Best Online Resources for Legal Job Search

Because summer is slow in the job search cycle, spend the time to research potential employers. Below are some great links to (often free!) information.

• Job search engines. My top 2 picks are Indeed.com and LinkedIn. If you have time, it’s probably worth checking out GoInHouse and ACC’s career page. Look at GlassDoor for reviews too.
• Public company research. Look at the company’s quarterly and annual reports, especially the MD&A and risk factors, on the SEC website. Check the company’s website for fact sheets and press releases. Through your public library, you can likely get free online access to third party data reports (e.g., by MarketLine) for SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – often taken from the company’s SEC filing, but these are short reports with the information pulled out for you). Finally, the San Jose Mercury News provides a top 150 listing of public companies in the Bay Area that you can research by category.
• Private company research.  I like Techcrunch and LinkedIn’s company page (which can provide hard-to-find information on private companies like the general number of employees). San Jose Mercury News lists leading VC financings in companies.
• Legal news. For California news, check out The Recorder. For national news, see its affiliate American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel. There’s also Law 360, LawDragon, and Above the Law. For these, you should be able to scan the headlines for free, and most offer some kind of free trial subscription.