divine angst

I’m feeling better about my resume now. Mr. Angst helped me retool it some, so that my experience resonates more from a corporate perspective–even though I have never really worked in a corporate environment. I’m suddenly using words like “revenue” and “initiative.” Me! Revenue? Initiative? I guess I tend not to think of my employment in those terms, even if those terms apply. I’m still too touchy-feely, I guess.

I also finished revising my writing sample. So now all that’s left is . . . cover letters. Argh! I think I’ll draft some of those this afternoon. Maybe by tomorrow I can have some things to put in the mail!

I don’t like that the 1L job search seems crafted to make you doubt your self-worth. In all the job searches I’ve done in my time, I have never felt, at the resume-and-cover-letter-stage, that I was in the position of a beggar. But now I do–I’ll take any crumb at all as a sign that I am worthy to be paid this summer, that I am valuable enough to be hireable. And that’s ridiculous!

I also wonder if ANY law school career services office has the time and resources to do anything useful for people like me, who are career-changers and need, perhaps, a little more coaching in the legal job search. Mr. Angst, not a lawyer, was able to give me better advice in five minutes of looking at my resume than my career services advisor could. And that’s absurd! Who is the expert being paid to help me write a resume? NOT Mr. Angst.

So the job search process is frustrating. I think the best thing for me at this point would be to send out some stuff and see what results. And keep revising and redirecting my approach.