Finding that Dream Part-Time Law Job

Ok so I haven't really posted on this blog for ages. The reason being I actually lost my password to this blog and then had to wait until I had a chance to clean my room and find the diary which I wrote the password on. But now I am back!

In this post, I want to talk just briefly about some little tips and tricks to getting a part-time law related job. A lot of the tips relate to other professions as well so please use them as broadly or as narrowly as you see necessary.

Finding a professional job while you study has a few factors involved. Things such as luck, who you know, the state of the economy, your schedule, your grades, your professionalism and your experience to name just a few. It may also depend on the type of working conditions you are looking for. Some things in the above list can't be prepared such as luck and how the economy is going but other things such as who you know, your grades, your past experience can be prepared and perfected.

The most difficult thing that I often hear is how do I get that first office job? Well there are a number of ways. Some with parents in the legal profession have it a bit easier but for those of us who don't or prefer not to use their parent's connections (present company included), here's how you may want to approach it. Getting a job is mostly about comparing the experience of one applicant over the other. What that means is that your cashier job at Safeway or Coles could potentially get you an office job if you position your skill sets or duties with the job you want. For example, cashiers need to be good with money, be very personable, organised, able to work under pressure, manage different priorities. These are all invaluable skills to have at a professional environment. It is all about explaining to the company that your skill sets are aligned with their objectives.

What they will be asking is:
1. Can he/she do the job?
2. Will he/she do the job?
3. Will he/she fit?

In recruitment circles it is very difficult to get a yes in all three questions so mostly recruiters will be satisfied with yes to two of the above criterions. The first relates to your skill sets and as such recruiters will be looking at your past work history to determine if you can do the job or in the case of graduate recruitment, they will perhaps also look at your grades. The second criteria relates to your interest in the job. If you have no interest whatsoever in the job at hand, even if you have the requisite knowledge, you're not going to be much use to them. Finally, are you able to fit into the firm culture? These are pretty self-explanatory but just keep them in mind when you walk into that interview.

Another thing is it's easy to jump jobs within a company or jump to a similar job in another profession but not easy to jump to a different job in a different profession. What I mean is that if you're a cashier at Coles, it may be easier to jump from a customer service job to a manager position and then maybe a corporate position and it's also easier to jump from a cashier job at Coles to a cashier job at Kmart but it's not easy if you jump from a cashier job at Coles to a paralegal job at a law firm...although I have seen it done before but very rarely.

Below are some sites and tips on how to use the resources available to you to the maximum potential.

- Most universities have a dedicated career site which companies can post job adverts. This is great for university students because you know the jobs there are targeted specifically to you and it's also great for the company because they don't have to pay to use this service. For Monash students, the site is http://www.careergateway.monash.edu.au/.

- Make use of sites such as Seek and Mycareer. There is a feature in Seek which lets you receive jobs from a predetermined set of criterions. For me, I normally put in the key phrase area with 'Paralegal' or Law Clerk'. Every morning if there is a job available, I will get a notification on my email.

- Using a recruitment agency. This depends on how much experience you have. Normally only lawyers with 1-2+PAE (post admission experience) use them or career paralegals but sometimes if you can have the right skill set them they will put you forward for jobs. What normally happens is either you register with them through their website or you apply to a job that they are advertising on Seek etc. and then they will put you onto their database. This is helpful in the sense that when a job is available and they think you have the right skill, they will contact you directly.

- Using the College of Law website is a great tool to getting jobs. www.collaw.edu.aw/Your-Career/Jobs-Noticeboard-at-the-College/. I must admit that this year has been pretty slim picking but since the economy has rebounded and the fact that the jobs market is always lagging behind economic forecasting, jobs adverts should pick up in 2010.

Ok so these are my simple tips on getting that dream job. While I'm at it, I should pay tribute to Lloyd England for providing some of the helpful tips above at various law ambassador events in the past years and trust me they work.