Resume
— “The presentation in a formal
document or form of a person’s employment history and skills they possess.”
-Oxford’s
English Dictionary
I’ve been really
inspired to do a monthly theme for my posts, and this month, I decided on the
theme of professional development. My
first post is on what I consider to probably be one of the most important
things a law student has, your legal resume!
I’ve had an ever changing resume draft since high school; however, a
professional resume needs to highlight the skills you can bring to a potential
employer. Read on for tips on how to
perfect your resume!
Contact Information
The first thing on your
resume should be your contact information to ensure that interviewers and
hiring committees know how to contact you.
Personally, I suggest utilizing your law school email to maintain a
professional feel. Don’t use an email
you made in the fifth grade (we all have them, and they’re all embarrassing). Additionally, if your permanent address is
different than where you live at law school, definitely include both,
especially if you’re looking for a position near your hometown. Also, put a phone number where you’ll
reliably pick up or have a voicemail connected to ensure you receive any
messages from potential employers.
Education
The first section in
your resume should be related to your educational background, starting with
your law school. Included in your law
school section should be your GPA, rank, and any activities you’re involved
with at law school. For college, the
same information is included; however, your major, minor, and any honors should
be included. If you wrote a thesis
during your years in college, include its name in your college section. Personally, most interviewers don’t ask me
about my thesis, but that’s likely because mine was about chemistry. This section takes up a large section of a
resume, but it’s important information employers like to see.
Experience
Besides your contact
information, this actually is probably one of the most important sections of a
resume. It showcases the work you have
done that will help you in the job you applied for. Your employment should be listed most recent
to least. If you currently have more
than one job, list the one that started more recently first. More important than where you worked is
listing accomplishments that set you apart.
I typically like to have two bullet points listing out my experience,
except for some jobs that are self-explanatory, like tour guide during
college. As you gain more experience,
those jobs that aren’t as relevant can be removed from your resume. One thing to remember while you’re writing
about your experience is to really showcase what you did; using verbs really helps
in this.
Skills and Interests
I think of this last
section as being a way to showcase your personality. I include that I run a law school blog on
mine, and you’d be surprised how many times this comes up in an interview. Really, I find this section to show companies
that you have interests outside of law school and that you don’t spend all of
your time studying.
A last word of advice
is to make sure you proofread your resume with a fine tooth comb. Since a resume is the first thing that an
employer sees, it needs to be perfect.
Things I ensure are perfect are the periods at the end of your
sentences, spelling, and grammar. Have
another person look over your resume to spot any mistakes you might have missed
when you reviewed it.
What other themes would
you like to see in the coming months? I
have some ideas, but would love to hear what you guys would like to read!
Always these above given points in your resume because this is the legal way to write resume. We should never ignore these basic points otherwise your resume can be neglected so be careful in writing. .
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