Job Search Tools

Job Search Mechanics | Networking | Employer Listings | Firm Names | Market Information | Guides | Deferred 3L Students

Job Search Mechanics

Guidelines and tips on how to create a legal resume and cover letter, including sample resumes, cover letters, and thank you letters. The following files are pdf documents:

Interviewing

Interviewing Guide (pdf) Updated 08/10/06

Resumes

Resume Guide (pdf) Updated 06/05/09

Action Verbs for Resumes (pdf)

Cover Letters

Cover Letter Guide (pdf) Updated 06/05/09

Cover Letter Format (pdf) Updated 12/02/10

Miscellaneous

Writing Samples (pdf) Updated 08/14/06

Thank You Letters (pdf)

Reference Sheet Format (pdf)

Sample Networking Language (pdf)

Networking

Tips on how to effectively create and maintain contacts throughout your job search process.

  • Tips on Networking (pdf) Updated 10/24/07
  • Practice Tracks (pdf) Updated 11/01/06
    This program is held every November and is sponsored by the Chicago Area Law School Consortium. About 60 to 70 attorneys in various practice areas are available for table talk information sessions.

Employer Listings

Chicago Firms with Four or More Attorneys Updated 9/2/11

Milwaukee, WI Firms with 3 or More Attorneys (xls) Updated 12/15/09

Madison, WI Firms with 3 or More Attorneys (pdf) Updated 12/15/09

NALP Directory of Legal Employers
An online, searchable guide of more than 1,700 law offices, public interest organizations, government agencies, and corporations. While this is not at all a complete list of legal employers, it is a good starting place for identifying potential opportunities.

Summer Job Survey Database

The Leadership Library
The Leadership Library is a contact database of leaders at 40,000 U.S. government, business, professional, and nonprofit organizations.

Firm Names

Since some firms recruiting at Northwestern Law have difficult or confusing names, we have recorded proper pronunciations of the most challenging firm names. If you have a question about how to correctly say an employer’s name, visit the firm page and click on the firm’s name to hear it stated properly.)

Market Information

The Career Strategy Center posts materials regarding the job market prepared by third parties as a service to students and alumni. Please see the Job Search Tools page for more information..

Guides

Judicial Extenship Handbook (pdf)

Career Center Library Catalog (xls) Updated 11/08/07
List of books, pamphlets, and periodicals available in the Career Center’s resource area.

Intercollegiate Job Bank
This is a collection of job postings, updated monthly, from over 100 participating law schools across the country. Please note that most job postings are for alumni, though some schools do share postings for current students and students about to graduate.

Vault Guides and Career Library
Online Library of employment resources from publishers of the Vault.

Summer Associate Tips (pdf) Updated 2008

Chicago Market Overview (pdf) Updated 04/11/06

Government Honors Handbook
A comprehensive guide to honors and internship opportunities in federal agencies.

CBA's Guide to Government Employment (pdf)
A compilation of hiring information for some of the government agencies in Chicago.

NALP's Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide (pdf)

Private Public Interest and Plantiff's Firm Guide

Guide to Teaching Law (pdf)
Northwestern Law Professor Andrew Koppelman's guide to a career teaching law. Due to scanned attachments, this is a large file (3+ MB). Please be patient while it loads.