I'm doing my part to keep the post office in business! When did postage go up to 44 cents?
It has been a while since I sent out resumes. Futile, I know, but important to do once in a while. Although it seems like a chore, I must admit that it gets addictive. You think you'll only send a couple, and then you wind up sending a dozen. Just one more! Maybe the next one will be the one! Almost feels like I'm a crack addict. Or, I guess more appropriately, a lottery addict.
In the past, I've felt that there was an unspoken agreement between the law firms and I. I won't take up their time sending them my resume and they won't crush my spirits with rejection. Alas, I decided to break our little understanding. True to form, the law firms have responded in kind. Like I said, at least I'm keeping the mail carriers busy with all the rejection letters they are delivering to my mailbox.
Now, with summer classes over, I've got nothing but time. Tweak my resume here and there. Tweak my cover letter a little bit. Gets addictive. But for a short while before the rejection arrives, you get a little high. Hope is in the air!
Of course, reality sets in when the rejections arrive. Honestly, I prefer rejection letters to non-responses. It's somewhat satisfying to know that my resume was at least acknowledged.
While the rejections are disappointing, some parts of the form letters can be fun. Some say I'm "outstanding." Others say I'm "impressive." Nice to know. Then there are somewhat more custom tailored letters. Some call me "interesting." Others, a "unique opportunity." Unique good or unique bad? Who knows? At least they read my cover letter though. (which I'll admit, is a tiny bit unique.)
I think I'll continue my resume blast for at least the next week. Though, my pool of possible recipients is dwindling. The hunt can be a little frustrating, but somewhat fun. The hardest part may very well be finding the law firms themselves. You know they exist. There must be at least a hundred in a two block radius from Morgan Lewis alone. All the skyscrapers contain countless law firms. Even the shorter buildings like 1515 Market. But I digress. Once you find a law firm, the real fun begins. Figuring out which attorney is most "like you" so that perhaps they might actually care about you. Most of the time, this bears no fruit. I happen to be of Asian descent, so sometimes I poke around to see if there are Asians in the mix. Without fail, the search comes up empty for mid-sized law firms. BigLaw might have a couple. I guess that's to be expected though. In absolute numbers, Asians are a small minority.
The next step, try to figure out which people went to my law school. Perhaps they'll care? This yields a bigger sample size. I went to an area law school, so that helps. Couple this with reading what type of litigation they do and expressing your interest in said type. Of course, you've got to be careful with this. Don't tell people you're interested in representing construction companies but then lack things to back that up. There has to be some connection, even if minor. Perhaps you took a class in environmental law and liked it and are interested in the environmental impact regulations of new constructions. These little tweaks make cover letters more time consuming, but I feel like it makes the jobhunt more fun. At least less monotonous.
Once Labor Day arrives, I'll put a hold on my resume blast. Where did this summer go? Seems just like yesterday, the sun was setting at around 9. Before you know it, it'll be Christmas-time and the sun will set at 5.
I've given some thought to returning to the "unique" world of coding. Right now, I'm still thinking "Thanks. But no." However, I certainly miss the insane bonuses (bonii?) which may or may not still exist. At the very least, I miss the paycheck. I've heard the temp market is slowly picking up steam. Philly to $33/hr?
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Trades
I have always advocated "hero" professions such as cop or firefighter. There are most certainly jobs that require a physical presence.
However, when it comes to the trades, I've sometimes hesitated. I've expressed this sentiment on a NYTimes article a few months back. There are two main reasons for this:
- not everyone is built for being a tradesman. We're not only talking about brute strength, but also fine motor skills. Some people lack manual dexterity and digital (finger) dexterity. Some people lack acute senses, or perception, or hand-eye coordination. People often cite physical limitations on why not everyone can be a cop, firefighter, or even astronaut. But physical limitations are rarely cited for being in other manual labor occupations.
- things are now being built to last longer. Take plumbers. Pipes are now being made of plastic composites instead of copper or whatever metals they used to be made of. This means less corrosion. Newer car engines need less servicing, making the mechanic a little less busy. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether more fire-resistant building materials and better fire-fighting systems (sprinklers n' such) will decrease the need for firefighters. Robots and computers aren't the only technology that are making working men and women obsolete. Though, short of robocops, I have yet to figure out a technology that will make cops obsolete.
