Many law school graduates searching for legal jobs are considering work outside of the legal field that may help them gain the experience they need.  There are many experiences and skills attained in a non-legal job that can be transferred to the law firm environment.  Let's take a look at some of those essential skills and which jobs may help you hone them.

1.    Well, first off, a law school graduate generally has already developed his/her analytical reasoning and argumentation skills along with the ability to comprehend large amounts of complex information. So finding non-legal work that utilizes and strengthens these abilities may be wise. Researcher, legal reporter/journalist or consultant may be good picks.

2.    The ability to persuade others with the written and spoken word could be valuable to a any law firm; but especially those focused on litigation. Sales and marketing jobs would definitely sharpen these skills and offer valuable hands-on experience with using persuasion effectively.

3.    Extensive ties to a community or the ability to network.  Having connections to (or the ability to forge connections with) influencers or powerbrokers can become a valuable bargaining chip when looking for work at a law firm.  Working with a company that allows or requires you to develop relationships in the community would help you develop a network of people that could be valuable to a law firm looking for inroads into a particular market. Think about working with a grassroots non-profit or community based organization to get experience networking in the community.