Career and Professional Development Center

The Job Search

Each person should conduct his/her own job search. This means understanding your own personal goals and desires, and then learning about the nature of the job and your career options. It is to your advantage to know as much as possible about the myriad potential career paths available to you during your law school summers and upon graduation. On-Campus Interviews (OCI) may be one element of your career search -- to rely solely upon OCI is to limit your possibilities.

There are two aspects to any job search: (A) developing an understanding of yourself and the jobs that appeal to you, and (B) applying for and getting those jobs. Prior sections on Planning Your Career, Investigating Opportunities and Networking form the foundation for you to both determine and secure your ideal job. Research is another critical component of your search.

While we expect thirty employers to recruit first year students on campus during spring OCI and several hundred employers to recruit second and third year students on campus during the fall, you will have a broader variety and a better chance of securing a position that truly suits you if you conduct a thorough search yourself. Your interests and the results of your networking should help you identify particular legal areas on which to focus. Next, you should begin creating a list of potential employers with whom you would like to work.

Make your list using the following resources:

How long should your list be? Some students send out hundreds of letters. Some send out three. To start, it is probably worthwhile to make a relatively short list (10-20) of firms and organizations that appeal to you for specific reasons. The more thoughtful your research, the more likely it is that your targeted employers will be interested in you.

As you are making your list, you may want to jot down what catches your eye for each organization. For those that interest you, do a little more research. Use Lexis and do a quick search in the newspapers and journals sections to see if you can find any articles about the organization. Real stories will help you decide whether this organization will be a good fit for you.

Letter Writing

Letter writing is highly recommended if you are in any of the following situations:

  1. You wish to conduct a thorough job search.
  2. Your primary geographical preference is distant, and you will be or can be in that city (at your expense) in December/January (for 1Ls) or in August (for 2Ls) anyway (e.g., Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, San Francisco), or few employers from your primary geographical preference interview on campus.
  3. You are not interested in working at the type of employers that typically interview on campus (i.e., relatively large law firms with a broad range of practice groups). Perhaps you would prefer to explore smaller firms or perhaps you have already decided that you want to specialize in a certain area of law (e.g., labor law, public international law, constitutional law, appellate law).
  4. You are not interested in working at a law firm. You would prefer working with a public interest organization, with the government, or you have some other marvelously creative goal.
  5. You wish to increase your options for summer and permanent employment.

Remember your geographic ties can often be very helpful. Do not forget to contact employers from your hometown or places to which you have a geographic connection. If you have been able to make a list of employers that actually appeal to you as a result of your career exploration (networking and researching), it should be relatively easy to write a letter expressing your interest in joining them. More on writing your cover letter.

Always include a copy of your resume with your cover letter, whether sending it via regular mail or email. The general rule is that unless an employer asks for it in a job posting, you should not include references, a writing sample, or your transcript in your initial contact. The timing of your letters can be important. First years can begin sending letters as early as December 1. Second and third year students who wish to get a head start on the fall recruiting season should send out letters as early as July (especially if you are planning to take advantage of your summer location to do some interviewing). More on creating a resume.

How to Identify Potential Employers

Directly Contacting Employers

Most Duke students find positions for summer employment by pro-actively writing letters to organizations of interest, responding to job postings, contacting family and friends, and making a hard and creative effort. First-year law students begin as early as December 1, sending or emailing letters to employers, whereas, second-year students may begin sending letters and contact employers during their 1L summer before they return to campus as a 2L.

On-Campus Interviewing (OCI)

During the spring of your 1L year, and the fall of your 2L year a small number of employers will participate in the On-Campus Interview (OCI) program hosted by CPDC to assist you in locating employment for the summer. We strongly encourage that you do not rely solely on OCI, but that you utilize all the career searching resources in order to maximize your career opportunities.

CPDC Communications

The CPDC provides many resources to law students who are conducting job searches through its communications:

  • Read our "Monday Mail" email every week for important career information.
  • Check our website (http://www.law.duke.edu/career/) which has career links and guides.
  • Review our events calendar for information about job fairs and programs.
  • Review the CPDC maintained list of the previous summer employers of upper class students.
  • Talk to upper class students about their summer experiences and best research strategies.
  • Talk to Duke Law School Faculty and alumni. If you know of a faculty member who teaches a class related to a practice area you are interested in, make an appointment to meet with him/her to get advice and discuss job opportunities.
  • Many alumni are willing to discuss their practice area, city and law firm. You can search the alumni directory to identify potential contacts. It is available through the Duke Law School website, under the Alumni section.

 

Additional Career Search Resources

Websites

The following is a list of websites that might be helpful to you. There are many others out there. Some are helpful to identify employers, some to seek networking opportunities, and others actually list either summer jobs, permanent jobs or both.

Guides

The CPDC print library has a number of books that are helpful in every part of your journey from self-assessment through relocation information. Check out the full list of our print titles online or in our office.

For more information on conducting a job search, writing a cover letter, interviewing, etc., please see our other Professional Development resources.