However, when it comes to the trades, I've sometimes hesitated. I've expressed this sentiment on a NYTimes article a few months back. There are two main reasons for this:
- not everyone is built for being a tradesman. We're not only talking about brute strength, but also fine motor skills. Some people lack manual dexterity and digital (finger) dexterity. Some people lack acute senses, or perception, or hand-eye coordination. People often cite physical limitations on why not everyone can be a cop, firefighter, or even astronaut. But physical limitations are rarely cited for being in other manual labor occupations.
- things are now being built to last longer. Take plumbers. Pipes are now being made of plastic composites instead of copper or whatever metals they used to be made of. This means less corrosion. Newer car engines need less servicing, making the mechanic a little less busy. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether more fire-resistant building materials and better fire-fighting systems (sprinklers n' such) will decrease the need for firefighters. Robots and computers aren't the only technology that are making working men and women obsolete. Though, short of robocops, I have yet to figure out a technology that will make cops obsolete.
Cash for Clunkers
As the summer ends, most of the nation's largest law firms (including some coders' favorite, Morgan Lewis) are deciding whether to make offers to their current summer associates and/or deciding whether they should have a summer program next year. It's turning out to be a bloodbath out there.
Summer associates are being no-offered or cold-offered left and right. The mighty (?) Morgan Lewis has scrapped it's summer associate program for next year. (this is old news from mid-July). Ballard Spahr followed the next week. Monkey see monkey do? McCarter & English followed suit recently.
Perhaps coders care. Perhaps they don't. Maybe some are even secretly happy that associates are sharing the pain. Perhaps openly happy.
Classes before '09 - layoffs
Class of '09 - deferrals, possible rescission of offers
Class of '10 - no-offers
Class of '11 - no summer recruiting
Even if coders care little about aspiring associates on a personal level, they might care that the attorney supply is even more crowded than before.
With all this in mind, should there be a federal govt program stepping in here? Let's do a "Cash for law degree clunkers." Trade in your law degree for a brand-spankin' new degree in something else. What would you get yours in? How would the program work?
First, let's define "clunker." For cars, it was a vehicle doing less than 18 miles an hour. So let's say a "clunker" law degree is one that failed to obtain a job for the holder. A job making 80k or more. After three years (the length of law school itself), if a person can't find a job as an attorney, he or she can trade in their degree. The govt will then offer to pay 15k in tuition towards a degree in the sciences or 25k towards a degree in engineering. (number arbitrarily made up by me). Or even into training as an airplane mechanic. (I have no clue how much this costs). Any profession where there is an undersupply of talent. The drawback is you'd be going back to school. You would also get a 2k living stipend a month for a max of two years.
Of course, it's easier to say we should all just get refunds, or loans wiped out. But that only solves a single problem. Cash for clunkers might've benefitted people who bought new cars, but it also benefitted the car companies themselves, and in theory benefits the nationwide populations because the new cars had better mileage, thus lowering demand for gas and possibly lowering gas prices, and also lowering emissions which would theoretically help the environment and public health. In a similar way, cash for law degree clunkers gives the unemployed attorney a new degree, but also helps other attorneys by decreasing the attorney pool, and helps society in filling out in-demand jobs.
The costs would probably be astronomical though. I'm not even going to try to do the math on this.
Summer associates are being no-offered or cold-offered left and right. The mighty (?) Morgan Lewis has scrapped it's summer associate program for next year. (this is old news from mid-July). Ballard Spahr followed the next week. Monkey see monkey do? McCarter & English followed suit recently.
Perhaps coders care. Perhaps they don't. Maybe some are even secretly happy that associates are sharing the pain. Perhaps openly happy.
Classes before '09 - layoffs
Class of '09 - deferrals, possible rescission of offers
Class of '10 - no-offers
Class of '11 - no summer recruiting
Even if coders care little about aspiring associates on a personal level, they might care that the attorney supply is even more crowded than before.
With all this in mind, should there be a federal govt program stepping in here? Let's do a "Cash for law degree clunkers." Trade in your law degree for a brand-spankin' new degree in something else. What would you get yours in? How would the program work?
