by Beverly Aarons
8. July 2009 08:08
There's an interesting article at Law.com which features the stories of three recent law school graduates who are struggling to secure a legal job in this tight job market. Linda Nguyen graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in May. She ranked in the middle of her class and was a summer associate at the 114-lawyer Clark, Thomas & Winters law firm. But despite her credential she failed to secure an offer for a permanent position. The law firm had previously hired the majority of its summer associates; but because of the economic downturn it only hired two of them and eventually delayed those hires until 2010.
Nguyen was stuck without the job that she believed was almost certain so she sent out 50 letters to law firms and networked with four attorneys she knew personally. Butt still she was unable to secure a legal job. But Nguyen didn't stop there and give up. She got creative, contacting one of the hiring partners at Clark, Thomas and Winters and asked him to keep her in mind if he heard of any energy-related jobs. Well, it worked out for her and she now has a job as a project manager at Houston's Entergy Texas Inc. Although the position does not require a law degree, she's using the money to repay her student loans and is preparing to take the bar exam. This recession will not last forever. Get out there and find a job that will help propel your career forward. It doesn't have to be exactly what you envisioned; but if it can give you money to pay the bills and time to study for the bar exam or send out resumes, it's worth it.
(source: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202431777067&Permanent_FullTime_Law_Jobs_Remain_Elusive_for_Three_Job_Seekers)