Welcome back to “Life of a Legal Post Grad,” a column which will quite soon be serving its initial purpose: describing the life of a young legal professional navigating his way through this crazy world of the law.

By “quite soon” I mean in a couple of days. I’ve been at my job for two weeks now and I already have (awesome) stories. Stay tuned. This week, though, let’s talk about this crazy-fast transition that I’m going through in my life. Mmmmmk?

To recap: 2013 was dark. Like…Disney dark. (P.S., if you don’t get the dark undertones in most Disney movies, you should set aside a few hours this weekend and rewatch your childhood favorites, because…whoa). The lone highlight of 2013 was seeing Rihanna in concert. I kept saying, “2014 has to be better.”

Well, here we are, and 2014 is covered in light, roses, bunnies, and all other things good and cute.  I may be the happiest that I’ve ever been in my adult life. Why, you ask? Because of all the ch-ch-ch-changes!

First of all, I have a legal job that I love.  It’s only been a week and a half, but everything is coming up roses so far. I work for a really cool company, I do dynamic legal work, and I work with awesome and intelligent people. Every day I’m challenged and pushed to be better, which is what I had in mind when I first entered law school. This job actually makes me want to be a lawyer, which is new and unexpected. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!

Second, the weather: let’s talk about wearing shorts and flip-flops in January. Or we can discuss reviewing contracts poolside. Entertain the notion of shifting the liability to a third party on the beach, even. All of these are now my options! Two weeks ago I lived in D.C.; the same D.C. that was shut down for two days last week because of the resurgence of the polar vortex (speaking of, that weather pattern really sucks).

The “downside” to life (just kidding! there is none!) is driving everywhere. I’m a walker. I’ve previously lived in Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York: all of these are major cities with wide-ranging public transportation systems and a walkable urban plan that renders ownership of a car unnecessary and burdensome. Friends, Florida is not like that; a car is a necessary part of life. Now I’m a commuter! Every morning I wake up, start my car, drive to Starbucks, and sit in highway traffic on my way to work (if you care, I take 95 to 195). This may seem normal to some, but I have literally never had to be so alert before 9:00 a.m. In fact, for the first few days of commuting, I drove in absolute silence with my hands resolutely placed at the 10:00 and 2:00 positions. Every five minutes I’d say out loud: “Don’t kill yourself or anyone else.” Luckily I’m more comfortable now, and it’s become less of a burden. Sometimes I even get a bit of road rage, and then I’m all:

All in all, I’m having an amazing time. I have a newfound admiration for the law — so much so that I plan on taking the Florida Bar exam this summer. I never thought I would voluntarily sit for the bar exam, but I figure if I want to make a life and career here, it’s the next logical step. More importantly, it’s what my instincts are telling me to do, and I’m still inclined to follow them. It’s worked out so far!

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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Tweet him @PeterDavidsonII.

Featured image courtesy of [Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose via Flickr]

Featured .gifs courtesy of [RealityTVgifs]

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post The Times They Are a-Changin’ appeared first on Law Street.

This edition of Capitalista Careers is a shout out to one of our newest bloggers, Imran Ahmed. Imran killed his interview! Basically, he was the perfect interviewee. Imran successfully did all the things that I incessantly rant about doing, and avoided all the common mistakes.

Let’s take a lesson from him, shall we? Let’s talk about the things that he did right.

1. He dressed to impress. Stay tuned for a post on what appropriate (and inappropriate) interview attire is, but until then here’s your teaser: Imran showed up in a suit. Mandatory? No, probably not. His resume was great and his personality was a good fit for our vibe. But it was a breath of fresh air to see someone who cared enough to put his best foot forward. How you’re dressed says a lot about you. It’s a first impression. It never hurts to always go for business/business casual attire.

2. He showed up early. You know my policy that 15 minutes early is on time. Imran showed up on time in my book.

3. He was prepared. He came with copies of his resume and was prepared to walk us through his accomplishment. Remember the Interview Tips post from a few months back? I talked to recruiter Jack Farrell on his top interview advice — he stressed that your resume should read like a script and that you should be prepared to highlight the important parts when asked.

4. He was well researched. Imran was able to pinpoint specific things he liked on our website. I’ve written about it to tedium before, but far too often applicants don’t take the time to google the company they’re interviewing with. It. Is. So. Simple. It will show if you haven’t looked at the site. There is no way to bullshit that. Anyway, Imran obviously went to the site, did his homework, and came prepared to discuss what he liked about it, and where he saw himself fitting in.

