Effective lawyer resumes act as a bridge for you and your potential employers. For upcoming attorneys, or for transitioning lawyers, it would be good to remember that potential employers do not have the time to read a resume the length of a short story. Other employers may find it a waste of time reading through a hastily-written resume. What should we try to take note in this endeavor?
Do research. Find out what the recruiting company wants from applicants and potential employees. Find out what legal department a law firm will want to put its successful hires. Try to research the company values, mission and vision, policies and house rules, goals, culture, and even the fee hierarchy.
Most of all, find out if you have the experience that they are looking for. It’s bad enough to be the right person at the wrong place. If you are an information technology copyright and patent attorney, you would not want to work in a bankruptcy case. If your strengths are on local criminal cases, you might not fare so well working at an international capacity. It may depend on your experiences. But, in order to be the right person with the right capacities serving the right department, you have to do some research of what the firm needs.
Do provide a clear educational background. An effective summary of your school experiences should include your degree or major, the graduation date, the universities you graduated from, and the location of those schools. Remember to present it in a clear and uncluttered format.
In addition, mention any awards and certificates that you have obtained or achieved throughout your academic years. The license to do legal work though is extremely important and must not be missed out in your lawyer resume.
Do elaborate on your work experiences. Many newly-graduated law students make the same mistake of putting too little information for the employer to work with. Most of the companies care so much about what you have done for your past employers and how effectively you have assisted them in solving various problems. Many do not look at the peripheral information you offer.
So it is a good advice to state your experiences in a complete and thorough manner, rather than in glib fashion. For each of the companies you have worked with, try to write around 2 to 3 sentences, detailing the accomplishments that you have achieved while you were at that particular tenure. Do write in strong, active statements. Words like achieved, obtained, organized, motivated, and influenced are definitely action-oriented words that vividly describe your activities in the past fields.
Do provide updated contact information. Also provide contact information for your references. The firms will always do the due diligence required to check you out. It would be taxing and frustrating for the recruiting company to find out that your email address does not exist, your cell phone number was the number you had two cell phones ago, or the address of a particular reference is the old address.
Provide the contact information preferably after your name (which is ideally your resume banner). Your lawyer resume should basically include your campus or permanent address (a secondary address would be fine), active telephone numbers, and currently used E-mail addresses.
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Lawyer Resume
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