Northern Illinois University
College of Law

The small size of our student body allows the Office of Career Opportunities and Professional Development to provide you with personalized insight into and awareness of a wide range of career options.

In addition to extensive one-on-one counseling, we can assist you with resume preparation, job search strategies, interviewing skills, and advice on all phases of career and placement activity. 

Careers and Employment Outcomes

• Career paths for law school graduates are limitless. Our alumni pursue careers in law firms of all sizes, in public defender's offices, as solo practitioners and in a variety of JD Advantage and alternative/non-traditional positions.
• Find out more by reading NIU Law's annual ABA Employment Summary and the National Association for Law Placement's employment summary reports.

Student Services

We provide individualized guidance to current law students by developing career goals, building employment skills and developing a plan of action to meet your goals.

Services offered include assistance in preparing resumes, career counseling, mock interviewing, networking opportunities and finding placement opportunities. Our weekly Career Corner newsletter notifies students of current job offerings.

Job Bulletin

• View our database of employment opportunities.

 Job Search Preparation

• Personalized guidance on resume development
• Resource library of resume preparation guidebooks
• Collection of sample resumes from alumni
• Periodic mock interview sessions where students can practice interview skills before meeting with potential employers enabling students to quickly improve and gain confidence in interviewing skills

Networking Opportunities

• The strong sense of camaradarie at the College of Law provides plentiful opportunities for networking.
• Panels and programs offered throughout the year feature practitioners and alumni discussing their experiences in both traditional and non-traditional career paths.
• Social receptions and speaking engagements coordinated with the Alumni Association and other organizations offer you opportunities to network with alumni, other practitioners and leaders in the legal community.
• Our 1L Mentoring Program provides both professional and personal assistance to incoming students during their first year of studies. 

Public Interest/Pro Bono Opportunities

• The College of Law's Pro Bono Initiative pairs students and mentoring attorneys who engage in legal work on behalf of persons of limited means, underserved populations, various charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations and individuals or groups working to secure or protect civil rights.
• Various scholarships, assistantships, grants or stipends may be available to students performing pro bono service.
• Students who successfully complete 60 hours of approved pro bono service will receive a notation on their diploma and transcript.

Career Fairs

• Regularly scheduled on-campus career fairs give potential employers and students a forum to interact, network and explore opportunities.

On-Campus Interviews

• We arrange periodic on-campus interviews with prospective employers.
• If you would like to participate in an interview with an employer, you must submit a resume to the Office of Career Opportunities and Professional Development.
• Resumes will be sent to the employer as a group and the employer determines who they would like to interview.