If you’re in law school, perhaps you’ve seen other students show up to class in unnecessarily professional clothes – as if they just landed a great internship, or even a real job.

Kudos to them for getting out there and making connections, but if you want to be one of them, you’re going to have to develop yourself and your style. Here are a few tips that law students shouldn’t overlook in today’s increasingly competitive market for lawyers.

Network

First things first: you must network. Besides business school, no other educational experience relies on good networking than law school.

Keep Your Facebook Clean

This should go without saying, but many law students and lawyers get ruined by their own social media carelessness. With social media as pervasive as it is, there really is no deniability any more.

Get Tipsy, but Not Drunk

This one tends to overlaps with keeping your social media clean. The most fruitful of professional growth encounters are usually done over alcohol. When people are drinking, they tend to loosen up, say things they wouldn’t normally say, make offers they wouldn’t normally offer – like job opportunities. Being tipsy makes you enjoyable and agreeable. But if you cross the line and end up drunk, you become a potential liability. Watch your booze.

Be Persistent, Not Needy

Finding a job opportunity is a lot like dating. Persistent can be good. Being needy is a turn-off. Again, this is not fair because some people just have naturally magnetic qualities and they have a leg-up. But you’re working to be a lawyer and you know the world isn’t fair.

Experience Makes up for a Lot

Not everyone can be in the top quintile of the class, but there are ways you can make up for this shortfall. One way is experience. Many of you know that when you’re looking for a job, simply having enough experience opens up doors.

Related Resources:

  • Law Students Need Professional Development, Too (Law Practice Today)
  • 5 Tips for a New Lawyer’s 1st Professional Dinner Party (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)
  • Tips for Handling Free Advice Seekers (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)

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