Law firm mergers, delayed start dates for new hires and rescinded job offers have rattled even the most positive and self-possessed law students and job seekers around the country. To succeed in these stressful times in the legal job market candidates should, as Horace said, "be bold and valiant."

This is not the time to settle.

Legal management consulting firm Altman Weil reports that 70 mergers took place in 2008, an increase of 17 percent compared with 2007. The resulting influx of experienced attorneys into some markets has reduced summer opportunities for current students.

In an effort to save money, many law firms have delayed the start dates of new associates. For some job seekers it is a welcome vacation. For others it is a clear message that they should look for other opportunities.

Even more devastating to current students and recent graduates has been the flurry of rescinded offers from firms that report the yield on offers has been higher than expected.

The situation has left students scrambling to secure jobs in a market in which they may be competing with peers and experienced lawyers laid off from merged or downsized firms.

Set against such a frightening background it may seem counterintuitive for students to seek out the perfect job. However, like investing in a down market, the reward for taking the risk to seek that dream job may be stunning.

THE BASICS

Hiring partners, career professionals and candidates agree on some basics for seeking work in today's difficult market: Applicants need to be realistic about qualifications and the market, sweat the professional details, and be flexible enough to think about alternative job opportunities.

Job seekers need to be realistic about where the job market is today and where it is likely to be in one, three or five years. For example, as business transactions slow down, compliance work increases. Using the same skill set in a new market can create good results.

They need to take stock of personal and lifestyle needs by facing facts -- to take an honest look at their personal circumstances, relationships and finances. Finding or changing jobs rarely happens without an impact on another person. Be clear about finances and lifestyle needs. Look carefully at debt and repayment options.

Job seekers also need to pay attention to the professional details surrounding a search. Too much competition is out there to leave details undone. Employers can afford to be ruthless in their evaluation of candidates.

Controlling professional documents like resumes and letters, professional attire and interpersonal skills will pay big dividends.

Crafting an error-free resume is critically important. Employers say that there is no good excuse for errors in a resume. It is an easy tool for screening out candidates during challenging job markets in which candidates are plentiful.

Also important is addressing communication from the perspective of the employer. It is clear to employers that a job will be good for prospective and current employees.

They know it will help them grow professionally and clarify their career plans. The more important question for job seekers is how being hired will benefit the employer.

Applicants should write cover letters that demonstrate knowledge of what an employer does, how it does it and for whom. This is not a prose version of a resume. Rather, the letter should tell stories that demonstrate the skills of the candidate and how he or she can benefit the employer.

Communicating professionally with employers is vital. Students should be direct, courteous and honest. Employers say that candidates often fail to communicate honestly about why they are seeking work with them, in their city and in a specific practice area.

Sharing accurate and honest information with employers is also critical. The margins are too small for employers to make the wrong decision about a candidate. Applicants should be clear about the wish to work for that employer and live in its city. Knowing the culture, practice areas and values of employers is crucial.

E-mail is an appropriate way to share information and communicate with employers. However, students and recent graduates should write in a formal style. They should avoid writing e-mail as if it were a text message, and instead spell out words using the correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization.

Job seekers also should respond promptly to employer requests for documents, meetings and decisions. Finally, students need to be flexible with a focus. Developing a focused approach will enable candidates to think beyond the traditional employment opportunities.

When traditional opportunities disappear, new ones arise. But job seekers have to be prepared to take advantage of them by creating a touchstone with which to compare personal and professional needs with the opportunity at hand.

ACCURATE MARKETING

To remain flexible and be productive in a job search, it is vital to have a concise, focused and articulate description of the desired professional life sought by a candidate. While it may seem counterintuitive, defining the ideal position promotes success.

Starting with the perfect job and working backward is a good approach. In a tough market, candidates often accept the idea that they will take any job offered to them. Unfortunately, that choice is not always satisfying or sustainable. It pays to be clear about professional needs and to seek a good fit.

Candidates should think functionally about what to present to employers. Candidates who describe themselves functionally are more likely to successfully make a transition in to a new job or career. Candidates need to think more about where to fit than what to be called.

