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  • Wednesday, September 01, 2004

    Speed dating for law students?

    I feel like I've just been through a round of speed dating, even though I have never actually done it. Ya' see, in law school, there's this thing called "early interview week" which provides students and prospective employers the opportunity to size each other up. It's just like speed dating in a weird way.

    Each player in the game starts out with the other's profile. In the case of law students, we read the firm's website and profile in various law resources. The firms get our resumes, whittled down to one and only one page. The whole game commands and commandeers most of a downtown DC hotel, so you see these very young, wobbly, well-heeled (that's why they're wobbly) and well-suited (although not necessarily suitable) young folks rushing around, sitting around and generally loitering during the whole lottery process.

    Each interview is slated for about 20 minutes. Each "interview" takes place in a hotel room. So, like the soul-sellers that we aspire to be, the students go 'round and 'round and 'round. It's definitely speed dating with the ultimate goal of getting asked on a second date...

    "Did he like me? Will he ask me back?"

    The creepy thing is that this all takes place in a hotel room with the bed right there. The context is surreal and very unprofessional IMHO even though it is the process which launches most professional legal careers. I couldn't help but think it bizarre so I even told several of my interviewers that it seemed like speed dating to me. Some lawyers don't have a sense of humor.

    Fortunately, some do. And yes, I got several second dates.

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