What New Law School Graduates Can Expect In Their Legal Job Search

It is every student’s dream to land on a job closely related to what he has studied. For the case of law school graduates, they would likely want to land a job at a top law firm. But are there jobs for them? What is the legal job situation that awaits them? How can law school graduates land a solid legal job nowadays?

The Legal Industry Crisis

The legal industry is quite saturated already. There are more lawyers than available legal jobs. The percentage of job openings for new lawyers is only at least half of the number of law school graduates. This is not the case in America alone. In many countries worldwide, law seems to be one of the most studied degrees but with the lowest job availability post graduation. New law school graduates must anticipate challenge in their legal job search.

Another thing that law school graduates should anticipate, is that legal jobs may pay lower than what they may have expected. Attending a law school is costly and the current trend for legal job salaries may not be enough to pay off law school expenses right away. Don’t expect to be able to find a legal job that will pay off all your law school expenses within just a year or two.

Because most clients pay for the experience a lawyer has to bring to the table, law school graduates must expect that when they apply for an entry level legal job, the pay will be lower. This can go on for 6 months or a year depending on the law firm that they have applied to. This is also a cost cutting measure for law firms who often have a large applicant pool to choose from.

Can New Law School Graduates Still Land A Decent Legal Job?

They certainly can! Legal job searches for new law school graduates will be challenging, but it doesn’t mean that they will no longer be able to find a legal job or that they have to settle for other jobs not related to what they have studied. Legal jobs are still available for qualified graduates.

But law students must still be prepared and anticipate the challenge. Law students must build up their resume while they are still students. They should look to impress potential firms with their student credentials. Law firms are looking for lawyers who have strong academic records, community involvement, and experience working in the legal setting, especially if they are fresh graduates. Take a look at Lawmatch’s resume advice for recent law school graduates and lawyers post.

As long as new law graduates are academically impressive, with strong interpersonal skills, self starters, knowledgeable, and confident there will be opportunities for legal employment. Don’t forget to create a free job seeker profile on Lawmatch to better allow top law firms to find you and your resume. Keep up to date on changes in the legal job search industry on Lawmatch’s legal job search Facebook and Twitter accounts too!