There is a vast amount of information available (both online and offline) to help legal marketers find a job. In fact, there are so many resources to help job seekers that the confusion is nearly a detriment to those looking to land “the perfect legal position”. That’s why it’s important that you quickly figure out what works best so that you can stand out among the crowd of anxious job seekers.
It is also important to make sure you know the lay of the legal land in your locale. What are the major law firms in your city or state? What type of career resources and networking opportunities does your state bar or the chapter of your local marketing association offer?
We have compiled the following information for professionals who are interested in the field of legal marketing:
Law firm job search resources by state
Five tips for starting your legal job search
Tip #1: Go to the source
Job postings on sites like Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com often name the specific job recruiter associated with the particular job they are posting. While looking at the individual jobs listed, try to take notice of whether or not multiple job opportunities in your area are coming from a single source. If so, you might want to consider approaching the named recruiter to submit a resume directly. It’s all about standing out in a market and, if you can get a recruiter’s attention, it will help you stand out from the masses that work with them 100% online.
Tip #2: Don’t overlook the obvious
For law firm job searches, a great place to start is on the job market giants: Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. These sites are relied on heavily by law firms, legal consultants, and other related disciplines. You can enter a keyword or two to narrow your search and specify your preferred Category – Company – City or State to make sure you’re targeting the job that would be a perfect fit.
…And The Not So Obvious
One specialty site focused on legal careers is LawLadders.com. There’s some negative feedback online, but others swear by the site. Like the website TheLadders.com, this site specializes in law-related positions salaried at $100K and up.
Local search engines or newspapers can also be a great resource. One example is NJ.com’s job listings – a great place to find new opportunities.
Tip #3: Forget “free” and consider the fee
Some sites advertise a fee of $75 for 3 months of use by a job seeker. Before you reject the idea of a fee, look at the payoffs involved. According to all of their marketing copy, an August 2009 survey of The Ladders Premium members showed “84% of our Premium members said a successful $100K+ job search takes at least 3 months.” For an extended job search, a service is a nice way to aggregate and filter opportunities.
If do you choose to pay, make sure you read and are comfortable with the terms of the website’s Cancellation / Refund Policy before you make the leap.
Tip #4: There are “shortcuts”
You don’t always have to take the long way around to get to where you’re going. For a lightly vetted list of law firm job boards, check out a site where you’ll see a lot of your homework has been done for you: Job-hunt.org. Job-Hunt.org has obligingly compiled some lists and descriptors that might save you time and trouble and ideas for direction in your job search. Their listing includes:
- FindLaw’s Career Center (“attorney, paralegal, legal secretary, and other law related positions and internships available across the U.S. with some international. Privacy policy posted, but resumes are not collected.”).
- LawJobs (“search through their classifieds or listings collected from legal search firms. No privacy policy, and no resumes collected.”).
- LegalEmploy (“an excellent index site devoted to employment resources for the legal professions. “).
- LegalStaff (“search for attorney or legal support positions by employer or by job title and state or state/city. Privacy policy appears to have good confidentiality functions for job seekers who leave a resume. “).
Job-hunt.org also provides some helpful resources like the “Hidden Job Market”, which reveals an enormously useful (though potentially overwhelming) menu of varying recommended and qualified sources.
Tip #5: Find the resources, find the jobs
When you are using one of the major search engines to look for a law firm job, you can add certain keywords to your search that will pull associated organizations and resources to the top. These resources, in turn, are good places to learn about legal marketing jobs. When searching, add the following words to your area of interest:
- resources,
- industry info,
- events,
- online discussion groups
- career counseling
For example, search Google for “entertainment law resources” and you will see a few authoritative websites where you could build a presence. You will also see some links to sites that aggregate resources on everything from musician’s intellectual property to equine law information. All of these are potential sources of job leads.
A lot of the results you find this way will be free, and some might be Member Only. A few results we consistently see when searching for law firm job resources include:
- Legal Marketing Association
- Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
- National Association for Legal Professionals — for “members of the legal services profession, offers chapters and committees, training, and lots of other resources with a Career Center provided by LegalStaff. Minority Bar Association
- State Bar Association
- Women’s Bar Association
- American Association of Law Libraries
- American Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Law Student Division
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Association for Continuing Legal Education
- Association of Corporate Counsel
- Association of Legal Information Systems Managers
- Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association
- Federal Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers
- International Technology Law Association
- Legal Secretaries International
- Maritime Law Association of the U.S.
- National Association of Attorneys General
- National Association of College and University Attorneys
- National Association of Legal Assistants
- National Association of Women Lawyers
- National Federation of Paralegal Association
- National Paralegal Association
Indirect sources for leads and background information include:
- Airborn Law Enforcement Association
- American Civil Liberties Union
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- American Society of International Law
- American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- American Law Institute
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America
- Computer Security Institute
- National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations
- National Employment Lawyers Association
If you are a legal marketing professional looking for a job, all of these resources could be valuable. If you are a lawyer, paralegal or more focused on a law firm job in a focused area of practice, be selective about your exploration. Start by checking out the online information provided by those groups that align with your interests.
At the end of the Day
The tips listed above can help find good legal job opportunities but making your impression and sealing the deal remain to be done. Whether exploring opportunities online or offline, make sure you have a polished resume ready for distribution. Don’t be afraid to customize each submission to match the job description provided by the employer. Be confident in your interview and smile!
