Law students tend to write CVs that list everything they have ever done, in the hope that something will catch a recruiter's eye. Recruiters, reading dozens or hundreds of applications in a season, read them in a very different way: quickly, looking for a small number of specific signals. Most of the page gets skipped.
Understanding what recruiters look for is one of the simplest ways for a student to improve their chances, and one of the simplest ways for a college to improve its placement results.
What earns attention
- Internships described by work, not by name. "Researched limitation issues in a commercial arbitration and drafted a note for the partner" says far more than a firm's name and the dates attended.
- Evidence of writing. Published articles, research papers, blog posts on reputable platforms and moot memorials all demonstrate the skill firms test first.
- Moots and competitions, with your role. Speaker, researcher or memorial drafter, and how far the team went.
- A clear direction. A CV that points towards litigation, transactions or policy reads as more mature than one that points everywhere at once.
- Academic record, stated plainly. Recruiters will look for it; making them hunt for it does not help.
What gets skipped
- Long lists of online certificate courses.
- Generic skills such as "hardworking", "team player" or "excellent communication".
- Career objectives that could belong to any applicant.
- School-level achievements, unless genuinely exceptional.
- Dense formatting, small fonts and multiple colours.
Structure that works
A strong law student CV is usually one page, two at most. It leads with education, then legal experience described by the work done, then writing and competitions, then positions of responsibility and other interests. Each line should earn its place. If a recruiter could remove it without losing anything, it should go.
After the CV
For many firms, the research and drafting test is where shortlists are really decided. Students who have practised timed exercises, and received feedback from people who hire, perform noticeably better than those who have not. The interview then tests whether a student can explain their own work clearly, discuss a recent judgment intelligently and show genuine interest in the firm.
What colleges can do
Colleges that run CV clinics, mock drafting tests and mock interviews with practising lawyers see the difference in their placement seasons, and in what recruiters say about their students afterwards. The investment is modest; the effect on the college's reputation among firms can last for years.