People Love Legal Authority: Reviews


Need Help? Call 1-800-283-3860.
Already a Member? Sign In
"The most common means of obtaining a job was a letter or other "self-initiated contact" with the employer..."
- NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW PLACEMENT
Advice

Featured Articles

 

  EMAIL TO FRIEND

  PDF VERSION

  PRINTABLE VERSION

Common Resume and Cover Letter Pitfalls


By Marty Schultz-Akerson

As a resume counselor to attorneys from all types of practice areas and career levels, I am always surprised to see many of the same errors in my clients' original resumes and cover letters. The comparison has been made between legal jobseekers and snowflakes: No two are alike. Yet while it is true that in preparing a resume, the objective is to set oneself apart from the competition, the path to that winning document will often be the same. Here are a few common mistakes (and remedies) in preparing legal resumes and cover letters.

Resume:

Talk about your accomplishments. The responsibilities of one attorney to another are quite similar if you phrase them generally: legal research and writing, client counseling, contract negotiation, pretrial and trial litigation, etc. Thus, it is imperative that you flesh out those details that will give your resume individual life, showing with active phrases the experiences that make you a compelling candidate. If you are a junior associate, you might expand on successful dispositive motions you drafted, deposition work you handled, or even legal research you conducted. As a more experienced attorney, you could describe favorable trial verdicts, transactions, or complex pretrial litigation, including the type of matter, the result, and your role in achieving it.

Learning to let go. While specific accomplishments are crucial to an effective resume, one should avoid the temptation to allow one's resume to become a professional or personal diary. Think of each experience and qualification as a stepping-stone, leading to bigger and better places on your career path. While that prestigious internship as an undergraduate may have helped you land positions during or before law school, it ceases to hold that same marketing power once you are an attorney. The image of an upside-down pyramid is useful here: A resume should become meatier and more specific towards the top.

Just as jobseekers must force themselves to let go of dated professional experiences, they must also part with interests or personal achievements that do not add to their candidacy. Commonplace interests such as “music, professional sports, reading, cooking, jogging” do not add anything to one's resume. If you have won an Olympic gold medal or published a book of poetry, including such distinguishing traits is certainly justified. Just don't let them outshine your legal qualifications.

Visual presentation and organization. Content is by far the most important aspect of your resume. Visual layout is the most underrated and underutilized component of legal resumes. Even in today's age of electronic submissions (and correspondingly drab formats), there are still several highly effective layout techniques:
  • Bar Status: If you are a recent graduate or are relocating to a new jurisdiction, put that membership section right up top. It is a threshold issue that employers will want to see before spending more time on your documents.
  • Bullets vs. Paragraphs: Use whichever helps you most. If you have paragraphs larger than eight lines long, do your reader a favor and convert them to bullets. A paragraph followed by a series of bullets can also be useful, especially when one has a mixture of general information (for the paragraph) and accomplishments (for the bullets.)
  • Employment Dates: Sometimes you can't avoid harmful dates, and leaving them off can actually draw more negative attention. If employment dates might hurt your candidacy, use a format that minimizes their appearance. For more experienced attorneys, you can consider a hybrid format that succinctly lists the chronology later in the resume after a summary section and list of pertinent accomplishments.
Cover Letter:

Write succinctly and without fluff or typos. For those of us who read countless resumes and cover letters everyday, we know the letter is invariably read after the resume (contrary to popular belief). We also know that while a letter does have a useful role when well written, it is more likely to hurt you than help if you are not careful. Here is the logic for cover letters: If a hiring partner likes what he/she sees on your resume, this person will not disregard you because of a concise but confident, professional, and well-written letter. They might have second thoughts, however, if they see typos or are turned off by an overly verbose or pretentious letter. This doesn't mean you should write a boring letter; complex situations can benefit from a little more explanation. For the majority of attorneys, however, the following should be sufficient: three to four paragraphs describing your interest in the firm, your most pertinent experience and accomplishments, and any details about your current situation that would add to your candidacy.

