All these 'CV planning' webinars and sessions on how to nail the 'perfect CV' are making me feel all sorts of weird. If don't check all the boxes on their list to success, I'm a big loser?? [Thread]

When I joined law school I had no idea what a moot is or how law firms work or what is a vacation scheme. Some of my peers already knew all this and a lot more through older friends in law schools or their family backgrounds.

During my first semester break I didn't intern because like many in their first year of college I had no idea of what I wanted to do. As I was learning about different avenues law school opens up for students, some of my classmates were sending out applications to multiple places

A month later when I asked them how their experience was, they told me it was meh, they were mostly asked to sit around listening to pleadings or getting documents signed, hell one of my friends was asked to organise the files in a lawyer's office.

So naturally I asked them why did you do it? For the CV, they said.

In my first year I also volunteered to organize an international moot being held in my college. The work was pretty basic, keeping time during rounds etc and the best part was the good food.

I felt like there wasn't much to learn. (I did enjoy my time with my friends but really wasn't worth the long hours, sometimes as late as 2am)

So when I asked my friends why did you do it, they said xyz name looks good on the CV.

Cut to second year of law school and like most of my peers I haven't done many internships or moots, because maybe I didn't know where to go or maybe where I wanted to go, I wasn't accepted. And that is while I'm very privileged. Many don't get to, bc of systematic inequalities.

Language, fluency, family background, connections and contacts, and obviously not having a clue of what you want to do in life play a big role.

So now when I see people who have been very fortunate in life sharing a checklist of things to do in law school, I feel like I'm far far far behind.

For many of my peers I know it's much worse.

I was starting to find my interests and think about how to grow in that area when this checklist became a metric of judging my 'success'. While I was still thinking I have three years to figure it out, this checklist tell me that I've lost two already.

No, I don't think there's a straightforward formula that you apply and boom you'll be successful.

It takes hardwork, mental strength and whole lotta good fortune to be 'successful'.

So while lots of these webinar people might be genuinely trying to help students out, maybe think about how it places an undue pressure on many, how it can be misguiding, and how a conventionally well endowed CV is not the be all end all of law school experience.

Lots of these people work in law firms, are successful advocates and academics, maybe try to promote a work culture where we look for people who work hard, and try hard and are really talented, and not just people with the 'perfect CV'.

And as law students, maybe we should genuinely try to help our juniors out, don't tell them that xyz moot is imp., Help them prepare for it. Don't tell them a 6+ gpa is imp., help them with academic if they need it. Don't tell them xyz is the 'perfect CV', help them grow.