Related Posts
I have received offer from Shell and SAP labs is in final stage salary discussion. Shell is offering 6 lacs more than @SAP labs. I have tried to negotiate a lot from SAP but they are not ready. They are putting conditions like give your full commitment to join then only we'll release offer letter. I am currently looking for work life balance with growth. Should I join @SAP considering its a Product based and good WLB and learning? Teck Stack - Java/Micro-services/cloud YOE - 11yrs
More Posts
Ross or Fuqua?
Additional Posts in Law
I recently graduated from law school and have started my clerkship in the superior court of NJ. Once done with my clerkship, I’m hoping to work in employment law (defense). I’ve seen online that Jackson Lewis is hiring at their Berkeley Heights, NJ location. Can anyone give me any insight on what it’s like to work at JL? culture? First year associate salary? Typical work day? Jackson Lewis P.C.
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.





I’m not trying to be rude, but you probably need to work on your written English as well.
A1, if OP sent thank you letters, there could have been glaring mistakes there.
What area of law are you trying to focus on? If you're in litigation, your spoken language will matter much more than other areas of law.
In general, having served in hiring committees in the past (for patent law positions), spoken language doesn't matter nearly as much as writing ability. If your writing sample(s) have any spelling or grammar mistakes, that can eliminate you pretty easily.
If you're submitting cover letters, make sure to tailor them to the specific position. If I can replace my firm's name with any other firm and it all still makes sense, then you're not tailoring it enough. Show that you've done research and that you're truly interested.
Your first legal job is the hardest one to land. I think I submitted around 400 applications before I made it past the screener interviews. You can do it, but it does take persistence and tenacity. Good luck.
If you don't mind rain, consider Klarquist Sparkman in Portland. I'm not sure if they're hiring soft IP positions, but I do know they're trying hard to increase diversity. They have a low billables requirement (1600), and they're a top-notch IP boutique firm.
Pro
You should def. not talk salary until they bring it up.
I’m not a native English speaker, I have accent, I make grammatical mistakes in my writing, and (unfortunately?) I’m a litigator. Some people let me know that I have to improve my writing but they love everything else I do as a litigator, they are willing to send me more work and help me with my writing. Some people just don’t like to work with me because they have to fix my writing, they don’t value other skills I have so I’m replaceable to them.
My point is that interview is a highly subjective process, people have their different view on the language issue, your accent could definitely be the reason they don’t want to hire you. If you really want to know, just confront them with it, tell them something like I understand I have accent, I hope it’s not an issue. Just don’t hide it and never doubt yourself because of it.
That’s very encouraging! Thank you for sharing your story. I would love to hear more how did you land your first year associate job.
If you got through several rounds of interviews, they don’t have an issue with your accent. I wouldn’t worry about that too much.
Rising Star
Salary range is a reason. Try to have a good guess at what the firm you’re applying to generally offers on Glassdoor, and say that you’re flexible.
It feels terrible to say but some people have more success when they anglicize their names on their resumés.
I don’t think the accent is really a problem if you’re perfectly intelligible.
I don’t think your qualifications are a problem, because they got you those interviews. Maybe you could try to improve your actual interviewing skills? Can you tell a compelling story about yourself?
Their job ads said $80,000-$120,000. I mentioned to them that We can negotiate; however I said that what I am losing from the actual job, in case I resign is $92,000. Is any mistake here?