How to Create a Legal Resume

Transcription

1 How to Create a Legal Resume SCHOOL OF LAW Office of Career Services One Camino Santa Maria San Antonio, TX (210) Fax (210)

2 HOW TO CREATE A LEGAL RESUME St. Mary s University School of Law; Office of Career Services THE LOOK o Paper color: white, ivory, buff, or cream, should be very neutral o Font color-black, and hyperlink should be removed o Generally, font size should not be less than 11 point o Font type-use a simple font like Arial or Times New Roman; may use bold for certain headings; use the same font for the entire resume o Use italics infrequently as they may not scan well. Generally only use italics for Latin terms (i.e., cum laude) or for publications (i.e., The Scholar) o Try to keep to 1 page, especially if you are a 1L or entering Evening student; 2 pages are better than 1 crowded page; NEVER EXCEED 2 PAGES! If you think you need to have a two page resume contact OCS for review. Also, be sure your header has page x of y on it, so the reader knows it is 2 pages o Don t put an objective; don t put References Available Upon Request o Generally don t use abbreviations, including GPA, JD, TX or Apt. o Have someone proofread for typos and grammatical errors o Do not put it in a binder or plastic cover THE FORMAT AND CONTENT Very Conservative, Very Formulaic little room for creativity-know that you will not necessarily have all the headings on your resume as shown on the sample resume. o ALWAYS BE TRUTHFUL!! o Contact information see sample headings to personalize your resume. Don t abbreviate your name (A.J. Smith); put nickname in quotes if it will be used professionally, i.e., Hector Juan H.J. Garcia; Alexander Al Smith; Lishan Lee Wang; spell out address, no Ave. or St.; put city, state, zip code, phone numbers (including area code). Make sure you have an answering machine and appropriate message. Put address and check daily. o Looking for a job outside of San Antonio? List permanent address, if it gives you a geographic link, to that area. EDUCATION o List in reverse chronological order, school, full legal name (the full name of UT is The University of Texas at Austin), city and state o On the next line, put the culmination of the time there, which is usually the degree received. Don t abbreviate, put Doctor of Jurisprudence, Bachelor of Science, add major (if any), date received (may be just year or month and year) o If major and minor, list both with colons o If candidate for degree, list as Candidate for Doctor of Jurisprudence comma Month comma and year expected to receive. For example, Candidate for Doctor of Jurisprudence, May, 2015 o If you have a written thesis put it. It s evidence on your resume of your writing ability. This includes comments written as a Staff Writer for Law Journal or Scholar, whether published (cite per BB) or not (indicate for credit in parenthesis after title).

3 o If the culmination of the time at a school did not result in a degree, put what you did accomplish there. If the degree was conferred elsewhere (you transferred your credits to another school) you can omit it the original school from your resume once that degree is completed and listed on the resume. How to note it if you need to keep a law school you transferred from on your resume (Note: when you graduate from St. Mary s Law it can be removed): St. Mary s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas Candidate for Doctor of Jurisprudence, May 2015 Transferred from: Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, Columbus, Ohio Completed 30 credits in first-year curriculum, Grade Point Average 3.04 How to note it if you need to keep school on your resume where no degree was conferred from another institution: Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas Completed 15 credits toward Masters in Business Administration, Fall 2011 Grade point average or rank : Always put law school rank (#/total) and percentage ranking. Definitely put grade point average. For other schools, do not have to list unless it is 3.0 or above. If you graduated cum laude, you don t need grade point average. Honors and Activities No heading, just list the ones that are academic in nature in the Education section and put them under the relevant school. Put scholarships, dean s list, academic recognition. Summa cum laude, or other such designation goes on degree line. 1L Moot Court (it is not required at all schools so you want to signal that you have had an oral advocacy experience). You do not have to list years or semester of honors/activities. Organization memberships that you belong to in school should be listed under organizations and membership section with any officer positions shown in parenthesis. EXPERIENCE (this should not be entitled Employment because some volunteer and internship experiences build skills to bring to the next employer, too) o List in reverse chronological order. Employer, city, state, time period (can be just years). Use words for month. If the employment is current put start date hyphen present or put start date to present. o The job title always appears on its own separate line o You must give enough detail in your past experience so the next employer knows what skills you have already used. There are two correct ways to list duties: 1. Short sentence fragments, separated by semi-colons, each fragment should start with a verb; no capital after semi-colon or 2. List with bullets, no periods, each bullet starts with a capitalized action verb o Keep relatively short descriptions. Try to quantify non-legal jobs. o For example, Supervised 14 sub-contractors; reconciled weekly average revenue intake of $12,000 o Start fragments or bullets with verbs- present tense for present jobs; past tense for past jobs

