HELP: Law school application process

christinaguillen8

I'm trying to apply to law school but I have a major problem. I've worked at an uneventful startup the last two years. It's been my passion but now I don't have anyone to ask for a letter of recommendation. I graduated in 2013 and I don't think that my professors/ mentors will remember me. Also, my resume has major gaps bc I've only been at this "company" and the shitty odd jobs in college. I'm the first person in my family to graduate from college. Any suggestions would be great.

cverdugo

Is there anyone in the company that could write a LOR for you? Even though it was 'uneventful' as you say, it sounds like maybe someone there could speak to your passion: even if they are just a co-worker, or the relationship was in some capacity other than supervisor. Someone who can speak to who you really are is better than nothing. And the good news is that LOR are not heavily weighted in your admissions as other factors. As long as the person writing it doesn't write something negative or their writing gives off a tone like they hardly know you. This brings me to my final piece of advice, STAY AWAY from people that have no direct experience working with you or those people who will write you a LOR as a favor. I don't know how many times someone I know tells me "I know so and so from non-profit company X that will write you!" Always tell them respectfully know. Admissions have spent years looking at LOR and can tell when something is written superficially, this would be more of a negative than anything.

I would say just find 2 or 3 of the people you know that have direct working experience with you. You don't want a disinterested Professor writing a LOR or having them never respond to the LSAC e-mail because they were so uninterested!

Pacifico

I don't understand what you mean by "uneventful" or what it is to do with this situation. If you worked hard and contributed to the company then there has to be someone that could write a rec to reflect that. Furthermore, you are a fairly recent graduate so you really need at least one and really should have two academic LORs. You should have ~40 or so professors to choose from so I would work a little harder to try and find someone. And if you actually had someone that you would call a mentor then there is no reason they should forget you after just a few years. While much of the advice given above is solid, I would caution against applying without any academic LORs as it would look somewhat suspicious since you are such a recent graduate. If you were 10-20 years or more out of school it would be a different story but as it is you should definitely have somebody from academia that could write one for you.

As for your resume, how is it possible to have "major gaps" if you graduated less than three years ago and have worked somewhere for two years? At most you have less than a year of looking for work or however you want to frame it, but this is not what I would term a major gap, especially given the job market at the time. You're very young and will have a one page resume so I'm not sure what you're worried about. As long as you have substantive bullet points for your current job it won't be a big deal.

Sheri123

@Pacifico have your ears been burning

UEconomist

I graduated 2011. If you have a professor you liked, it doesn't hurt to try to ask them. Refresh their memory who you are. Maybe dig up an old essay you wrote in their class and include.

mimimimi

i graduated in 2002. i asked three profs from college they all remember me and offer to write my lor... just ask!

lsatings

@christinaguillen8 said:
I graduated in 2013 and I don't think that my professors/ mentors will remember me.

Email a few profs whose classes you received good grades in. Mention a few things that might make them remember you. Also, in the email mention that you would be open to meeting in person and providing any anecdotes that they might need for your letter. Say you'd love to help in any way that you can. That usually encourages nice professors who might be hesitant about doing this on their own, especially if their memory is limited.

If this does not work for you, then when you ask for your supervisor's letter of recommendation, make sure that they discuss at length your academic/intellectual capabilities, so that information that law schools are looking for is not necessarily compromised. Again, tell your supervisor you would be happy to work with them during this process.

@christinaguillen8 said:
Also, my resume has major gaps bc I've only been at this "company" and the shitty odd jobs in college.

This shouldn't be something you stress about. A lot, if not most, applicants have gaps in their resume. Instead, maybe section off gaps in your resume and talk about how you were looking for jobs, but then also detail any activities you may have done during this off time. Maybe you volunteered? Maybe you used that time off to get published? Maybe you studied for the LSAT? etc. It's important to point out that this is not that big of a deal, and that unless schools ask for you to format it in such a way that gaps in your resume are obvious/need to be explained, then just leave it and don't draw unnecessary attention to it. Life happens, and schools understand that.

Also, don't worry if they're shitty odd jobs. Deans know that most pre-laws will deal with shitty odd jobs. I know one dean was discussing how you should instead put in your resume any leadership related job duties that you had. Did you learn anything in this job? What did you do exactly that you enjoyed there? Etc. That way, even if you were a telemarketer, at least you were 'telemarketer of the month' and that's something they like to see.

Nicole Hopkins

@christinaguillen8 said:
I graduated in 2013 and I don't think that my professors/ mentors will remember me.

Mine remembered me from a decade ago.

It's worth a shot.

christinaguillen8

Thank you all so much! I love 7sage and the community.

Nicole Hopkins

@christinaguillen8 said:
Thank you all so much! I love 7sage and the community.