For most law school students, 3L year is the easiest of their 3 years of law school. As the saying goes, during 1L they scare you to death, 2L they work you to death, and 3L they bore you to death. And if you’re a law student, you’re probably well aware that many students get summer associate positions at law firms their 2L summer that transition into full-time offers, so by 3L year they’re cruising. At my school, most of my classmates fell into this category. But if you spent your 2L summer working somewhere that either doesn’t give return offers (e.g., most public interest positions), or realized during your summer experience that you don’t want to return there full-time, you find yourself recruiting once again into your 3L year – this time, for a more permanent, full-time position.

I was one of these more non-traditional students, having spent my 2L summer interning in government. I highly encourage you to consider working in public interest during law school if you can – I had the most amazing summer and don’t regret it one bit. It’s easy to do OCI (On-Campus Interviews – the law school-streamlined way to get law firm jobs) just because everyone else around you is doing it and your school makes it easy to sign up, but I would encourage you to consider other options too. That said, I can tell you from personal experience that there are things you may have to give up by taking the more non-traditional route – in addition to the considerable pay cut (look into whether your school offers a public interest stipend!), you will likely be getting your 2L summer job weeks or months after law firm recruiting has finished, and when 3L year rolls around, everyone who did OCI will already have a job lined up, while you have to recruit all over again.

And if your experience has been anything like mine, you feel like you’ve been constantly recruiting since starting law school – as if figuring out how law school classes work isn’t enough to do for your first semester, you’re applying to 1L summer jobs by the end of your first semester. Perhaps in the spring you’re applying to externships for the next academic year. During your 1L summer, you’re rushing to network and prepare for OCI and/or applying for other 2L summer jobs, which may continue into the fall. And then, depending on what your 2L summer job is, you may have to recruit yet again for full-time jobs. It can seem never-ending. But – there is light at the end of the tunnel!

For me, 3L fall was arguably the most busy and stressful semester of law school (or I may have just blocked out 1L year from my memory). I probably over-committed to extracurriculars, and certainly didn’t take into account the immense amount of time that job searching would take. I ended up applying and interviewing for jobs from summer through the end of finals and into winter break. So if you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I totally feel you! It can be especially tough mentally. Seeing many of your 3L friends able to relax with all this free time (some of whom you may hardly ever see on campus because it seems they’re out of town traveling every other week!) can make it seem like you’re the only one out there who’s still recruiting. I promise you that you’re not the only one! The ones who are silently in the job hunt, sending out networking emails and resumes and cover letters late into the night, are not the ones posting on LinkedIn about how excited they are to start their new jobs!     

I tried not to compare myself to others around me (I know it’s way easier said than done!!). I had to realize and accept that everyone’s career path is different. I reminded myself frequently of how glad I was to have the opportunity of a different 2L summer experience. I may not have the luxury of having my job lined up over a year in advance, but I truly believe that we all end up where we need to be.

And when you do get your first offer, and it’s not your top choice dream job but you don’t know if you’re going to get another offer, much less a better one – you then have to deal with all the nuances of navigating offers while continuing to interview for others. But, while this part can be just as stressful, if not more stressful, remember to be grateful for the opportunities and options you do have, as not everyone gets to have this luxury.

Having now been through the 3L job hunt, I want to provide 5 pieces of encouragement that may help you go through this process with perspective and intention:  

1. Prioritize and be intentional about how you spend your time.

To best manage my time commitments, I had a to-do list and adhered to a schedule. I got into the habit of waking up early, at about the same time every day. I started being intentional about what I was prioritizing, and tried to combine priorities where possible, whether it was running/hiking with friends or listening to a podcast while eating. I got into the mindset of focus and productivity. I still made time for classes like ballet, which was a welcoming change from my other classes and helped me stay in the present moment (check to see if you can take classes outside the law school!). I was also training for a marathon and co-hosting a podcast which, while time-consuming, in a way became refreshing breaks from law school. When things get stressful, it can seem that you don’t have time for anything else, but prioritizing your physical and mental health and self-care is truly one of the best things you can do for yourself, and how you do that will look different for everyone. You may need to insert these activities into your calendar as events, or involve friends or family to add an extra boost of motivation. Being intentional with how you fill up your calendar can help prevent you from getting overwhelmed by a never-ending list of to-dos and help you intentionally prioritize your life and spend time doing the things that are most important to you.       

2. Interviewing: You do get better with practice!

After doing over 20 interviews, I can confidently say that I was more comfortable with my 20th interview than with the first one. It can be so easy to get sucked into the mindset that I must be a terrible interviewer and that something must be wrong with me if after several interviews I still wasn’t getting offers. No one is born an amazing interviewee, but it may take some more work than others to be a confident one. Do all the preparation work — preparing answers to common interview questions, doing mock interviews, recording yourself, etc. — and know that with practice, you will get better! You’ll start to find that fewer questions catch you off guard, and you will begin to develop more confidence in yourself.

3. A door closed is another one opened.

The week before final exams, I had a final in-person interview for a position that I was excited about. I enjoyed meeting the team and was really hopeful that it would work out. Two days later I got a call, only to find out that I was just shy of getting the position. I was one of the top two candidates, and they had (after much deliberation) gone with the other person. I was devastated for a couple of days, but in hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t get that offer. I realized that it probably wouldn’t have been the best fit – and I would have missed out on subsequent offers that were a much better fit! 

4. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

I know it’s really hard to believe this when all you see in front of you is darkness. You might apply to 50 jobs and not hear back, or spend weeks doing interviews to no avail. I would urge you not to compare yourself to your friends and classmates – everyone’s job search timeline will be different, just as everyone’s career path will be different. And every organization has a different recruiting timeline – just because you don’t hear back immediately does not mean they’ve rejected you! A couple times I was sure I didn’t get the position, only to receive a surprise email or phone call weeks later. So keep applying. Apply for that job that remotely piques your interest. Apply for that job even though you’re sure you’re not qualified for it. Keep your options open, and you may be pleasantly surprised to see what comes to fruition!

5. Trust your own instincts and desires.

When faced with tough decisions navigating the job search process, I reached out to a lot of people, from Career Services and supervisors to friends and family. I highly recommend getting outside perspectives from trusted mentors and your support network – they can often provide an insightful outside perspective and help you think through your options. At the same time, it may also serve you well to take everything they say with a grain of salt, because in the end, you are primarily the one who is going to be living out the consequences of your decision (no matter how big a stake others may feel they have in your decision!). You will be the one working that job day in and day out, working on those projects, and living in that city. As much as I sometimes wished that someone else could just make the hard decisions for me, I knew that only I could make the decision at the end of the day. Respect your personal boundaries, pay attention to what your heart is telling you, sleep on a decision and see how you feel the next morning, and make the best decision you can with the information you have at this moment – I think that’s the most you can ask of yourself in this season, don’t you?