National Jurist - November 2008 - (Page 45) CAREERHOTLINE How to find the right career path for you n her book, “50 Unique Legal Paths: How to Find the Right Job,” Ursula Furi-Perry provides insight and advice from successful attorneys and law graduates who have carved out fulfilling careers while involved in their profession. The book, published by the American Bar Association, explores a wide variety of job options for law graduates. In addition to non-practicing legal positions, you’ll find the 10 booming practice areas for attorneys, as well as some unique positions outside the legal field for which the JD degree is a natural fit. Below is an excerpt from Chapter Eight of Furi-Perry’s book that is to be released this month. If you’re just getting started… Find out what might interest you by talking to those in the know, says Beverly Bracker, director of career services at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. Bracker recommends speaking with attorneys who are practicing in a particular area: ask them about their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, their greatest challenges, their most fulfilling and rewarding cases or transactions, and their advice to recent law grads. You can call lawyers and law firms for an informational interview, or you can opt to have your law school career services person do the work: many of them keep lists of alumni who are willing to network and talk with students and recent grads about their career choices. “Lawyers will always talk,” believes Genevieve Bishop, associate director for Employer Relations at New York Law School. “They will tell you what their practice is like and also how they got there.” Lawyers already working in an area can provide the best insight and tips for getting started — hence the reason for including their tips and advice in this book. In addition to talking to others about different practice areas and career paths do some serious thinking: assess your own strengths, weaknesses, interests and career goals. Some of this entails general career assessments, Bracker says — reading career books, taking self-assessment tests, and maybe even journaling through your job hunt. Also see the last chapter in this book for a list of 100 factors you may want to consider when trying to find your niche. By Ursula Furi-Perry, Esq. on your law school courses. “Pay attention to how you feel about the subject matter when you’re taking the classes,” Bishop says, but don’t dismiss the subject if you didn’t like it at first try. Rather, look for practical experiences and real-world connections to help y make your career decisions. “Go and you sit in on Bar committees,” recommends Bishop. “It’s so inexpensive to join things as a student.” When it comes to resumes and cover letters, “I have seen students develop too much of a standardized approach,” says Bishop. She recommends multiple resumes, each geared towards a different work environment or practice area. Bishop recalls one attorney who had trouble finding a corporate job. When Bishop looked at her resume, she saw lots of impressive entries, but nothing that specifically showed an interest in in-house work. “Students have got to have what I [call] a coherent and integrated vision of themselves and the way their education, their limited practice experience, and their other activities fit together,” Bishop says. “Find some good mentors,” says Bracker, “and not just one person, [but] different people at different stages in their careers. It’s really important to have people you can go to with questions.” Practice everything — including the interview. Bracker says many students miss out when they fail to use their schools’ career services office for practice interviews. Even better, volunteer to do mock interviews on others, says Thompson. “You’ll start honing your interview skills [and] seeing how other people interview.” [From Fifty Unique Legal Paths: How to Find the Right Job. Copyright 2008, by Ursula Furi-Perry. Reprinted by permission of the American Bar Association.] BOOK EXCERPT The book is expected to be released this November. Think broadly. “Students are surprisingly narrowly focused when getting out,” says Louis Thompson, assistant dean of career planning at Temple University Beasley School of Law. Thompson says it’s hard to think of any employer who wouldn’t want an employee with a JD — so think beyond the firm, even beyond the practice, if that’s what interests you. “You need to open your eyes to the breadth of things you can do,” agrees Bishop. But don’t stay open too long. “Some students get stuck in that phase,” Bishop adds, which can take away from their focus on career options. Don’t base your career decisions strictly November 2008 THE NATIONAL JURIST 45 Got a career question? Submit to Ursula at furiperry@verizon.net
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