5. He followed up. Following up isn’t just to inquire about the status of the position. He sent thank you emails to everyone he interviewed with. This level of attention to detail just reaffirmed that he will be a great addition to our team and an enjoyable person to work with.

Keep your eyes peeled for Imran’s new blog! He’ll be featured on our site writing about the legal implications of social media.

I’m sure that the rest of the new bloggers interviewed just as well. We’re very fortunate to have such a great group. Stay tuned for more new blogs soon!

xo The Capitalista

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Alexandra Saville (@CapitalistaBlog) is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

Alexandra Saville

Alexandra Saville is the Media and Writing Specialist at Law Street Media. She has experience in the publishing and marketing worlds and started her own publishing company right out of college. Her blogs, The Capitalista and Capitalista Careers, focus on the young and the entrepreneurial.

The post Our Newest Blogger Nailed His Interview appeared first on Law Street.

“And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”  – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Oh hey.  What’s up?

Welcome to the January 15 edition of “Life of a Legal Post Grad.” I’ve been writing this blog for almost five months, and it has served as a capsule of what my mindset was during the tail end of 2013.  I have been anxious, tired, pissed, over it, hopeful, and many other emotions.  When I look back on this post five months from now, I will know what I was feeling: excitement.

I’ve got news.

I’m writing this from sunny south Florida, a state to which I have relocated.

You read that correctly.

I moved!

I spent much of last year talking and writing about either being totally unfulfilled and/or not following my gut.  This year, I figured I had two options: keep complaining or do something new.  I chose the latter. Why did I move?  At first the reasons were purely selfish.  I have a few friends down here, and after last week’s Polar Vortex I knew that I needed a major change.

Don’t worry, I didn’t completely shift life plans.  I have a new and awesome (legal) job, about which I am extremely excited.  We’ll talk about it another time. I have a place to stay, which is a terrible thing to call where I live.  I have a new “home,” and I am excited that it has become my home so quickly.

Living down here is completely not a part of the plan that I had for my life. The last six months of 2013 made me realize that plans frequently sink faster than you can say “you sunk my battleship!”  I embraced change and am really excited to see where this new path takes me!

Things I’ve noticed in my first 36 hours as a south Florida resident: it is much easier to be productive in cold weather.  In my first day and a half here, I have: gone to dinner, gone to breakfast, gone to lunch, dropped off forms at my new job, gone to happy hour, gone to dinner again, cracked my iPhone screen (ughhh), and watched “Vanderpump Rules.” Things I have not done in my first 36 hours here: grocery shopped, looked for a gym or yoga studio, purchased sunscreen. Oh well.  I will get to all of the important stuff in the next few days.

For now, I’m just kind of marveling at the awesomeness that is 2014.  I decided on January 2 that I was going to move down here for an extended period and figure out my life.  On January 3, I started applying to legal and non-legal jobs.  I knew that applying to jobs in this area would be difficult for many reasons, mainly: (1) I had applied to literally hundreds of jobs in D.C. and New York.  If I couldn’t find jobs in the two main legal markets, there is no way I’d find one in Miami; (2) I took the New York bar, not the Florida bar, and there is no reciprocity; and (3) I have absolutely no ties to this city, save for a few friends.  I had resigned myself to living down here and being a socialite.

Instead, I heard back from two or three jobs within days.  I had lined up interviews for when I moved down here, and I figured I’d be working somewhere by the end of the month. Here’s where it gets crazy (or cray cray, as the kids say): one of the jobs pushed my interview up a week and conducted it via Skype, then offered me the position at the end of the interview. What’s more cray cray? I accepted!

I start my new job very soon, and I’m so excited.  More importantly, I work for an AWESOME company.  I’ll talk about what I do at a later date, but trust me when I say that you will die. Not literally, but in a very figurative sense you will die. And, the job is legal! I talked so much trash for years about not wanting to be a traditional lawyer, and it turns out that’s exactly what I will be for the next few years. I may even learn to like this profession.

For all who have read this weekly column and seen the evolution of my complaints, thank you for bearing with me.  For all who had a similarly unfortunate 2013 and are looking forward to an awesome 2014, it’s coming.

Lastly, “Life of a Legal Post Grad” is about to get a lot more legal. Sorry in advance!

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Peter Davidson is a recent graduate of law school who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Tweet him @PeterDavidsonII.

Featured image courtesy of [Timothy Wildey via Flickr]

.gifs courtesy of RealityTVgifs

Peter Davidson II

Peter Davidson is a recent law school graduate who rants about news & politics and raves over the ups & downs of FUNemployment in the current legal economy. Contact Peter at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Surprise! You’re Hired appeared first on Law Street.