Pittsburgh Homes Daily

The short answer: I’d like to think I am the person the Mayor’s office and others are trying to keep / attract.

The long answer:

I’ve now seen 2 blog entries that, given my experience, I’m pretty much blown away by.

I have to agree with Chris Schultz (Green is Good ) comment on Null Space that it’s about jobs and finding a job in Pittsburgh for a young person can be tough.

Here’s my story:

The first time that I spent more than two weeks in Pittsburgh was in the Summer of 2005 working for a large law firm in town as a Summer Associate. Across the country, I speculate that 95% of Summer Associates working at a large firm receive some sort of offer. I received no offer. My fault, their fault, not a good fit, didn’t see your talents, etc … doesn’t really matter. I’ve told some people that, looking back on it, I’m glad that I didn’t receive an offer. And I stand by that. In many ways, the day that the large Pittsburgh law firm decided not to call has changed the rest of my life. For better … or for worse. Once I do have a job, I will be 20 times better as a lawyer (or whatever!) because they said, “No, thank you. Not interested.”

I sent resumes to a number of different law firms in a number of different cities over the course of my 3L year. I had a number of calls from California (I eventually decided I wasn’t interested in going there), a couple from DC (1 interview), and New York (6 interviews). Of the 30 or so law firms that I sent resumes to in Pittsburgh, I received 1 interview and they ultimately weren’t interested.

Interviewing without an offer as a 3L is tough. Basically, you are usually asked “Why aren’t you going back to X?,” “How’d your summer go?” or flat out “Did you receive an offer?” Never put the interviews off to a good start. I’m not a great interviewee to begin with, and that didn’t help at all.

So I graduated from a top 10 law school that boasts a 95-99% employment rate in the top 10% of my class without a job. It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.

I ultimately decided that I was coming to Pittsburgh anyway. I’m great at strategic planning, research & analysis, and a host of other things. And I can read the tea leaves changing for the better here in Pittsburgh. I saw it first when I was here for the summer, and now that I am back I am more sure than ever that what I think is happening is going to come true. Now - that doesn’t mean that it isn’t fragile - and a long road - but there are a great many people here in Pittsburgh dedicated to making Pittsburgh a better place. So I’m here. I love it here. The people that I have met here have been great — and very helpful — but no job has come about.

I’ve taken the Feb. 2007 Pennsylvania Bar Exam and I’m awaiting the results. I’ve now sent off another 30-40 resumes to smaller law firms in town that really should hire me. It’s been a month and no interviews.

I’m now contacting alumni, networking, volunteering, checking every job board I can think of, sending out more resumes, (and even blogging!) etc. Just to get another interview (or a connection) where I will inevitably be asked questions about all of my failures in life (and there are many, of course). I’m not even sure how I will respond to the question about references anymore. Where would I like to be in the next 5 years? Employed. Three adjectives? Ready, willing, and able — does that work?

I even send inquiries without a resume to some people because I feel that what is important is what I can do and not so much where I have been. And I’ve been some great places.

Soon I will be at the point where I will go to back up plan 25:

a) contact real estate developers & technology startups (or anyone else that might be interested in having a lawyer on staff cheap)
b) contact community groups (same pitch)

OR

c) start up my own law firm or business (I have 3 solid ideas for non-law businesses)d) of course, join someone else’s that is willing to overlook my flaws.

I’ve never had any interest in starting up my own law firm or business to this point (I work better with a partner or supervisor), and I don’t really have the money or will to do it by myself, so that really isn’t an option. That leaves me with abandoning something that I am unbelievably good at (though I have to admit 1 firm in town probably disagrees), for something else.

All because I want to be here in Pittsburgh. At this point, I’m really pot committed (for those familiar with Texas Hold ‘em).

Some of the more frequent things I hear because of this blog are: “Oh, I thought you were a real estate agent.” “Why is an attorney writing a blog about real estate?” “Are you an attorney yet?” And that’s the answer and story behind all of that and this blog. In 4 years my life and Pittsburgh will both be in very different places, and I’d like to have something to look back on to remind me of all of that (as well as to help with my career and networking, of course).

My wife is now a real estate agent in town and she is doing well with solid prospects for the future. I’ve learned more than enough about website development, link building, SEO, Adwords, and real estate marketing, etc. to make sure that she is successful on that front. And I’m sure that will prove useful in whatever I do.  Now it’s just time to figure out what that is. Hopefully, that’s working as a lawyer. If not, hopefully it is law-related.

What has the past 2-3 years of law school and job searching taught me?

1. I’m good at a lot of things (and not so good at others) - I’ve just got to convince someone else that my benefits outweigh my flaws OR stand up and take a shot at something myself (my own law firm or business).

AND

2. You can’t complain if you don’t stand up and make your voice heard.

#2 is why I applied for the Propel Pittsburgh Commission. I prepared my application the day the Post-Gazette article was online and before the website had the notice that they would post about the commission soon.

#1 is the reason that I am networking around Pittsburgh at an insane pace so that a job comes about soon.

Other people in Pittsburgh shouldn’t have to go through what I have gone through to live here. I can help (them and Pittsburgh).

Is the young professional population in Pittsburgh growing or not growing? I don’t think that it matters.  Things are tough - let’s make them easier.

Are commissions big & often unhelpful? Absolutely.  But just because the odds of any employer I send a resume to are less than 2% doesn’t mean that you don’t try.

Is the application bad? Absolutely. I find it interesting that the application says they take diversity into consideration but the website says they do not (or vice versa?).

And I absolutely agree that why I would like to be on the commission is one question that is not asked.  Rather than complain about it, let’s fix it.

So, if you applied (or are applying) to the Propel Pittsburgh Commission and would like to tell the world why you would like to be on the commission, leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll put it together, post it here (if you want), and send it off to the Mayor. This, more or less, will be my entry.

PS: Potential employers may look on this one day and think that I can’t keep my mouth shut.  You’re wrong.  A) I once sent a writing sample to a law firm and the law firm frantically called me back because they were concerned that it was a client memo and I had waived attorney-client privilege.  B) As a 3L I sent my resume to a law firm in Texas that replied, essentially - You’ve got a great resume but we’re not hiring 1Ls at this time.  Apply next year as a 2L.  C) I sent my resume to a firm as a 1L that waited a full year and then rejected me for a summer that I wasn’t interested in working for them.   D) I’ve surfed my way through so many non-functioning Pittsburgh law firm websites that it’s not even funny.  The best is the law firm whose summer intern posted the draft of their professional site with celebrity pictures in place of the attorneys on their personal site (and it’s still up 2 years later).  All of those are things that you might be concerned about.  My ability to keep a secret is not.  In fact, the usual complaint is that I don’t say enough.