The Internship Search

So I just spent the past few minutes trying to not start this entry with a swear word. This accomplishment is a minor victory.

The last time I really looked for a job was a few months ago when I realized that my old job would not be accommodating to me going to law school (no, not everyone is a fan of law students. Hell, not even law students are fans of law students). Back then, this past summer, I scoured Craig’s List in an attempt to find the perfect $10/ hour secretary job.

The difference between now and then? Then, I didn’t feel the entire weight of my future on my shoulders. Now, I am worried that I am going to be shit out of luck and my future career will be screwed.

Will that actually be the case? No. My 3L friend emailed me to remind me that the summer clinic program exists, and not to stress out about things. Still, my preference is to find a paying summer legal internship. A preference that is mitigated by the fact that I found a small typo in a few of my cover letters. (I missed the word “on” in a few of them. Not a big deal and hopefully no one will notice, but I am extremely glad that I am anonymous so I can get that off my chest without worrying that it will be held against me.)

I suppose this entry sounds a little disjointed and rambling. I guess that I the way I feel at the moment. I have a file folder on my computer and a OneNote notebook filled with cover letters, phone numbers, emails, resumes, references, writing samples, and a section that has advice. As organized as I appear to be, I am not, and hopefully I will kick it back into gear. I need to stop losing sight of my goals and get back in motion.

Exams- the EXTREMELY brief recap

Saturday was a big day for me. It was my last exam.

What does that mean? First and foremost, it means that I am now 2.5 years away from becoming a real lawyer (God help us all). Secondly, it means that I can sit back and begin to evaluate my habits and see what I did right and wrong (a process that I won't actually post about until I get my grades back.) Third, it means that I begin my summer job search. It is a risky strategy that I will post about momentarily. Finally, it means that I get to breath for a moment, a process that I will discuss now.

Basically, this whole breathing, relaxing thing is unreal to me. I have plenty of classmates still taking exams, so I don't want to out right dance and celebrate. Furthermore, my first three points (lawyering, evaluating, and job searching) really are lurking in the back of my mind, if not the front. I don't know what my grades will be until January, so I don't know if I successfully completed my first semester. I just know that I completed it. I don’t know that I was doing this whole law school thing right, or maybe I need time to change my ways (I think I did it right, but I need some cold hard facts to help me decide- it is the math geek in me.) And this whole applying for jobs thing, well, it is scary, hard, and I am pretty sure I just bombed a phone interview an hour ago. I really don’t want to go through that process (although my next post will have a happier, lighter tone).

So what did I learn over this exam period?
-I learned that study groups can be an amazing thing.
-That an outline should be learned backwards and forwards, that way during the exam you don’t actually need to look at it.
-That freaking out does not help.
- Conversely, cookies and coffee do help.
-Talking about the exam after the fact will only make you feel worse. You can’t change the exam, so you don’t need to be reminded of a point you may have missed.

As I turn from my first semester towards my second, I await my grades and go through the arduous task of applying for summer internships. Also, I am drinking gingerbread mochas and enjoying some sleeping in time.

Got to think about the future

So less than a month in, 12 school days to be precise, I am already worried about what I'll be doing after I graduate. I've just a started and I have to assume that I am graduating already. Yes, yes, I should not doubt that, but in my mind, the thought of graduating is so far away, I've yet to get one single grade. How the hell am I supposed to know even if I will be able to get a job after graduation? Here are a few things that I've been up to:

• Attended a presentation about jobs at the DOJ. In order to get even an unpaid internship I must start applying after December 1st, when ABA states that 1Ls can start looking for jobs. Merry Christmas DOJ!
• Attended a trial advocacy meeting. Halfway through the meeting signed up to be a law clerk online (because the spots were all going to be taken if I waited until after to meeting to sign up- like were supposed to. Word to the wise, be nice to the people around you and don't make enemies. I was nice so someone let me use their computer to sign up.)
• Attended a meeting for people interested in a banking law internship. Application due in 3 days.
• Attended a presentation about jobs in the government. Big message of the day- network network network! (OMFG, network?)

So here it is, already there are 4 meetings pertaining to life outside of law school (well, 3.5 trial ad is a competition, but can really help in getting a job post grad.) I guess from this point I've got to put some faith in myself. Unlike undergrad, where I spent the first two years thinking that the fact that I am in school is good enough, law school is setting the fire under my ass early. It is not good enough that I made it. I've got to be awesome at it.