Friday, December 28, 2007

An UPDATE - Job search, interviews, bar exam studying, etc.

Hello,
I know that I have not posted in a long time. There are many things to talk about now. As you all know, not passing the bar exam the first time has set me back many months, and I have struggled to find a job. Well, I tried many things. I did targeted mailings to all firms that fit my interests, I applied to all jobs posted on my college's job search site, searched for jobs on various job boards, and I sort of tried to network.

My targeted mailing produced very few results and mostly rejection letters. I did get a couple of calls. Now what was strange about these calls were that they were not calls to schedule interviews as I had anticipated, but they were interviewing me right there on the spot! The first firm called me when I was at the gym. The second while I was in the middle of a movie after 7 pm. Without any regards to my time or current condition, the potential employers went on to question me on what they thought was important. Unfortunately for both of us, they did not get a good idea about me from the phone conversation and I did not land the in-person interview.

The people at the career office at my law school were unaware of these phone-interviewing tactics and suggested that the next time it happens, make an excuse to reschedule the phone conversation. Great idea! But I haven't had any calls since then. Meanwhile, the rejection letters continue coming in.

So to the others who are in my position, be warned about these on the spot phone interviews and reschedule or prepare ahead. To the employers who try these phone interview tactics, you are wasting your time if you think you will get to know and judge a candidate like this. Get some manners and respect our time.

Regarding bar exam preparation. I decided to get the Micromash program for bar exam review. So far so good, but I have a lot more questions to do. I think this is a good back-up preparation and I hope that my results will show that.

Also, a word about Legal Authority or LegalAuthority. I used their services to send out the targeted letters. The good part is, they do a lot of the work for you and they are legit. The bad part is that they are not really available to give you the career advice and stuff that they promise. My LegalAuthority counselor rarely ever returned calls or emails. The addresses they gave me were riddled with errors and outdated firm names and address information. They also included patent law firms in the search, which is a waste of money and time because I am not qualified to take the patent bar.

I ran a quick search on the internet before signing up for Legal Authority and I am sad to say that I found very little information other than on their own website's testimonials. So for the people who are in my position and who are willing to do anything to find a decent law job, there are few options and the more information we can share with each other, the easier it will be.

Good Luck!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Job Search Without a Law License...

I mentioned last time that I failed the Illinois bar. Well, it is not the agony of re-taking the bar exam that is the most frustrating part of it all. It is the question of what to do in the meantime? I will start my loan repayment soon and I cannot even find a law clerk position anywhere!

So I sent out resumes to firms who posted a wanted for law clerks on the school website, and received 1 interview. WooHoo! I was excited to even get one. But the interview (two days ago) lasted only 15 mins and the big question was, "You probably won't be around after February, will you?"....Well....I'm not sure whether they wanted to hire me full time, but I doubt it. Of course, I won't be a law-clerk if I pass the Feb bar! Or at least I hope it doesn't come down to that.

So my question to all of you is, What does someone with a JD and no license do? What should I do other than stay at home and study and hope for better luck next time?

Monday, October 8, 2007

Reality of Failing....the (Illinois) Bar Exam!

So till now I kept on wondering what should I write about and how should I shape this blog. Should this blog be limited to the general topic of women or about me? The reality is that I am a woman and any blog about me is a blog about reality of women, or at least woman.

The first question is: Who am I?
Answer...without disclosing my name and personally identifying details, I should say that I am a South-Asian (Indian) woman who has studied all my life so far and finally put myself through law school while juggling with an emotionally charged new marriage. My career was about to launch right after I passed Illinois bar...but I failed.

I don't know how to describe the agony of the more than two month wait that led to finding out that I was 9 points short of passing. This was first time that I failed any exam. The reason for my failure could be different depending on where I dissect it. On the bar exam day, I mis-bubbled some answers and erasing lost time, which resulted in not finishing an MBE section on time. But prior to that, I joined BarBri and studied a couple of hours a day. I must say that I was not beaming with confidence on the day of the Bar. I have managed to regain my positivity about the upcoming retake because I can study more and how much I study is something I can control.

While I yahooed blogs for moral support, I found a significant lacking in people who openly came out and admitted to having failed the bar exam and its aftermath. I suppose this struggle applies to both men and women who have failed the bar exam or any exam that matters. I don't know how else to help rather than to say, you are not alone! For now, I'm going to focus on the things that I can control and move on with life and career.

Wish you all success in whatever you wish to accomplish in your life.
Till next time...

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Hindi Blog!

I just thought I'd post a poem I'd written in Hindi.

हम जानते है सीर्फ़ नाम
लेकीन आशा है के करे पहचान
अज्न्भी है पर दोस्ती मे क्या है हर्ज़
फीर मुलाकात हो ना हो खुदा की मरजी
पर बुलाना तो है फ़र्ज़

I don't know if this is proper hindi or not since it is written using this program, but hopefully those of you who read hindi can understand the poem!

Monday, April 30, 2007

About this blog

This blog is a tribute to the modern woman.

Women have, throughout history, have walked miles to obtain every inch of their freedom and recognition. The struggle has not ended. Women, all across the globe, still struggle and still fight for freedom inch by inch. So what has changed? Well, some of us have a greater access to education and with it comes the freedom of thought. We live in a world where the law increasingly recognizes the two sexes as equal. But the reality has not yet merged with the ideology of equality. So consequently, we are taught a vision of equality but still face unequal treatment.

Today the US has a Madam speaker, but not yet a female President. Hillary hopes to change that...moving women another inch forward if she succeeds. But what about those women who face the reality of domestic violence, dowry, forced marriages, unequal treatment after the marriage, lack of job opportunities, sexual harassment, and lack of freedom in daily activities that never gets counted in any known statistic? With the vision of equality, today's modern woman can't help but notice every small bit of unequal treatment. She has to now handle the kids, her job, the family, social relationships, and more. She has to appear feminine but compete in a job market dominated by men. She has to endure pregnancy, but endure hardship being considered seriously at work. The modern woman faces just as many struggles as the women did in the past, and perhaps more struggles due to the ever increasing demands and rosy vision brought to her.

So this blog is a tribute to the modern woman. A tribute to every inch of freedom she has achieved and all the inches for which she still struggles. Let us be proud of ourselves and acknowledge our accomplishments.