4 o Military experience-if it s lengthy, condense with phrases such as Granted multiple awards, Awarded several promotions in rank rather than listing them all. Military experience can be tricky to condense so contact us for help. o How far do you go back? Depends on what you have lots of legal experience, list that, not much beyond; otherwise as far back to show leadership skills applicable to being a lawyer i.e., business owner-yes; waitress-no. Can have phrase at end: Various part-time store clerk and auto mechanic positions, Evanston, Illinois Just be sure to account for all gaps in time between your undergraduate degree and law school. o Do not list whether the experience was volunteer, paid or for internship credit o What skills do legal employers want to see from non-legal jobs? Leadership skills, such as supervising employees or leading a team Research and writing skills, such as writing job manuals, training aids Oral communication skills, such as making presentations Conflict resolution and public relation skills, such as working with diverse communities and appeasing unhappy customers Handling money because many jobs include settlement accounts, trusts and estates, etc. o Use action words to start each section when describing employment. See action words list in this handout. ORGANIZATIONS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS o List anything legal and anything in which you have a member or officer role. If you are not an officer but were responsible for a major task put that. o Looking in another geographic market? Look at joining their bar as a student member. o List social fraternity or sorority with Alumnus/Alumna; add in officer positions in parenthesis with year o Consider leaving off religious or political affiliations, your call o Add any certification/license you hold that is relevant to the type of law for which you are applying, i.e., plumbing license, no; K-12 superintendent license for education law job, yes LANGUAGES AND COMPUTER SKILLS o Add language, indicating proficiency, including whether you speak, read and/or write o Do not list standard legal research (Lexis-Nexis, Westlaw), word processing, spreadsheet, database as computer skills. Do add specialty certifications from Westlaw/Lexis-Nexis. Do put if you have any familiarity with unique software pertinent to area of law practice (IRS job-tax prep software; medical software for medical malpractice firm; billing software). COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES (many firms, all public interest and government employers want to see this so if you do not have any you should start volunteering) AND INTERESTS

5 o List community connections. Do not list volunteer work you did in undergraduate school or in the past. The employers are looking for current community activities. o Looking for community activities that require a minimum of time or money? See Sister Grace for ideas. Sign up on the Pro Bono TWEN site for legal opportunities. o Consider including interests if you have interesting hobbies or other appropriate activities. See separate handout regarding Skills and Interests. REFERENCES o Don t list references on your resume. If the employer requests references use a separate sheet, which matches your resume paper. Don t staple your reference sheet to your resume. Try to use legal references professors, supervisors at legal jobs. After that, use supervisors at non-legal jobs. Avoid family, co-workers, friends, religious leaders. Always list the relationship to you and years (lots of folks have changed jobs and it s not now obvious why they are a reference). Ask the references what contact information they want you to list. ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE INFORMATION IS CURRENT FOR YOUR REFERENCES! Don t submit your references to an employer unless they specifically request it. Do not submit letters of recommendation. Legal employers generally want to talk to your references. o Provide a copy of your resume to your reference and send a thank you note for serving as your reference. o If possible, alert your reference if you have reason to believe that he or she will be contacted and give the reference a copy of the job description. Doing so helps him or her tailor their answers if contacted. FINAL REMINDERS o Your resume is not a static document. You need to tailor and update it. o Target your resume to the specific employer if appropriate. o Always update your resume right away. Memories fade so update it after each experience so you do not forget the details. Revised 05/22/2014

6 SAMPLE RESUME HEADINGS LUDMILLA MILLIE COLLINS 123 Broadway Avenue San Antonio, Texas (210) John Smith (210) Somewhere Avenue 1234 Main Street San Antonio, Texas Houston, Texas Francis Frank Lawstudent 1234 Main Street, # 1601 Mobile: (210) San Antonio, Texas ftlawstudent@mail.stmarytx.edu Jane Someone Doe 123 Main Street, San Antonio, Texas (210) jdoe@ .com JOHN SMITH jsmith1234@mail.stmarytx.edu ONE CAMINO SANTA MARIA SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

