Holiday Presents and Healthy Presence

By Alexander Hoyt-Heydon
Law Career Development Graduate Fellow

In my last entry, I talked briefly about the importance of keeping yourself healthy to help let your body do what it does best. A little over a year ago, the LCD blog posted a fantastic article about TED talks to watch before your next interview, as well as an article about networking during the holiday season. What do each of these have to do with each other? You might not realize it, but your personal health and well-being has a direct impact on your ability to network and find a job. How well you take care of yourself not only influences the way you feel about yourself, but also how those that you meet feel about you. Health is a key to your personal success in life.

Prior to attending Golden Gate University, I was a bartender, and to earn a little extra money during law school, I worked for a staffing agency that would routinely send me out to bar-tend for catered events all throughout the Bay Area. At one of these events, a tech company was hosting a guest speaker as she toured the country promoting her upcoming book. That speaker was Amy Cuddy, a professor and researcher at Harvard Business School, and her new book is about how nonverbal behavior and snap judgments affect people. If that name sounds familiar to you, it’s because her TED talk on how Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are, as well as her popularization of the ‘Wonder Woman’ pose, have made her one of the most watched TED talks over the last couple of years. As luck would have it, I was able to snag an advanced copy of her new book, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, and read it 2 months before its expected date of release.

Rejection is Part of the Process – Learn and Overcome

by Andrew Artelt
LCS Intern

Rejection can make many cringe, especially law students and recent graduates. Up to this point in your life, you may have been spared from professional rejection, but it is almost guaranteed to occur at some point in your job search. However, with all the negative that rejection brings, there is a significant amount of benefit that can come as well.

In the October 2013 Edition of ABA’s Student Lawyer, Erin Binns outlines how to manage the feelings associated with rejection during a job search and improve as a candidate:

• Express Continued Interest. Be proactive! If you feel that you had a strong interview and received good feedback, keep this employer on your radar. Apply again at a future time. Employers have indicated that they are more likely to hire applicants who are persistent over time because it shows enthusiasm for the position and organization. When you reapply, you will have more legal skills and the competition will be different.
  
  
• Trust your instincts. After a strong interview in which you felt the position was yours but you did not receive an offer, reach out to the employer. Setting up an informational interview to learn about the employer’s experiences and perspectives could potentially lead you to a position in the future.
  
  
• Be patient and take action. As law students, we are used to the fast-paced environment of law school. However, the job search and hiring process can take weeks, months, or even semesters, before an employer makes a decision. To overcome this, it is critical to continually express an ongoing interest when you do not hear back and check in from time to time with the interviewing parties.
  
  
• Don’t internalize your search. If applying for multiple positions, you cannot let the feelings of frustration or disappointment that come from rejections poison your other prospects. Try not to view rejection as a personal failure. Remember, very few attorneys actually make the hiring decision; understand that while some may not appreciate a specific personality or experience, it is not a fatal flaw.
  
  
• Assess and Learn. It is extremely important that throughout the entire job search process that you take a step back, relax, and take inventory of what has happened so that you can improve. In doing this, contact LCS so that we can assist with your self-evaluation and help prepare for future interview opportunities.

Remember and recognize this simple truth: rejection is most likely a “statement of ‘not now’ rather than ‘not ever.’”

Don't be scared, LCS has you covered!

by Andrew Artelt
LCS Intern

With Halloween quickly approaching, tricks and treats abound, especially when it comes to your job search. As a future law school graduate, the job market may even be downright frightening. To add to it, your resume or cover letter may even have some unwanted cobwebs that need to be cleaned up.

Here at Law Career Services, we want to remind you of all the treats that we give out not only during the Halloween season, but on a daily basis:

• Job Postings – While working at LCS, I have been able to see the many potential job experiences located throughout the Bay Area, nation, and even internationally! It is so easy to forget to log into your LCSonline account and sift through the many job postings that are added on a daily basis. You can easily set up a Job Agent defined by geographic preference areas so that you automatically receive emails whenever a job posting in your preferred area is created. To set this up, log onto LCSonline, click “My Profile,” then click “Academic,” and finally, click “Automatic Email Notifications – Geographic Preference Areas.” Now you are set up with three geographic preference areas from anywhere in the world!
• Twitter and the LCS blog – If you’re reading this, you have found our blog. On the LCS blog, we not only post great articles written by the LCS staff, but also share networking opportunities and information regarding upcoming job fairs. Also, to make job searches even more convenient for students, LCS has created a Twitter account which has tweets about every new job that we post on LCSonline. Follow us and receive our tweets at @GGULCS.
• Handouts – Many times, we need a quick and efficient fix in our job search. For some, the issue may be a cover letter, others a resume. Either way, LCS has you covered with handouts that show many helpful tips! Come to the LCS office to see our display stand full of helpful information or access them via our electronic Resource Library in LCSonline.
• On-campus Information Sessions – LCS plans countless information sessions throughout the semester that focus on how to find jobs and different career paths. Many of these sessions are conveniently held during the lunch hour and are often recorded for those who cannot attend. These videos can be found on our YouTube page here.
• Career Counseling Sessions – The foundation of LCS is our career counseling. Our counselors were all once practicing attorneys. They have a wide variety of backgrounds that can help students find their perfect fit and assist with any job search matters that may surprise you along the way. We recommend that all students meet with an LCS counselor at least once a semester to make sure your career development plans stay on track.