It is important to identify new opportunities by presenting a functional description of skills, issues, colleagues and environments that are ideal for personal and professional success. To develop a functional presentation for employers, job seekers should answer these four questions:

What skills does the job seeker bring to the table that he actually likes to use? What issues or topics is he passionate about and what type of colleagues doe he seek. Who he will serve and what type of environment does he need to succeed?

Next, candidates should synthesize these answers into a clear and focused 10-second statement to present to networking contacts and employers. It should sound like this:

"I want to use these skills to work these issues with these people in this environment. My problem is that I don't know everyone who gets paid to have this type of professional life."

It is a good idea to present this description to networking contacts to help identify new opportunities. The candidate's next step is to follow up with the person identified by the networking contact.

Finally, with the description in hand, candidates should build professional relationships with people who know more about the market than they do. Creating opportunities to learn more about desired career areas, creating a relationship with someone who will be a colleague, and, most importantly, gaining access to opportunities that would never be advertised are some of the benefits of fostering these relationships.

ASKING FOR HELP

Job seekers should not be afraid to ask for help. Remember, in a good market it may only matter what one knows. In a marginal market it is not what one knows but who one knows. And in a market like today's, it is not who one knows but how many one knows.

People, in general, share three characteristics that can help them to identify opportunities in the job market. They love to talk about themselves. They are proud of their work. And, finally, they want to help someone. During the job search it is important to engage networking contacts to do these three things.

Those looking for jobs should be reactive in identifying people to contact. A quick LexisNexis search for newspaper, magazine or trade journal articles about issues of interest can yield articles about projects, cases or decisions that are on point for a candidate. If there is an article, then someone is quoted in the article. Ultimately, it is the person quoted in the article who becomes a networking contact.

A good strategy is to read broadly from publications that focus on intersections and trends. Trade publications, news magazines and newspapers are examples of publications that identify and report on trends.

Students also should take advantage of the alumni networks from places like college, activities or the military. Most alumni and career offices offer online networking, career mentoring and programs that connect students with alums in a variety of cities.

Another strategy is to seek out the university staff, such as development officers, who are consistently on the road with alumni. They frequently know alumni no one else at the institution knows.

Finally, job seekers should use a career coach to tweak performance and presentation to employers. Coaches are available in law school career offices and privately to help candidates craft individual job search strategies.

They can push job seekers beyond the sometimes disabling anxiety of a stressful market to accurately assess and present themselves to employers.

TELLING THE STORY

The time candidates spend in front of an employer is critical to landing a job. They need to plan ahead to make the most of the time they have with an employer to tell stories about skills and experiences.

Three simple rules for interviewing are: Keep information within the context of employers; share behavioral information about skills; and demonstrate engagement and curiosity about the work.

Although the interview is with a candidate, it is really about the employer. Employers are trying to learn three things in an interview.

First, can this candidate do the job? Is he or she smart enough to learn what we do, skillful enough to carry out the tasks and experienced enough to be up to speed quickly?

Second, will this candidate do the job? Does he or she have the work ethic to show up every day, be engaged in the work and follow through on a commitment?

Third, will this candidate embarrass the employer with clients or in the community?

Candidates need to stay focused on these issues by presenting skills and experience within the context of the employer. The best way to stay on task is to provide behavioral examples in a clear format.

Specifically, the candidate should provide interviewers with an example from the past that includes a "STAR," or situation, task, action and result. This simple formula is a powerful tool to frame the experience of a candidate within the context of an employer.

Finally, the area in which most candidates fall short is in asking questions that demonstrate genuine engagement. If information is available on the Web site of an employer, there is no need to ask for that information.

It is a good idea to engage employers by asking about their work, trends and goals. Successful professionals are proud of their work. Asking good questions is a way to demonstrate that you are eager to be part of their world.

Entering a new profession can be daunting even in good times. New rules, relationships and expectations can make even the most confident job seeker nervous. When the market becomes stressful, job seekers, in the words of Horace, can still be "bold and valiant."

Steve Langerud is assistant dean for career services at the University of Iowa College of Law.