Job ideas after the LSAT

Comments

• 3 Likes

  alyhobbs Alum Member

  August 2018 715 karma

  I’m totally in the same boat! Following this to see what advice is offered.
• 2 Likes

  mynameisjeff Member

  August 2018 519 karma

  Same here. I will only be available till next fall. I might look into a clerkship/filing clerk
• 2 Likes

  JPJ July2021 Core Member

  August 2018 1532 karma

  With the midterms coming up you could get involved with a political campaign.
• 3 Likes

  Habeas Porpoise Alum Member Sage ⭐

  August 2018 edited August 2018 1866 karma

  I'm actually moving right after the LSAT for a job I accepted. It's not related to law, but I plan to work hard and put in my time for however many months (11?) before law school so there hopefully won't be any issue when I leave before a year is up. And if I happen to not get the results I want this cycle, I won't have to worry about finding a job or debt as I wait for next cycle.

  If you have a job that you think would be fun or have always wanted to try before you head to law school, now is probably a good time to pursue it.
• 3 Likes

  Trust the Process Alum Member

  August 2018 304 karma

  Reach out to a staffing agency and tell them you are interested in temp positions!
• 2 Likes

  jhbm_nyc Alum Member

  August 2018 568 karma

  You could look into AmeriCorps. Service is usually for 11 months, but there are 6 month-long positions, too.
• 1 Like

  Ohnoeshalpme Alum Member ⭐

  August 2018 2531 karma

  You could volunteer for a few non-profits that you support and take some personal time to accomplish a life-long goal. If I had the extra time i'd write a novel and work as a volunteer at one of my local organizations.
• 6 Likes

  _oshun1_ Alum Member

  August 2018 edited August 2018 3652 karma

  I am considering on applying for another legal assistant position but I know I may not be an ideal candidate since I would only be available for less than a year.

  Do you want a job or not? If you want a job then don’t tell people you’re going to law school. I’m sorry but unless you’re working as a waitress or in retail or at a temp job you’re not going to be hired if you mention that you’re not going to be working there long term.
• 3 Likes

  JustDoIt Alum Member ⭐

  August 2018 3112 karma

  I worked as a paralegal and really enjoyed it. It was also talked about during interviews
• 7 Likes

  Accounts Playable Live Sage ⭐

  August 2018 3107 karma

  @"surfy surf" said:

  I am considering on applying for another legal assistant position but I know I may not be an ideal candidate since I would only be available for less than a year.

  Do you want a job or not? If you want a job then don’t tell people you’re going to law school. I’m sorry but unless you’re working as a waitress or in retail or at a temp job you’re not going to be hired if you mention that you’re not going to be working there long term.

  This is 100% true. Never share more than what is absolutely necessary in a job interview/employer.
• 1 Like

  helentang02 Alum Member

  August 2018 246 karma

  @"surfy surf" said:

  I am considering on applying for another legal assistant position but I know I may not be an ideal candidate since I would only be available for less than a year.

  Do you want a job or not? If you want a job then don’t tell people you’re going to law school. I’m sorry but unless you’re working as a waitress or in retail or at a temp job you’re not going to be hired if you mention that you’re not going to be working there long term.

  Thank you. That's what I wanted to hear.
• helentang02 Alum Member

  August 2018 246 karma

  @Ohnoeshalpme said:
  You could volunteer for a few non-profits that you support and take some personal time to accomplish a life-long goal. If I had the extra time i'd write a novel and work as a volunteer at one of my local organizations.

  Wow great idea! I hope you find some time to write a novel and volunteer. Besides work I plan to visit my dad in Shanghai and re-learn Mandarin.
• helentang02 Alum Member

  August 2018 246 karma

  @jhbm_nyc said:
  You could look into AmeriCorps. Service is usually for 11 months, but there are 6 month-long positions, too.

