2023 Summer Associates are Made in the Winter - Part 2

Lawyers Who Launch

In part two of the 2023 Summer Associates are Made in the Winter miniseries we are discussion the application process and networking. These are two key aspects of a successful law school summer.

The application process for summer positions varies widely depending on where you are applying. But how are you tracking your applications? As you apply for positions you will save yourself so much time in the future if you keep track of where you are applying. Hiring timelines for companies and law firms vary widely. Keeping track of your applications will help you if that call comes months after you submitted your resume. Getting yourself organized now will absolutely save you time and stress later.

Tracking your applications will allow you to be aware at one glance of where you are in all stages of the process everywhere you applied. Having this type of information at the tip of your fingers will make it easy for you to keep on top of your applications.

Tracking applications can also be valuable to you further down the road. Next year when you are applying for another summer position, or even later when you are applying for attorney positions you already have your own personal database at your fingertips.

We love tracking applications for all of these reasons. Our custom application tracker is just one of the valuable tools available in the job search bundle in our Etsy shop. The time saved collecting all of this valuable information will make your job search more efficient and more effective.

Networking, of course, is always at the forefront of our minds. Think about how you can utilize your network during your summer job search. Being able to reach out to a specific person or have your résumé forwarded to a hiring manager by a current employee can go a long way in making your application or résumé stand out from the stack. Don’t forget to reach out to your fellow law school classmates. If a 2L or 3L is leaving an internship, they may be able to pass along your resume and offer a recommendation on your behalf.

If you are struggling with how to reach out to your network, consider picking up the phone or crafting an email just to loop them in with what you are currently looking for and ask if they may know of anyone hiring in that area of law.

What if you don’t have anyone in your network yet to reach out to? This may be especially true for first year first generation law students.

Take a step back and take out a notepad. Make a list of everyone you know in law school. List your professors. List anyone you’ve met at a networking event. Go back a little further and now include your college classmates, add your college professors, and now add any past employers–whether they were full time jobs or internships. These are all people in your network that you can reach out to and start building a stronger connection with. Ask them for help in your job search. Let them know exactly what you’re looking for and how they can help.

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Nothing contained within this podcast is intended or should be construed to be legal advice and does not create any attorney client relationship. Your jurisdiction will have rules of professional conduct that you must follow. This discussion does not focus on the any such rules, including the rules from the jurisdiction where we practice.