PUBLIC INTEREST JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES
HOW
TO FIND A PUBLIC INTEREST JOB: FIVE KEY JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES
Finding a job in public interest law requires more time and ingenuity
than the search for private law firms jobs. Unlike many private law firms,
most public interest and government employers lack the resources or time
to come on campus for formal recruiting. They usually cannot anticipate
their budgets or their hiring needs for the following summer or year as
early as the fall, when most firms interview. Rather, these organizations
recruit either in the spring or as positions and funding become available,
especially for full-time jobs.
Step One: Identify Employers of Interest
The first step in finding a job in public interest law is to identify
employers compatible with your interests and background, and then research
them. Three excellent resources for identifying employers are the following:
1) Public Service Law Network (PSLAWNET),
a searchable nationwide database of public service opportunities, also
available in print in the career services office; 2) Serving the Public:
A Job Search Guide 2003 -2004, provides a good overview of the field,
the job search process, and job opportunities organized by substantive
areas, available in the library and in the career services office; and,
3) Equal Justice Works
(formerly the National Association of Public Interest Law (NAPIL)), an
organization that promotes public interest law among law students and
creates numerous public interest job opportunities.
Organizations can also be identified by reviewing the list of participating
employers and their descriptions (if available) at various career fairs
such as the Equal Justice Works Career Fair held annually in Washington
D.C. in October (see http://www.equaljusticeworks.org),
the Midwest Public Interest Law Career
Conference (MPILCC) held annually in Chicago in February (material
available on-line beginning in January), and the Public Service Employer
Reception held annually in the Fall in Chicago. Finally, the Public
Interest Law Initiative (PILI) offers 1L's and 2L's summer and school
year internships at public interest law agencies in Chicago.
Finally, see the public
interest and government links section of this web site where
you'll find links to nonprofit and public interest organizations
divided by practice area; local, state, and federal govenment
web sites; as well as numerous pubic interest job search sites.
Step Two: Get Informed - Networking and Informational Interviewing
Once you have identified organizations at which you might want to work,
your next task is to learn as much as you can about the practice areas
and organizations you are most interested in. In this regard, your most
important tool is the informational interview. The objective of an information
interview is not to get a job. Rather, your goal is meet people who can
offer advice for your job search, answer questions about career choices
from a personal perspective, and provide you with the names of individuals
who may be able to help you get further along in the process of finding
a job.
In order to arrange informational interviews, you need to identify
as many people as possible who may either provide relevant information
on your job search or refer you to people who can. Establish an
initial networking list of people very familiar to you e.g., relatives
and close friends. Expand your list to include Kent graduates
who work for public interest organizations (see the Chicago-Kent
alumnae/i-advisor network or do a search via martindale.com),
your professors, other students interested in public interest
work or who have held public interest jobs, and speakers and panelists
at various on-campus programs. Also, consider joining a bar association
committee as a further source of contacts.
Once you have a established a list of contacts, write a letter requesting
a meeting and follow up with a phone call. You need not send a resume
unless it is specifically requested. When appropriate, mention the
mutual acquaintance who referred you, as your contact will appreciate
a familiar name. Come to the meeting prepared by researching the organization
so you have a clear idea of what you want to find out in the interview.
For sample questions to ask and a good discussion about how to conduct
an informational interview, see the career services handout on Interviewing
and Thank You Notes.
You should leave the informational interview with the names of
other people whom you can contact. Call them up, tell them who
referred you to them, and repeat the process described above.
Soon, you will have acquired a network of contacts and much valuable
information.
Finally, follow up a meeting with a prompt, concise thank-you letter.
The letter should outline what suggestions you gathered at the meeting
and how you will put them to use.
Step Three: Gain Experience
Working with a variety of public interest employers enables you to gain
first-hand knowledge of a field of law, demonstrates your commitment to
the public interest community, and helps you develop a network of professional
contacts. Part-time opportunities, volunteer projects, clinical courses,
and summer jobs are all valuable ways to gain public interest experience
while in law school. You should have little trouble finding an internship,
particularly if you are willing to volunteer. Openings abound for internships
in understaffed public interest offices, and many summer internships offer
exciting, substantive work.
Another dimension of gaining public interest experience is that it gives
you insight about yourself and the legal endeavors that most interest
you. You will start to identify the style of work you prefer: Do you enjoy
working on a team or in a more independent fashion? Do you prefer litigation
or other kinds of legal work? Do you like a fast-paced trial practice
or a more contemplative appellate practice? Do you want to be a generalist
or a specialist on a particular issue? As you develop and apply your skills,
you will gradually form conclusions as to which skills you most enjoy
using.
Make an appointment with a career services counselor or with a student
in the Public Interest Resource Center (PIRC) for assistance in finding
an opportunity. For information on legal externships with public interest
organizations (obtaining school credit), see Professor Vivien Gross.
Step Four: The Writing Stage - Your Resume, Cover Letter, Reference
List, and Writing Sample
As with any job application, your resume and cover letter need
to look their very best as they generally serve as your first
contact with potential employers and markets you to the organization.
The resume and cover letter needs to be free of all typing mistakes
and need to stand out from the hundreds the employer is likely
to receive. See the career services handout on Resumes
and Cover Letters for an overview on how to write these. Likewise,
Serving the Public: A Job Search Guide 2003 -2004 contains
sample public interest resume and cover letters of Harvard Law
students. You are further encouraged to have your resume reviewed
by a career services counselor. 1L's should attend the resume
workshop offered in late October or early November each year.
Public interest employers place significant weight on references, and
many employers will telephone at least one of your references to find
out more about you. Generally, you need to provide three references to
a potential employer. Select people who know you well and who will make
enthusiastic comments about you. Ideally, you should mix employers and
professors among the people recommending you. 1L's should make an extra
effort to get to know one or two professors who can provide more information
than the grade you received in class. Always obtain permission from the
individuals whom you plan to use as references and always bring your reference
list to the interview.
