Career Development Office Information & Student Policies
The Career Development Office (CDO) is located in the Robert Carroll Stubbs Career Development Suite, in the southwest corner of the College of Law building, off of the Jennings Strouss & Salmon P.L.C. Student Lounge. The CDO provides students with a wide array of resources, including individualized counseling, CareerCAT and other online services, and state-of-the-art video-conferencing capabilities.
The CDO serves as your legal career resource center. In addition to our Tucson staff, our Phoenix office provides hands-on assistance for connecting with metropolitan Phoenix employers. We provide counseling to help you define your professional goals, develop career search skills, and identify and connect you with potential employers. We are an energetic and engaged team, and we take pride and pleasure in making ourselves accessible to you on an individualized basis, using modern tools and techniques to assist you in meeting your needs.
CDO Events and Recruiting
Throughout the year, the CDO organizes several events that take students directly to employers. In the fall, 2Ls, 3Ls and alumni are invited to participate in on-campus interviewing in Tucson and regional interviewing programs in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, Orange County and the Bay Area. Fall 2014 was the inaugural Phoenix Interviewing Program, which consisted of 20 law firms, primarily from metropolitan Phoenix but also interviewing for positions in areas such as Flagstaff, Los Angeles, and Detroit. In the spring, students, including 1Ls, and alumni are welcome to participate in on-campus interviewing events as well as the Sonoran Desert Public Sector Career Fair, where government agencies, judges, non-profits, and other public interest groups are looking to secure law students for summer, and sometimes fall and spring work.
The CDO also organizes other events which connect students with employers. For example, in July, we host the Meet the Phoenix Employers reception for Arizona Law students and recent graduates to meet attorneys practicing in Phoenix. The CDO connects students to career fairs hosted by national organizations. For students interested in other geographic markets, such as Chicago or New York, the CDO can arrange reciprocity with a law school located in that area.
In the spring, 3L students are eligible to schedule an appointment and meet for their “Next Steps” interviews. The purpose of these interviews is to help facilitate your transition into your professional career, discuss post-graduate employment, and inform you about the resources we have available for each graduate.
The CDO hosts a variety of events throughout the school year that are of significant value to students. We provide workshops for students to work with CDO counselors on cover letters, judicial clerkship applications, and resumes, amongst other materials. The CDO hosts speakers including experienced law firm recruiters, local practitioners, and judges to assist students in their professional development and job search process. We are pleased to be able to provide an array of programming for students so that they can make the most of their time at the College of Law.
CDO Policies and Procedures
The CDO requires that students utilizing the office’s resources abide by the following policies and procedures. These policies are based on principles of professionalism that students should follow while they are in law school. Students are beginning to develop a professional reputation not only with employers but with colleagues and members of the law school community.
By complying with these policies and procedures, you allow the CDO to continue to offer quality opportunities to current students, future students and alumni. Our office focuses on helping individual students; however, we cannot do so without maintaining strong ties with employers, judges and others in the local legal community. These policies and procedures are designed to ensure that these relationships continue to be positive and provide opportunities for students.
Students and graduates who do not comply with these policies may be subject to loss of CDO privileges at the discretion of the CDO.
Students must promptly and completely respond to requests made by the CDO for student information. Such information includes personal contact information and the name and location of summer and post-graduate employers. It also includes requests concerning whether and where a student has received an offer of employment, whether the student continues to be seeking employment, and any related inquiries.
The CDO asks that students schedule appointments using CareerCAT. We welcome students to stop in with quick questions, but if you think that your question will take longer than five minutes for a counselor to answer, it helps us to better serve you if you make an appointment.
The CDO works hard to maintain positive relationships with employers so that they continue to recruit our students. These relationships can be compromised when students do not exhibit professional behaviors.
In order for the CDO to facilitate strong employer relations, students agree to the following procedures:
- Students must only apply for interview opportunities when they have a legitimate interest in accepting the interview. They must factor in the costs of attending regional interviewing programs when making determinations about submitting materials to employers who are recruiting in these locations.
- A student who accepts an interview invitation with an employer is obligated to interview with that employer. Students may not cancel interviews after they have already accepted them. The only exceptions are if a) the student has already affirmatively accepted another job offer or b) there is an emergency circumstance that arises. Students must alert the CDO to any emergency circumstance as soon as possible.
- Students who are late for or miss their interviews must understand that the CDO is under no obligation to provide them with a make-up opportunity.
- Students must be aware that the best way to contact employers participating in on-campus and regional interviewing programs during the fall and/or spring recruiting season(s) is by submitting their materials through CareerCAT for employer consideration.
Canceling an Interview
Students who cancel interviews for an emergency circumstance or because they have accepted another offer of employment may be required to write a letter of explanation to the interviewer (with a copy to the Career Development Office, emailed to law-careers@email.arizona.edu) within three days of the missed interview. It must briefly explain the reason the student failed to appear.
Students who cancel interviews absent an emergency or other offer of employment will be considered to have an ‘Unexcused Absence.’ One or more Unexcused Absences may lead to the suspension of the student’s interview privileges at the discretion of the CDO. Students with Unexcused Absences must write a letter of explanation to the interviewer (with a copy to the Career Development Office, emailed to law-careers@email.arizona.edu) within three days of the missed interview. It must briefly explain the reason the student failed to appear.
- Students who receive an offer and have no intention of accepting it must promptly decline the offer.
- Students who need additional time to decide on an offer should immediately thank the employer for the offer. Students should be sure to verify with the employer how long the offer will be open and then advise the employer of their intended response date.
- When a student has made a decision as to an offer of employment, they must notify the employer as soon as possible of the decision.
- If a student accepts an offer of employment and has other outstanding offers, they must notify those employers of their decision to decline their offers.
- Once a student has accepted an offer, absent extraordinary circumstances, they must not rescind such acceptance. To do so is considered highly unprofessional and can negatively affect a student's professional reputation to the detriment of their legal career.
Students should consult with their Career Counselor with any questions regarding negotiating time to consider offers and how best to communicate with employers.