Page 31 - FDCC - You're Hired!

You’re Hired! Job Hunting Advice For Law Students and Young Lawyers
How Should You Use a Recruiter?
If you decide to use a recruiter, how should you use them? First, listen to them. They’ll provide you insight about the current job market, what firms are looking for, tips for your cover letters, resumes and writing samples and will provide you context and encouragement for your job search. Once you send them a resume, writing sample and law school transcript, you likely won’t hear from them unless they have an opportunity they want to share with you. Depending on the job market, your qualifications and the strength of your resume, you may receive a lot of calls or e-mails from them or you may not. Consider a recruiter as a supplement to your personal efforts to secure a job. They compliment what you’re doing, not replace it. If you don’t hear from them at all, it’s ok to check in with them, but only occasionally. If they have an opportunity for you, trust me, they will let you know.
Should you Use Multiple Recruiters?
Recruiters may balk at this suggestion, but I generally recommend you work with more than just one. Different recruiters have different relationships with different firms. Different recruiters offer different perspectives and advice on the job market. Different recruiters approach placement differently. It behooves you to have more resources, not fewer. When working with multiple recruiters, make sure you don’t have more than one recruiter submit your resume to the same employers. A legitimate recruiter will ask for your permission before sending your resume to any prospective employer. If they ask about an employer another recruiter has already sent your resume to, let them know. Will some recruiters spend less time on you if you’re working with other recruiters? Possibly. Is that a risk worth taking? I would.
What Recruiters Do and Don’t Do
Recruiters help you land a job at a firm or company with whom they have a relationship. Recruiters, the proactive ones, try to establish new relationships with new firms all the time. They cold-call and cold-e-mail, and ask their contacts to reach out to their contacts, and bring additional firms into their stable of prospective clients. They help you land jobs at those firms.
Think of them as car dealerships. I go to a Honda dealership, and I can ask to see Honda Odyssey minivans. I cannot ask to see BMW coupes. And so when you work with recruiters, know they
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SECTION 05 RECRUITERS