Resume Template Download Free

Writing An Effective Legal Resume

Law school taught you plenty, but it probably didn?t teach you how to write a resume that will secure you an interview with the firm of your dreams. It can be daunting to create or even update a resume because there?s so much pressure to be unique. The best advice, however, is not to strive for ?different? but for ?best.? Legal resumes aren?t the venue for getting creative or artsy. You want to blow them away them with your incredible successes and winning attitude. How do you do that? By putting your experience in the best possible light (no lying) and expressing your desire to do great work for them.

Below are more tips on creating a winning legal resume:

Pick a format. In some professions, it?s easy to determine whether you should submit a chronological resume or a functional resume. For attorneys, however, the choice isn?t as clear cut. First, think about the goal of your resume. Are you changing fields? Do you change jobs a lot? Are you new to the legal profession? A functional resume is probably your best bet. Are you submitting your resume in hopes of a promotion? Are you applying for a senior-level position? Are you changing cities but sticking to the same area of law? Choose chronological. The final factor in the format debate is the firm to which you?re applying. If it?s a young, hip firm, they may conclude that you?re not up-to-date on current legal matters if they see 25 years of experience on your resume. So opt for a functional rather than chronological resume. But if you?re applying to an old-school firm, they may think that 25 years is just a launching point, so chronological is fine.

Include an objective?or not. Again, whether you include an objective at the beginning of your resume depends on a couple of factors. It?s only considered necessary if the firm to which you?re applying is active in a number of legal fields or if your resume includes experience in a variety of areas. If you?re a family law attorney applying to a family law firm, it?s assumed that your objective is to work in family law.

Move your education to the bottom. Unless you?ve been out of law school for fewer than five years, format your resume so that the details of your education are at the end of your resume. And the longer you?ve been out of school, the shorter your education section should be. It?s your experience talking now?not your GPA.

Keep it clean. It?s tempting to throw everything into your work history in hopes that something in there will impress a potential employer, but resist the urge to ?kitchen sink? your resume. Make sure every detail is somehow relevant to the job you want. When you?re applying for an environmental law position, mentioning your 82 percent success rate in personal injury law is fine (it shows your winning history), but mentioning the number of hits per game that you average on your slow-pitch softball team is just bizarre. And, yes, it happens more often that you?d like to believe.

Spell it out. There?s a significant amount of legal jargon and acronyms that you?d hope potential employers would know, but you can?t be sure that the person reading your resume first is an attorney. Lots of firms farm out their human resources needs to companies who sift through resumes from doctors to garbage collectors. When in doubt, spell it out. And definitely spell out your job titles. If you were an assistant state?s attorney, for example, spell out ?assistant.? One exasperated hiring manager mentioned that if she saw any more ?ass. attorneys? on a resume, she would simply toss it.

Consider a transaction sheet. Depending on the area of law for which you?re submitting a resume?and if you have enough years of experience?you may want to include a transaction sheet as part of your resume. For an even cleaner look, make it a supplement to your resume. Rather than list transactions chronologically (you shouldn?t use dates anyway), group them by area of law. Also, keep the sheet simple, using bullet points to illustrate your successful transactions. Finally, make sure you?re legally able to disclose any information you include on the sheet?dollar amounts in particular.

Proof and proof again. While it?s never a good idea to make a grammatical or spelling mistake on a resume, nobody wants to hire an attorney who doesn?t know the difference between ?there? and ?their.? Run your resume past a friend who does know the difference.

Jason Kay is an expert resume writer who contributes to career advice websites such as JobGoRound.com, which provides resume writing service reviews and resume distribution service reviews.

MORE ARTICLES:

The Interviewable Resume
It is rumored that the only word William Shakespeare wrote on his resume was "Available." We'll probably never know if that is true.

Developing the Right Resume and Attitude For an Uncertain Economy
There is no doubt that our current economy is a little scary to say the least Companies are laying off in mass numbers while gas, food, and energy costs are reaching record highs

How to Create a Great Electronic Resume
After creating the perfect resume, you then need to distribute it. You'll likely be sending some professionally printed hard copies, especially to "A list" companies or organizations you've set your sights on.

Start a Resume Writing Service for Profit
The resume writing service serves an important role in the economy. Many qualified candidates have a difficult time marketing themselves to employers and turn to a professional writing service for assistance.

National Resume Writers' Association Seeks 2008 Conference Speaker Proposal Submissions
Unique opportunity for professional speakers to present resume writing, business, and career-related topics to more than 100 attendees and gain exposure to 400+ members. Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2007.

How to Handle Resume Flaws
An effective resume is a key tool when you are trying to land a job However, most resumes fail to capture the attention of potential employers for very predictable, but definitely curable, reasons

Keep Your Job Employment Interview Resume Cover Letter Simple
Keep your cover letter simple Itýs as simple as that

Resume Writing - Importance of a Professional Summary
The Summary is the preview of your entire resume. This may be be the only part that an interviewer or employer might read for shortlisting your resume.

New Video Resume Technology Changes the Job Market
SearchVideoResumes.com links employers and candidates from around the world.

How To Type A Resume For Employers
Learning how to type a resume may feel like a daunting task. Even the most affluent writers have asked themselves, how to type a mind-blowing resume.

Free Resume Templates Available Online
Service provides users with three different resume formats and can place their information in the resume format of their choosing.

Targeting Your Resume is So Important For Your Career
Targeting your portfolio, (resume and cover letter) can get you any job you desire! The purpose of targeting is so you can find your perfect match, your dream job!To target successfully, you need to calculate the position, do this and you will be sure to hit the mark.When targeting the job you wish to apply for, ask yourself,"Am I responding to this position because I really want to do this job, or am I merely responding because the position is available?" Remember, there are always vacant positions to fill, but finding an open position that you truly want to perform every day, is going to take a more committed search.

Military-To-Civilian Resume Tips
When you?re separating from the military after years of service, it can be daunting to look for a civilian job Sure, you?ve got experience that most other job seekers don?t

The Perfect Resume
The perfect resume presents hiring managers with a four-fold vision of who you are and what you bring to the table: The perfect resume offers Logical Proofs:     Facts Quantifiable data Logical conclusions Achievement and success statements Relevant professional goals/accomplishments Limits the use of jargon Maximizes use of occupation/industry-specific key words Your capabilities and skills Clear, specific, measurable, and quantifiable words and phrases Sells you based on your achievements to date The perfect resume offers Your Vision & Creativity: Balanced white space Visually easy to read A resume style and paper consistent with your self-marketing vision Clear big picture of who you are Sells you based ...

Your Resume Education Section: Top or Bottom?
If you are in school, just graduated, or have been out of school for less than three years, your education information should be at the top. After three years, it needs to go on the bottom. And the longer you are out of school, the shorter your education section should become. If for some reason in the three plus years you have been out of school, you have not accumulated a lot of impressive work experience to outshine your educational background, you may consider keeping your education section at the top for a couple more years; but it would be more prudent, of course, to consider garnering more work experience to strengthen the overall effect of your resume. After you've been out of school for ten years, no one is going to care about what...