Summer is Over… What now?

The end of summer is nigh and your summer employment is coming to an end. Some students will receive full-time offers. If you do, congratulations! Please tell CSO about it! For those of you who do not have offers for future employment, do not fret. The number of students receiving full-time employment prior to graduation has decreased across the country in recent years, so you are in good company.  The advice below applies equally to everyone.

As the new school year approaches and you settle in to your reading rooms and ready yourselves for the intellectual journey you will soon embark on, use these four simple tips below to leverage your summer experiences moving forward.

1)      Keep a list of contacts you made over the summer and keep in touch.  If you have not already created a contacts spreadsheet, go ahead and create one.  You can use the sample located at your documents tab on Symplicity.  Keep in touch with the attorneys you worked with and update them as you progress in school / your job search.  Use those contacts to keep learning from them and as a source for additional information and to meet new people.

2)      Reflect on your experiences over the summer.  Think about what you did, who you worked with, and what you did and did not enjoy.  Take what you have learned and use it as you move forward.  If you have specific people you enjoyed or areas of the law at which you excelled, consider how that might affect your job search, the area in which you practice, and your efforts moving forward.

3)      Send thank you letters to the attorneys and staff with whom you worked closely over the summer.  They invested a lot of time and energy into you.  A quick thank you letter is appropriate and would be welcomed.  Check out CSO’s Thank You Letter Guide located on Symplicity under your documents tab.

4)      Update your resume immediately while your summer position is still fresh in your mind.

By keeping these things in mind, you will be able to build upon your experiences for the future.

 

Tagged: employers, job search strategy, networking, professionalism, summer associates