How soon is too soon to leave my first job? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2020 grad from a top tier school. Long story short, it was not an ideal time to be entering the job market, so I ended up taking a position at a firm that is decent but doesn't pay what I was hoping and isn't located where I'd like to live for the rest of my life.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out:
- How soon is too soon to apply for other positions?
- What would it look like from another firm's point of view if I only was at this firm for a few months before trying to get a different job?
- Do you have any advice on how to go about maneuvering this kind of situation?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

I don’t know what “top tier” school means, but I’ll assume it means t14. When I started my first job, I was in the same position as you. I actually applied to my first position two months after I started. Here is some advice:

1) make sure you create a solid story for why you want to enter your preferred market and why you ended up in the market you’re working in.

2) do not use a recruiter. You’re a first year, so no one will want to pay a fee to hire you when most firms’ first years haven’t even started.

3) change practice areas if you’re open to doing it. This will make the move more justifiable: if you like your practice area, though, don’t take this route.

4) reach out to friends at other firms to see if you can get a referral. Unfortunately a lot firms don’t pay a referral bonus for first years, so a random grad from your school may be less willing to help.

It took me 5 months to find another position in a good economy, so expect to stay put at your firm for the foreseeable future. Just don’t get discouraged.

[nixy]

FWIW, one short term job isn't the kiss of death. It's when your resume is full of short-term positions that you will begin to raise eyebrows. So only having been at one job for a short period won't, per se, raise eyebrows elsewhere. But you do need to have a good explanation and you may not be as competitive for new jobs until you've got some experience.

[Anonymous User]

Its ok to make one early jump to "right the ship". Many lawyers end up doing that, especially ones at big firms. Its pretty easy to make the sell on that one mulligan, especially if there is additional reasoning for the move (ex. they put you in the wrong practice group, there was a recent change in life circumstances, etc.)

But make sure the next firm you pick is a place you can stay for awhile. Because you don't get the same free pass a second time, since at that point it starts to look like you are jumping around. As for how early is too early to make that jump, theres really no guideline. I know people who jumped ship in under a year and were fine. I myself made the move after 1.5 years because I wanted to break into a new practice area, and the longer I waited, the harder it would become.

[Anonymous User]

Poster above is writing my autobiography. Jumped from firm A to firm B after two months, was concerned, but ultimately doesn’t matter. Been with my current firm for 2+ years.

[Anonymous User]

As some are suggesting a different area of law might be a good reason to switch: how do you figure out you want to switch? Like, I think few actually enjoy their area that much, especially when starting off, but how is a good way to estimate that you not liking it is something that will not improve over time with seniority/a different area of law would be a better fit?

[M458]

As some are suggesting a different area of law might be a good reason to switch: how do you figure out you want to switch? Like, I think few actually enjoy their area that much, especially when starting off, but how is a good way to estimate that you not liking it is something that will not improve over time with seniority/a different area of law would be a better fit?

If it's a situation where you've been placed in a corporate group and you'd rather be doing litigation, then you'll know pretty quickly (and vice versa). Gets a bit harder if you're placed in a group like finance/banking and you think you'd rather be doing real estate - in that instance, you probably need to have conversations with folks you trust doing real estate and see if you're confident you'll enjoy that work better.