Dear Ann Landers,
read with interest the letter from Unem-ployed MBA/JD. I work in a law firm and her story is one I've heard before. Many times. The market is so glutted with lawyers that our small firm is able to hire Ivy League graduates for associate positions. In fact, they are beating our doors down. It definitely is an employer's market. We have received a large num-ber of resumes from attorneys who are applying for paralegal posi-tions. Their cover letters state that they have been trying to find positions without success and are willing to work as paralegals to get a foot in the door. The attorneys we do hire are expected to work diligently and be ex-tremely competent. If they don't measure up, they don't last long. Re-placements are a dime a dozen. One thing is for sure-I am not going to encourage my children to be lawyers. Jobs are hard to find, the hours are long and the pay is lousy. Good luck to Unemployed MBA/JD. She will need it. -Sympathizer in D.C.

Dear Sympathizer,
The job market is tough not only for brand new lawyers, but fledgling doctors, engineers and business school graduates, etc. When young people write and ask me how to find em-ployment, I don't know what to tell them. My response to people who are desperate for jobs is the same as Tarzan's comment to Jane: "It's a jungle out there." I know of no magic words to open those doors. A reader from Issaquah, Wash., wrote about how hard it was to get a job. I suggested that perhaps her negative attitude had something to do with her failure to land something. I caught unshirted hell for that one.