If you are looking for some sort of legal job (or any job, really) on Craigslist, a prudent job-seeker would be wary of any email coming from a purported employee. I have received 3 emails in almost as many days from what are probably scam artists saying that you need to visit such and such a site before the interview process may continue.
The obvious problem is that there is no real way of telling what is legitimate and what isn’t. Which is maddening.
I know, I should have been aware of this long ago, but since I know people legitimately put stuff on there, it’s not a bad tool to use. Provided that you don’t get duped into signing up for (hypothetically) some sort of $9.99 charge to your phone for a “required” IQ test.*
Since I’m sure there are people in my situation reading this (Hi!), what have you found to be effective ways of using the Internet for finding legal employment?***
Also, if you happen to live on the East Coast (as I do), enjoy the hurricane (he said, sarcastically. Be safe everyone. Seriously.).
* Luckily I was wise enough not to fall for this. There are tools for determining what web sites are safe and what aren’t. y personal favorite (which can be used in extension form on Mozilla Firefox and Chrome) is http://www.mywot.com. Accept no substitutes.**
**I am in no way receiving any sort of financial compensation from the company for this shameless advertising. But I wouldn’t mind it.
***And really, what is the etiquette for sending resumes out unsoliticited? I’m not one to just walk into a law office with a resume and say, “Hire me!” Does that even fly or does it put you on some kind of blacklist?
I have a list of sites I go to look for jobs. One is craigslist. Also, no, there is nothing wrong with sending your resume out to firms unsolicited. I have just been told that if you do this also make sure to include your entire packet of info (ie transcripts, writing sample, etc). I actually did this last fall and got a whole ton of rejections. But some did say they would keep my resume on file. So that’s something I suppose.
I never thought to send transcripts and stuff as well. That’s a good tip. And my hesitation isn’t with sending the resume unsolicited, but actually walking INTO an office and saying “HIRE ME.”