2011 applicants, who else needs a job? Forum

[nonprofit-prophet]

well, you don't tell them you're only staying a year. honesty is 4 chumps.

oy. i've indicated that in my cover letters. i am such a fail. i just thought i would be saving the both of us (employer and applicant) time if that wasn't what they wanted since it would likely come up during the interview.

i'm really looking for anything int'l relations, public policy, social justice related (very hard to find anything that is not an internship in those fields) but the more realistic and abundant openings are paralegal positions but i feel like even if tehy don't explicitly state it in their job posting, they want someone for at least 1-2 years (preferably 2).

but hmm i guess i'll just go with the flow and say im not sure when i want to attend law skl but then suppose i get hired and i have to leave earlier than they anticipated...am I burning bridges?

You might want to avoid public policy/politics in general. I just posted two job openings last week (one entry level and one internship) and I probably have more than 60 applicants for each in a fairly short time. Everyone wants to be in policy; it is SUPER competitive right now. That being said, if you are a Republican, you can probably find work on the hill or in state houses Transition teams are scrambling to fill slots.

[plenipotentiary]

Me! I'm a decent interviewer, but a terrible liar, so I've also been mentioning law school in my cover letters. No bites yet, but I've only applied to a handful of places. I'm having a hard time motivating myself, because I already have a job (part time). I've thought about trying to be an LSAT tutor, but I imagine they would want a longer commitment because of all the training. I've also considered applying to work as a legal secretary or something, but I really don't want to be someone's office bitch again. I wish I had the money to just take off and travel for a while.

[DaveBear07]

I'm graduating in 3 weeks, so I'll have 8 months off... to wait tables.... oh well, I need the money.

[JJDancer]

I could probably get a real job from Jan - June/July or whatever. But I want to spend 2 months traveling (but not necessarily working abroad or doing anything legit lol). Will this be an issue at OCI? (Since it precludes me from getting gainful employment for the next 6 months since the 2 months I travel would be March-April.)

Also I figure this would be less of an issue if I was a few years out of UG/had other "real jobs" to talk about at OCI, but I've just had internships and part-time jobs during UG.

[The Gentleman]

Try getting a job as a clerk/gopher at a law firm. It may not be a lot of $$$, but seeing what attorneys actually do on a day-to-day basis can be a real eye opener.

[cartercl]

I'm spending the next 7 months working in high-end retail... more douchebags than TLS by a landslide. Yeah, I said it.

[The Gentleman]

I'm spending the next 7 months working in high-end retail... more douchebags than TLS by a landslide. Yeah, I said it.

LOL That's a lot of douchery.

[robotclubmember]

I realized that interest is still high and after a few years it will be pretty high.

If you're talking about interest rates, they're pretty much as low as they can go right now. The Fed is trying to push real rates lower (which is making Republicans and the Chinese government mad), but they might or might not be able actually do that - quantitative easing isn't entirely straightforward.

The flipside of them pushing down interest rates by generating inflation is your current dollars will be worth less. You mostly want inflation however, since you're about to take out 200k in debt.

But forget about getting a job, I'd spend then next few months reading about economics.

Correcto. The interest rate (i.e., cost to borrow money) is historically low right now. Our Fed's policy right now is to monetize our debt basically. By flooding the economy with new money, it devalues current money. Which includes current claims to money, and current obligations to repay money. In short, the debt you take on now is going to be heavily devalued by monetary policy, making it easier to repay in the future, especially with low interest rates. The longer you wait to take on new debt, the less you will realize that advantage.

An over-simplified analogy. I let my friend borrow ten dollars to buy his groceries. He is able to buy a dozen eggs, a gallon of milk, and a loaf of bread. He repays me the ten dollars in a month. However, in the course of that month, there is 10% more money in circulation, but the same number of goods being produced. This results in everything being inflated by 10% to bring the purchasing power of your money in line with the goods that are actually being produced. Now this means that I would need to spend eleven dollars to buy the same amount of groceries that he paid ten for last month. Therefore, although he has borrowed money, he really has profited, because he had to repay the same amount, but LESS in terms of actual purchasing power.

