Welcome to Law School 2L: Attack of the Killer Job Search

When I left you, the world was bleak and hopeless. I had no job, I had no prospects, it seemed I had no future. I'd put all my eggs in the on-campus interviewing basket, and all my eggs broke.

This month, the outlook is better. I've gotten over my fear of the overwhelming task of the small- and medium-size firm job search. I would actually rather work for a smaller firm, but interviewing on campus was the easy way out: the employers came to us and the school career center coordinated all the scheduling. All we had to do was show up wearing a suit.

Seeking a summer associate position at medium and small firms requires some actual planning, effort and exertion. Despite that, my campaign has begun again: last week I sent out resumes and cover letters to attractive firms on both coasts. Already, within two days of dropping the letters in the mailbox, I've gotten an interview -- and five rejection letters. Oh, well. If it's going to be a 5:1 ratio, I'll be quite pleased!

Speaking of bleak and hopeless, by early February our first-semester grades came in. By now, I have a theory about law school grades. The marks I have received thus far in law school are completely arbitrary and unpredictable. There does not seem to be a discernable pattern to them.

For example, in my favorite class last semester, I tried my absolute best: all the reading, all the practice problems and all the practice exams. I had that professor for a class last year and so was familiar with his exam and grading style. There was no question that I knew the material. I found the exam exhilarating to take, and I came out of it feeling like an 'A' was in my pocket already. To no avail. A very surprising 'B' showed up on the grade sheet. On the other hand, my best grade last semester was in a difficult, policy-based class in which I felt extremely disoriented and uncertain, coming out of the exam feeling I'd done horribly. How do these correlate? It has become increasingly clear to me that my grades have nothing to do with the amount of work I put into the class or how well I know the material.~

I find this a very curious situation. How is one rewarded? How does one have any control over one's performance in the class? Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. I know several classmates with higher GPAs than mine: what are they doing right that I'm doing wrong? It's true that a few are just plain smarter. But not all my higher-ranking classmates are more intelligent than me. In an effort to solve this riddle, I've met with my professors after every exam, grilling them on why I got the grade I did, how I could have done better. I apply those tips on my subsequent exams with no results. And so, I conclude, the grades are arbitrary. At least my GPA went up this semester.

Now, on my way to the library with the hope that doing the work will actually affect my grades, I must stop by my mailbox for today's batch of rejection letters. I hope that when I get home, the message light on my answering machine will congratulate me on getting more interviews.

Annika K Martin is a second-year law student at the University of Southern California Law School in Los Angeles, CA. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. She likes Swedish furniture, German cars, French films and Indian food.