23 September 2009
5 Tips for Unemployed Law Graduates
Don’t panic! The sky has not fallen yet!
This year a lot of law students received a rather harsh ‘welcome to the real world’ moment when, after three, four or five years of training at law school, they came through the graduate recruitment process without an offer.
Law firms might be brave enough to come out and say they’re not going to reduce their summer clerkships and that everything is fine but anyone who knows a final year law student knows better. This year was a tough one. So what can we soon-to-be-unemployed-layabouts do to make things better?
1. Keep Studying
There are a number of opportunities for graduates who haven’t yet become allergic to the university lifestyle (that is, tuna-from-the-can and drinking cask wine). The Australian National University, ranked 16 in the Top 400 Colleges in the World, offers a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies. It is a one year course and can be an alternate pathway into being admitted in all Australian jurisdictions.
Edit: I don’t know why I originally wrote that this was a one year course, it isn’t. It is very flexible and you can tailor it to your needs.
Another alternate pathway is the national College of Law Program. This can be done externally, full time or part time. It’s not really a way of continuing the university lifestyle, but I suppose you could probably get a group of your other unemployed law-grad mates and get through the course while at your law library or tavern.
2. Dazzle the Public Service
Most graduates have probably already given this a go, but a few of you may have limited your options to the law firms around town. Expand your horizons and apply to the public service. Even if you’ve always set your goal on a commercial law firm, experience within the public service, either in a legal or policy related role, can only serve you well in the long run.
The National APS Jobs Website can be an excellent tool to find what jobs are available around the country. Also keep an eye on the Federal Court of Australia Website and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Website. Don’t forget about your state solicitors, too!
3. Volunteer
So long as you’re sitting around not being paid, why not find a volunteer organisation that can not-pay you while you do something worthwhile.
Obviously there are the big sexy volunteer organisations like Red Cross and the Salvation Army – but don’t ignore the opportunities around you in your community.
Also remember to check if places like Legal Aid and the Aboriginal Legal Service can take you on. These are larger organisations so they might not be able to squeeze you in on the fly, but if you make it clear that you’re willing to work for zero pay and you will bring your own tea and biscuits perhaps they can make use of you.
4. Travel
Because the world needs more loud mouthed, drunk Australian tourists. Contiki is basically like a right of passage these days and you might not have a spare 12 months for quite a while.
5. Be Generally Awesome
If you’re super determined to get out there and find yourself the perfect job then you need to be proactive about it. You must break out from your comfort zone and make things happen. Try to think outside the square and find a way to prove to prospective employers that you’re worth taking on.
Remember that it costs an employer a considerable amount of money to take on a law graduate and you’re essentially worthless. You don’t know jack yet and you’re probably going to make their life more difficult. So you need to come up with something that will make you worth the investment.
So – this is just five things that you could try. There’s many more (but apparently people’s brains explode unless everything is in ‘Top 5′ list format).
If you have suggestions then feel free to send them in to us!
Related posts:
- 2009 Green Grads Review
- Tech Tips: Google Profile
- Tech Tips: The Dangers of Facebook
- On Being a Recession Graduate
- List of Helpful Podcasts
