Experience with extended time *off* between job and 1L Forum

[JDeezy]

Been out of ugrad a few years. Thinking about leaving job in February or March, matriculating in September 2014.

I feel like the resume gap would be explainable, since part of the reason would be to travel/gain new experiences.

Would six months off look bad?

If anyone has done something similar, was it difficult to get focused for 1L?

[M458]

Been out of ugrad a few years. Thinking about leaving job in February or March, matriculating in September 2014.

I feel like the resume gap would be explainable, since part of the reason would be to travel/gain new experiences.

Would six months off look bad?

If anyone has done something similar, was it difficult to get focused for 1L?

Can you possibly ask your boss/supervisors to allow you to still work part-time remotely? I guess in sort of a freelance position where you just work on special projects as your schedule allows.

I'm not sure if 6 months will look bad, but I do think you might get a little stir-crazy after a while and having a source of income never hurts.

Also, what are you going to do abouth health insurance during those 6 months? It can be pretty expensive.

[Drake014]

Been out of ugrad a few years. Thinking about leaving job in February or March, matriculating in September 2014.

I feel like the resume gap would be explainable, since part of the reason would be to travel/gain new experiences.

Would six months off look bad?

If anyone has done something similar, was it difficult to get focused for 1L?

No one will care. You might get asked by an interviewer during OCI what you did, but it'll be more of a get to know you question than a we-don't-like-gaps question.

[062914123]

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[Drake014]

Been out of ugrad a few years. Thinking about leaving job in February or March, matriculating in September 2014.

I feel like the resume gap would be explainable, since part of the reason would be to travel/gain new experiences.

Would six months off look bad?

If anyone has done something similar, was it difficult to get focused for 1L?

No one will care. You might get asked by an interviewer during OCI what you did, but it'll be more of a get to know you question than a we-don't-like-gaps question.

Mind if I ask if you're speaking from experience? I've been considering something like this but am deathly afraid interviewers/adcomms will grill me on any gaps in my resume.

I was independently employed as a real estate broker. So even though I took the preceding 8 months off before law school, my resume didn't reflect it because technically I could say that I was still a real estate broker. However, I've known many people who took time off, and its really never come up as an issue.

[sparty99]

No one cares. Just put 2011-2012 on your resume. Done.

[mushybrain]

Just do something worth talking about while you're taking time off and then you've turned time off into something to discuss in an interview. As long as you can say something beyond "I played Halo for six months" I really wouldn't worry about it.

[KidStuddi]

I left my job in early May before 1L. Not entirely my choice to leave when I did (long story), but I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing for several months and loved it. No one has ever asked or cared about it. I don't imagine a few more months would change anything. As others have mentioned, the only person who would could call attention to it would be you if you choose to put specific dates on your resume. Furthermore, no one actually cares what you did before law school unless you are an engineer with relevant experience to an IP practice. At least firms don't. Maybe a PI org would be more interested in your non-law work experience.

That being said, unless you have a full ride to law school or someone else is footing the bill for your travel plans, you should be cautious about spending money frivolously (and forging 6 months of salary) after having made the decision to go to law school.

[Scotusnerd]

I had a year gap between my job and 1L. No one cared, because I filled up my resume with volunteer experience once I hit law school. It's not a big deal, just do something intreresting.

[062914123]

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[Scotusnerd]

To all you guys who have experience with this ITT: do you just leave everything pre-law school off your resume? Or do you just put down general dates for jobs e.g. 2010-2011 instead of May 2010-March 2011.

I had full-time experience working an 8-5 job for a year, so I put that in. I figured that was useful, and the job was relatable in some small fashions. However, I didn't include small jobs and working at the local burger king or whatever during high school.

Use the same date format for your job experience that you use for the rest of the resume. It just looks better, and no one really cares exactly when you had jobs before you were a law student.