Summer Career Jumpstart Creating Your Legal Resume June 10, 2015

Summer Career Jumpstart
Creating Your Legal Resume
June 10, 2015
Presenters
Kristen B. Hintz,
Associate Director
Beth Wickwire,
Associate Director
Objectives
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Define a competitive resume for law students
Good format
Good content
FAQ’s
Additional resources
Purpose of a Resume
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Critical first step in a job search
Introduction to prospective employers
Advertisement/marketing tool
Snapshot of experience and accomplishments
Written pitch
Screening tool
Value assessment
Leads to an interview
First impression
Not a CV
Resume Basics
Is your resume…
• Readable?
• Believable?
• Informative?
• Balanced?
• Error Free?
Good Resume Format I
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1 page
7-30 second scan
Reverse chronological order
Bullets, not paragraphs
Consistency
Name and contact information at the top
Education section next
Adding your JD: Accurate Documentation
Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing, MI
Juris Doctor, Expected May 2018
Good Resume Format II
• Font styles recommended: Garamond, Palatino, Times
New Roman, and Arial
• Font sizes recommended (10.5 – 12; 14 for headings)
• Balance white space and text
• No pre-set templates (MSWord)
• Black ink only
• Consistent margins (.74 – 1 inch)
• Save document as lastname_firstname_resume
Good Resume Content I
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Persuasive and informative
Show skills and results
Go beyond duties and responsibilities
Quantify where possible; provide detail
Good Resume Content II
• Legal skills (research, writing, analysis, advocacy, project
management)
• Live links where applicable
• No personal pronouns
Action Verbs
Begin each sentence with an action verb
Examples: drafted, wrote, researched, analyzed, managed, etc.
Past tense for previous (ended) work.
A larger list of action verbs is found on page 7 of the Career Planning
Manual, which you will receive later.
• A comprehensive list of action verbs can be found on our website:
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Other Considerations I
• Publications
• Language skills
• Community service
Other Considerations II
• Certifications
• Other relevant, technical skills
• Interests or hobbies
Common Questions I
Why is the education section at the top of my resume?
(Juris Doctor, NOT Juris Doctorate)
Should I include my GPA…? (no rounding)
Why shouldn’t I put the word “RESUME” at the top?
Why are objective or summary statement at the top of my
resume not recommended?
Common Questions II
Why is a skilled or functional-based resume not
recommended?
Do I need to include months with the years of each
employment experience?
Example:
Federal Public Defender’s Office, Houston, TX
VS.
2013-2014
Federal Public Defender’s Office, Houston, TX
January 2013 – April 2014
Common Questions II
How important is it to be consistent with grammar and
punctuation? What are examples of ways to do this?
• Ending all bullet points with a period (sentence)
• Knowing the difference between hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes
• Not using “to” and “-” inconsistently
• Always writing out one, two, three or 1, 2, 3
• Using “and” OR “&”
• Use past tense verbs when you have stopped working for an employer; use present
tense for current jobs
• Bachelor of Arts Vs. BA; Juris Doctor Vs. JD
Common Questions III
I don’t have any legal experience and therefore have nothing to put on
my resume…?
What “Activities” should be included?
How do I list language proficiency?
(”Native,” “Fluent,” “Conversant or Basic,” and clarify written, spoken or both)
How often should I update my resume?
Common Questions IV
Should I include references?
Should I include my…
…LSAT score?
…Military experience?
…Coursework?
…High School?
Should I include scholarships & published materials?
Additional Resources and Next Steps
Initial resume review this summer…
Your CSO Advisor, next/later
Update Your Resume and Submit
Send us your resume by attaching it to an email and
sending it to: [email protected]
Name your document: Last, First Resume
(Example: Doe, Jane Resume)
Do not write anything in the body or the subject of the
email. Only the attachment will be stripped from the
email and sent to our folder for first-level reviewers to
collect.
Resume Checklist
1L Resume Review Checklist, Round 1:
TOP to BOTTOM SECTIONS:
Name (larger): ______middle initial _____first name issues?
Contact Information
street address
phone
email—professional address
LinkedIn profile link
Education (section should not take up more than 1/3 of page)
added MSU Juris Doctor (not Doctorate)
institution name
institution location (city, state)
degree (consistent language: Juris Doctor Vs. Bachelor of Arts; or JD Vs. BA)
graduation month/year—not dates attended
degrees in reverse chronological order
GPA, not rounded up
academic honors, awards, scholarships
relevant course projects (thesis, heavy research)
extracurricular activities (student organizations, competitions, study abroad, etc.)
Experience (employer name, title, location, dates)
reverse chronological order
bulleted points, using only ● symbol
succinct sentences beginning with action verbs (past tense for jobs completed)
show relevant, transferrable skills (research, writing, advocacy, analysis, project
management, --showing knowledge, skills & abilities)
Other Sections:
Publications
Language Skills (native, fluent, conversant, basic)
Community Service (include months, years)
Certifications (i.e., CPA, CFA, real estate, engineering)
Other relevant skills (i.e., technical)
Interests or hobbies showing business development potential
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NO’s:
Objective statements
LSAT Score
References nor “available upon request”
Logos, graphics
Information from high school
Vague skills (i.e., “good communication skills”)
Information related to: race, religion, social security #, nationality, marital status, DOB,
TOEFEL, health status (weight, height), children
Abbreviations or acronyms
Previous Salary Information
MISCELLANEOUS:
1 page only
Black ink only
No pre-set templates
Font styles (of 4 recommended: Garamond, Palatino, Times New Roman, Arial)
Font size 10.5 – 12 (14 for headings)
Include live links where applicable
No personal pronouns (“I, my, we”)
All four margins consistently not larger than 1 inch, but not smaller than .75?
Document saved as “Lastname_Firstname_Resume”
DON’T FORGET:
Check for grammatical errors or typo’s
Consistent bolding & underlining
The trained CSO student assistant will
review your resume using this
checklist and provide feedback on it.
Receipt of Feedback
You will receive feedback on your resume via
email from a CSO student assistant.
Questions?
Email the Career Services Office at [email protected]