The Complete Guide to Online Job Boards

Think about having a strategy for when you are searching for jobs. Even though you may think that you have all the time in the world to look for a job, the fact of the matter is you need to be selective of where you are searching for that next job. I’ve listed sources and websites below, and given a brief description of each. I’ve broken them down into the following categories (because there are quite a lot of websites).

Company Website: One of the fastest ways to see if there are jobs available is through a law firm, or company’s website. This is oftentimes the first place that a company will post a job, so use it.

Simplicity: Symplicity is almost universally used law schools, as well as the Federal Court System. It has the advantage of uploading your resume, transcripts, and writing sample and mass applying to jobs with very little customization. Be careful conducting your job search this way. You don’t want to send out mass amounts of applications that don’t meet the requirements of each Judge, or it’s likely that your application will be passed over by a clerk (who reviews hundreds of applications for each position)

Abovethelaw.com: Above the Law, one of the biggest legal websites, has a wealth of articles on the latest news for law firms. In addition, it has a job board that covers a lot of different positions ranging from junior associate to senior general counsel. It is continually being updated. It is also an extremely helpful website for finding salary information when relating to the big firms.

Lawjobs.com: Law Jobs is another website that houses job postings exclusively in the legal community. It is powered by ALM (Same people who do the American Lawyer). Like most websites you can tailor alerts to be sent to you when new jobs are posted. One of the coolest features is that it contains a legal directory of recruiters (more on this later).

Emplawyer.net: Emplawyer is somewhat different compared to the rest of the websites. It offers two different tiers, a free tier for applicants, with limited job data and postings, and a “Premier” level that costs $14.95/month. Emplawyer works to pull information directly from employers into a centralized database. It then matches those job descriptions against your personal profile, and it will send you an e-mail with potential matches for you to apply to.

LawCrossing.com - LawCrossing bills itself as having the largest collection of law jobs on the internet and claims to update over 500 jobs hourly. It does provide a robust breakout of law firm profiles, which include statistics such as number of minorities, notable cases and description of the summer associate program. With the larger programs, it does include salary statistics as well, which can be an added benefit. It does contain a premium component to it, and runs $39.95/month. One of the things that sets LawCrossing apart from other sites is that they reach out to employers to follow up on positions.

BCG Attorney Search: BCG Attorney search is a recruiting company/job board listing. Their demographic is geared towards those indiviudals who have been out of law school for at least 1-year. Nonetheless, they do have a wealth of articles (over 1,000 for associates), many of which track lateral movements between law firms with partners. One of the best features on the website, whether you are looking for a job, or just wanting to research the market, is their quarterly “State of the Legal Market” reports. These reports break down different geographical markets. They will tell you what they have seen from hot practice areas, to dead ones. This information can be used to help tailor your resume when applying to job.

Indeed: Indeed is one of the largest websites that houses job information. It also includes 2 tools that can be very helpful in identifying potential markets to apply to. The first is The Job Trend Tool, which shows how the number of job postings relating to your search has increased/decreased over time. There is also the Indeed Salary tool, which helps compare salaries with the job you are looking for.

It also has a very helpful app, that allows you to set alerts for jobs in your areas. Oftentimes you can apply directly from your phone.

Linkedin: LinkedIn, while also being your public profile of work history and accomplishments, is also used by talent agencies to scout for good talent in filling a position.

Monster: Monster is for lack of a better term, the monster of all job searching. It houses millions of jobs, and contains profiles on specific areas (Career Profiles). For example, it shows Securities Attorneys, the number of jobs that are currently on the website, growth rates, and trends.

Career Builder: Career Builder is another website (just like Indeed and Monster) where the focused demographic. Like many websites, you can add your resume to be searchable by other prospective employers, and apply to jobs posted on the website. In addition to the basic services, it also includes resume writing tips, and a criminal background pre-screening.