Self-Exploration
A crucial part of the job search as well as the interviewing and hiring process is reflecting on your education choices, experiential learning choices, current and future interests, and motivations. Successful candidates will know their strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and accomplishments and be able to easily discuss how their past experiences will inform their future.
Reflection & Connection
Finding Your Unique Place in Law Practice is a Reflective Journey Article - Brittany Johnson, corporate counsel at Starbucks, does a nice job of laying out the power of reflection and networking to find a strong fit within one's legal career.
Consider how this opportunity connects to your current and future goals, positive interactions or feedback on the employer from others, and what skills or other experiences you hope to gain from the position.
Using your cover letter as a basis, prepare 3-5 reasons you are interested in the position, employer, and geographic location.
Think about your fit for this position and what unique perspective, skills, qualities, and experiences you can bring to the role and employer. Here, consider what you can contribute to the employer's work and how you can add value to the position.
Using your professional experiences and skills as a basis, draft 3-5 reasons the employer should be interested in you and how you can uniquely contribute to the employer's work.
Legal Skills & Abilities
Review your resume and think about the legal skill set you have to offer the employer. Think about your classes, externships, clinics, internships, volunteer work, paid legal positions, and any simulation classes like Law in Practice.
Most legal employers are interested in skills in legal writing, analysis, research, and the ability to produce detail-oriented work. A strong work ethic and self direction are valuable qualities, as well.
Using the job description for the position, prepare examples of how your legal experiences and background fit each qualification.
Other Professional Skills & Abilities
Review your resume and think about the professional skill set you have to offer the employer. In addition to your legal experiences, consider your undergraduate experiences, pre-law school experience, community involvement, language skills, and other skills.
Legal employers are looking for candidates who have strong professional skills, including communication, project management, creativity, leadership, self direction, critical thinking, ingenuity, and professional judgement.
Values
Take some time to reflect on how legal employers and jobs fit with your own personal values. Use the following tools for free to sort listed values. This exercise can help you gain language about how to identify your own values and how to communicate them to others.
Judgment
All employers seek candidates who they can trust in the office, and who they can trust with their clients. Here, consider how you have handled responsibility, time management, conflict, and other challenging situations. Many students will have strong pre-law school or community involvement experiences here to draw on.
