????不久之前，拿到法律學(xué)位絕對(duì)意味著手捧鐵飯碗，肯定會(huì)找到一份高枕無(wú)憂、收入豐厚的工作。然而，如今的法學(xué)院學(xué)生已是風(fēng)光不再。

????哈佛法學(xué)院（Harvard Law）畢業(yè)生、資深律師薩納?布萊斯發(fā)現(xiàn)：“問(wèn)題在于，沒(méi)有人會(huì)想到經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退會(huì)持續(xù)這么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。希望憑借法律學(xué)位平安度過(guò)經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷期的那些人發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們還沒(méi)畢業(yè)，律師就業(yè)市場(chǎng)卻已經(jīng)越來(lái)越糟糕?！蹦壳?，布萊斯的第二職業(yè)是為身處困境的律師們提供職業(yè)咨詢(xún)。

????2011年畢業(yè)的40,000名律師，只有不到一半在律師事務(wù)所找到了全職工作。據(jù)美國(guó)國(guó)家法律就業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)（National Association for Law Placement）公布的信息顯示，在新晉律師中，只有不到65%的人在需要法律學(xué)位的工作崗位就職，而在四年前，這一比例高達(dá)75%。

????造成這種情況的原因有很多。首先，公司紛紛下定決心削減開(kāi)支，于是，聘用法務(wù)專(zhuān)員來(lái)代替要價(jià)高昂的律師，將之前由律師負(fù)責(zé)的大部分工作都交給法務(wù)專(zhuān)員來(lái)處理?；蛘?，公司會(huì)尋求更便宜的在線服務(wù)，比如法律服務(wù)網(wǎng)站LegalZoom.com。與此同時(shí)，布萊斯還注意到，新晉律師還面臨著來(lái)自前輩們的激烈競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，因?yàn)槟切┦I(yè)的律師擁有更加豐富的實(shí)戰(zhàn)經(jīng)驗(yàn)。除此之外，“近幾年，并購(gòu)收購(gòu)活動(dòng)大幅減少，導(dǎo)致對(duì)律師的需求也在不斷下降，而且剩下的工作也輪不到一年級(jí)律師，而是掌握在資深律師甚至合伙人手里。對(duì)于律師事務(wù)所而言，一年級(jí)律師通常是一筆財(cái)政損失，因?yàn)樗麄兊臅r(shí)間并不能轉(zhuǎn)化成利潤(rùn)。所以，由于客戶紛紛緊縮開(kāi)支，律師事務(wù)所也不再需要招聘大批新人?！?/p>

????布萊斯將這些糟糕的境況統(tǒng)稱(chēng)為“完美風(fēng)暴”，而已經(jīng)債臺(tái)高筑的2013屆學(xué)生只能眼睜睜地看著風(fēng)暴襲來(lái)。此外，推遲求職的法學(xué)院學(xué)生最終陷入困境的可能性最大。她說(shuō)：“法學(xué)院校園招聘季通常是從九月底或十月初開(kāi)始。但今年，招聘企業(yè)少于往年，而且，他們現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)開(kāi)始對(duì)求職者進(jìn)行面試?！?/p>

????布萊斯出版了一本新書(shū)——《新晉律師與法學(xué)院學(xué)生求職指南》（How to Get a Legal Job: A Guide for New Attorneys and Law School Students），并在最近成立了一家網(wǎng)站howtogetalegaljob.com，旨在為焦慮不安的職場(chǎng)新丁們提供咨詢(xún)服務(wù)。她認(rèn)為，有一件最重要的事情，許多學(xué)生都沒(méi)有去做，那就是建立關(guān)系網(wǎng)。布萊斯在為新書(shū)做調(diào)查過(guò)程中曾對(duì)在公司和律師事務(wù)所中任職的150多位資深律師進(jìn)行過(guò)訪問(wèn)，受訪者大部分同時(shí)還兼任招聘經(jīng)理。她說(shuō)：“幾乎所有人都表示，他們通過(guò)建立關(guān)系網(wǎng)得到了自己想要的東西。但大部分法學(xué)院學(xué)生并沒(méi)有在這方面下功夫。”

