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Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:38 am
by abcabc
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Re: Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:45 am
by filibuster
No worries. Just get good grades.

Re: Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:22 pm
by didntretake
I agree, no reason to be worried. As above just get good grades. If you get asked about job hopping, spin the same story you gave here into how you have now found your calling in law blah blah or whatever.

Re: Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:37 pm
by MarkfromWI
As long as those jobs were somewhat 9-5 office-y type gigs then you'll be miles ahead of your KJD classmates. Add good grades on top and you shouldn't really have to worry

Re: Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:51 pm
by abcabc
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Re: Short-term jobs before law school - Impact on OCI?

Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:51 pm
by WhiskeynCoke
abcabc wrote:So, I've held multiple jobs for 4 years before enrolling in law school. My gigs were nothing major or special. While I was never fired from the job or disciplined for any reason, I've never held a job for more than a year. I guess I just couldn't figure out what career path I wanted to take on before going to law school (I know, I know, 4 years is a long time to figure it out).

I don't have any gap in my resume, but I'm a bit concerned I may come across as a job-hopper threat to law firms and such during the OCI.

How valid is my concern? How much stock do firms put on pre-law school employment history? Any good strategy to spin this the right way?

Thanks!
You're fine. I was in the same exact position as you and I don't think it hurt me during OCI. I owned it and spun it as a "I needed to mature a bit more before I was ready to go all-in on law school" thing, which appeared to go over well. In fact, I think the underlined above will work great. It shows you have some life experience/perspective and have had a boss, paid bills, etc.

While relevant/"impressive" experience (i.e. Goldman) will give someone a boost, grades are still the most important for most firms. Just focus on grades now and prepare for your interviews during the summer.