3L Timeline

Summer Break Prior to 3L Year

• Update and upload your resume on Symplicity to include your summer work experience and your Spring Semester grades. Consult with your career counselor to maximize the impact of your resume.
• If you believe your post-2L summer position will not result in permanent employment, apply on Symplicity for Early Fall and Regular Fall OCI and attend one of the off-campus job fairs in Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and North Carolina .
• Research small and medium-sized firms which do not participate in OCI, selecting firms which match your interests and skills, and create a target list of those to which you may want to contact for potential employment. Consult with your career counselor to make certain your list is appropriate and comprehensive. Begin networking, including informational interviewing and joining local bar associations, e.g., to create relationships to help you reach your target employers and to continue to edit and expand your target list.
• Research and explore state judicial clerkships at http://vermontlaw.edu/career/index.cfm?doc_id=93. Click on "Access the Guide" and then go to specific state. (Username and Password)
• Map out your preferred career plan for after graduation and a back-up plan. Know the hiring time-frames for employers you are targeting.
• Research all bar exam deadlines in the states you are considering practicing law.
• Complete Public Interest Fellowship Applications. Contact Cybele Smith for guidance.
• Complete the federal clerkship application process. Contact Cybele Smith for guidance.
• Consider applying for the Federal Government Honors Programs. For application and deadline information go to www.law.arizona.edu/career/honorshandbook.cfm. (Username and Password)
• Consider applying for the Department of Justice Honors Attorney Program.
• Complete the Student Summer Employment Survey. If you have accepted employment, notify Career Services so it does not bombard you with unwanted offers to assist you.

Fall Semester

• Participate in regular OCI.
• Apply to local employers for school-year jobs to enhance opportunities for full-time offers.
• Send letters to selected law firms that are not participating OCI between Aug. 1 - Aug. 15. Focus on two or three markets where you would seriously consider taking the bar exam. For a free mail merge, contact Career Services.
• Apply for state judicial clerkships. For an on-line guide, see http://vermontlaw.edu/career/index.cfm?doc_id=93. Click on "Access the Guide" and then go to specific state. (Username and Password)
• Plan to attend job fairs around the country that match your interests, background, and/or specialties.
• Apply for public interest fellowships with early application deadlines.
• Sign up for Jobs Now so that Career Services can e-mail you about 3L job search strategies.
• Sign up for Special Delivery so that Career Services can e-mail you about job openings in your targeted market.
• Continue to build your network; stay in touch regularly with your contacts. Consider joining the local bar association and any working substantive committees of interest in the market(s) you would like to work.
• Request reciprocity through Career Services so you can use other law schools' Career Services offices during Winter Break.
• Make an appointment with Career Services to brainstorm about job opportunities and strategies that you may not have considered.
• Follow up by phone or e-mail with employers to whom you have sent cover letters. Schedule interviews for Winter Break.

Winter Break

• Gather information about the legal practice in your preferred city. Review local legal publications.
• Conduct informational interviews with contacts in your preferred city. Career Services can help you develop a list of contacts.

Early Spring Semester

• Update and upload your resume on Symplicity to include your work experience and your Fall Semester grades.
• For Ohio, file an Application to take the bar exam. See www.sconet.state.oh.us/admissions.
• Bar loans are available for up to a year after graduation through private lenders. Check with Financial Aid if you need more information.
• Continue to check Symplicity announcements and on-line job postings weekly.
• If interested in federal clerkships, continue to monitor the judicial clerkship lists for updated announcements. Contact Cybele Smith for guidance.
• Participate in Spring On-Campus Interviews in March.
• Talk to professors in the substantive areas you enjoy about your job search and ask about any contacts they may have.
• Follow up by phone or e-mail with employers to whom you have sent cover letters. Schedule interviews for Winter Break.

Spring Break

• Interview with out-of-state employers, specifically government and non-profit employers and small/medium firms who do not recruit in the fall.
• Network! Network! Network! If this is difficult for you, Career Services can help you get started.

Late Spring Semester

• Check Symplicity often because employers contact Career Services with late-breaking job opportunities throughout the Spring.
• Talk to your current employer about permanent employment or other job leads.
• Apply to state judicial clerkships with 3L Spring deadlines.
• Apply to public interest positions with late deadlines.
• Identify and apply to small firms. Call to determine hiring needs.
• Continue to strategize with Career Services. Career Services continually refers students to employers throughout the year, but we have to know you are still looking.
• Identify and consider applying to legal temporary agencies in the market(s) where you would like to work.
• Complete a Career Services Exit Interview and NALP form. If you have accepted employment, notify Career Services so it does not bombard you with unwanted career assistance.
• Keep in contact with Career Services for assistance with your job search after graduation. We hear of leads all the time!

After Graduation

• Prepare for and take bar exam.
• Stay active by developing a plan of activity each week.
• Join and take active role in local bar association and relevant committees, including new lawyers committees.
• Begin or develop your social media presence, write articles, start a blog, add to your resume.
• Volunteer.
• Investigate contract work; research legal temporary agencies.
• Use informational interviewing to meet new practitioners and to expand your networks.
• Review the 3L timeline tips above to re-visit researching employers, job search opportunities and sites.