????她補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“并不是因?yàn)樗麄儧](méi)有時(shí)間。而是他們并不理解建立關(guān)系網(wǎng)的真正含義。建立關(guān)系網(wǎng)并不是貿(mào)然給對(duì)方打電話，要求得到一份工作。而是建立一種長(zhǎng)期的關(guān)系，幫你得到一些隱藏的機(jī)會(huì)?！辈既R斯還表示，雖然許多法學(xué)院學(xué)生確實(shí)忙著在律師協(xié)會(huì)活動(dòng)中推銷(xiāo)自己，也在商務(wù)社交網(wǎng)站LinkedIn上與潛在雇主保持著聯(lián)系，但大部分人都犯了一個(gè)同樣的錯(cuò)誤：“他們的目標(biāo)定的不夠高。”

????要想得到關(guān)注，并最終獲得聘用，她的建議是：“不能害怕被拒絕。調(diào)查一下你所就讀法學(xué)院那些出色的校友，以及你實(shí)踐領(lǐng)域內(nèi)的明星律師，然后可以通過(guò)LinkedIn與他們?nèi)〉寐?lián)系，或者親自前去拜訪，兩種方式都可以。其實(shí)，這樣做最糟糕的結(jié)果能是什么呢？他們對(duì)你的請(qǐng)求視而不見(jiàn)？那又如何？畢竟，你很有可能從中獲得巨大的好處。比如，就算你聯(lián)系了100位業(yè)內(nèi)杰出人物，只要有一個(gè)人給予了回應(yīng)，并最終成為你的導(dǎo)師，你所得到的回報(bào)也是不可估量的。所以，還猶豫什么呢？”

????想想看吧，這確實(shí)是一條非常明智的建議，即便是對(duì)于不做律師的求職者來(lái)說(shuō)，也同樣有用。

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????Not so long ago, a law degree was a surefire ticket to a secure, and often highly lucrative, career. Those days are gone.

????"Part of the problem is that the recession wasn't supposed to drag on this long," observes Harvard Law grad and longtime lawyer Shauna Bryce, who has launched a second career as a career counselor to beleaguered attorneys. "All the people who got law degrees as a way of riding out the economic downturn are finding that, while they were in school, the job market for lawyers has only gotten worse."

????Fewer than half of the 40,000 attorneys who graduated in 2011 have found full-time jobs in law firms. Just under 65% of newly minted attorneys hold positions that even require a law degree, the National Association for Law Placement reports, down from 75% four years ago.

????The reasons are many. For one thing, companies bent on cost cutting have been hiring paralegals to do much of the work high-priced lawyers used to do, or they've migrated to cheaper online services like LegalZoom.com. At the same time, Bryce notes, novice attorneys face stiff competition from more seasoned legal eagles who have been laid off.

????And that's not all. "The dip in merger-and-acquisition activity in recent years has reduced demand for lawyers, and much of the work that remains has moved up from the first-year associate level to more senior attorneys or even partners. First-year associates were always a financial loss to law firms, because their time can't be billed out at a profit. So now, with clients tightening the purse strings, there are no legions of junior minions anymore."

????Bryce calls this combination of woes "a perfect storm," and sees the heavily debt-laden class of 2013 sailing straight into it. Moreover, law students who put off job hunting are even more likely than most to be left high and dry. "Recruiting season on law school campuses used to start in late September or early October," she says. "This year, there are far fewer recruiters out there than there used to be -- and they are interviewing candidates right now."

????The author of a new book called How to Get a Legal Job: A Guide for New Attorneys and Law School Students, Bryce recently launched howtogetalegaljob.com, aimed at advising nervous neophytes. The most important thing students aren't doing, she says, is networking. In researching her book, Bryce interviewed more than 150 senior-level lawyers in corporations and law firms, most of whom are also hiring managers, and "almost every one of them said they had gotten where they are by networking," she says. "Yet most law students don't do it.

????"It isn't that they don't have the time," she adds. "It's that they don't understand what it is." Done right, networking "isn't cold calling people to ask for a job. It's building long-term relationships that can lead you to opportunities that aren't advertised anywhere."

????Even when they do get busy working the room at bar association events and connecting with potential employers on LinkedIn, Bryce says, most lawyers-to-be make one common mistake: "They don't aim high enough."

????To get noticed, and ultimately hired, "you have to overcome your fear of rejection. Research illustrious alumni of your law school and stars in your field of practice, and reach out to them, either on LinkedIn or in person, or both," she suggests. "What's the worst that can happen? They ignore your invitation to connect? So what? Meanwhile the upside is potentially huge. If you contact, say, 100 distinguished people and even one of them responds, and ends up being a mentor to you, the payoff can be enormous. So don't hesitate."

????Come to think of it, that's smart advice even for job hunters who aren't lawyers.