Career Counseling: What to Expect

The Career Center aims to build strong, effective partnerships with our students. By meeting on a regular basis, your counselor will have a deeper understanding of your career goals, strengths, and areas for improvement. The better we know you, the more we can help you to identify internships, job fairs, and post-graduate employment opportunities.

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The Initial 1L Appointment

In this structured small group appointment, you and your career advisor will discuss your interests, goals, values, and preferences to build a productive ongoing relationship and to inform your individual career plan. You will also examine your reasons for pursuing a law degree, to keep you grounded and goal-directed as you continue to explore the wide variety of options available to you in the law.

Your advisor will review our 1L Action Plan* with you during this appointment to help set the pace for your semester. We encourage you to complete the 1L Action Plan’s first task, Pre-Work for Initial Appointment & Self-Assessment, which will include a statement of purpose, before your appointment. These self-assessment materials will help you identify your strengths, preferences, and areas for growth. 

• *Your personalized Action Plan can be found in your GW Law Google Drive’s “Shared with Me” folder. The Action Plan found in your drive is private to you. Should you choose to share this document, simply refer to the included sharing instructions.
• The initial appointment is a requirement of the 1L Foundations of Practice program.

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Types of Appointments

Counselors are available to work with you throughout your job search process. Meet with your career counselor to discuss any of the following topics.

Document Review

Fine tune and tailor your application documents to ensure you are showcasing your strongest skills.  

Job Search Strategy

• Identify potential professional contacts and build your network.
• Locate resources for researching practice areas or employers in your areas of interest.
• There is more to job searching than job postings!
• Let us show you. Identify resources for job postings and develop an outreach and application plan.

Offer Evaluation

Evaluate offer(s) and get advice on the best way to respond to employers.

Judicial Clerkships (Federal or State)

Get strategic advice for pursing a federal or state clerkship, including assessment, developing a targeted list of judges, choosing faculty recommenders, document review, and preparing for interviews.

Public Sector/Public Interest

Meet with a counselor specialized in helping with your public interest or public sector job search.

Diversity & Inclusion

Meet with our dedicated diversity & inclusion counselor to discuss scholarships, fellowships, diversity personal statements, and more.

Mock Interviews

Get honest feedback and tips for improving your interview skills before you attend your interview.  It is imperative that you practice articulating your responses in real time, rather than simply thinking through what you will say. We recommend that you meet with a counselor whom you do not know to better simulate the interview. In addition, please email the counselor your application materials and a copy of the job posting for which you are interviewing at least 24 hours before the appointment.

Building a Strong Partnership

The most rewarding partnerships involve meetings and appointments above and beyond what’s stated here. From simple check-in emails to referrals, drafting tricky correspondence, negotiating offers, and more -- our office is here to help you.

Schedule an Appointment