On the Importance of 2L Job Hunting

You finished your 1L, congratulations! now it is time to select classes for your second year which is colloquially known as the 2Hell year. This year is difficult because it is a new year and model of studying the law, and it is a job hunting year for a lot of provinces (like Saskatchewan, my home province).

A few nice calm weeks after your 1L final exams and receiving grades, the marathon for the next year starts. For me, it began with course selection in June, applying for summer jobs in August and September for the summer of 2L, and ended with formal article recruits in SK, AB, BC, and ON. This little summary of my second year needed a lot of work, dedication, and determination in advance of each stage.

First and foremost, take a deep breath, relax, and book an appointment with your career office at your university. They are the number one line of help for the busy applications market of the 2L across the country. Our wonderful Ms. Shari Thompson, the Director of Career Development at the College of Law at USASK, had the dates of each market’s deadlines, the contact information of the recruiters in law firms, and students and lawyers who work there.

In your appointment with your career development office, make sure that you write down the different (and confusing) deadlines for each market. For example, Calgary 2L summer jobs are the first in the upcoming September. The article positions for Calgary and Saskatchewan go live in the winter, with the deadlines after the second term’s final exams. As you can see, a law student will be busy preparing their application for a market almost every other month. Therefore, if you do not keep track of the deadlines and the applications of each market in advance, you will find yourself very confused, stressed, and behind (and let me tell you this, that if there is a formal recruit via viLaw Portal, that system is not very forgiving for missing a due date).

Next, start contacting the law firms as early as possible. I started talking with recruiters in Calgary in the summer before my 2L, and they were impressed that I had started my research and connection building in advance. This approach showed them that I am serious in my job finding and am putting the time and determination to present myself as best as possible. This method, at least for me, paid off and gave the recruiters a good first impression: they remembered my name when application due dates came.

After creating a timeline of the recruiting markets, it is time to start building your application packages. If you need to order official transcripts, do them as soon as possible, you never know when your orders will get stuck behind the backlogs. Next, clean up your resume. You should add any information that you have acquired in the past year. A lot of people started a legal (or other types of) jobs, some people picked up a hobby like sports or music, or they have had some sort of academic achievement. It is always best to spend a few hours on your resume and look at it with a fresh eye.

Then comes the mighty cover letter. I started to create a template for myself. For example, I did not want to spend time on the document formatting when the due dates were around, so I saved the proper format, headings, salutations, and thank you/goodbye lines in advance. Also, I pre-wrote some of the parts I knew I would want to tell every firm in advance, but I left a few blank lines for each firm so I could tailor it to them specifically later on. It is also a good practice to have someone else read your cover letter so they can spot weaknesses and parts to improve.

Now that I had my documents in order, it was time to research the firms and the markets. I am a mobile person, so the destination wasn’t much of a question for me; I wanted to work in either a big law firm with the areas I liked or a medium law firm for its work-life balance. I highly advise that you consider all of these when considering where to apply. For example, I am not good with criminal law because I do not have the heart for it. Therefore, I did not apply to criminal law boutique firms. Researching law firms is a very time-consuming task. Therefore, you should make sure that you have a dedicated time slot for it during your week to look at the firms’ websites and extract the information you need.

I cannot stress it enough for the interview process to practice your interview skills with a friend, in front of a mirror, or going to your career office. I tried to expose myself to a variety of possible questions as much as possible. This would allow me to familiarize myself with any possible questions that might come up during the actual interview.

In the interviews, do not forget to smile and have fun. Most of my interviews were in an informal format that was like a casual conversation about the life of a lawyer and what I wanted to do and learn in a job. Also, it is OKAY if you are not so sure about what you want to do, as I was not and still do not know. But, I turned that into a positive attribute and would tell the recruiters that I am open to learning about different areas of the law as much as possible. I am excited to be exposed to everything their firm can provide me with. This way, you show that you have an open mind and are willing to learn the ways.

The above list is a repetition of what we have heard before and during law school. But what makes 2L special is that you will be coming to the job hunting process multiple times during your year. Remember, the 2L recruitment season is a marathon; those who pace themselves and make informed decisions will succeed. Good Luck!