The legal world is one where even the most minor details matter. A typo or error in your attorney resume can lead to a missed opportunity, so it must be proofread, edited, and perfected before submitting it in any job application process. If you’re looking to begin a career as an attorney, your resume will be one of the first things hiring managers see when reviewing your application. Therefore, your attorney resume must stand out from the competition and prove that you are qualified for this position. This document is also helpful for any candidate who wishes to pursue a career in law. Even if you are not currently seeking employment within this field, it never hurts to keep your options open by keeping your resume up-to-date with relevant skills, education, and experience. Here are some tips for creating an attorney resume that stands out from the pack.
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Use a Clearly Defined Format
When reading an attorney’s resume, the first thing a hiring manager notices is its placement and format. Make sure it is straightforward, easy to read, and avoids distracting design elements. It’s essential to keep your resume to one page, but there are various ways to do this. If you are starting, a one-page resume is the safest option. As you gain experience and acquire more skills, you may want to expand the content on your attorney resume to include relevant courses and certificates. This will help to hire managers better understand your skills and give them more information on which to base their hiring decision.
Clearly Show Your Education and Experience
The education section of your attorney resume should include the name of the school and the years you were enrolled. You should also include any degrees awarded and any minors or concentrations you may have earned. This is the section to emphasize if you’re just starting in your career with little to no work experience. Highlight the classes you took that relate to the field of law, any internships you participated in, and any extracurricular activities that demonstrate your leadership and teamwork skills. The experience section should start with your most recent work experience and work backward so hiring managers can see how your skills and knowledge have grown and developed over time. Include the name, location, and dates of each job you have held, along with a summary of your responsibilities. This will help hiring managers understand how your previous work experience will benefit the company.
Add a Professional Profile
Suppose you’re applying to work at a firm with a formal interview process, including a professional profile at the top of your attorney resume. This is a one- or two-sentence statement that helps to hire managers better understand your career goals and explains why you want to join the field of law. A profile can also be helpful if you’re applying for a government agency or nonprofit organization position. In these cases, the resume is often your first impression, and very few people will read your application. For example, if you apply to be a public defender, a profile could read: “I am passionate about protecting the rights of individuals and upholding the justice system.” This type of statement lets hiring managers know you have a strong desire to work for their organization.
Add Key Skills
Law firms often use a skills test to evaluate candidates and determine who to invite to the next stage of the interview process. It’s essential to prepare for this test by reviewing the job description and identifying the vital skills the company is seeking in its new attorneys. Once you understand the skills being tested, create a skills section on your attorney resume and list the skills you have and have not yet acquired. This way, you can “test” yourself before going through the skills test and know what topics you need to review and research before taking the test. For example, if the job description requires excellent writing skills and you have little experience with writing, create a skills section on your attorney resume that lists “writing” as a skill you need to acquire.
Add Helping Words and Emphasized Words
Many online resources offer helpful tips for improving your attorney resume, including lists of “strong words” and “weaker words” that can be added to your resume. These lists provide examples of words that will help your attorney resume stand out from the competition or terms that should be removed from your resume. A helpful tip is to add these words and phrases to your resume using the bold or italicized font. This way, hiring managers will see that you’ve taken the time to craft the content on your attorney resume carefully and will know you are serious about the position. These tips can be constructive when you are just starting and don’t have a lot of experience in the field of law. Employers want to hire candidates with a passion for the profession and a desire to succeed. Adding these words to your attorney resume shows that you are serious about a career in law and have the skills and knowledge to succeed.
Conclusion
As you can see, you can do many different things to optimize your attorney resume. The best way to make your resume stand out from the competition is to spend time crafting a well-written document that communicates your strengths, skills, and experience. Ideally, your attorney resume should be between two and three single-spaced pages. There is no “magic length” that hiring managers are looking for, but a resume that is too short may indicate that you don’t have enough experience. Conversely, a longer resume may suggest that you have too much experience and don’t know how to present your qualifications concisely and adequately. The most important thing is that your attorney resume is well written and communicates the skills and experience that make you the best candidate for the job.