For three years running, 95 per cent of students have secured their post-JD position by September of their graduating year. But each year, a number of students continue to search for their next career step during their third year of law school. To help these students with their search, the Career Development Office (CDO) offers 3Link, a program that connects “3L” students with alumni mentors. 

“We have found that students have better success with their job search if they have an experienced mentor who has been tapped into the legal community for at least five years,” says Mike Molas, Career Counsellor. “The aim of 3Link is to facilitate a meaningful mentorship experience, and help build and strengthen a student’s contact base as a young professional.” 

3Link mentors can provide guidance on establishing careers in specific locations or legal areas. They may also provide feedback on resumes and cover letters, share tips from their own job search experience, and recommend additional contacts for informational interviews. And, of course, they encourage and support their mentees.

During the January to June program, mentors may engage with their mentees in a variety of ways, from phone or Skype conversations to meeting with the student at their workplace.

Following a successful pilot program last year, 3Link has now become a fixture in the CDO’s offerings. “An overwhelming majority of alumni who participated expressed a desire to be mentors again,” says Molas, “and we had more alumni sign up than students to match them with. We now have a ‘mentor pool’ we can draw from in the coming years.” In addition, every student respondent in a post-pilot survey would recommend 3Link to their peers. 

So how does the CDO match students with mentors? Once students let the CDO know in the fall that they are actively seeking articles, staff invite them to participate in 3Link, which starts by completing a survey. They indicate their preferences for practising law by city/region, area of law, employer type (private sector, government, in-house, NGO, etc.), and firm size (sole practitioner, small, mid-size, large).  

“Using this data, we look through existing CDO contacts, our ProNet resource, LinkedIn, and also work with Alumni Relations staff,” says Molas. “If we were still unable to find a match that best aligned with a student’s preferences, our office will do focused outreach to establish new relationships. The matching is all done manually, to ensure as many student preferences are being considered, as possible. 

“3Link,” he adds, “becomes another tool in their job-search tool box.”