What about cold-emailing? Sending out emails to potential employers who probably aren't looking to hire someone. Are you chances of getting hired worse or better when a cold-email may end up in a potential employer's spam box?
Well, desperate times calls for desperate measures and Georgetown is going to make sure that Georgetown Grads are employed, even if they have to resort to cold-emailing.
A BIDER reader forwarded me the following email with the caveat: "FYI, I did NOT go to G'town undergrad or law. Also we are located several hundred miles from Washington DC. This just appeared in my in-box. How they got my name, I have no idea."
From: "Laura Hosid" <lar9@law.georgetown.edu>
To: DELETED
Cc: <amp273@law.georgetown.edu>
Date: 02/07/2011 02:58 PM
Subject: Georgetown Law - Legal Interns
I am writing from Georgetown University Law Center to inquire as to whether you will be hiring interns in your legal department this year. We have a number of highly qualified students seeking employment for the upcoming summer. In addition, we understand that most corporations do not hire new graduates for lawyer positions, but if you have a need or interest in considering a talented young lawyer for a post-graduate legal or non-legal position, please let us know.
Please feel free to get in touch with either myself or Abe Pollack, Director of Employer Outreach, if you would like to post a position for our students. I can be reached at (202) 662-9303 or lar9@law.georgetown.edu, and Abe Pollack can be reached at (202) 661-6560 oramp273@law.georgetown.edu. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Laura Hosid
Laura R. Hosid, Esq.
Associate Director, Office of Career Services
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Room 328
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 662-9303
For those that don't know (live under a rock), Georgetown is a Top Tier School. This is what the legal job market is coming to. What do you guys think? Is this enough to keep the lemmings from taking the plunge? Lord have mercy on us all.
Thanks for the tip!
Posts
Georgetown has also resorted to hiring its own grads, at least according to the NYT piece.
ReplyDeleteGreat scoop, Angel. Now contact ATL or law.com before someone steals this and doesn't give you any credit.
I'm not contacting ATL.... if they cover the story and fail to give me credit, my readers know it came from me first. I wonder if anyone else will cover it though.
ReplyDeleteWow GTTTown is becoming notorious.
ReplyDeleteIt is very possible that GeorgeTTTown could be dropped from the amazing T14. Only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteAbove the Law is a joke.
ReplyDeleteSomeone should make up a bunch of fake companies, set up fake email addresses, and start emailing career services places across the country that they *might* have an opening for a part-time, unpaid intern in their ambiguously-defined compliance department. Fake website(s) would be superb.
ReplyDeleteEven better yet: as the fake company, say that you have 5 spaces open in your compliance department that you're looking to fill immediately with recent (<6 months) graduates. You produce something completely useless to a law school, like industrial scales or kitschy kitchen appliances or condoms. Then, you hint that you will hire all five from whatever school orders the most of your completely useless product.
Is that wrong? Probably, but I'd be curious what would result. Hilarity, most likely. Most of these career services offices would sell themselves to the Turkish navy for 5 guaranteed placements. I'm sure they would snap up hundreds of useless products (which would probably be given away for free to prospective students).
"What did you get on your trip to Akron?"
"Free t-shirt. How about you at Toledo?"
"An tractor hubcap. Someone painted "Go Toledo!" on it."
Nice scoop. I'd actually give them points for remembering that corporations exist, I'm a 1L at a top-10 and their eyes glaze over when I mention interest in anything other than a firm. Hop
ReplyDeleteSo Georgetown Law is resorting to spam to try and place its grads, just the way Nigerian lottery winners, V-1agra peddlers and Canadian pharmacies are.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that! I wonder if Laura got the OK to spam the world or if she took it upon herself?
Great scoop, BTW.
In all fairness, this shows more initiative and effort on behalf of students than I have encountered from just about any other law school "career services" office. It is still massively pathetic, of course (and likely futile), but as you said: "I suppose it's better than doing nothing," which is what career services offices generally do. They must be facing some pressure from students, finally.
ReplyDeleteWould you prefer that they do nothing?
ReplyDeleteWhat you call a waste of time is what others in the business world call business development.
It is more fruitful for an organization to engage in these techniques even if it would not be the best idea for the individual.
