PDO recently surveyed students on what PDO programming they liked and what could be improved. Here are some of the results, including comments from students.
Topics you’d like to see in the Career Brief—Survey respondents definitely like (and want more) real stories on how students and alums got their jobs. We plan to continue to feature these stories in every edition. Also, watch for a continued focus on alternative careers.
Events or programs you’d like to see offered—Here, the few respondents asked for more programs and information on business, in-house and alternative careers. To this end, we will plan panels for the upcoming year on these topics. Watch for Career Brief articles on these types of careers, including a continuation of PDO’s recent focus on alternative careers in both “How I Got My Job” features and February’s alternative careers panels.
What was your favorite event from last year? Here are the rankings from those who responded:
1. Mock Interviews : “They really helped me prepare for real interviews, and to interview well enough to get a job.”
2. A very close second was the Fall Firm Crawl: “I like getting to know the legal landscape in Utah and these events helped give me a background.”
3. Lunches with Lawyers: “I enjoyed the one on one talks with attorneys in the lunches with lawyers. It gives us a chance to ask more pointed questions and get an idea what a particular practice is like on a day to day basis.”
4. PDO Career Fair: “[Each of the crawls and Career Fair] taught me something important about myself or about the types of jobs I could do as a lawyer.”
5. TIE between the Mentoring Program Social and Public Interest Crawl: “The crawls were fun because they brought to life the future careers we may pursue and to me, that was exciting.”
6. TIE between Solo/Small Firm Support Series and Group Counseling.
A few really good suggestions—There were several good ideas from students. Thanks for your input. Here are just a few things PDO is thinking about as a result:
- Possible new locations for Career Fair (such as the Gibby). One student commented: “I think the career fair had plenty of employers, but should be held in the Gibby where there is more room. I felt as if I were in a mosh pit, and it seemed uncomfortable for everyone involved.”
- As much as possible, sending out invites for small, limited spot events in the morning, lunchtime, or evening. One student said, “Don’t send out info about an event that has limited spots while we are in class. Twice this year after class I checked my email and tried to RSVP for an event which was already full because my classmates had signed up during class.” Although it is not always possible, going forward we will make an effort not to do that so much.
- Various revisions to the Attorney-Student Mentor program. Several students had minor suggestions for ways to improve the program, including ways to encourage connection between mentors and students. We will be implementing some changes to encourage early connection with mentors, and looking at expanding the geographic locations from which we pull mentors.