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I was in big law for a year before I was stealthed. I was lucky enough to go in-house without any resume gap. I was in-house for almost two years before the company's financial situation resulted in mass layoffs, and I was laid off again. I'm now a temporary attorney with the state government thanks to an old boss at one of those aforementioned jobs. I still have "website time" at the in-house job, and am currently applying to private practice jobs without mentioning my current temp attorney job.

The job history on my resume makes me look like a serial job hunter at best, and incompetent at worst. In contrast to that narrative, I've received great reviews from attorneys I've worked with, particularly at the in-house position. I've been greeted with suspicion in my callbacks (which is fair given my resume) and haven't received any offers despite months of searching. Any thoughts on listing the temporary attorney position on my resume? On one hand, I'm concerned a resume that says "Big law -> in-house -> temp attorney" will make me radioactive for any position moving forward, despite the fact that I've just been quite unlucky. On the other hand, I could point to it as evidence of my competence because my old boss wanted to work with me again.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated. Happy to provide additional information without doxing myself.

The entire point of website time is for this scenario. Use it. If you don’t have any offers once it runs out, then list the temp job since it’s better than nothing (but not as good as the in house position).

Nobody cares that you’ve moved around jobs. You need to be applying for positions seeking the right level of experience (1-3 years in your case). And you should try not to be defensive or overly explain why things didn’t work out in interviews. Be forward focused.

That said, typically if someone is doing a decent job, they aren’t stealthed. Being stealthed is when firms use an economic excuse to trim low performers. You should take an honest look at yourself/your work to see if your “great reviews” were genuine or (more likely) simply someone saying basic niceties while you maybe overlook the weaknesses. It’s ok not to be great at the job but you should at least know where you can improve. You come off as pretty insecure and if I had to guess, your work product wasn’t as good as you think it was for you to be in this position.

DisappointedSummer wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 12, 2024 5:14 pm

The entire point of website time is for this scenario. Use it. If you don’t have any offers once it runs out, then list the temp job since it’s better than nothing (but not as good as the in house position).

Nobody cares that you’ve moved around jobs. You need to be applying for positions seeking the right level of experience (1-3 years in your case). And you should try not to be defensive or overly explain why things didn’t work out in interviews. Be forward focused.

That said, typically if someone is doing a decent job, they aren’t stealthed. Being stealthed is when firms use an economic excuse to trim low performers. You should take an honest look at yourself/your work to see if your “great reviews” were genuine or (more likely) simply someone saying basic niceties while you maybe overlook the weaknesses. It’s ok not to be great at the job but you should at least know where you can improve. You come off as pretty insecure and if I had to guess, your work product wasn’t as good as you think it was for you to be in this position.

+1

A couple of job moves early in your legal career is nothing and you can easily explain the story here if anyone asks. "I didn't like biglaw so I moved in house, my company then had mass layoffs which I unfortunately was a part of, and now I'm at [state gov job] because my old boss wanted me to join them."

The legal job market has been tough (and has been for awhile). Keep your head up and keep applying!