What to Leave Off of an Attorney Resume

Dear Lawcrossing,

I don't know whether I should put my work experience prior to law school on my resume. I was a Hooters girl. I probably wouldn't even ask except that I have a friend at law school who used to be a male stripper, and it doesn't seem to hurt him. What do you think?


DK, California,

DEAR DK,

LawCrossing thinks, DK, that this is one situation where you don't want to make a clean breast of things. (LawCrossing apologizes, DK, but we couldn't resist.)

The most important thing to realize is that in the long run, your hooting experience won't hurt you one bit. LawCrossing has been positively startled to find out, in fact, that many respected members of the legal profession got their start in various states of undress; why, there is a federal judge in the Northeast who used to be a Playboy bunny. The question is, DK, how do you get from here to there?

The problem is, of course, that the moment you mention to anyone that you've been a Hooters girl, well, that's what they're going to remember about you. As Susan Gainen, Career Services Director at the University of Minnesota School of Law, explains, "Sure, there are some people who will think it's amusing. But others are going to believe you're a traitor to your gender. And still others won't take you seriously if they meet you knowing that you were a Hooters girl."

So, what should you do? "Simply put 'other experience' on your resume, list 'Waitressed,' and put Hooters, corporate name, if it doesn't give away the fact that it was Hooters. A lot of restaurants are owned by parent companies that go by an entirely different name. Regardless of whether you include the corporate name or not, put down how many hours a week you worked, and how much of your education you financed as a result," says a career services director. By doing so, you will focus on your work ethic, and that's a huge positive. Why, LawCrossing knows a law student who worked her way through law school at a nightclub, serving Jell-o shots on Friday and Saturday nights. She pulled in over $1,000 a weekend this way, and got out of law school debt-free. Leading one, perhaps naturally, to question, "Why not keep the Jell-o shots job and chuck law school?" Ah, but the letters "Esq." look so much more impressive on one's business card than "Semi-molten beverage purveyor."

Do not take any of this to suggest that being a Hooters girl is something to be embarrassed about, DK. The point is that, as the Director explains, "Law school is one of those times in life when you can reinvent yourself. You don't lie about your past, but you can shade and shadow what you've done if you no longer want to be known that way." To be perfectly blunt, DK, you now want to be known as the smartest, most personable, most insightful lawyer you can be. You don't want lawyers on the hiring committee to say, when your name comes up, "Oh, yeah, her. Nice rack."

Once they know you, DK, everything changes. Most people will think it's cool that you were a Hooters girl. Frankly, LawCrossing thinks it's, well, a hoot. But nonetheless, until you have your dream job, the least-risk alternative is to speak of your experience in general terms.

If someone in an interview pins you to specifics, fine; as the Director says, "At least you'll have shown that you're discreet." Just tell them where you worked, but add that the reason you didn't say that on your resume is that you don't want to be prejudged. After all, you got out of your experience what every waitperson does, no matter where they work-namely, great skills working with people.

As for your male stripper colleague . . . well, DK, as the Director says, "It's funny, it's not fair, but it's true-he won't be misjudged, but you will." It's a man's world, DK, at least when it comes to jobs that require varying states of dishabille.
By the way, DK, when you have followed LawCrossing's advice and scaled the heights in your legal career, may LawCrossing propose a title for your memoirs? "From Hooters to the Supreme Court."

LawCrossing thanks you for letting her get that off her chest.

See 6 Things Attorneys and Law Students Need to Remove from Their Resumes ASAP If They Want to Get Jobs with the Most Prestigious Law Firms for more information.