By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees
This week we are pleased to present the third of three posts by guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees. Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C. She wrote this series of three articles to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students. This week, she addresses the importance of building and maintaining relationships throughout your LL.M. year. We are grateful for her contribution!
After graduating, what stays with you from your LL.M. year is not just the knowledge you have gained, but also the relationships you have built with your professors, peers, colleagues and bosses, which is far more precious.
There are lots of opportunities to form bonds. There are always open positions in the job bank, including Research Assistant positions with professors. Academic conferences, events, and symposia are held regularly and they create many occasions for you to catch up with old friends as well as meet new people. Not to mention that alumni lunch and dinner events are constantly organized by the alumni association. You should periodically check out the Fordham Law Calendar and get your face out there, and you will be amazed how strong the network of alumni and professional colleagues is.
Plan a trip to revisit the firm or company that you interned with, so you can catch up with your old colleagues and bosses and tell them what you are currently doing. If you did lay a good foundation during your internship and maintain a close relationship thereafter, you will probably have a good chance to be invited back if there is ever an open position. At the very least, you will have definitely gained a very good list of references.
All of these solid efforts and the precious experience you gain from them are going to help pave the way for your ideal job. The opportunities you get will be equal to the effort you put in to make them work. Principles and skills in dealing with people are universal to some extent as long as you are genuine, fearless, and willing to practice them.
Now start to make good use of your time, turn up your volume and make your LL.M. year shine!
After graduating, what stays with you from your LL.M. year is not just the knowledge you have gained, but also the relationships you have built with your professors, peers, colleagues and bosses, which is far more precious.
There are lots of opportunities to form bonds. There are always open positions in the job bank, including Research Assistant positions with professors. Academic conferences, events, and symposia are held regularly and they create many occasions for you to catch up with old friends as well as meet new people. Not to mention that alumni lunch and dinner events are constantly organized by the alumni association. You should periodically check out the Fordham Law Calendar and get your face out there, and you will be amazed how strong the network of alumni and professional colleagues is.
Plan a trip to revisit the firm or company that you interned with, so you can catch up with your old colleagues and bosses and tell them what you are currently doing. If you did lay a good foundation during your internship and maintain a close relationship thereafter, you will probably have a good chance to be invited back if there is ever an open position. At the very least, you will have definitely gained a very good list of references.
All of these solid efforts and the precious experience you gain from them are going to help pave the way for your ideal job. The opportunities you get will be equal to the effort you put in to make them work. Principles and skills in dealing with people are universal to some extent as long as you are genuine, fearless, and willing to practice them.
Now start to make good use of your time, turn up your volume and make your LL.M. year shine!
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