Answering Job Interview Questions About Your Experience Gap After Law School

Dear Lawcrossing,

I graduated from law school a semester early, figuring that I'd have a leg up in the job market. Yeah, right! I've been out of work ever since graduation, and that's been more than six months. It's getting to the point where I dread talking to anybody about a job because I don't know how to deal with the question I know I'm going to get: "What have you been doing since graduation?" LawCrossing, help! What should I do?


Desperate in Detroit

DEAR DESPERATE,

Not what you're doing now, that's for sure ... if LawCrossing's hunch is correct, and you're trying to forget your troubles with a combination of daytime talk shows, cheese puffs, and beer.

In fact, you've already done at least one very smart thing, in summoning LawCrossing. She is very sympathetic to your plight because although it is not widely known, in the days when she was a mere mortal, LawCrossing herself was-ahem-"at liberty" for some time after law school. So she knows what you're thinking. No matter what the interviewer is saying, in your mind they're really thinking "Loser! Loser! Loser!" And why is that, Desperate? Because lurking in a horrible dungeon in your mind is a nagging little gremlin, telling you, "Maybe you really are a loser."

LawCrossing assures you that you are not a loser, Desperate. For a start, you're not alone. More than half of law students graduate from law school without a job, although virtually everybody is employed within a year after graduation. So you may consider what you are enduring as a typical, albeit unpleasant, rite of passage.

But, you plead, what should you do? "You have to do whatever it takes to keep your hand in the legal pie," according to Laura Rowe Lane, Associate Director of Career Development at George Washington University Law School. Get involved in things that will help you forget about your plight and rub elbows with people who can help you. For instance, contact your alma mater's career services office and see if your school participates in Pro Bono Students America ("PBSA"), an organization that matches up students and graduates with volunteer legal work. LawCrossing has had many favorable reports about PBSA projects, hearing them frequently characterized as "a blast"-they'll help you make contacts, give you valuable experience, and convince you that you really can do great work.

If PBSA isn't available to you, improvise! Contact the local bar association, and ask to volunteer for committees that interest you. Or ask if the local bar association has a referral service for volunteer work. Again-an excellent way to meet people who can help you, and get your feet wet as well. Also contact local law schools to find out about CLE classes being taught locally. This is a great way to show your interest in a specialty, bone up on what's new in the law, and again, to meet potential employers. Or consider doing some legal temping, for all of the same reasons. You wouldn't be the first person to turn a temporary job into a permanent offer.

In short, you may be feeling career-challenged right now, Desperate, but if you do as LawCrossing says, you'll feel better about yourself, and you'll find a wonderful job, to boot. LawCrossing asks for no more than the satisfaction of helping you accomplish exactly that.

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