Preparing an effective resume and cover letter is a crucial step for every legal jobseeker. Taking that step doesn't require rhetorical acrobatics or a Ph.D. in career marketing. But it does require fleshing out your most positive experience and presenting it in a well-organized, purposeful manner.




Facebook comments:



Related Articles

''How to Get a Permanent Position Following Graduation if You did not get Legal Experience During Law School''

Choosing not to work for a firm or clerk for a court during law school is not always the best career move. Most law students find that getting good summer jobs increases their chance of finding a posi...

The ''How To's'' Of Successful Networking

YOU MAY DECIDE THAT NETWORKING is the best option in your job search. This chapter and the next will go over now to effectively network....

Academic Positions

Yes… you can be a college professor if you are already a lawyer. Your law degree provides you entry into academic life beyond just the teaching of law. Your degree provides you with sufficient acade...

Your resume must grab an employer's attention in less than a minute

It may sound harsh, but busy employers don't spend much time perusing the hundreds of resumes they may receive each day. When you are searching for a job, your resume must deliver the greatest impact ...

The Practice of Law: To Stay or Go

Should I stay or should I go? I found myself asking this very question at a very early stage in my legal career. If you are reading this, I assume you are also pondering whether or not you should stay...

Why Legal Authority Works: Myth versus Reality

The most common means of obtaining a job was a letter or other ''self-initiated contact'' with the employer ...-National Association of Law Placement...

So You've Got Your J.D. ... Now What?

How impressive it is to stand before a judge and quote Samuelson v. Kramer at the very moment it pertains to a critical element of one's case!...

Your cover letter

Employers do read the cover letter, don't they? Well, yes, but briefly. Since employers only spend about a minute looking over all application materials and most of that time is spent on the resume, a...

Legal Authority is the Most Effective Way to Get Your Next Attorney Position

Legal Authority is made up of attorneys, writers and researchers who bring a high degree of understanding, competence and a proven track record of achievement to your job search. Our team has attorne...

It's Never too Early to Prepare for Your Legal Career

You've just started law school and you think that you can now relax; however, you're wrong. It is the steps you take early in your career that will light the path for what you do in it. Prepare now fo...



"Show us you are alive! We want to hear your thoughts. Please comment on this article (below)!"

Article ID:  70042  www.legalauthority.com

Article Title:  Common Resume and Cover Letter Pitfalls

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add Comment


  • Share this story:


  • BlinkList
  • blogmarks
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Sphinn
  • MySpace
  • NewsVine
  • Simpy
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Print this article!
  • Faves
  • Furl
  • Netvouz
  • Slashdot
  • Spurl
  • Yahoo! Buzz





Sign up for a "Free, No Obligation Resume Critique" and "Free Market Evaluation". Let us tell you how much potential you have!
 
WE ARE VERY DISCRETE IN ALL CALLS.
Reviews
What Our Clients Are Saying
I'm never listening to my Career Services Office again!! Not only did they tell me that Philadelphia was such a bad area that I am going to have a hard time finding a job, they also said that instead ...
- David

Thank you for your work! I have already gotten five interviews, and it's only been about eight days since I sent my letters out. I had always heard that if you don't have a job by January of your thir...
- Heather

Got an interview and offer last night, and other firms are still interested. I wish I'd known about Legal Authority sooner because the work you do is nothing short of wonderful.
- Anne L.

