Grad Fellow
Law Career Services
Have you heard of the Public Service Job Directory (PSJD)? It’s an amazing resource that helps students, recent graduates, and attorneys with their public interest career needs. PSJD not only posts job listings across the United States, but it also provides valuable resources that address a number of career-related issues and topics. Best of all it’s free to GGU students and alumni!Employer Search
PSJD’s employer search tool makes it easy to look for a list of employers practicing in specific areas of law. If you search for employers in the Advanced Search Option, you can narrow your search by location, employer name, employer type, practice area(s), and/or the number of attorneys in the office. For example, if you are looking for immigration employers in San Luis Obispo, you can select "immigration" and "San Luis Obispo" and the engine will generate a list of immigration employers in the San Luis Obispo area. Once the search engine populates the results, the user can select an individual employer profile which provides a description about that employer. In addition, employers that are currently hiring will be highlighted for your convenience.
Job Listings
In addition, PSJD’s sophisticated job listing search engine makes it easy to look for current employment opportunities. Under the Advanced Search option, you can narrow your search by location, employer name, practice area, posted timeframe, application deadline, job schedule (full time, part time, internship, contract, etc.), and job type (attorney, fellowship, etc.). Once these results are populated, you can select the job title which will provide information concerning the open position, and you can even select the employer name which will provide information on the employer itself.
Under both the Employer and Job Listing search engines, you can save individual searches for future reference, create an email notification of job postings, and select specific jobs postings as your “favorite” for easy access. Moreover, you can even share your favorite job listings with friends or email the listings to yourself through the PSJD system. In addition, users can set up reminder alerts to notify them when application deadlines approach.
Resource Center
The Resource Center provides a plethora of information concerning career matters. Under the Resource Center button, you will see nine categories: (1) Explore Your Career Options, (2) Public Sector Career Paths, (3) Applying and Interviewing, (4) Public Interest Events, (5) Pro Bono, (6) Postgraduate Fellowships, (7) Funding Sources, (8) Student Loan Repayment, and (9) Public Interest in Canada.
(1) Explore Your Career Options: Here, you will find public interest career development resources, including resources on informational interviews, networking, self-assessment, career exploration, and practice area guides. This section is particularly helpful to people who are still deciding on which area of law they would like to practice in, or people who are changing their practice to a new area of law. In addition, under the “Exploration” sub-label, there is information on Social Entrepreneurships (organizations that innovatively solve community problems) and funding ideas.
(2) Public Sector Career Paths: This section provides information on various public interest career opportunities in government institutions, non-profit organizations, public interest law firms, think tanks/policy organizations, and international sectors. Under each option, you will find an array of resources describing these areas, along with resources on how to obtain employment in these areas.
(3) Applying and Interviewing: Under this segment, you will discover a number of resources (including a webinar) on drafting cover letters and resumes. You will also find helpful interviewing and networking recommendations.
(4) Public interest Events: Here, you can check out the PSJD calendar which highlights public interest events and career fairs across America.
(5) Pro Bono: If you have questions about pro bono requirements in your state, or volunteer opportunities, refer to this tab. Under the volunteer options you can locate a list of organizations that frequently seek out pro bono volunteers.
(6) Postgraduate Fellowships: This section provides resources on various types of paid fellowships for law school graduates. It not only lists available fellowships, but it provides fellowship comparison charts, a guide to obtaining a fellowship, and tips from former fellows. In addition, users can access an application deadline calendar to keep track of their fellowship applications.
(7) Funding Sources: Here, users can access information on how to fund their public interest career, a summer internship, and postgraduate position. It also provides information on fun, cheap activities in various locations within the United States.
(8) Student Loan Repayment: In this section, users have access to a student loan payment calculator, debt and loan repayment information, information on debt basics, a guide to law school LRAPs, and a guide on the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
(9) Public Interest in Canada: Here, users can locate careers in the public sector, pro bono resources, and public interest articling in Canada.
As you can see, PSJD offers numerous resources to help you along your career path. This invaluable resource is usually accessible for a fee; however, it is free to Golden Gate University School of Law students and alumni. To obtain your free account, you merely need to indicate that you are from Golden Gate University School of Law at the time you register. So take advantage of PSJD today and every day!
Click here to access the PSJD website.