Regardless of whether you say “Trick” or “Treat,” LCS has plenty to offer.

The Inside Take on Interviews

by Jared Solovay 
Director of Employer Relations

Last week I moderated an Interview Skills panel here at GGU. The three attorneys on the panel--from a land use law firm, a government agency, and a public interest organization--all play an active role in hiring law students, and offered their insights to help students prepare for their upcoming interviews. Here were some of the highlights:

• Research the employer ahead of time. It doesn't need to be arcane details, but show that you're invested in the opportunity by learning about the employer's work. Possible sources include the employer's web site, student evaluations on LCSonline, news articles, and Westlaw/Lexis case searches by attorney name.


• Some employers will be Googling you before your interview. Be prepared to chat about that archeology trip you took to Costa Rica five years ago, or whatever the case may be. If you’re worried the interviewer will be finding anything questionable, read our handout entitled "Managing Your Digital Dirt," which can be found in our office or the LCSonline resource library. Relax and be yourself. If you got the interview, it means you're qualified for the job. The interview is more about how you click with the employer.


• Include an Interests section at the bottom of your resume to give you and the interviewer something else to talk about besides the law. Whether it be your enjoyment of watching Wes Anderson movies, taking spinning classes, playing with your labradoodle, reading The Wall Street Journal, cooking Turkish food, hiking in The Presidio, or traveling to the Pacific Northwest, this sort of information makes you more memorable and helps the employer connect with you on a more personal level. But remember, anything on your resume is fair game for an interview question, so don’t put something down if it’s not a genuine interest.


• Be prepared to ask questions. Many employers ask students if they have questions at the end of an interview. It won't be a dealbreaker if you say no, but it can be an awkward note to end on. Try asking about the employer or the internship (the firm culture, how work is assigned, the kinds of projects you'd get to work on, etc.). The more these questions demonstrate your knowledge of the employer, the better. Remember, LCS is here to help.

If you have an upcoming interview, review our Interview handout on LCSonline and book an appointment with us to help you prepare. In addition to strategizing about the interview, we can do a mock interview and then give you feedback.

Stress Management

by Jessica Crawley, Esq.
LCS Graduate Fellow

With bar results just around the corner, it may be a difficult time to absorb career development and job search advice, thus we turn to the topic of taking care of yourself. Law is a demanding profession with a high level of burnout. This next week is an opportunity to put one or more of these stress management techniques into practice, and then take them forward with you into your legal career.

Physical activity can ease stress, clear the mind, improve sleep, and naturally boost your mood. Even short brisk walks can relieve stress.

Yoga is an excellent way to relieve stress. It combines many of the benefits of breathing, muscle relaxation, and meditation while toning and stretching the muscles. It also elevates mood and improves concentration and the ability to focus. Check out Yoga on the Labyrinth at Grace Cathedral's FREE yoga classes on Tuesdays every week from May 10 until Tuesday May 31 at 6:15 pm.

Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. Whenever you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed by daily events, stop and inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale slowly through your mouth to the count of 10. Practice this regularly throughout the day and you'll find yourself better able to diffuse your stressful moments.

Meditation can be used to reduce stress by focusing your attention and eliminating the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. The Shambhala Meditation Center offers FREE meditation instruction every week on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and at Sunday's Open House. Also, the San Francisco Buddhist Center offers Drop-In Introduction to Buddhist Meditation classes weekly on Thursdays from 7 to 9 pm.

Laughter lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones and boosts your immune function. Watch a funny movie, go to a stand up comedy night or just laugh with friends.

Maintain Perspective. You may be increasing your anxiety level if you are engaging in all-or-nothing thinking. Remind yourself that the bar exam does not say anything about your value as a person and that not passing the first time is survivable.

Be Nice to Yourself. If you have been scrimping by on a shoestring budget while waiting for results, this would be a good week to treat yourself to a movie, dinner with non-law school friends, or a massage. And don't neglect the basics of self-care! Get enough sleep, eat well, connect with loved ones, and find a way to have some fun.

For more fun, free or affordable upcoming events in San Francisco and around the Bay Area, visit FunCheapSF.

De-Stress in 10 Minutes or Less

"People who live busy lives (editor's note: LAW STUDENTS) find themselves in a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to de-stressing throughout the day. On the one hand, they have a really busy schedule which makes it feel like it’s impossible to take the time to de-stress. On the other hand, that busy schedule creates the stress that requires them to need de-stressing more than the rest of us. Unfortunately, if they do take too much time to de-stress, they sacrifice their schedules and then end up more stressed because they took the time to supposedly relax. What a stressful cycle to be wrapped up in!
Luckily, it is possible to break this cycle..."

CLICK HERE to read 10 Ways to De-Stress in 10 Minutes or Less.