\par It's Possible! \par

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It's Possible!

Recently, the Spring 2014 starters attended the 2nd Quarter CDO meeting, and we felt the response to the content presented merited more discussion. For everyone else you may or may not remember your 2Q CDO meetin\par ]]>\par
  • “How could you ask such a ridiculous task of us?” – It’s not ridiculous. It’s simple networking, and professionals (of which you are in training to be) do it every day.
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  • “Is that even possible?” – Yes, but that’s not what’s really important. What matters is that you recognize, right now, that the quantity and (more importantly) quality of your network is critical to your job search. If you recognize that and take at least some action to develop that network while in law school, you will be better off and give yourself a much better chance at your desired job.
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  • “Where would I even begin?” This one is actually fairly easy: attend CDO events. Over the past three quarters I count that we brought in 12 attorneys to speak at various programs. If you just attended those programs, introduced yourself to the speaker(s) afterwards and then followed up, you would pretty much have the entire year done. In addition, how about asking your family/close friends if they know/have ever used an attorney. Have the family member/friend make an email introduction and you’re off to the races. Another great one is to attend a Baylor Law Alumni Event. Berkley Knas (Director of Alumni Relations) has been gracious to invite students to attend one of these quarterly receptions in Dallas, Houston, Austin and Fort Worth. There are usually between 40 and 70 Baylor Lawyers in attendance; you could knock out an entire year’s worth of network additions in one night! (Calendar of events here; email Berkley here) Right there are three easy, simple ways to meet the networking suggestions we made in our action plan. And note not one of those involved any type of cold calling, etc. You can do this!
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  • “Why is that even necessary?” – Two reasons. First, with a few exceptions most of you will get your first job through some type of connection. Fair or unfair, that’s just the way the world works (not just in law). The only job I ever got by filling out an application or responding to a posting, without out some personal connection, was for a grocery store checker when I was 16. Personal connections are even more critical in a down job market, when employers have plenty of applicants for open positions. Second, at some point in your career you are going to have to bring in clients if you’re going to advance. How are you going to do this? For most people, it means you are going to have to join organizations, volunteer in the local bar, take people to lunch, etc. in order to establish a personal connection with people. Potential clients won’t hire or recommend you without this critical piece. So by networking while in law school, you are not only improving your job search possibilities, but also beginning a long career of developing relationships and building your own base of clients. Oh, and the two are related. Most employers will want to see that a candidate has the potential to develop their own clients down the road.
  • \par Hopefully this helps take some of the shock away, and provides some practical first steps in adding to your personal network. Also, we will be providing more tools to assist you along the way, and are always willing to visit with you one-on-one. You can do this! It’s definitely possible!\par \par Connect with Daniel at Daniel_Hare@Baylor.edu and/or @BaylorLawDaniel on Twitter.\par \par Job of the Week: Each week I highlight a job in Symplicity you might be interested in but may have missed. This week's job is: Intake Specialist at Zinda & Davis in Austin (1L, 2L) Log in to Symplicity to view this job and apply. \par ]]>\par

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