What to do if still no Summer job? Forum

[srg1027]

Looking for any advice for myself and anyone else who has still not locked up an internship/summer associate position for this upcoming summer. I personally have a few applications still out, but in the worst case scenario what type of effect would not having anything at all this summer have on a future law school graduate? Is there anything else to do right now besides applying to anything and everything?

In general this is a stressful situation so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[PalpatineVader2020]

Right there with you bud. Roughly top 1/3 at a Top 50 with journal and I've got nothing.

[theswisswereright]

Looking for any advice for myself and anyone else who has still not locked up an internship/summer associate position for this upcoming summer. I personally have a few applications still out, but in the worst case scenario what type of effect would not having anything at all this summer have on a future law school graduate? Is there anything else to do right now besides applying to anything and everything?

In general this is a stressful situation so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I am the furthest person from an expert on this, and I'm not sure what your eventual goals are, but I was in your shoes this time a few years ago. I started looking into legal aid positions, jobs as a research assistant for a professor, volunteer internships at local state courthouses, even calling around to very small local firms to ask if they needed some help over the summer. I was of the mind that doing SOMETHING relevant was better than eating Cheetos on my mom's couch all summer, although this may not be the prevailing view.
I ended up working at a couple smaller local firms who started searching for summer clerks incredibly late, but I think having substantive experience of any kind is good, and often you can spin it to at least sound like you did it on purpose.

[Wubbles]

I would recommend having more than a few applications out. I was in a similar situation once and I had a few hundred out by the time I learned OCI probably wasn't where my job was coming from. Definitely helped, because the interview rate was about 10% or lower, which means the volume is what mattered for me.

[Lawman1865]

Looking for any advice for myself and anyone else who has still not locked up an internship/summer associate position for this upcoming summer. I personally have a few applications still out, but in the worst case scenario what type of effect would not having anything at all this summer have on a future law school graduate? Is there anything else to do right now besides applying to anything and everything?

In general this is a stressful situation so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I am the furthest person from an expert on this, and I'm not sure what your eventual goals are, but I was in your shoes this time a few years ago. I started looking into legal aid positions, jobs as a research assistant for a professor, volunteer internships at local state courthouses, even calling around to very small local firms to ask if they needed some help over the summer. I was of the mind that doing SOMETHING relevant was better than eating Cheetos on my mom's couch all summer, although this may not be the prevailing view.
I ended up working at a couple smaller local firms who started searching for summer clerks incredibly late, but I think having substantive experience of any kind is good, and often you can spin it to at least sound like you did it on purpose.

This is good advice, as well as the advice from Wubbles. I would definitely have about as many resumes out in the universe as possible, in a usual year you can always find mid/small size firms that are looking late, and I would guess this is especially true given the uncertainty around COVID. Additionally, broaden your horizons to make sure you get something. I know they have government positions/clinics that you can get funding/paid for (I ultimately did this), and was able to spin it into a positive experience and impress some interviewers when 3L hiring came around.

To answer your questions, while COVID probably helps (my guess is people are having much more difficulty finding positions), having a gap in your resume this summer would not be good, and you should really find something to do. If this ultimately happens, I would also suggest working hard to find some experience during the fall semester if possible.

Best of luck, it's not easy, but there's still time and I would hit up everything you can find, and mass mail your resume as much as possible.