This blog is for the five-figure earner with the six-figure law school debt, the admin-cum-lawyer, the attorney without a practice. This blog is for the 55% of new lawyers who haven't yet found permanent, full-time legal work.
Maybe you’ve already made the
wretched choice to attend law school. Maybe you went so far as to
graduate, perhaps even pass the bar. Your debt is probably well
over $50k, and you’ve been out of work for…. 6 months? a year? two
years?
You’re not alone.
Many, many lawyers are pounding pavement in search
of a job. You know the story: First, you submit job applications only for attorney
positions. Then, okay,
maybe paralegal. Next, you find yourself crumbling to apply for any
professional job — human resources? education?
And then, on that
self-pity run to Walgreens one night for shiny, holiday-themed
chocolates, the idea comes to put in an application right then and there
at the counter. It might not help much towards loans, but at least
you’d stay alive.
And they reject your application. (Because, really, who wants a lawyer looking over their shoulder?)
The life of a new lawyer in the 2010′s is not easy.
But let’s step back and mobilize. Yes, this sucks. No, you didn’t know it was going to happen. Yes, you would go
back in time if you could, to lock your pre-law self in a closet and burn all school applications. No, you can’t go back in time to undo
law school, or its debt, or the time it devoured from your life. You
can only move forward.
And yes, you can move forward into financial
success and personal happiness. Truly.
This blog exists for two purposes:
One, to gently urge people to NOT
GO TO LAW SCHOOL, WHATEVER YOU DO.
Two, to provide a forum of hope for
those of us who went. We did the deed; we adopted the debt; we are attorneys without practice.
At parties, cafes, and bathroom counters across this great nation, the question reverberates: "Wait, so if you went to law school, then why aren't you a lawyer?"
No matter if you just spent twenty minutes talking about the depressed economic climate or the tough job market, no matter if you just protested that you love, really, your job as a human resources analyst. They'll still ask.
"Isn't that a lot of money to spend, to not become a lawyer?"
"Did you change your mind at the very end?"
"That's a lot of time to go to school not to do something, isn't it?"
"Do you think at some point you'll start looking for lawyer jobs?"
"So, wait... why aren't you a lawyer?"
This is the moment when, yes, your pride does the limbo. However low you might've felt facing the parched and withered job market, and however much you might've bounced back to feelings of acceptance and dignity over time, these deaf questions can make you go lower than you thought you could go.
Why? Because it's as though the speaker (nay, the world) doesn't hear or believe you. Job-market, job-schmarket, why haven't you become a lawyer? Bad economy, yeah, totally, but why don't you have a $100k a year job yet?
It's as though you should somehow be stronger than the economy, immune from the statistics -- it's as if you're faking this whole worldwide "economic recession" thing just because it's easier than getting a job. You and your laziness! If only you'd been willing to put in some billable hours and wear nice shoes, this entire global economic mess could've been avoided.
But you know, you know, in your heart that you've done your best. How many resumes have you sent out? 30? 50? 100? 300? How many job postings have you read, resume drafts revamped, informational interviews survived? How many times have you put on a suit and a big smile to snag That Job? How many abysmal positions have you applied to, just because you were trying your damnedest to make work work? You know you've done your best, and you know you're not to blame for a nationally and internationally depressed job market.
My grandfather graduated from accounting school the year the Great Depression hit. There was not a lot of call for accountants that year. He applied for jobs for months upon months, and ultimately life required that he move from his beloved big city to a little town with a little packing plant that paid a little wage. He wasn't responsible for the Great Depression, nor was he responsible for graduating into the middle of it. It was not his fault that he couldn't find a job, and it was no statement on his character that he struggled for work.
If only you'd been willing to put in billable hours and wear
nice shoes, this entire global economic mess could've been avoided. Photo Source: JonoMueller
Such were the times.
And such are the times.
We've graduated into a world that doesn't well support the profession we chose. This is no stain on our moral or intellectual character, nor does it say anything about our willingness to work hard.
In fact, I know that you are smart, tenacious, and hard-working -- you proved that with your graduation from law school. Your inability to find the right job as an attorney? All that proves is that it's 2013.
So, when people ask, "why aren't you a lawyer yet?," just tell them the truth. Educate them. "Here are the current job stats. Here is the current economic climate. Here I am doing my best. Thanks for asking."
And embrace your flexibility in this difficult economy.
The first step in healing the law school pain is to snag a job.
Easier said than done, right? Unless your mom is a judge or your dad owns a law practice, odds are that you've been singing your talents to a town of deaf lawyers. There are too many licensed attorneys for too few positions, and, for the positions that do exist, there are scads of experienced lawyers desperate to jump in.
But you already know this. You've read the endless job postings requiring "3-5 years experience" (and applied to a few anyway). You've endured the resounding silence of hiring firms.
So what to do? How to step up the hunt?
First, ask yourself three questions:
Think BIG: Who are the big employers in your area? Look for universities, tech companies, large businesses. Bigger companies hire more bodies.
Think SMALL: What niche agencies need any legal work in your area? Look for county courts, private companies in your areas of focus, specific government agencies. Small, obscure shops are overlooked by many job applicants, since smaller enterprises may not pay to list job postings on major sites.
Ask "where?": Are you willing to move? If so, how far? Check both far and near. And consider going rural (because a lot of people won't).