At least Georgetown's career services office is trying to do something to help its students, which is probably a whole lot more than what other law schools' are doing. Georgetown is a degree mill since it mints hundreds of JDs every year (over 500 I think), flooding the market with T14 grads. It isn't exactly a TTT and it wouldn't be part of the 75% of all law schools that should close. However, it would be good if Georgetown would cull its student herd by cutting its admissions 50%.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is 375 during the day. 125 at night. The night program typically are people already working so they are obtaining the degree while already in a career rather than quitting to go to law school. For example, someone working in Human Resources in the area who wants the JD to enhance their ability to work in HR is something you may see for the night time program. The more traditional JDs are during the day. Those are the ones that are likely following the traditional summer associate followed by law firm after graduating route.
ReplyDeleteMy lawschool (also a T-14) sends similar e-mails to its alumni. They have a list, and once you're in practice for around 10 years, they see if your firm would be interested in hiring interns.
ReplyDeleteIn my school's case, what they're really trying to do is sign up firms for OCI, which they charge for. That's the kicker that scam bloggers could really latch on to-- how much money law schools make in fees from law firms to attend on campus interviewing.
However, as an employer looking at that e-mail, you have to wonder-- do these law students really want to work at my firm? If so, why haven't they contacted me. While a "cold-call" e-mail inquiry is usually ignored, a cold-call e-mail on behalf of some clueless 1Ls seems even more pointless.
Regarding the larger picture, the whole "intern" system that law schools seem to be wedded to is a joke. When we need an employee, usually we need someone to start working cases right away. Having an intern who can't start for a year and a half really doesn't work. Which is why the internships are reserved for client's kids, and most of our hires are laterals.
Better than Emory's CDC and its donuts. LOL
ReplyDeleteI am an attorney with a litigation law firm in Los Angeles that is seeking law school graduates who were misled by their law school regarding the prospects for obtaining post-graduation employment. Specifically, we are interested in law school grads who have been unsuccessful in finding employment as an attorney and have more than $75,000 in debt from any of the following schools: Southwestern, Chapman, Golden Gate, Santa Clara, La Verne, Western State, Fullerton, Thomas Jefferson, Cal Western, University of the Pacific (McGeorge) and University of West Los Angeles. Please call me at 877-671-9879 if this comment applies to you.
ReplyDelete@ 8:00 p.m. -- HA! Good luck (although it's hard to believe). Couple points:
ReplyDelete(1) What are odds that the Litigation powerhouse hired to defend the So Cal TTT lawschools hired any grads of those schools?
(2) I don't see how this survives a motion to dismiss, either under FRCP 9 or Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 425.10.
(3) I absolutely do not see how this could ever be a class action. Every individual's situation will be different.
(4) If the above post is a prank, that's not cool, dude.
I sent out a cold letter and received a Summer Associate position (ultimately an actual position).
ReplyDeleteIt just so happened that they had been to Duke for OCI and I had not bothered to sign up to interview and they really wanted a Duke summer associate.
I think this was a special case for cold lettering.
Note: This was in 1999 when there was still an actual legal economy.
ReplyDeleteEvery year, the Long Island Newspaper: "Newsday" publishes a list of the top 100 Public Co's and then a week or so later, the top 100 Private Co's. on Long Island.
ReplyDeleteAmong other info, it lists the names of the key executives.
In 1997, when I was about a year out of Law School and still unable to find anything other than blue-collar work, I wrote (hard mail) to all 100 of the top Public Corporations, with the letters addressed to either the President, Chairman or whomever.
2 of these Co's replied. And I got one interview, and one job.
It was pure cold calling, and with the same very simple cover letter: "I am seeking an Administrative position with your firm" or something like that.
I started in sales, and then later worked as a sort of compliance mgr. until I left the job in 2000 for various and compelling reasons.
I have later come to regard cold-calling as admirable, because it shows "hustle". But as a cold caller, you should always beware of just who is going to pick you up.
After all, it is YOU dropping in on THEM out of the blue, and that does have an element of making you seem pretty needy, if not desperate.
Replying to a job posting, on the other hand, is a different thing in many ways.
OK different subject, but i don't know where else to post tips/articles.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this clueless post on law firm bonuses from CNN/Fortune and the reality-based comments:
http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/16/lawyers-say-farewell-to-that-guaranteed-raise/
To Anonymous on 2/14/11 @ 9:04 PM
ReplyDeleteThe post above you is definitely not a prank. If you know of any law school graduates that fit that description, please have them call that number.
There are lots of career opportunities which are waiting to those graduates. But there are some jobs also which do not fit for the ability of a certain person but needs to work. No choice, because the person will just seek for a wok that will truly complements his ability.
ReplyDelete