I'm a 1L. There are tons of posters up at school advertising summer abroad programs. They all tend to imply that this is a smart career move. But because I am in law school I am learning to be a skeptic, so I'm curious. Is a summer abroad something that law firms really like to see on a resume?
BZ, Qeorjuo
DEAR BV,
Wtffl Ah, yes. You can picture it now, can't you, BV?
The Eiffel Tower. The Musee d'Orsay. The charming little cafe on the Rive Gauche, the outdoor table where Ernest Hemingway once sat, and where you now picture yourself, coffee in one hand, petit four in the other ... and your International Trade Regulations textbook open on the wrought-iron table in front of you.
There is no question that summer abroad programs have a lot going for them, in terms of life experience. Vraiment! But LawCrossing unfortunately can't ignore that pesky job search thing. So let's see how your scholarly wanderlust plays in the minds of potential employers. Be advised up front, BV, that LawCrossing will ultimately tell you how to satisfy your urge to flee and advance your career as well, because as you know, LawCrossing never lets you down.
Let's start with the positive job search impact of a summer abroad, shall we? Most obviously, if you have your heart set on working in a particular country, spending not just summers but every possible moment in that country is a good idea. If this is the case, BV, you need to make the most of your time in the country. For one thing, consider a summer program that combines classes with an actual, working internship. The summer abroad program that Syracuse University offers has just such a feature, for instance. Also, take advantage of the time before you go abroad to make as many contacts there as possible. Whether it's through alumni, professors who might have lived in the country you desire, or via the country's embassy, state what you're looking for and who you might talk to while you're over there. You want to sink as many claws into the country by way of meeting the locals as you possibly can. You may also check in the reference section of your library for companies with offices or plants in the country where you want to wind up, and find out if you can work-on a volunteer basis, probably-for them while you're over there. Another option is to take an internship in the American Embassy in your chosen country, which you can find out about through the Foreign Service in Washington, D.C.
The point here is, BV, that while everybody else in the program might use their off-hours to prowl the pubs or beaches, you're going to have to use them for career benefit if you want to make your summer program work for you as much as it can. As you've undoubtedly noticed, the real value of what LawCrossing is suggesting is not in the summer program itself, but annexed to it. Working for a company or a U.S. Embassy in the country where you'd like to be would be excellent experience without ever having to open up a musty textbook while you're there-and you'd be saving money, to boot.
On top of that, if you are ever going to do a summer program, you're wise to consider it for your first summer in law school. Why is that? Because while employers expect you to spend your second summer getting work experience, there are no similar expectations for your first summer. So if Australia beckons, BV, the time to say g'day and throw a shrimp on the barbie is this summer-not the next one.
And finally, summers abroad are a good opportunity to knock out a few credits, to free up your time during the school year to do some career-oriented work. For instance, if taking six credits during the summer gives you the chance to take on a 20-hour-a-week job working for a judge or a law firm when you get home, you've done yourself quite a favor indeed. Of course, that takes discipline, BV-the temptation will be to use that extra 20 hours to familiarize yourself with the Happy Hour buffet at bars near school, and LawCrossing trusts that you can overcome that temptation.
Right now you're wondering, BV, why LawCrossing hasn't told you to fire up your passport and start packing. Here's why. The fact is that if you want a job in this country-be it with the government, or a law firm, or in public interest, or with a corporation-and on top of that you're willing to spend money instead of make money for a summer, then LawCrossing has far more productive ways for you to spend your summer than by jetting off to Europe. In a recent column, LawCrossing praised two kinds of jobs for first years in particular-volunteer judicial clerkships and jobs with small firms. Either of these would get you far, far ahead in the job search game, BV, both in terms of experience and professional contacts. Grades, resumes, and every other law student worry diminishes dramatically if you take LawCrossing's advice on how to spend your fledgling summer in law school.
Furthermore, if you want to work in international law but you're not sure where, a summer abroad in just any ole country won't be nearly as impressive to employers as work experience is. For instance, if you want to work in the foreign office of a large, domestic law firm-they all do have very glamorous-sounding foreign offices- you're far better off getting summer experience that will get your foot in the door at that firm, BV. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, employers are far more concerned with your job skills and dedication to working than they are to hands-on proof that you like to travel (which you can easily prove with a spring break in England). Those foreign office plums are typically either staffed with people from those countries or with associates with a few domestic years under their belts, for whom a foreign assignment is something of a reward.
At this point, BV, you may wonder why it is that any loving, caring law schools hawk international programs so fiercely-and so persuasively. The bottom line, BV, is-the bottom line. International programs are moneymakers for schools, and very desirable carrots to dangle in front of the professors who get to teach them. While that's not a particularly benevolent motive, it's perfectly understandable. Unlike LawCrossing, not everybody is slavishly devoted to what's best for your career, BV.
So, what should you do? "Isn't there some way to pro-mote my career and go to Greece?" you're silently asking LawCrossing. Well, yes. There is a happy compromise, and all it takes is a bit of planning. Do your summer program, get your tan-oops, sorry-do your studying-and spend the other half of your summer getting job experience of the type LawCrossing described earlier. A six-week summer program still leaves you with six weeks stateside, and even if you need to make money with that time (although if you've got the jack to go abroad, money may not be an issue), you can always work part-time for six weeks and get volunteer experience part-time. Or you could put in a full week getting your legal tootsies wet, and waiter on week-ends for dough. That way you've got something interesting on your resume and something worthwhile in your head-and if that isn't a pleasant pot de creme, LawCrossing doesn't know what is.
Bon voyage, BV