Next, step beyond the actions of a standard, unemployed lawyer:
Apply for everything half-feasible. Notice that I did not say "feasible." Half-feasible. If a job is mostly up your alley but requires fluency in Dari, apply anyway. Perhaps no one reading the posting speaks Dari. (That's the way I once got a job.) You never know.
Run kamikaze-style towards the applications others fear. You know that application that's 12 pages long and requires three highly job-specific essays? As excruciatingly boring it is to you, it's that excruciatingly boring to everyone else. Most people won't bother, and thus the applicant pool will be smaller. Even if you do it lamely, do it. (Note: And save those essays in a word doc. You might be able to pillage them another day.)
Ditto for company job sites that suck the life out of you. 18,000 form fields to be completed before you can register? Do it. Turn on some reality tv , and slog through the hour-long registration process. Once you're in the system, future applications will be a snap, and the applicant pool will be smaller since many won't bother. Plus, you'll be caught up on back episodes of Bridezilla and Celebrity Rehab.
Troll for backwater sites. Everyone's got search agents watching craigslist, monster, usajobs, etc, so you know anything posted there will get hundreds of applicants within a week. Get creative. Search out every county courthouse within driving distance, and then visit every single one of their individual career pages. Make a list of every company that might be hiring within driving distance, and visit every single one of their individual sites. You'd be surprised at how many jobs are hidden in the backwaters of the internet, just ready to be discovered by a dedicated few.
Be open. Unless you're omniscient (in which case you'd have known not to go to law school in the first place), you have no idea what a particular job will actually be like. The position that sounds tailor-made for your interests? Could be managed by a bunch of abusive jerks. That job that sounds like nonsense? Could be a fun gig that leads you straight to your calling. So, apply for anything reasonable that'd pay your rent, go to any interviews offered, and then make up your mind. Worst, you've wasted a couple hours. More likely, you'll get a little interview experience, learn a little more about yourself, and eventually get a job.
Hard times come, and hard times also go. Step outside the well-trodden channels, open your mind to new possibilities, and persevere. You'll get that job.
Finding a job is a full-time job, yes, but it's a depressing one that doesn't pay.
So, keep working hard and slamming out those resumes (click here for tips), but for sanity's sake also make sure to claim occasional sick or vacation hours. It's easy to roll forward with the work-work-work-to-death mentality of law school, but keep in mind that, with school behind you, personal well-being is now a priority.
And don't be so hard on yourself. You will find a job. You will have reason to wear non-bedtime clothes; you will be able to buy a sandwich without evaluating your life savings; and you will visit the doctor without taking out a loan from the bank. Picture it: you in your snappiest outfit, filling out a W-2, choosing your health care provider, learning where to find extra paper clips, laughing cheerfully with new coworkers. This is in your future -- for sure.
And when you do land that full-time job, you'll quickly long for a day of skipping the commute, sitting around in your jammies, and thinking "hmm, what shall I do now?"
So, embrace those jammies now, while you have them on, and embrace this strange period as best you can.
But yes, I hear you. There's a snag.
Problem is, living fancy-free is often not, well, free. Or even cheap. On top of rent to be paid and food to be scrounged up, there's the question of how to frugally embrace all the long hours of unemployment. Merely being alive in a non-rural area is expensive, and having social fun can seem unattainably extravagant.
But fear not. Here are some suggestions for jazzing up your day, on the cheap.
Tea cozy: Send out an invite to your unemployed/underemployed friends from law school, for tea. If you'd like to be uplifting, call it an "employment brainstorming session." If you're feeling crabby, declare it an "unemployment bitch session." Suggest a local cafe, or boil some water, buy a $4 box of chamomile, and host. Make sure to include those nice people you were too busy in law school to hang out with properly -- now's your chance. (Some of my best friends from law school are people I barely had time to know in school.) In a scant hour's time, you'll all feel lighter and less isolated, and everyone will love you for being the one to make it happen.
Cheap urban frolics: If you live in a city, hit up google for a list of cheap or free events in your area. Underemployed San Franciscans, for example, can check out: http://sf.funcheap.com/events/ Excuses begone!
Even cheaper nature frolics: Go to the beach, the forest, or the desert. Sit. Look around. Even if you don't feel like it and would rather stare at the tv mourning your terrible fate, do it at least once. Slather on some sunscreen and, for an hour, trade your blues for greens, golds, and tans. Worst, you don't like it. More likely, you'll remember that this whole "life" thing isn't so bad. ("Life": noun, that thing that existed prior to law school.)
Listomania: Scribble down a list of all the things you wanted to do during law school but didn't have time for. For example, your listomania poetry might look like so:
bake muffins
sleep
drive aimlessly down coast until halfway out of gas
tell Aunt Gerty you've decided to go to law school
speed date
learn Italian (imparare l'italiano!)
learn car mechanics
wander a museum
swim
hike all day
movie marathon
eat without reading
attend a local lecture without taking notes
see friends without a clock in hand
There's a theme to these elements, and it is: you can do them now. This is your chance!
Before the full-time job finally comes through (and it will), embrace your time. Make a list, and do everything you couldn't for the last three-plus years.
Embrace this time, hard as it is. Yes, you have bills to pay and jobs to hunt down. But the job will come, and you may never have such a swath of time like this again.
Embrace this crazy, ridiculous, maddening, underemployed moment. Your future money-earning, hard-working self will thank you.
