Resumes: Responsibilities vs. Accomplishments For many people, resume writing is like going to the dentist. Thinking about it is stressful, so you postpone the task as long as you can. And as time goes by without action, anxiety and consequences increase. With teeth, you may lose them. With your resume, you may forget all the great things you accomplished, hastily make grammatical errors, and/or fail to construct a... (473 views)
The ill effects of lying about facts and information in Resume When most law students graduate, they face an oh-so-daunting Catch-22: many entry-level jobs require previous experience, which many law graduates obviously do not have. They may also be encouraged to lie about which schools they attended, since consideration of the school a candidate graduated from is often a make-or-break factor in getting hired by a top firm. This leads... (457 views)
Employers' Biggest Resume and Cover Letter Pet Peeves Whether they are right out of college or 20 years into their careers, many people cannot seem to overcome the alarmingly noticeable resume and cover letter flaws and missteps that many employers describe as their biggest pet peeves. Do yourself a favor and pay attention because in this business—as in any business—there are no second chances when it comes to committing... (342 views)
The Top Three Mistakes Attorneys Make on Their Resumes We all make mistakes, but as you know, resume mistakes are rarely forgivable. Read on to find out what the top three resume mistakes are - straight from the experienced resume writers at legal resume-writing service Attorney Resume. (315 views)
Tailoring Your Resume To Push Yourself Strongly For Non-Legal Jobs The vast majority of resumes look the same. Why? They look the same because the vast majority of job seekers do not put enough of their own thought or effort into writing them. They use a form resume out of a book as a template. Then, all that is left to do is slap together one page of seemingly unrelated data that ends up reading like an obituary notice, make a lot of... (312 views)
Marketing When You Are the Product ''The greatest thing to be achieved in advertising, in my opinion, is believability, and nothing is more believable than the product itself.'' — Leo Burnett, advertising pioneer (298 views)
How to draft the best resume and covering letter to get the job When preparing cover letters and resumes for a job search mailing, you should never consider submitting two of the same cover letter—or even two of the same resume, for that matter. It is invaluable to know as much as possible about the jobs you are applying for, so that your letter and resume can be focused and concise. Each letter and resume must speak directly to each... (278 views)
Importance of Resumes Resumes are terribly important. Although it is possible to become paranoid about them and to spend too much time developing them, it is essential that every prospective associate spend an appropriate amount of time on his or her resume. (241 views)
The Essential Guide to Writing a Resume for Law Firms Page 2 - Action Verbs Appendix I: Action Verbs A: accelerated accomplished achieved acquired acted activated actuated adapted administered adopted advanced advised advocated aided allocated altered amended amplified analyzed approved arbitrated arranged ascertained assembled assigned assumed assessed assisted attained attracted audited augmented authored authorized... (236 views)
Special Resumes for People with Special Circumstances This article considers some of those special circumstances, whether they be a job problem related to age, a hiring advantage in being a member of a minority group, a decision to change fields or career direction, or perhaps a desire to surge ahead in the corporate world. (235 views)
The importance of soft skills in Email Etiquettes In our contemporary, technology-savvy workplace, it is almost impossible to avoid emailing cover letters and resumes to potential employers; in fact, email is usually the initial means of communication between employers and their job candidates. A series of questions may cross a person's mind when he or she is about to send a submission via email. Because email is still... (223 views)
Cover letter covers more than the resume itself Cover letters have been debated over the years. Sometimes they are tossed away without being read. Sometimes they are the only document that is read. In any case, we at Attorney Resume recommend them for several reasons. (197 views)
Tips on how to make that cutting edge Resume to impress interviewers Crafting a resume that showcases a tantalizing variety of relevant jobs and skills is ideal, right? Define ''relevant.'' These days, many job seekers seem to be forgetting a simple rule of thumb when writing their resumes: only include pieces of information that will qualify you for the job. No, your talent as a guitarist and singer in a band from the 1990s does not... (196 views)
The nitty gritty's of drafting a proper Resume and advice on how to avoid the 5 dangerous mistakes When it comes to crafting their resumes, there are five main mistakes people make on a regular basis that keep them from landing the interviews that lead to the dream jobs. In hopes of saving you from these resume blunders, I'm going to let you in on exactly what the infamous mistakes are and give you some tips on how to avoid making them. (184 views)
How to eliminate unwanted things off your Resume While lawyers concerned about the best possible presentation on their resumes (as we all should be!) may agonize over formatting and fonts, the key to creating a powerful resume is simplicity. Often, a resume that leaves the best impression is one that's been edited to remove extraneous content, leaving the most relevant parts for the potential employer's review. Being... (181 views)
