Since interviews are far more polite than useful, it’s important for evening students to address some of the doubts interviewers often have but won’t explicitly address – that you might be (1) in law school because the other career didn’t work out (2) an eternal student or (3) just haven’t figured out what you want to do with your life yet.

If you implicitly address those issues, the interviewer is likely to be a lot more comfortable with you. I went to law school to become a lawyer does all three.

Once you’re past that it’s easy to focus on the upside of what you offer as an evening student – (1) I can work a 40-hour week and then some (2) you can trust me to talk to clients without saying something idiotic, and (3) I don’t feel entitled to anything, I expect to work hard and prove myself like I’ve always done.

It’s easy to let the interviewer dictate the interview but it’s dangerous. Often they haven’t thought about it more than glance at your resume. The interview is the one opportunity for you to tell the story beyond the resume.

The nice thing about being a second-career student is that they’re less likely to ask silly questions about which class is my favorite – there are plenty of other things to talk about.