Advice for Transitioning to Non-Law Job Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey guys, looking for some input here.

Here is my situation:

I recently graduated from a T14 school. I did fairly well in school. Not law review, but probably good enough to have gotten a firm job. However, I went to law school to work in public interest and so along the way I took classes, clinics, and summer jobs that dealt with criminal law and indigent defense. Both my 1L and 2L summers I was in a public defender office. I have no experience with corporate/business law.

Flash forward to today. I'm currently clerking for a criminal judge at the state level. I have applied to several public defender offices, and gotten a few interviews, but have not been offered a job as of yet. I know I am running out of time, and frankly, the entire process has really discouraged me. It seems it is just as hard to land a job as a public defender right now as any other law job. It makes me wish I had just tried to pursue a career in something else. It makes me wish I had just sold myself out and tried to get a firm job like other people in my class. It's becoming more and more likely that I will end my clerkship without a public defender job.

My question is, what is the best way to try and transition into a career outside of the law? What are the best non-law jobs to apply for with a J.D.? What's the best way to spin my background in a cover letter if I'm applying to a corporation? What's the best way to re-structure my resume? I am willing and open to working almost any entry level job. I am just disillusioned with the law and public interest work now that I have been battling for these low-paying jobs with thousands of other attorneys and not getting anywhere.

Thanks in advance guys.

[DELG]

Have you been applying to other clerkships?

[haus]

What do you want to do? What are you interested in? What are your best skills? What region(s) are you willing to live/work in? What do you think of being on call, or unusual hours?

[Anonymous User]

I suppose I am interested in entry level corporate work: project management, compliance, human resources stuff like that. I also would be willing to work for a non profit organization or government. I'd even do manual labor if it paid well.

Sadly, a lot of these laborer jobs pay better than public defender offices and they have opportunities for overtime. I'd prefer to first go for a corporate job, but I could really see myself just taking a break and going to work construction or roofing or pipelining, something like that. Honestly I'm so fed up with the legal profession in general. Perhaps I should explain that in my cover letter? That I've grown frustrated with the legal profession but that I still learned valuable skills in law school that would translate to a corporate setting? I don't know.

To answer the above question, yes I'm willing to work odd hours and be on call. I'm willing to move almost anywhere. Right now I have a pending application to be admitted to Minnesota (since you can waive in based on your MBE score) and I'm hoping to move up to Minneapolis area in the fall and give it one more shot at public defender jobs. If I don't get one around there at least I will be in a state with a decent economy and lots of Fortune 500 companies to try and break in.