Translating Legal Skills for a Non-Legal Job Doesn't Start With Your Resume

Translating Legal Skills for a Non-Legal Job Doesn't Start With Your Resume

From The Former Lawyer Podcast by Sarah Cottrell

May 18, 2026 · 10 min · Episode 309

About this episode

This episode discusses the misconception that revising a resume is the first step for lawyers transitioning to non-legal jobs and emphasizes the importance of recognizing transferable skills.

When lawyers start thinking about doing something else, the first thing they reach for is almost always the resume. It feels like real progress. It produces something tangible. And for lawyers who are used to having clear work product, that matters a lot. What actually happens is the opposite. You sit down to revise it, you stare at a bunch of legalese you wrote years ago, and within an hour you've convinced yourself you have no transferable skills and should probably just quit and stay in th...

People in this episode

Host: Sarah Cottrell

Topics covered

  • career transition
  • legal skills
  • resume building
  • job search
  • transferable skills

Keywords

  • lawyer transition
  • non-legal job
  • resume
  • transferable skills
  • career change

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