 MORE
Options
Your Options
Getting an In-House Position
Myth Versus Reality for Law Firm Jobs
Myth Versus Reality for In-House Jobs
Myth versus Reality: Law School Professor Jobs
Myth Versus Reality: Federal Clerkships, State &...
Myth versus Reality: Prosecutor Jobs
Pro Bono Legal Work and Your Legal Career
Give Yourself the Most Options
Major Practice Areas Analyzed
Starting a Career as a Real Estate Lawyer
Featured Advice
Featured Advice
New York Versus London Firms
Law School for Mature Students
The First Born Phenomenon
The Story Doesn't End There
Economics and ''Mean'' Law Firms
How to Acquire the Best Legal Jobs
The Art Of Networking - A Guide To A Networking...
How To Use Job Boards And Advertisements To Jump...
Finding Your Niche - The Smart Way To Market Yourself
Be an Effective Negotiator - How to Get the...
Legal Authority Core Values
Legal Authority is the Most Effective Way to Get Your Next Attorney Position
Your Job Search Is All about the Numbers
Why Didn’t I Get the Job?
How Do You Get a Job if You Are Not at the Top of Your Class
From the Legal Authority Blog
The Practice of Law: To Stay or Go
+ Click here to read more
The Story Doesn’t End There
+ Click here to read more
Will an LL.M. help my legal career
+ Click here to read more
5 Biggest Attorney Job Search Mistakes
Attorneys and law students are one of the most ill-informed groups of people there are when it comes to conducting a job search. MORE
Legal Authority Outplacement Program
Give your attorneys the most opportunities.
Making economic or strategic adjustments in personnel can be a tough decision for any firm... MORE
Law Student Wins with Legal Authority
How a highly successful Manhattan law firm associate auctioned himself off to the highest bidder... MORE
For Employers
Legal Authority's Comprehensive Employee Outplacement Program.
Give your attorneys the most opportunities. MORE
Our Database and Technology
Legal Authority's Comprehensive Database and Advanced
Search Engine.
 MORE
National Advertisement
Legal Authority and National Media
Take a sneak peek at the marketing strategies of Legal Authority. MORE
Get the best legal jobs through Legal Authority.
Click here to understand the simple process and utilize our services to the maximum.
Download Now
Get on Track
Get on Track
Legal Authority Core Values
How Do You Work With Employer Data at Legal...
Why Legal Authority Works: Myth versus Reality
What Legal Authority Does
Legal Authority and Law Students
What Is Legal Authority?
Using Legal Authority for Law Student Jobs
Legal Authority Works!
Legal Authority Is a Great Way for Law Students...
What Legal Authority Does For You
Choose Legal Authority
Choose Legal Authority for Your Job Search
Legal Authority Outplacement Program
Legal Authority Is the Smartest Way for Law Students to Find Jobs. Period.
If You Can Register on Legal Authority You Can Get a Legal Job
Why Legal Authority Will Transform You and Your Career
Do Not Let Your School Control the Recruiting Process
Who Can Legal Authority Help
Legal Authority Is Not for Everyone
An Advocate for Attorneys and Law Students to Get Jobs
What Legal Authority Does Works
Why I Started Legal Authority
Some Things You Probably Did Not Know about Legal Authority
Legal Authority Can Get You Your Next Law Firm Job
On-Campus Interviewing or Legal Authority
How Legal Authority Started: You Need to Have Desire to Achieve Your Goals
Legal Authority Works for Law Students
Legal Authority assists more attorneys and law students, at more law schools, get jobs than any other source.
Request More Info
Learn more about Legal Authority
First Name:*
Email Address:*
Phone Number:*
FOUNDER HARRISON BARNES' BLOG

SIGN UP  |   HOME  |   ABOUT US  |   FAQ  |   CONTACT US  |   HISTORY  |   REVIEWS  |   TELL A FRIEND  |   LEGAL SPECIALTY AREAS  |   PRESS ROOM
LEGAL AUTHORITY JOB SEARCH TIPS  |   SITE MAP  |   SEE WHY LEGAL AUTHORITY IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO FIND A LEGAL JOB  |   TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP  |   PRIVACY POLICY
DAILY JOB SEARCH ADVICE  |   DAILY JOB SEARCH VIDEO  |   FOXES AND HEDGEHOGS  |   OUR SITES
© 2024 LEGAL AUTHORITY INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.