Tips for finding the "perfect fit"

As you toil away at your summer internship, you are being evaluated by your employer as to your potential as a first-year associate or entry-level attorney. At the same time, you should be doing some evaluating of your own as to their potential as a future employer. Once you get past the basics - firm size, practice areas, salary, and location - you need to access what combination of variables would make you happy both professionally and personally. An excellent article from the lawjobs Career Center may give you some ideas about what factors you should consider if finding the perfect employer fit. And, as the article states, once you figure out what you're looking for, ask anyone you can for information - career services, recruiters, mentors, alumni, young associates, and even more senior-level associates. You certainly don't want to put all that effort into considering your options only to find surprises down the road.