Employment Frustration (school, salary, recruiters)

[msritajd]

Thanks for all of the great replies!!! Shibainu: Thanks for your message. Fortunately, I don't have any student loans. I had a academic scholarship and decided to go to a law school in my hometown and stay with family. Everyone: I do agree with the fact that I need to be there to make better connections. I'm trying. But to move, takes money and I would really hate to take the plunge jobless. My other alternative has been to stay in my job here in Louisiana and save the money to support my plunge in a couple of months. But, of course, I was hoping to move with job in hand. PenguinSix: Thanks also. Bar results arent published until later this year so I'm still waiting. Right now, I try to go up to DC as often as possible and make connections (my boyfriend lives there) To date, one company has shown interest, just nothing concrete. The president keeps saying that she needs more time to budget for new positions but that she is definitely interested. I don't want to run her into the ground, so my weekly phone calls have slacked a bit. I will call her again at the end of month. But I can asure all that the fight will continue! I must go on! Thanks again.

[Tuneful]

I wonder if they are lowballing you at all because LA is an economically challenged area (at least in certain fields) and they think you are desperate enough to take it?
If you really want the job, could you try going back to them and saying that you've done your budgeting and you are looking for something at [give somewhat higher figure], and is there any room for movement? At least you will have tried. $30K does sound low for a JD even in a nonprofit.
I think living in DC would be an advantage in your job hunt and perhaps you could initially volunteer part time at a place you want to work. That led to my first job in DC.
You could live for a year on $30K in the DC area but you would have to share a group house and live a very frugal lifestyle.

[PenguinSix]

There is a great article in Today's Washington Post about this very subject (public interest jobs). I would strongly recommend the OP read it:

washingtonpost.com

[easternerDC]

I don't know that you would have to work another job in DC, I know plenty of people who started off earning less than $30k starting off in DC (that was 7 years ago when I moved there). I lived fine in DC earning non-profit salary in DC the entire 7 years I lived there. You don't have to live in the one-bedroom apartment in Logan circle or Dupont. Housing in columbia heights and mt. pleasant is still quite reasonable. I lived with roommates the entire time I was there, which is an option. Plenty of people live in group homes which can also help cut down on expenses.

If you want to be in DC and work in non profit, you may have to trim down your lifestyle a bit. It won't kill you to spend less money on clothes, bars, restaurants. Lots of people survive that way.

[Cheasare]

Originally Posted by PenguinSix

You really need to get to DC. Your chances of finding a job on the Hill without being here (unless you are working for your home state Congressman) are very very slim. Same goes with policy shops and others. You need to be here to work here. 1,000s of your competitors for jobs have taken the plunge, moved into a group house in DC and are working as a temp or a bartender until they find their first good job.

As for $30,000, there are a lot of people in DC living on less. I know you might want more, but it might require a slight change in employers. You can work on the environment and other policy issues with other groups and associations. lawjobs (kind of lame) but also USAJOBS - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site. Also the washingtonpost has a great set of classifieds.

However, the Internet pavement is really not an effective use of your time. Those sites exist for HR people to pay money and say 'we're looking for someone' but I think most statistics back up the fact that people really get hired by word of mouth or someone who knows someone.

It's said often that 'it is who you know' but there is a second phrase less often repeated--'it is who you know, but you don't have to know them that well.' Just meeting a few people casually and hearing someone say 'oh, so and so is looking for someone' is far more effective than hours on the Internet. And to meet those people...you gotta be here...

My advice would be to bite the bullet for a couple of months, come to DC and find a job while you are here.

p.s. I'm assuming you've passed the bar. Did you know that Washington has a HUGE temporary legal community? There are a lot of mergers and acquisitions that go in for government review, and there exists a huge market for contract attorneys for document reviews. Temp lawyers are in VERY VERY high demand in DC. You could come up to look for a job and work a few weeks as a temp/contract attorney. All you have to do is apply for a waive in to the DC bar and you'll be eligibly. Pays about $25 an hour with $37 for overtime (i.e. a 40 hour week = $52,000 a year). Solon Legal Group LLC: Legal staffing for the Washington, D.C. area is a good group doing that.

I was reading this thread yestereday and then today I stumbled upon this article in the Washington City Paper on temp document review lawyers. I was not even aware that this was going on. If companies keep outsourcing tasks, what will they actually do?

Washington City Paper: Cover Story: Attorney at Blah

C.

[talktobrent]

yea, there is alot of people in DC trying to do the same type of work. I'm not trying to downplay your achievements in any way, but soooo many people are going to law school now, I would say get your foot in the door any way you can because the job market is only getting more flooded.

[PenguinSix]

Originally Posted by Cheasare

I was reading this thread yestereday and then today I stumbled upon this article in the Washington City Paper on temp document review lawyers. I was not even aware that this was going on. If companies keep outsourcing tasks, what will they actually do?

Washington City Paper: Cover Story: Attorney at Blah

C.

There is plenty of work to be done, but it comes in bursts that it doesn't make financial sense to keep on the attorneys full-time.

For example, a major merger between two Fortune 100s that would require government approval might result in something like 3,000 file boxes being delivered to the government, with every single page having to be read once (or twice) to ensure that there is no privileged communication. There have been temp gigs with as many as 200 attorneys working 80 hour weeks for six weeks just to comply with the government requests.

A lot of clients are now demanding temps. Why pay a junior associate's rate of $300 an hour when you can have a temp at <$75 an hour doing the same boring review work. Many clients simply tell the firms 'you'll hire such as such as a temp for this gig'.

[dorado0359]

Have you considered applying for similiar jobs in Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia? There are many people who live in D.C. and commute by train to work in those cities. The train commute to Philadelphia is only about an 1-1/2 hour, and to Baltimore and Wilmington is even less.

[saganista]

Commute from DC to Wilmington or Philadelphia? Check the fares and schedules. Doable on a daily basis for those who have recently received a significant inheritance, perhaps. Amtrak's Acela trains do make DC to PHI in about an hour and a half, but the one-way fare for departing at 7:00 am on a weekday is $137...

[Wisdom37]

You can go to www.superpages.com and look under nonprofit organizations to call and see if they need an Attorney in your specialty. Also, for Environmental Consulting you can easily to this field. Get some business cards, advertise in a newspaper such as DC Express - Any publication that is free to the public this is where you should advertise. It will be $30.00 usually to place an ad in the Express. One other in VA that is cheaper.
For jobs try www.nonprofit.gov or www.nonprofit.org