Over-simplified, yes, and monetary policies don't tend to make that large of an impact in a month (unless you live in Brazil maybe, lol). But, if there is anytime to borrow liberally, now is the time to do it. True, we're over-leveraged as a nation as is, but if you have a plan and a future, it's really not a big deal. Supports the economy through consumption as well

[txadv11]

I just meant that any impact (even 8/hr) I can have on my future loans will be worth it.

[MissLucky]

Me! I'm a decent interviewer, but a terrible liar, so I've also been mentioning law school in my cover letters. No bites yet, but I've only applied to a handful of places. I'm having a hard time motivating myself, because I already have a job (part time). I've thought about trying to be an LSAT tutor, but I imagine they would want a longer commitment because of all the training. I've also considered applying to work as a legal secretary or something, but I really don't want to be someone's office bitch again. I wish I had the money to just take off and travel for a while.

thanks to my parents, i actually do...but i can't do that for 7 months!!! i need something to keep me busy and to keep my mind at least mildly activated for at least 5 of those months (i was thinking i can set aside part of june and july for travel) - and would really like to just use some of this downtime before law school to live it up, go out and have fun with friends while I still can. hopefully some of these fellowships/internships i applied to will turn up this week.

[Snoring Meatball]

Im in your position Lucky.

I was working for a political campaign and now that election season is over, Im out of a job. What sucks is that if we had won I wouldve been in a good position to be a staff assistant for him in DC. Now, nothing. Haha.

Its only been 2 weeks though and I have savings, but Id like a job because i need something to do.

I've worked on the Hill for 5 years & my boss just lost. Truly awesome on many levels.

Have you tried looking for other campaign work? Could be perfect if you don't mind relocating.

[lilliea]

Just putting this out there, but if anyone is looking for a job and has a hospital nearby, hospitals are always hiring people to sit with patients that need supervision. The best part is, most times they like you choose your own schedule and they don't mind if you're only there for a short period of time.

[achilles]

Thought I'd give a little advice. I started my job hunt on Sunday, interviewed yesterday and started today! I never thought I'd do this, but I applied to 6 jobs on craigslist. I thought it would be sketchy, but it wasn't too bad. I just removed my address from my resume. There are a lot of decent jobs on there, and quite a few legal gopher jobs. I'm doing admin stuff at a boutique 20 hours per week @ $10/hr. So it would be pretty easy to find a second BS job. Anyway, my point is: try craigslist if you want something at a law firm

edit: Also, I told them that I would be starting law school in the fall and they LOVED IT. I put my LSAT on my resume, and I think that's what got me the job. Admin jobs have high turnover anyway, so I don't think they would care if you'll be there for only 7 months

[Ratchet Jackson]

Thought I'd give a little advice. I started my job hunt on Sunday, interviewed yesterday and started today! I never thought I'd do this, but I applied to 6 jobs on craigslist. I thought it would be sketchy, but it wasn't too bad. I just removed my address from my resume. There are a lot of decent jobs on there, and quite a few legal gopher jobs. I'm doing admin stuff at a boutique 20 hours per week @ $10/hr. So it would be pretty easy to find a second BS job. Anyway, my point is: try craigslist if you want something at a law firm

edit: Also, I told them that I would be starting law school in the fall and they LOVED IT. I put my LSAT on my resume, and I think that's what got me the job. Admin jobs have high turnover anyway, so I don't think they would care if you'll be there for only 7 months

You're right. I applied to craigslist heavily months ago and landed and cushy salaried position at a well-respected national law firm. My best advice to job seekers: firms arent going to want to risk money training someone who is bouncing in a few months. If you want a job now until fall 2011, you're either going to have to fudge your law school intentions (starting in a few years vs a few months) or be truthful, but expect that it will affect some potential offers.

Another tip in addition to craigslist, send cover letters/resumes to local firms. I had a few respond back to me when I did that as well. Just use google maps, put in your address, and search for law firms. All the contact info is up there, just shoot them emails. Good luck.