Law Schools

What This Career Services Officer Does On His (Non) Summer Vacation

Rest assured that like the rest of the law school, Career Services will be working through the heat of the summer.

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Exams have finished.  Graduating students have walked across the stage to get their diploma.  Members of the faculty have gone off to grade their Kilimanjaro-sized stacks of final exams.  In other words, summer is finally here.

With rising 2Ls and 3Ls off at their summer jobs and orientation for the Class of 2021 months away, surely the lights are off in the law school, right?  Well, not exactly.  While summer can change some aspects of the work week routine (e.g., my wardrobe becomes far more polo shirt-centric), Career Services, along with much of the rest of any law school, is open for business all summer long.  So, what exactly do we do when there are no students stopping into the office?  Well . . . a lot.

Perhaps foremost among summer tasks is tracking down employment outcomes for those students who just graduated.  As I have mentioned before, an inordinate amount of a CSO’s time is spent compiling data on student employment, which is then provided to the American Bar Association, U.S. News, NALP, etc.  The rationale behind this information gathering is quite solid, providing prospective students with actual data as to what sorts of jobs they might expect to land if they attend a particular law school.  However, the righteousness of the inquiry does not make the collection process any easier.  Often times, especially until permanent employment starts in the Fall, the only source of information will be from the graduates themselves.  So, if you recently graduated and discover an email from your CSO, no, they are not callously trying to interrupt your bar prep, they likely just need to know about your employment plans.  Pause Chemerinsky’s Con Law lecture for a minute and write a quick email back.

The summer also provides Career Services with an opportunity to take stock of the previous school year.  What programming worked and should be brought back next year?  Which were not very helpful to students or are a bit dated in 2018?  What new topics have bubbled up in the legal community and need to be addressed?  While the level of information sharing between schools is perhaps not at the same level as found in professional sports — unlike Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, I am unlikely to spend a week this summer at the Oregon Law, or given Chip Kelly’s new home, at UCLA Law — CSOs will often reach out to colleagues at other law schools to get a sense of how they are approaching a particular issue.

Not surprisingly, a large chunk of the summer is taken up with preparations for the coming Fall recruiting cycle, though the term “Fall” can be a bit of a misnomer as on-campus interviews seem to be trapped in a never-ending push forward as legal employers want to make sure they are getting the first possible opportunity to snap up what they perceive to be the best talent.  Add onto that the pre-OCI hiring process, be it through job fairs or even school specific regional interview programs.  Here at Vanderbilt, we have five pre-OCI interview programs in: New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, and Dallas.  While the hope is that participants, both student and employer, view the job fair as effortless, rest assured that a good amount of planning and effort goes into making that vision a reality.  The same is true for OCI, where like a duck, the smooth sailing across the water hides the furious kicking of feet just below the surface.

Finally, and most importantly, Career Services is still here in the summer to counsel students and alumni.  If you just graduated and have a question about your continued search for post-graduation employment, let us know.  For current students, please reach out to your Career Services Office if something comes up over the course of your summer employment that seems irregular.  While you can always follow the established employer protocol for reporting matters (ask the recruiting office if you are unsure), also letting your CSO know is going on can be very helpful, especially for matters that extend beyond your work product and cross over into areas such as harassment.

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Though lectures and outlining are, outside of summer classes, on hold until the Fall, rest assured that like the rest of the law school, Career Services will be working through the heat of the summer to ensure that the 2018-19 academic year is as successful as possible.

Nicholas Alexiou is the Director of LL.M. and Alumni Advising as well as the Associate Director of Career Services at Vanderbilt University Law School. He will, hopefully, respond to your emails at abovethelawcso@gmail.com.

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