First, let's define "clunker." For cars, it was a vehicle doing less than 18 miles an hour. So let's say a "clunker" law degree is one that failed to obtain a job for the holder. A job making 80k or more. After three years (the length of law school itself), if a person can't find a job as an attorney, he or she can trade in their degree. The govt will then offer to pay 15k in tuition towards a degree in the sciences or 25k towards a degree in engineering. (number arbitrarily made up by me). Or even into training as an airplane mechanic. (I have no clue how much this costs). Any profession where there is an undersupply of talent. The drawback is you'd be going back to school. You would also get a 2k living stipend a month for a max of two years.
Of course, it's easier to say we should all just get refunds, or loans wiped out. But that only solves a single problem. Cash for clunkers might've benefitted people who bought new cars, but it also benefitted the car companies themselves, and in theory benefits the nationwide populations because the new cars had better mileage, thus lowering demand for gas and possibly lowering gas prices, and also lowering emissions which would theoretically help the environment and public health. In a similar way, cash for law degree clunkers gives the unemployed attorney a new degree, but also helps other attorneys by decreasing the attorney pool, and helps society in filling out in-demand jobs.
The costs would probably be astronomical though. I'm not even going to try to do the math on this.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
The Recession
The Recession seems to be abating. Yay!(?) Not so fast.
The bar exam was about two weeks ago. Are newly minted J.D. holders optimistic about their chances of landing a job by the time their bar results come in this winter? Perhaps they'll find a job, but as a paralegal?
Weil Gotshal in Boston has famously (or infamously) posted a job for a paralegal. More surprisingly, this "great opportunity" was actually listed on law school simplicity databases.
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/07/cant_find_work_paralegal_for_weil.php
Reactions were mixed:
- The posting isn't such a problem. The fact that it was labeled "a great opportunity" is the part that is ridiculous.
- One year from now, don't be surprised if you see job postings for "custodial engineer" positions requiring a JD and an excellent academic record, law review preferred.
- People who get upset at this are ridiculous. It's a job posting. It's not great, but at least it's a job posting.
- So, people complain that career services doesn't do anything, people complain that career services posts sub-par jobs...tough crowd.
- Its not just a job posting.
It's a paralegal job posting.
It is a job posting that SHOULD be irrelevant to law school grads.
Just like it would be a joke if the employment office sent out job postings "specially" for law grads that advertised a great job logging in Alaska or as a plastic surgeon in Maine.
Those jobs SHOULD be irrelevant to would-be JDs.
All of those postings are a joke because they send the same message: we don't expect you to get hired as a LAWYER.
Oh wait, there's more. Do paralegals regularly engage in manual labor? From the job post: Involves some light lifting / moving of documents and document boxes - approx. 20lbs.
20 pounds isn't the end of the world. I'm sure some attorneys lug boxfuls of documents from time to time. Though, I don't recall it ever being mentioned even in run of the mill paralegal job descriptions. Depending on Weil's salary, there's a possibility the paralegal gig isn't a complete slap in the face.
Another fun job opportunity:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/lgl/1306898898.html
Internship for recent law grad. $15/hr, 35 hours a week. Half-paralegal work
Newly minted JDs probably do not qualify for unemployment; but if they did, they would be better off financially on unemployment!! How ridiculous.
Of course, nobody is putting a gun to your head. As one commenter from the Weil Gotshal thread commented: "If you don't want the job, you don't have to apply for it, but there's no reason to get upset when a job posting is available."
An article from the New York Times that I found interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/25students.html?_r=1&ref=education
In Recession, Optimistic College Graduates Turn Down Jobs.
"Some praise that approach... most seniors were not compelled by mortgages or other expenses to grab just any position at whatever salary is offered. To do so could haunt them later when the economy improves..."
But... if you aren't as relaxed about the unemployment situation, you could always sue your alma mater, right?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/03/new.york.jobless.graduate/index.html
As for the Philly coding market, I haven't heard much big news. Stradley is still going strong. MLB has been erratic. Throughout the month of July, there have been people on and off. Perhaps August will be more stable. No news about Pepper or Dechert, though I would think Dechert in 2 Logan is done. Surprisingly, McCarter is still limping along??
Good luck to everyone!! Enjoy the rest of the summer. :)
The bar exam was about two weeks ago. Are newly minted J.D. holders optimistic about their chances of landing a job by the time their bar results come in this winter? Perhaps they'll find a job, but as a paralegal?
