Graduate Fellow
Law Career Development
Made it all the way to the final semester of law school career and still feeling stressed? Ever wonder why you’re feeling this way when you took all your required courses and purposefully made your last semester easier?
You may be feeling stressed in terms of what the future looks like. Whether it’s preparing for the bar or searching for a post-bar position, stress can take a toll on you if you let it. The key is not to funnel the stress from one chapter of your life to the next. Once you close a chapter of your life, let it remain closed, and begin the next chapter of your life with a fresh start. For example, once you graduate from law school, don’t take the stress you had in law school with you to bar preparation. Once you take the bar, don’t take the stress from the bar with you to your job search.
To prevent stress from controlling you, figure out early on how you deal with stress. For more information on how to handle stress, read my blog post on How to Handle Stress in the Legal Profession. As a law student, we are trained to analyze, come up with arguments, and counterarguments. While this tool is useful in our legal profession, it could be harmful for our personal lives.
I, for one, can analyze and re-analyze a situation ten-fold, which ultimately drives me crazy. Doing so leaves me feeling stressed and I carry that stress around with me. However, I learned to manage the stress by letting go of it. There are situations that will always be out of your control, so let it remain that way. Don’t try to control or obsess over the little details that you have no control over.
A good example is the bar. Know that you prepared for the bar and did the best that you could. Regardless of whether you passed or not, it’s not the end of the world. You simply have to retake the bar if you don’t. It’s easier said than done, but you didn’t go through 3-4 years of law school to quit now. In addition, don’t let your fear of not passing the bar prevent you from your job search. You can still do everything that an attorney does; the only difference is that you can’t appear in court. Keep your head up high and keep moving forward!
Employment Report & Salary Survey (ERSS)
Shortly after you take the bar, you’ll receive a message via phone call or email from Law Career Development (LCD) in regards to your employment status. The purpose of this inquiry is not to harass you. The ABA and the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), which require that all accredited law schools to report employment information for each recent graduate. Failure to provide accurate and complete employment information could subject GGU to an ABA audit that may impact GGU’s accreditation. Your individual response is confidential and only the aggregate data is reported to the ABA and NALP.
When you receive an inquiry from LCD, answer the ABA survey completely. If the survey is incomplete, you’ll get additional emails and/or phone calls until it is complete since the ABA does not accept incomplete surveys. The survey questions are quick and painless, so I recommend getting the survey done and over with.
Lastly, don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a job lined up because you’re not the only one. Start by checking LCDonline for job postings or make an appointment with a LCD counselor. They’re there to help you!
