Mail Merge: Mass Mail Your Resume in 3 (Mildly) Easy Steps
You need a job. Many do, but you're creeping into desperation territory here.
We can't testify that mass mailing actually works, but like any urban legend, we totally know somebody who knows somebody that it worked for. He mass mailed his materials to all the BigLaw firms he could find and ended up with a six-figure salary in Manhattan -- the financial holy grail of gigs, even if some might question the sanity of a BigLaw lifestyle. (Lifestyle, smifestyle -- it's $160k brah.)
If you want to try mass-mailing, it's surprisingly easy. Here are the three steps to take to spam the industry with your application materials:
Step 1: Build Your Target Lists
Make a list. Check it twice. Are you looking at BigLaw firms? Are you interested in a specific practice area or geographical location? Are you desperately searching for anything?
Your best bet is to start with directories. NALP's Directory of Legal Employers is great for making BigLaw lists. You can sort by geographic area, practice area, firm or government agency, etc., and you can download a pre-formatted mail merge for each group. You'll want to have separate lists for each type of employer: the BigLaw firms in San Francisco handling transactional work list, the government agency in Idaho list, etc.
Draft your lists in Excel, with rows for first and last names of the hiring manager, address, practice area, city, etc.
Step 2: Draft Generic Letters of Interest
For each list, you'll want to draft a generic letter of interest. Something like this, but not so transparent:
Dear [Firm Name]:
I am a second-year law student at Princeton Law School. Since I was a young boy, I've dreamed of practicing transactional law in my adopted hometown of Helena, Montana. I'm totally not lying to you right now in order to get an interview.
Sincerely,
Desperate Dave
Step 3: Mail Merge
Armed with your lists, now you can set up a mail merge to fill in the blanks of your letter. Think of this as unsolicited resume spamming in the form via Mad Libs. We'd explain the step-by-step of using Word to draft your letters, but honestly, a video will do far more than we ever could with words:
Email or print/mail. Wait for the rejection letters to pour in. Hope for an interview or two, plus a lightning strike.
Related Resources:
- 5 Non-Times New Roman Fonts Courts Use in Their Opinions (FindLaw's Greedy Associates Blog)
- Bye Bye Bingham: What Associates Should Do in a Firm Merger (FindLaw's Greedy Associates Blog)
- Jackson Lewis Ditching Billable Hours for Associates (FindLaw's Greedy Associates Blog)