Today, I was looking at job ads categorized under ‘legal’ — and most of the descriptions explicitly say, "Attorneys need not apply." I’m seeing this is more and more ads for job.
I guess in this tight economy, attorneys, like myself who were told in law school our degree was an asset, because we could tackle anything are applying for jobs outside their immediate field.
With almost one million lawyers in California and what seems like three jobs, we’re branching out. Unsuccessfully for the most part, I may add. To increase my chances, I’ve taken an unprecedented step.
I’ve finally done it despite years of threats.
I’ve taken my law degree off my resume.
For years, it’s been a hindrance.
Two years ago, an executive at Fox looked me directly in the eye during an interview and said, "I hate that attorneys think they can come in here and do our jobs just because they went to law school."
Needless to say, I didn’t get a call back from her.
Now, it’s deleted. It’s gone. Like it was never was there — despite the one hundred thousand dollars plus interest, I’m still struggling to pay off.
I haven’t gotten any response to my new lighter resume, but it has to be more positive than my current resume.
Just yesterday, and my millionth job interview in Los Angeles, I spent many minutes assuring my interviewers that even though I didn’t take a class in administrative law, and I never worked in finance, that I could grasp the concept of administrative hearings and could read financial documents and other balance sheets. Those seven years in Ivy League schools must have been worth something, right?
I’m not entirely sure they were convinced, but I found out they hired many more non-attorneys than attorneys. I may have had a better chance at the job without that J.D. on my resume.
Who knew?
The hatred of lawyers has spilled over into other industries — and it’s not pretty.
Four years ago a friend of mine was hiring folks for her company. She said when she got resumes from attorneys, she threw them out immediately. "What do they know about my business?" she asked. Now this didn’t stop her calling me for free advice when she had a legal problem related to that job, but I digress.
My response? "What could I know about your business?" and a shrug.
Now that Cornell Law School has gone by the wayside — maybe I can save myself from the round file.
Only time will tell.