  Thank you! Looking into this.
• helentang02 Alum Member

  August 2018 246 karma

  @"Habeas Porpoise" said:
  I'm actually moving right after the LSAT for a job I accepted. It's not related to law, but I plan to work hard and put in my time for however many months (11?) before law school so there hopefully won't be any issue when I leave before a year is up. And if I happen to not get the results I want this cycle, I won't have to worry about finding a job or debt as I wait for next cycle.

  If you have a job that you think would be fun or have always wanted to try before you head to law school, now is probably a good time to pursue it.

  Thank you for sharing. I am hoping to land a job for 11 or so months as well.Congratulations on the new job!
• 5 Likes

  _oshun1_ Alum Member

  August 2018 3652 karma

  @"Accounts Playable" said:

  @"surfy surf" said:

  I am considering on applying for another legal assistant position but I know I may not be an ideal candidate since I would only be available for less than a year.

  Do you want a job or not? If you want a job then don’t tell people you’re going to law school. I’m sorry but unless you’re working as a waitress or in retail or at a temp job you’re not going to be hired if you mention that you’re not going to be working there long term.

  This is 100% true. Never share more than what is absolutely necessary in a job interview/employer.

  Yeah I had an employer call me that they wanted to hire me for a paralegal job and then shortly after they emailed me like you know what nevermind bc you're going to law school. I think that one was more of an issue of pay and hours as she definitely hesitated when I mentioned my salary expectations. I did learn afterward to just say that I'm looking to possibly get a paralegal cert. in the future and I want to find a company I can grow with. Saying that landed me 2 job offers.

  Even after the partner of one firm I interviewed with mentioned that I should go to law school and a lot of their employees move on to law school, I kept my mouth shut. My last job which I quit, at first they were really supportive and enthused about me going to law school, and they gave me a raise after a few weeks. Then later on when I mentioned more specifically that I wanted to get in to a top school, my boss (who went to one of the lowest ranked law schools in the nation) started to treat me like shit, and I got screamed at specifically re law school.

  So even if someone seems supportive about their employees going to law school, I just wouldnt mention it. Even if your boss went to Harvard, who knows maybe they'll get upset if they find out you want to go to Yale. I'd rather have a comfortable work environment than be 100% open.
• 2 Likes

  Habeas Porpoise Alum Member Sage ⭐

  August 2018 edited August 2018 1866 karma

  @helentang02 said:

  @"Habeas Porpoise" said:
  I'm actually moving right after the LSAT for a job I accepted. It's not related to law, but I plan to work hard and put in my time for however many months (11?) before law school so there hopefully won't be any issue when I leave before a year is up. And if I happen to not get the results I want this cycle, I won't have to worry about finding a job or debt as I wait for next cycle.

  If you have a job that you think would be fun or have always wanted to try before you head to law school, now is probably a good time to pursue it.

  Thank you for sharing. I am hoping to land a job for 11 or so months as well.Congratulations on the new job!

  Thanks!

  This may or may not be useful for you, but I just wanted to add to what @"surfy surf" said about not mentioning that you'll be going to law school. I know it may feel a little uncomfortable especially since interviewers often ask about long-term goals/"where you see yourself in five years," but you'll just have to fudge it a little, so make sure to prepare an answer. I was asked something similar for this job and being prepared helped since I wanted to avoid lying, but didn't want to give the impression that I'm only going to stay for a few months and leave.

  Also, if there's any sort of bonus mentioned when you receive a job offer, make sure to find out when it's given out (end of a year, bi-annualy, etc). You'll likely want to negotiate prorating your bonus "in case circumstances force you to leave" before the year, and have it added to your employment agreement. If they hesitate you can balance this by offering to start the prorating after a certain number of months, where you wouldn't receive the bonus at all if you left earlier (to help make your potential employer feel more secure in your commitment). Otherwise you may lose out on any chance of extra money if you leave before the year is up. I ended up doing this for my job offer, both on the chance that I enter law school next year, and on the possibility that I don't like the work or the environment and choose to move to a different position. (When I told my parents I did this they were like, "what are you talking about, isn't that a given that they'd prorate it?" But after studying for this test I'm not making any assumptions )