The importance of proofreading, suggestions, Reader Response and Q&A's In a previous column on formatting, an error was inserted into the paragraph on proofing your documents. The subject was how easily we could mistakenly use a homonym. You remember what homonyms are: those words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings, such as hear/here or there/their. The example I used in my column was to/too/two. However,... (156 views)
Grim Reality for Real Estate and Finance Attorneys The recent forced buy-out of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase is a significant catalyst for displaced lawyers. (155 views)
The Art of Creating the Perfect Business Letter for Better Coverage In the heat of the moment, many job applicants ignorantly toss together messy and ineffective cover letters, hoping to beat out the rest of the eager crowd. When applying for jobs, you should craft each cover letter as if it were an individual work of art. Taking the time to sit down and outline each cover letter properly will make better use of your time and energy—and... (148 views)
The Lifestyles of Lawyers We've all heard different versions of the Ecclesiastical statement ''There is a time for everything.'' In fact, the adage was immortalized in The Byrds' song ''Turn, Turn, Turn'' decades ago—so much so that other musicians, such as Wilson Phillips and Dolly Parton, have covered the song in their own unique styles. (139 views)
What You Need to Know about Cover Letters Enclose a covering letter whenever you send your resume to a prospective employer. While it rarely gives any information that is not included in your resume, the letter is an act of courtesy and a sign of a serious and professional approach to job hunting. It gives each employer a feeling of personal attention. (137 views)
4 Reasons Why Every Job Should Have a Customized Resume You keep hearing this advice on and on, “Always customize your resume to the job you are applying for” and wonder whether it is really something you need to pay too much attention. Why not have a super cool master CV/resume written for easy submission? Why waste time every time you are applying for a job to rewrite your CV/resume? Is this effort really worth the... (132 views)
The Dos and Don'ts of Tightening and Toning Your Resume There were two inspirations for this week's resume article. One was Britney Spears's less-than-stone-toned body in her awkward and sloppy comeback performance at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) show, and the other was an atrocious resume that arrived in my email inbox last week. Both brought horror to my face, but more importantly, both needed a lot of ''tightening... (112 views)
What To Include On Your Resume: Top 10 Tips From Employers In a job search, your resume is one of the most important documents. A resume's purpose is to help impress hiring managers and to help them learn who you are and whether your skills and experiences match the position you are applying for. (99 views)
An effective and strong Resume can be useful as a Marketing tool I studied journalism as an undergraduate, a field that emphasizes identifying the audience to which one is speaking when writing a piece. For example, many local newspapers throughout the country are written to a fifth-grade-level audience, but the Wall Street Journal and New York Times write to a much more advanced level of education. Not only do such newspapers use... (88 views)
6 Cover Letter Do's & Don'ts for Law Students and Attorneys Stop debating whether or not you should include a cover letter with your resume because in today’s hard knock job market, you should ALWAYS include one (unless a job listing specifically asks you not to). The cover letter is your opportunity to introduce yourself to an employer, tell them a little about yourself, and explain why you think you’d be the best fit for the... (88 views)
20 Resume Dos and Don'ts for Law Students and Attorneys So now you've thoroughly researched potential employers, have done some soul-searching, and are on the path toward putting together your perfect resume (or resumes). Here are some dos and don'ts to help you avoid common mistakes while building a stronger, more refined resume (and cover letter). (85 views)
Using Psychology to Get Your Resume Noticed This week, I spoke with Paul Endress, a nationally recognized expert in the application of psychology to business in the areas of communication, hiring, and retention. Over the past 25 years, he has started nine companies, which means he knows a thing or two about hiring and what to look for in cover letters and resumes. (75 views)
How to Write the Best Attorney Resume for Your Legal Career This article guides how to write a successful resume for law firms, explaining why it is essential to focus on a single practice area and demonstrate expertise. It also outlines tips for what law firms look for in an attorney's resume, such as avoiding generalist roles or having too many unrelated practice areas. Finally, the article offers assistance from BCG Attorney... (75 views)
Resume Building Worksheet On the left below, list the qualifications and skills that the employer will expect you to have in your new position. On the right side, list the results, skills, and accomplishments you have gained in your prior work experience or through your education. These will now become the descriptions you will use to create a resume that will sell the employer on your transferable... (70 views)
Daring Resumes: Are They Worth the Risk? As we look around at the 12-year-olds blabbing on their BlackBerry devices and jamming to thousands of songs on their microscopic iPod shuffles, there is no debate as to whether our society has become overwhelmingly technologically savvy, but is that necessarily something that should be reflected on our resumes? With many of today's businesses looking for more streamlined... (69 views)