Entry-Level Job Search E-Advising

Our goal is to help you find a great public interest job and avoid the common mistakes that can derail your job search. Take a look at our list of common job search mistakes and don’t let them happen to you!

Government Honors Programs are the most common pathway for 3Ls and certain recent graduates to enter government service.

We strongly encourage you to apply for any fellowship that may help you reach the work you are excited about. Because many fellowships require you to pursue a project with a host organization, however, and because some fellowships have very early deadlines, it is important to begin preparing NOW for your fellowship search.

Speaking with attorneys practicing in your areas of interest (i.e., networking) is a critical component of a successful post-graduate job search. If you have been slow to make career connections in your city and/or field of interest, now is the time to kick things into gear.

The first step in any job search is answering the question, “How do I decide what kinds of jobs to pursue?” A successful job search starts with identifying positions that are a good match for your preferences, experience, and skill set.

Public Service Venture Fund Organization Based (Org-Based) Fellowships are fully-funded fellowships intended to help launch students’ public interest careers at the public service organization of their choice that otherwise is not hiring at the entry-level. Learn more about the selection criteria and process.

The David A. Grossman (DAG) Fund Fellowship was established in 2015 in memory of David Abraham Grossman, a clinical professor at HLS and a lifelong advocate for social justice. The DAG Fund awards one $50,000 fellowship annually to a law student or judicial law clerk who demonstrates exceptional promise as a public interest attorney to work at an existing nonprofit. The DAG Fund prioritizes community/movement-based lawyering and law and organizing projects.

Thanks to the generosity of the Harvard Law Review, HLS is able to offer an annual $65,000 fellowship to cover a year of work at a nonprofit or government agency.

This fellowship was designed to enable HLS students to go to places of great need. Since the regular PSVF Organization-Based Fellowship selection process comes relatively late in the year, students aiming for underserved areas may face a final bar deadline before they would know if they’d been selected for a PSVF Org-Based Fellowship, and might therefore be precluded from making such a choice.

The PSVF Seed Grant is designed to enable HLS 3Ls or alumni, who otherwise would have difficulty in attracting funding, to start a nonprofit to address unmet needs. Learn about application criteria, eligibility, and the timeline.

OPIA administers a number of portable postgraduate fellowships; these make it a bit easier for you to land or create the job of your dreams. In the coming weeks, we will be explaining each fellowship to you in greater detail.

A successful job search starts with identifying positions that are a good match for your preferences, experience, and skill set. A balance of focus and flexibility is key.

Employers notice even minor errors in application materials and it could have a significant impact on your ability to land a job. Please remember to proofread all of your application materials closely.