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RESUME TIPS "A resume must capture the interest of an employer in ten seconds or less" As unbelievable as the statement sounds, it is true. Every accomplishment, every step to achievement needs to be summed up in a concise, easy to read summary that can be scanned quickly by a decision maker. You need to make a compelling statement that will motivate the employer to pick up the phone and call you. "Your resume is your most important marketing tool". Most legal professionals put an exorbitant number of hours into their job search, but put very little time into their primary marketing tool. In order to write an effective resume, you need to do a little self-assessment. Succeeding in your resume preparation, and, ultimately in your career, requires (1) knowing who you are, (2) knowing the skills you have, and (3) knowing where you are going. After having reviewed thousands of resumes over the years, the ones that stand out - the ones that land people jobs - are the ones that show a clear career direction. Even if you have a really good resume, it would be worth your while to do the following exercise.
You should also speak with friends and coworkers to get their thoughts on what they believe to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses. When you are preparing any resume, "who you are" will be summed up in a document generally of one page and will be reviewed very quickly. You must make an instant impression. Your resume is not a novel! Resumes generally should never be longer than one page. This is a difficult task for many legal professionals to do, especially those professionals with extensive, unique experience. The remains that an employer needs to know the specifics but will not spend a lot of time hunting through minutiae. In the case of corporate attorneys who have been practicing more that a few years, it is generally useful to have an attachment to the resume that lists their significant transactions. Similarly, in the case of those seeking careers in academia, multi-page curriculum vitae are acceptable, even necessary. However, attachments should be distinguished from the main resume. In the main resume, you still need to maintain a clear and concise appearance and structure. Clean, simple formatting and appearance makes the grade every time! A resume always needs to be easy to read and must have a flawless appearance. In order to make the best impression, a resume should be in an easy to read font that will enable an employer to easily scan it to learn about your skills and experience. You need to ensure that your resumes, cover letters and envelopes are all printed on the same stationary. Resumes should always be printed on high-quality white or off-white paper. It goes without saying that a resume should be completely error-free. You should always proofread your resume, and have colleagues proofread it to eliminate any typographic errors. One spelling error can make you look unprofessional and may cost you an interview. Margins, tabs and other formatting must be consistent. In addition, you should emphasize the names of your current and past employers so that eh person reviewing your resume will know at a glance where you have worked. Below are some important considerations to keep in mind about the formatting of your resume: Contact Information Don't get cute with your contact information. It should be formatted to be simple to read. Basically it should be laid out thusly. John Doe Jr. Preferably, your name should be
in bold and larger font so that it stands out. You should also use
your private email address because you want to appear discrete. Avoid putting this on a legal resume. This is more useful in non-legal job searches. Education Unless you have been out of school longer than three or four years, you should put your education first on your resume. You generally want to list your most recent degree, followed by your undergraduate degree. Honors and Activities Along with your education, you should always list your significant honors and activities on your resume. Most attorneys and legal professionals incorporate this into their educational sections, although a separate section is just as common. The honors section lists anything of importance such as Dean's List, cum laude, or magna cum laude. If you have received any unusual honors or distinctions, it is useful to include brief explanations. In the activities section of your resume, you should indicate any student organizations, sports you may have participated in, offices you held, and local community organizations of which you were a member. Experience Your resume should list all of your work experience in reverse chronological order. However, if you have been practicing law for at least two or three years you should limit the identity of your previous employers to those that were law-related and/or post-law school. The most important part of the experience section of your resume is the descriptions you use to describe each employment. Through the careful selection of words and phrases, you should paint a dynamic and exciting picture of your work. Do not exaggerate your experience or accomplishments, however, because you do not want to give potential employers the sense that you can do certain types of work for which they may interest in hiring you. The descriptions should highlight the experience most relevant to your current search. Final Points to Remember
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