Most public interest employers will also want an example of your written
work after they have narrowed their choices to a few candidates, while
some will request one with your resume. Hence, it is a good idea to have
one prepared so that you are ready when an employer requests it. An ideal
writing sample is one that showcases your writing at its best and is on
a topic of interest to your potential employer. Unless specified otherwise,
your writing sample should be between five and ten pages in length, even
if this means excerpting a portion of a longer work. 1L's who do not have
prior experience with legal writing can use either a paper or legal brief
written as part as part of their first year legal writing course or moot
court competition. If as a 1L you are unhappy with this writing, use something
you are proud of, preferably a topic you can speak about with authority
and passion. 2L's will typically be expected to provide a legal writing
sample.
Step Five: Target Employers
You need to decide which public interest employers to initially
contact. Sending out hundreds of form letters is not worth the
effort or expense. Rather, you need to do some careful thinking
about the areas you are most interested in as well as your geographic
preferences. Start by targeting fifteen to twenty employers in
whom you have the most interest, and send resumes and cover letters
to them. You can expand to a broader pool of potential employers
as your job search progresses. Your first target should be those
employers in your geographic and interest areas who have indicated
that they plan to hire for the summer or year. Your secondary
targets should be those employers in whom you have interest but
who may not have advertised jobs.
At this stage, you should continue to conduct informational interviews
as described in step two above. By developing a rapport with employers
and other contacts in the public sector, you enhance your chances
of landing a public interest job. Although you are not interviewing
for an available position, you are enabling an organization to
learn about who you are and what assets you have to offer as an
employee. They may keep you in mind the next time they hire, or
they may pass your name along to another organization looking
for help. Often, prospective employers simply turn to their friends
and colleagues to fill jobs in order to avoid the expenses of
recruiting.
For further information on obtaining resources to assist you in your job
search and/or assistance with any stage described in this article, make
an appointment with a career services counselor.
WHAT ARE PUBLIC INTEREST
EMPLOYERS SEEKING IN AN APPLICANT?
1. Demonstrated Commitment to Public Service
With always impending public interest funding cuts, employers are very
careful about considering candidates for positions. Employers want to
hire people who will not become disenchanted with public interest work
and who have a realistic understanding of the sector. For this reason,
employers look for previous experience, volunteer or paid, in the public
service sector; so highlight any and all volunteer and community work
you've done, even if it was in a non-legal setting or capacity.
2. General Skills
Commitment, sound legal skills, ability to assume responsibility quickly,
and an agreeable personality are important factors for most public interest
employers. The challenge for you is to convey these qualities through
the standard paper credentials and interviews.
3. Academic Achievements & Activities
While grades are often a central factor in hiring decisions for private
law firms, it is much more difficult to generalize about their importance
in the public interest sector. Within the public interest realm, legal
services and legal aid offices tend to place less emphasis on grades and
focus on interpersonal skills and work experience. Public interest employers
likely to pay closer attention to grades include "impact" litigation
groups, postgraduate fellowships programs, government "honor"
programs and "law reform" units of government and public interest
agencies.
4. Courses Taken
Course selection can also be important. Courses that will prove
helpful to the public interest practitioner include: Constitutional
law, evidence, administrative law, criminal procedure, environmental
law and policy, labor law, non-profit law, immigration law and
policy, and consumer protection law. While public interest employers
don't have any hard and fast rules on course selection, taking
a number of these courses will add breadth to your background
and help build a foundation for exploring your specific interests
in public interest law.
5. Work Experience
Work experience, legal and otherwise, is given significant consideration
by many public interest employers. This is where you can demonstrate ability,
commitment and interest. Legal services and legal aid offices in particular
place emphasis on law school work experience because the nature of their
work and the demands of their budgets do not allow for extended training
programs. These offices seek candidates who will be able to hit the ground
running. By becoming involved in student groups that address public interest
issues and by volunteering your time in a public interest office during
the academic term, you can place yourself in a stronger position for landing
a summer public interest job. Work done during the term and summer, whether
paid or volunteer, is a good way for newcomers to public interest to build
credentials.
6. Clinical and Prior Experience
Clinical programs are also an excellent way to gain valuable training
and build experience. In addition, non-legal experience that demonstrates
judgment, writing skills, ability to assume responsibility, etc., is also
considered valuable to the public interest employer and should be included
on your resume. For example, a social work background will appeal to legal
services offices with heavy client contact, while policy analysis experience
would be attractive to offices that emphasize impact litigation and legislative
work.
7. Writing Samples and References
Public interest employers generally pay greater attention to writing
samples than do private firms and also often rely heavily on references
and recommendations in making hiring decisions. Building a list of references
who can speak on behalf of your commitment to public interest work, as
well as your legal skills, is important and another reason the volunteer
experiences you have while you are in school are valuable to your long
term career plan.
If You're Working in a
Non-Public Interest Law Job
What if you're not sure you want to practice public interest law but
would like to keep the option open? Can you work in a private firm and
still move into the public interest sector later?
If you decide to spend a summer in a private law firm and want to keep
your public interest options open, it would be helpful to have other public
interest experience on your resume. While it is more common than most
realize for lawyers to move between the public interest and private sectors,
it is rare for a legal services office to hire someone whose only legal
experience has been with a private firm. If you are not positive about
your career direction - and many people aren't - don't foreclose future
opportunities by ignoring public interest work while in law school.
Information in this site highlights points from Harvard Law School's
"Serving the Public: A Job Search Guide 2003 - 2004" and "The
Public Service Employer Directory 1998 -1999" both available in the
Career Services Office.
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