Weil Gotshal in Boston has famously (or infamously) posted a job for a paralegal. More surprisingly, this "great opportunity" was actually listed on law school simplicity databases.
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/07/cant_find_work_paralegal_for_weil.php
Reactions were mixed:
- The posting isn't such a problem. The fact that it was labeled "a great opportunity" is the part that is ridiculous.
- One year from now, don't be surprised if you see job postings for "custodial engineer" positions requiring a JD and an excellent academic record, law review preferred.
- People who get upset at this are ridiculous. It's a job posting. It's not great, but at least it's a job posting.
- So, people complain that career services doesn't do anything, people complain that career services posts sub-par jobs...tough crowd.
- Its not just a job posting.
It's a paralegal job posting.
It is a job posting that SHOULD be irrelevant to law school grads.
Just like it would be a joke if the employment office sent out job postings "specially" for law grads that advertised a great job logging in Alaska or as a plastic surgeon in Maine.
Those jobs SHOULD be irrelevant to would-be JDs.
All of those postings are a joke because they send the same message: we don't expect you to get hired as a LAWYER.
Oh wait, there's more. Do paralegals regularly engage in manual labor? From the job post: Involves some light lifting / moving of documents and document boxes - approx. 20lbs.
20 pounds isn't the end of the world. I'm sure some attorneys lug boxfuls of documents from time to time. Though, I don't recall it ever being mentioned even in run of the mill paralegal job descriptions. Depending on Weil's salary, there's a possibility the paralegal gig isn't a complete slap in the face.
Another fun job opportunity:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/lgl/1306898898.html
Internship for recent law grad. $15/hr, 35 hours a week. Half-paralegal work
Newly minted JDs probably do not qualify for unemployment; but if they did, they would be better off financially on unemployment!! How ridiculous.
Of course, nobody is putting a gun to your head. As one commenter from the Weil Gotshal thread commented: "If you don't want the job, you don't have to apply for it, but there's no reason to get upset when a job posting is available."
An article from the New York Times that I found interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/us/25students.html?_r=1&ref=education
In Recession, Optimistic College Graduates Turn Down Jobs.
"Some praise that approach... most seniors were not compelled by mortgages or other expenses to grab just any position at whatever salary is offered. To do so could haunt them later when the economy improves..."
But... if you aren't as relaxed about the unemployment situation, you could always sue your alma mater, right?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/03/new.york.jobless.graduate/index.html
As for the Philly coding market, I haven't heard much big news. Stradley is still going strong. MLB has been erratic. Throughout the month of July, there have been people on and off. Perhaps August will be more stable. No news about Pepper or Dechert, though I would think Dechert in 2 Logan is done. Surprisingly, McCarter is still limping along??
Good luck to everyone!! Enjoy the rest of the summer. :)
Lawyers = no benefit to society?
Lately, I've been in the library a whole lot more than I'd like to be. It's been years, but I had to do research for a paper.
As a random tangent in a conversation, the librarian asked me what my educational background was. For some reason, she thought I was a nurse. I told her I graduated from law school a few years ago. She then guessed that my undergrad major was English (which is also wrong). She told me I should be a doctor. Then she said "or a pharmacist. Pharmacists help people." After a short discussion about why I thought it would probably take too long for me to do either of those, she said "You should be either a doctor or a pharmacist. You should be a benefit to society." Subtlely implying that lawyers are of no benefit to society. I actually laughed a little. I can't recall the last time that someone who knew I was an attorney didn't say something positive about it. Of course, there are people who make lawyer jokes, but never anything serious.
As a random tangent in a conversation, the librarian asked me what my educational background was. For some reason, she thought I was a nurse. I told her I graduated from law school a few years ago. She then guessed that my undergrad major was English (which is also wrong). She told me I should be a doctor. Then she said "or a pharmacist. Pharmacists help people." After a short discussion about why I thought it would probably take too long for me to do either of those, she said "You should be either a doctor or a pharmacist. You should be a benefit to society." Subtlely implying that lawyers are of no benefit to society. I actually laughed a little. I can't recall the last time that someone who knew I was an attorney didn't say something positive about it. Of course, there are people who make lawyer jokes, but never anything serious.
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