ABA Brown Bag Session Top Strategies for Crafting a Better Resume in a Tough Legal Market

Transcription

1 ABA Brown Bag Session Top Strategies for Crafting a Better Resume in a Tough Legal Market Presented by: Wendi Weiner, JD, NCRW, CPRW Owner, The Writing Guru

2 Legal Resumes: Focus on Keywords, Skills, and Areas of Expertise Expert Tip #1: The first third of your resume is the most important. With over 250 applicants applying for a particular position, the average employer spends less than 10 seconds looking at your resume. In those few seconds, you must engage and capture the reader s attention. There is a specific recipe to structuring a resume: Professional Summary; Core Skills; Professional Experience; Education; and Memberships/Civic Involvement. A professional summary is a must in today s resume world. The professional summary serves to highlight your skill set and introduce the reader to you by using colorful adjectives that demonstrate your value to the prospective employer. Core skills are another important component to your resume. Today, 72% of resumes are not read by the human eye. Instead, companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to weed through the candidates. If you apply for a position online where you need to upload the resume (as opposed to ing the resume), that company has an ATS. Without the right core skills, also known as keywords, your resume will not be picked up. Therefore, the right keywords matter. These keywords will also include areas of expertise. The most common places you will find an applicant tracking system being used: in-house and corporate jobs. 2

3 Expert Tip #2: Your resume should contain keywords that match the job descriptions. Legal Job Descriptions The keywords in the job applicant s resume must match the following: 2-5 Years Experience Business Litigation First Chair Trial Experience Deposition Experience Appellate Experience Clients 3

4 Expert Tip #2: Your resume should emphasize accomplishments and results over responsibilities. A way to stand apart from the rest of the job candidates in the resume pile is to emphasize accomplishments and results over job responsibilities and job functions. Focus on providing examples of your achievements from your previous jobs that are relevant to the job you are interviewing for. Achievements include increasing financial growth, saving the company/firm money, winning trials, handling specific representative matters, implementing a new program or bringing in new clients. Expert Tip #3: Consider a chrono-functional format resume over a standard chronological resume format if changing industries and practice groups. Traditional resumes are chronological. They focus on the chronology of jobs that a person has had, from most recent to last. They are great for job candidates who want to show career growth over a period of time. However, a chronological resume will not explain industry or career changes. A functional format resume can strengthen and overlook such changes by emphasizing job duties and skills in a stronger light. A hybrid format resume (also known as a chrono-functional format resume) is a combination of a functional format and chronological resume. It lists your skills and experience first followed by your chronological work history. This is a great resume choice for a job candidate who has a stable work history but is looking to change careers. It enables a job candidate to show off his/her skills and still discuss the work history. Expert Tip #4: Always send a cover letter with your resume. It s said that only 30% of employers read cover letters, but a cover letter can set you apart from other job candidates. A strong cover letter can be re-used for positions while simply changing the salutation and/or company name as needed. Components to a cover letter: Salutation, Introduction, Body Paragraph(s), and Conclusion. Introduction must grab the reader s attention, the body paragraph(s) must provide concrete examples of your skills and accomplishments (i.e. promotions, goals, and results), and the conclusion should reaffirm your interest in meeting with someone from the company/firm. 4

5 The LinkedIn Profile: Your Online Resume The World s Largest Professional Social Network Total number of LinkedIn users: 277 million Total number of LinkedIn business pages: 3 million 88 of the Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn s software to search for job candidates 97.3% of staffing professionals use LinkedIn as a recruiting tool Benefits of LinkedIn: Network with business professionals Follow groups and companies Apply for jobs Connect with recruiters Obtain skill endorsements and recommendations Top 5 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile: 1. Broad Heading and Compelling Summary 2. Targeted Keywords in Job Details 3. Recommendations and Endorsements 4. Customized URL 5. Join Groups and Post Articles 5

6 LinkedIn Profile Sample Case Study 6

7 About Wendi Weiner, JD, NCRW, CPRW Wendi Weiner, creatively known as The Writing Guru, is a National Certified Resume Writer (NCRW) and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with over 15 years of expertise in resume writing, essay writing, and professional editing. Wendi's background spans from graduating Stetson University College of Law with honors in legal research and writing, through teaching college writing for over 7 years, and practicing law for over 10 years in both insurance coverage and appeals. She is known for her knack of public speaking and commands a strong presence at local and national seminars for business writing, resume writing, interview skills, and college admissions essays. Wendi currently serves as a guest blogger for Social- Hire and JobHero, and she is a designated career expert and columnist for Careerealism. Additionally, she maintains her own career blog through the Sun-Sentinel s digital site, HypeSouthFlorida. With advanced knowledge and training on cutting-edge techniques in the resume writing process, Wendi has been interviewed and quoted in The Huffington Post and Business News Daily. She is also the author of "How to Get the Highest Paying Job in Your Field," a book dedicated to top resume writing strategies. Memberships: The Florida Bar The National Resume Writers Association The Professional Association of Resume Writers Career Directors International The Career Experts Renegade Entrepreneurs Women s Prosperity Network Aventura-Sunny Isles Chamber of Commerce Glam-a-THON Charity GetHired Miami Contact Information: wendi@writingguru.net Phone: (888) Website: Personal LinkedIn: LinkedIn for The Writing Guru: Facebook More Information and Resources: Download my FREE e-book, How to Get the Highest Paying Job in Your Field, and get advanced tips on how to craft a stronger resume. 7