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Congratulations to the class of 2020! Though the end of your law school experience has been chaotic, and your entrance into the profession is being paradoxically rushed and delayed at the same time, we are proud of you.

To welcome you to the profession, we would like to share some advice with you. Most of the members of our board graduated from law school during or just before the Great Recession. Although our current crisis is on a much larger scale, we feel your pain.

Any Job Is Better Than No Job

As job offers dry up and even low paid part-time work becomes hard to find, don't pass up a job opportunity just because it doesn't seem like a good fit over the long-term.

At times such as these, professional survival may require being self-interested. Younger generations get accused of being job hoppers, but it is perfectly acceptable to garner experience (and a paycheck) even if only on a short-term basis. Do what is best for you. The working world is not going to be the same post-COVID-19, so don't try to make the old rules fit our current, unprecedented reality.

Keep an open mind no matter what type of job you land. Even if an opportunity doesn't seem ideal at first, you may find that you actually enjoy it.

Use a job you don't love as a learning experience. Master what you can about that area of the law, but also try to pinpoint what it is about that job that you don't enjoy. Would you be happier working with different people, a different sized firm, or a completely different area of the law?

If you take an unpaid internship or low paying job, consider getting some other sort of job to help you supplement your income. It's more important to feed your family than it is to worry about messing up your resume (leave the other job off!) or sending a signal that you aren't committed to the legal profession. You may also be surprised at the connections you make in this side gig that end up helping your legal career.

Who You Know Matters

Speaking of connections, networking matters more now than ever. The best legal jobs are not going to be posted on job boards, they are going to be filled by the hiring committee reaching out to their network. Work hard to put yourself in a position where you are someone people think of when they hear about a job opening.

This may seem like an impossible task when we are all avoiding other people and hanging out at home, but there is a silver lining. Almost the entire legal industry has seen a slow-down, which in theory gives us more time to spend on professional development. (We understand this assumes we are not at all impacted by anxiety and the pressure of caring for children and older loved ones. Ha!) Experienced practitioners know the value of spending extra time building or maintaining their networks, and will likely respond positively if you reach out via email or phone. Use this opportunity to build the foundation for a meaningful relationship with more experienced attorneys you admire.

Avail Yourself of Opportunities

Many Bar Associations and networking groups are using this time to have virtual meetings, virtual happy hours, and seminars. Sign up for these events to learn more about practice areas as well as the who's who in the legal community. Take time to read the Law Journal. You can learn about the leaders in a particular field of law by paying attention to these articles. Many of these leaders would welcome the opportunity for a one-on-one call so you can develop your network.

Market Yourself

When you reach out to someone new, or try to forge a deeper connection with someone you met only in passing, you need to highlight your value. Be clear about who you are and why you are reaching out when you make your initial contact, almost like you are writing a cover letter even though you are working on building your network, not explicitly asking for a job. (Spoiler Alert: Many of the people you reach out to do not have jobs to hand out to someone who is basically cold-calling them. Asking about a job right off the bat makes you seem out of touch, and may prevent the person you are contacting from replying at all.)

Try not to come off as frustrated, but instead let your enthusiasm for the law and your curiosity about the world shine through. Showing that you are eager to learn and grow and work hard is refreshing to see.

Back your initial pitch up with a strong online presence so when a contact googles you, they see the best possible you. At the very least, this means cleaning up or at least securing your social media accounts. But you also have the ability to make your search results shine by posting publicly about topics that show your interest in a particular practice area. You may also want to leverage your membership in professional, service, or community organizations by seeing if they can publish your writing or post about your involvement in their community. Every organization appreciates positive content, and is eager to show its relevance during these challenging times

Don't Give Up

Don't get discouraged if it takes longer than you expected to find your niche in the legal community. Being a lawyer is not easy, even in the best of times, but the hard work and sacrifice are worth it in the end.

Stay focused on why you decided to become a lawyer in the first place, remain tenacious, and know that all of us are cheering you on.

 

The NJLJ Young Lawyers Advisory Board is a diverse group of young attorneys from around the state. Follow them on Twitter, @YoungLawyersNJL