows? lawyers can be lame, even in the public interest arena. lawyers can be good but tough, especially in the public interest arena. it could be good if they actually like me and treated me this way because they merely wanted to challenge me. i thrive in boot camp environments, so it could be perfect. and if they hate me, then i would be happy to not work there.

they said they would get back to me by early next week, so i don’t have to stew too long. and one of my references is a professor who knows me fairly well and really, really likes me and thinks i would be great for the position. when i told him how the interview went he offered to call them up with a forthwith and forthright recommendation, rather than just wait for them to call him. he’s so nice.

the whole experience kind of puffed me up, actually. i came out of that interview feeling a little bruised but ready to keep fighting. bottom line is that i know in my heart that this is what kind of work i want to do, and i plan to do it with or without this organization. i hope with. 4 years ago

i had one on friday – a pre-screening. he said he would probably pass my resume to the hiring committee, but i was only the second of a full day of interviewees for him. so, who knows. he would if he knew what was good for his organization! :) he said they wanted to fill the positions by the end of the month, so i should know if i even have a shot soonish.

i have another interview tomorrow. they called me out of the blue, which was amazing. i actually had them on my list of organizations to contact today and they contacted me first! they probably got my resume from the bar association meeting i went to last week. or maybe the public interest counselor at my school told them about me. i had a conversation with her yesterday about wanting a job in an organization where i could use my spanish. either way, this networking thing is working!!! i am completely going to nail this interview tomorrow. from the looks of their website and info from friends who know them, it could be the perfect public interest job for me. 4 years ago

well, there is something to be said for networking. i got an offer for an internship from a judge who works in the same court as the judge i interned for last summer. when i saw her at a bar association meeting, she remembered me (she said my face was so unusual that i really stood out to her – which i’m taking as a compliment!) and offered me a summer job. i would only have to seek funding because it is nonpaying. i think i would prefer working for a small firm that might actually pay me and give me more hands on experience in actual lawyering. that said, it could still be a great opportunity that deserves a thanks-maybe letter.

i passed around my resume at that meeting and already got a response from a public interest organization. i missed the call, but from his message it sounds like he wants to interview me. again, it’s not exactly what i have envisioned for myself, but it could be a good opportunity still, so i will definitely follow up on that.

most exciting: i have located a dream firm. it does as close to the kind of work i want to do as i have seen so far. fortunately, i have a connection that could land me a conversation with an associate. at the very least, i could pick her brain for career path suggestions and at the very most, it could lead to an offer of some sort of internship/clerking position. i have a letter ready to send along with my resume.

there are still so many avenues i can take to keep getting my name and resume out there, so i still have a lot of work to do. but i am pleased with my progress so far. 4 years ago

well, i’m pretty proud of myself. i have taken numerous steps toward this goal over the last week. i bought a new suit, ordered business cards, emailed a contact, rsvp-ed to an event where I can pass out my resume, and researched the firm doing my mock interview.

next big steps: get a better writing sample & research small firms. i have time blocked out tomorrow for doing that.

i am really throwing myself into the whole networking thing. community is key. i am used to operating on the periphery of most communities, but i think i can still make it work.

big bonus: success starts with a state of mind, and i have been really into figuring out how to think like a successful person. i found some good motivating blogs on the internet that are teeming with practical tips, and i can’t believe i actually did this, but i ordered a success course online. it’s a little coaching program you follow with cds, books, and some phone coaching. i’m not sure what possessed me. it was recommended indirectly from a blog i read and respect and i was in target-success mode, so i just went for it. it seemed like a good deal. my family has been success-challenged and i know i have a lot of reprogramming to do. the program is based on law of attraction theory, more or less, which is promising. i really do think that the mind can direct our experiences and that we live up to our own high or low expectations. so, i’m excited about trying out this course and busting through my old blocks.

i can’t wait to start earning those greenbacks! 4 years ago

i have a mock interview set up for next week. that should throw me into the swing of things. and i just emailed a professor to ask him for some guidance.

i need a better writing sample. i can work on that this weekend. i also need a new suit – i’ll shop for that friday.

mass mailing by february? it has to happen soon. 4 years ago

i set myself up for interviews at a job fair. it’s a public interest job fair for summer internships, which would be really great except these jobs generally don’t pay. still, if i got any the positions that i really, really want i would not care and would gladly get a whatever paying second job just to have that experience.

good that this forced me to update my resume. next step will be to research small firms that do the work i want to do. then draft cover letters for each one. i’d like to have at least ten letters to show my career counselor by the first week of january.

i will get hired. 4 years ago

i need money and i have marketable skills, so i should market them.

that solo practitioner i was going to work for months ago was kind of a mess – she kept sending me the wrong files to work on. eventually, i let that go to focus on school since it was taking so much time and energy just to get the files.

she resurfaced the other day, just when i was lamenting my financial situation. she still has not sent me the right files (lol), but her call reminded me that i should keep putting myself and my resume out there. i can do good work and should be paid for it; i just need to find the right people to work for.

winter break will be about finding myself a job, where i can use this expensive education to get me money so i can live and eat well! 4 years ago

i ran into a solo practitioner who had promised to throw work my way. i hadn’t heard from her in weeks but tonight she mentioned meeting weekly so she could give me work to do on a regular basis. i hope this pans out. i could really use the cash and the experience. 4 years ago