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Searching for a job in the legal industry is stressful, no matter how you slice it. From bidding to callbacks, the law firm interview process can feel like a never-ending whirlwind—and then it only gets busier! There has to be a way to make legal job searches just a little more bearable. Well, not to sound like a cliché, but there’s an app for that. Several, as it happens. No matter what has you stressed about your job search, we’ve got app suggestions that can help you get organized, ace your legal interviews, and get that amazing law firm gig you’ve been waiting for.
That’s right, we have an app! The Vault Law app was designed specifically to give you the information you need for researching law firms and legal practice areas. The app is the ideal OCI companion—the perfect tool for narrowing firms for bidding and an invaluable sidekick for on-the-spot research before each interview. You can explore law firm rankings to narrow your list of target firms, read firm profiles with firm stats and quotes from real associates, and compare law firms through our comparison tool. You can also explore practice areas to gain a better understanding of which legal path is for you and better target firms in those areas. The app is completely free for students whose law schools are Vault subscribers, so be sure to download it today!
An oldie, but only because it’s a goodie—LinkedIn is the networking hub of our times. If you aren’t signed up, now is definitely the time. If you are signed up, give your profile a good shine-up well before you dig into your job hunt. LinkedIn just may be the first thing your interviewer ever sees of you, and first impressions count. Your profile should include your picture, your academic background, your work experience (especially any that is legal), skills, endorsements, any volunteer work you do—the works. LinkedIn is an easy way to tout your accomplishments and present a polished online presence as you connect with people in the legal industry.
Chances are good that, during your job search, you’ll be asked about your work style and what your personality in the workplace is. This is something that can be hard for people to communicate effectively—you want to be both accurate and positive, without sounding too much like you’re telling the interviewer what they want to hear. Good&Co is interesting because it offers a variety of quizzes that help you learn what your work style is, how introverted or extroverted you are, how people perceive you, and other important personality factors. The quizzes are fun, and they give you the vocabulary and talking points necessary to describe yourself eloquently and accurately in interviews.
Staying up to date on all the most recent legal news is critical when job searching. It can provide you with small talk for interviews, an idea of which firms are doing high-profile work in which areas, and knowledge of what trends you should be on the lookout for in your job search. ABA Journal is already a great resource for this kind of information, and their app only makes this information more accessible. Use it to quickly tune into the most important legal news, which can really help guide you on your job search, as well as potentially set you apart from other candidates with your industry knowledge.
There’s a lot of documentation that goes into job-hunting—from resumes to email correspondence, you’ll be putting a lot of words to paper. Grammarly is an app (or, technically, a plugin) that can help you make sure that you’re putting your best foot forward with any written communication. This includes spell-checking and grammar suggestions, as well as editorial advice on how to write clearly and concisely. A typo in a follow-up email or a rambling resume can be extremely embarrassing and might count against you during your legal job search—so use a tool to make certain that you’re presenting your written word as professionally and correctly as possible.
Regular note-taking apps are fine—for amateurs. If you’re a serious note-taker (and, let’s face it, you probably are), Evernote has the bells and whistles to keep up with you. It’s available on almost any platform, and everything syncs to the cloud so you can take notes on your phone and find them later on your laptop—or vice versa. And it’s equally versatile for jotting down a quick reminder or writing more detailed thoughts that you want to save for later. You’ll be encountering a lot of information on your job search, so it’s important that you have it all on hand and that it’s well organized. Evernote is a go-to app for just such purposes.
It’s not the most creatively named app, but it sure is useful. This app prompts you with typical job interview questions like “What’s your greatest strength?” or “Tell me about a time in which you faced adversity and overcame it.” Then it records your answer—on video. This is especially helpful because you can review how you’re coming across and fine-tune your answers to be more comprehensive and less “on the fly.” Video interviewing especially will be more important going forward in our post-COVID-19 world, so the video component of this app can help give you an extra edge in distance interviewing as well as in-person events like OCI.
Download the new Vault Law app to prepare for your next law firm interview!
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