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Hi,

I was wondering what' s your take on putting non-legal work experience on your resume. I was recently selected as a Board Member of an arts non-profit that celebrates indigenous Mexican culture. They don't really do legal work. My responsibilities include attending Board Meetings, strategic planning, fundraising, and grant writing. Are these transferrable skills in a legal context? Would it help if I am interested in PD/Legal Aid/small firms doing immigration, family, and disability law? Or should I save space for more overtly legal stuff?

Currently in the Vale (working PT, seeking FTLT legal position).

I would put it on for sure

Hutz_and_Goodman wrote:I would put it on for sure

Thanks. Should I include it under "EMPLOYMENT" or "LANGUAGES, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND INTERESTS"?

The latter.

also don't scream on your resume

BlueLotus wrote: Or should I save space for more overtly legal stuff?

This stuck out to me a little bit. Giving a full picture on your resume is more important than worrying about space requirements. Your non-profit experience certainly seems noteworthy considering what you're planning on doing, so it's more important that it's on your resume as compared to your resume being a certain size.

Make sure to use the paragraph style instead of the bullet point style if you're running out of space.

What are the "overtly legal" things this would replace? Are these legal internships? Part-time law clerk during law school? Research assistant? Student group membership? I would be careful taking something relevant off to include this position which is sounds irrelevant to an entry level legal job. Also if this is anything like the non-profit boards that people I've known are on, it means a monthly meeting and some very minor amount of outside work. That said, it seems like something that could easily be fit into one or two lines though, so maybe you don't need to cut anything for it. I could see it being useful for a public interest position to demonstrate a commitment to service.