Everything Law Students Need to Know about Crafting Resumes the Right Way
By Robin Salisian
Before you submit your legal resume, be sure to organize your resume to eliminate clutter, highlight your strengths, and emphasize your education and experiences. You should also be sure to perfect your cover letter. By doing these things, you'll be well on your way to crafting a legal resume that will land you your dream legal job.
Cover letters are most important for inexperienced attorneys because they can help express their enthusiasm and skills to potential employers better than a work experience section could.
Whether you're a first year law student or a soon-to-be graduate, crafting a well-written resume is essential to landing your dream job, whether it's a student internship, a law student clerkship, a legal staff job, or an attorney position.
I know law students are busy. One attorney in my family still has nightmares about law school, so I realize that the stress involved in studying for and passing the bar is high. However, one thing law students don't need to stress over is their resumes. Why? Because below, I've compiled a list of five great tips to help law students eliminate any resume fears as they dream about that perfect legal job.
Tip #1: Organize Your Resume to Eliminate Clutter
Make sure your resume looks presentable. Without taking this easy step, law firms will never give your resume a second look. Instead, it'll be tossed. By organizing your resume, however, you're one step closer to improving your chances of getting hired. Remember, as a lawyer, you will be preparing important documents on a daily basis — show your competency in this through your resume.
One way to create a well-written resume is by making clear sections on the page by using headings such as "Education," "Legal Experience," and "Professional Experience."
Underneath each, list your experiences along with your responsibilities and tasks. For education, according to Attorney Resume, "If you have graduated from law school in the past two years, list your education at the beginning of your resume."
Also, keep things in a reverse chronological order. This way, your potential employer can immediately see where you are currently working in case he wishes to ask for a reference.
Try to organize your sections in a way that balances out your resume's white space. This way, the page will appear full but not cluttered.
Tip #2: Sell Yourself
Whether or not you want to include sections such as "Interests," "Volunteer Work," or "Education," make sure you are including traits and responsibilities that will "sell" you to potential employers. You should never lie on your resume (it will come back to haunt you!); however, you should highlight the responsibilities you had at a previous job that are relevant to the job for which you are applying.
For example, if you've worked at a newspaper, but you were involved in several legal actions, list those under your work experience.
Tip #3: Emphasize Your Education
According to Attorney Resume, "Legal employers place significant emphasis on education, so make sure that the 'Education' section of your resume is clear and prominent." Also, if you've had little work experience, don't hesitate to add course work and course accomplishments to your list in lieu of work experience.
While it's not necessary, you can include your GPA as well if you've earned a high one.
Tip #4: Your Experience — Paid or Unpaid — Counts
Experience doesn't necessarily mean paid experience. So feel free to list all internships, volunteer work, and community service. This can be especially helpful if you're interested in going into public interest law — in this case, create a "Volunteer Work" section to highlight the experience you have in that area.
Also, as you research different firms, try tailoring your resume and cover letter to meet their needs before submitting them.
Tip #5: Perfect Your Cover Letter
"A cover letter briefly addresses 'who you are' and 'what you want'; highlights your most relevant experience and skills; tells employers what you can do for them; and addresses any 'red flags' that will be raised by your resume," says Attorney Resume.
Cover letters are most important for inexperienced attorneys because they can help express their enthusiasm and skills to potential employers better than a work experience section could.
Always include in your cover letter:
Why you are sending your resume
How you learned about the position
An interesting bent that will draw readers in
A brief synopsis of your background
An emphasis of your strengths — e.g., a good personality
A response to any information requested by the one hiring
Thank you. I think your service is wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone in the legal field. Suzanne
Facts
LawCrossing Fact #146: You can come to our site and find almost every job available in the industry.
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