Strategies For Discussing Your Previous Career in a Law Firm Interview

Dear Lawcrossing,

I recently graduated from law school and passed the 0BM bar. Before law school, I spent a number of years as a secondary school teacher. Whenever I talk to employers, it seems they are interested in my teaching experience and want to know why I left that career. Why do you think there is this fascination? Should I even continue to include this information on my resume? It has been seven years since I got out of teaching and I have been in the legal environment completely since that time. What do you suggest, LawCrossing?


LS, Boston

DEAR LS,

Ah, you are going to be delighted when you discover the simple solution to your predicament. Everybody who worked before law school-and that's a lot of people-faces the "why law?" issue. So let's talk about what you're up against and how to turn it to your greatest advantage.

When an employer asks you about your prior career, there are, at first glance, two basic alternative responses. Either you were a real loser as a teacher, and nobody wants to hire a refugee from a bad career. Or you were a terrific teacher, which will call into question your decision-making ability, not to mention your credibility. In between, there are a whole raft of ill-thought-out, flip answers that "second-careerers" give when asked about their prior lives. The pantheon of truly horrible experiences include "I took the LSAT on a dare," "I've always been good at arguing," "I really like L.A. Law (or John Grisham books)," or the response that curdles an interviewer's blood-"I wanted to make more money." As a rule of thumb, if you would not feel comfortable breaking wind in an interview-and LawCrossing trusts you would not-then do not discuss money there, either.

So, what should you do, LS? First of all, de-fang the interviewer. You're not under attack. In the interviewer's shoes, you'd be naturally curious about that prior career, too. With that in mind, how do you characterize your prior career to enhance your chances of receiving an offer? The two keys here are "Stressing a long-term interest in the law, and pulling the transferable skills from your prior career," according to one career services director.

First, the long-term-interest element helps you dispel the notion that you're jumping into the law blind. A long, slow deliberation about your career change helps you immensely. Stress any experience you've had that exposed you to what you'd really do as a lawyer. For instance, the career of a relative or acquaintance, or a relevant clinic, class or volunteer work, would fit the bill, where watching old Perry Mason reruns wouldn't.

Second, the transferable skills element accomplishes two things for you. For a start, it shows that you really know what you're getting into; after all, you can't show what you're bringing to the table unless you know something about that table first. the Director, herself a school teacher in a prior life, points out that teaching is an excellent background for law, if you pull out the right assets. She lists some of the best ones: "Teaching gives you experience standing in front of people, which makes you good on your feet, an excellent skill for lawyers. Furthermore, since teachers don't have anyone looking over their shoulder most of the time, you're good at working independently. And apart from writing and verbal skills that all legal employers covet, you're good at explaining things to people. That means you'll be good at reducing complex legal ideas to a level clients can understand." You get the gist here, LS; you're not characterizing yourself as a teacher or tailor or candlestick-maker who went into law. Rather, you're showing the lawyering skills you're "pre-programmed" with as a result of your prior experience. And of course it would behoove you to do the same thing for any hobbies, part-time jobs, or any other kind of experience you have. Always think of yourself in terms of the skills you bring forward for your next employer, not what you technically did for your last employer.

Finally, please don't upset LawCrossing by suggesting you might lift your teaching career from your resume, leaving a gap of many years. You know, LS, that when employers see a gap in a resume, they assume the worst. Prison. Drug rehab. Witness protection program. Ugh! Much, much better to restructure your resume, as the Director suggests, on a "functional" basis, stressing functions you can perform over particular jobs you've held. (If you need to know more about resumes, LawCrossing is shamelessly delighted to refer you to her fabulous bestseller, a well-know legal job search book, which has a great chapter on resumes- and everything else, for that matter.)

So fear not, LS. Practice the words that show why "LS- former-teacher" will now be "LS-terrific-lawyer." LawCrossing promises you that you will be delighted by the reactions you receive.

See the following articles for more information:
 

• 21 Major Interview Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
• The Best Way to Prepare for a Job Search and Interviews
• How to Talk About Other Interviews in Your Interviews
• How to Answer the Tell Me About Yourself Interview Question
• How to Answer the Do You Have Any Questions for Me Interview Question