7 STUDENT SAMPLE RESUME ONE PAGE WITHOUT BULLETS REVISED May 2014 LUDMILLA MILLIE COLLINS 123 Broadway Avenue San Antonio, Texas (210) EDUCATION St. Mary s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas Candidate for Doctor of Jurisprudence, May 2015 Grade Point Average: 3.09; Rank #/total; Top 14% St. Mary s Law Journal, Staff Writer, o Ludmilla Collins, Comment: An Analysis of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 43 St. Mary s L.J 791 (2014) Linda and Dave Schlueter, 2013 First Year Moot Court Competition, Octa-finalist and Best Speaker St. Mary s Institute on World Legal Problems at the University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, summer, 2013; Distinguished Visiting Jurist: United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma Master of Business Administration, Accounting, cum laude, May 2004 Thesis: Ethics in Accounting: Reviving a Dead Concept Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Bachelor of Science, Major: Economics; Minor: Accounting, December 2000 John Jones Scholarship, Recipient EXPERIENCE St. Mary s University Center for Legal & Social Justice, San Antonio, Texas Student Attorney January Present Interview and represent clients in civil matters; prepare cases for trial; schedule and attend hearings on behalf of clients as the attorney of record; arrange and conduct depositions; draft letters and motions; file motions with the court; perform discovery; investigate claims and follow up on service of process and responses filed with the court by opposing party; negotiate with opposing counsel; meet regularly with Supervising Attorney on each case to discuss strategy and update regarding new developments Kaplan PMBR San Antonio, Texas Sales Representative August- December 2013 Present Kaplan PMBR as the premier producer of law school study aids and bar preparation materials; sell Kaplan study aids to current law students at St. Mary s University School of Law to assist them in their law school career and help them prepare themselves for the bar exam De Mott, Mouton and Van Ausdahl, P.C. Austin, Texas Legal Intern Summer 2013 Drafted motions; researched deportation issues; wrote memoranda regarding the applicability of the PATRIOT Act; updated immigration petitions Law Offices of Michael Collins San Antonio, Texas Law Clerk September May 2013 Filed documents in federal court; maintained library resources; researched family law and criminal law issues ORGANIZATIONS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS Oklahoma Certified Public Accountants Association, (Treasurer 2010) Certified Public Accountant Women s Law Association Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society LANGUAGES AND COMPUTER SKILLS Fluent in Spanish (read write and speak); proficient in accounting programs and experienced with ProDoc COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS San Antonio Bar Association s Community Justice Program s Wills Clinic, volunteer ; Caritas Legal Services, volunteer; Talking Tapes for the Blind, volunteer reader ; cook Thai food

8 STUDENT SAMPLE RESUME ONE PAGE WITH BULLETS REVISED May 2014 LUDMILLA MILLIE COLLINS 123 Broadway Avenue San Antonio, Texas (210) EDUCATION St. Mary s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas Candidate for Doctor of Jurisprudence, May 2015 Grade Point Average: 3.09; Rank #/total; Top 14% St. Mary s Law Journal, Staff Writer, o Ludmilla Collins, Comment: An Analysis of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 43 St. Mary s L.J 791 (2014) Linda and Dave Schlueter, 2013 First Year Moot Court Competition, Octa-finalist and Best Speaker St. Mary s Institute on World Legal Problems at the University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria, summer, 2013; Distinguished Visiting Jurist: United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma Master of Business Administration, Accounting, cum laude, May 2004 Thesis: Ethics in Accounting: Reviving a Dead Concept EXPERIENCE St. Mary s University Center for Legal & Social Justice, San Antonio, Texas Student Attorney January Present Interview and represent clients in civil matters and prepare cases for trial Schedule and attend hearings on behalf of clients as the attorney of record Arrange and conduct depositions, draft letters and motions and file motions with the court Perform discovery; investigate claims and follow up on service of process and responses filed with the court by opposing party and negotiate with opposing counsel Meet regularly with Supervising Attorney to discuss strategy and update regarding new developments Kaplan PMBR San Antonio, Texas Sales Representative August- December 2013 Present Kaplan PMBR as the premier producer of law school study aids and bar preparation materials; sell Kaplan study aids to current law students at St. Mary s University School of Law to assist them in their law school career and help them prepare themselves for the bar exam De Mott, Mouton and Van Ausdahl, P.C. Austin, Texas Legal Intern Summer 2013 Drafted motions, researched deportation issues, wrote memoranda regarding the applicability of the PATRIOT Act and updated immigration petitions Law Offices of Michael Collins San Antonio, Texas Law Clerk September May 2013 Filed documents in federal court, maintained library resources, researched family law and criminal law ORGANIZATIONS, MEMBERSHIPS AND PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS Oklahoma Certified Public Accountants Association, (Treasurer 2010) Certified Public Accountant Women s Law Association Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society LANGUAGES AND COMPUTER SKILLS Fluent in Spanish (read write and speak); proficient in accounting programs and experienced with ProDoc COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS San Antonio Bar Association s Community Justice Program s Veterans Clinic, volunteer ; Caritas Legal Services, volunteer; Talking Tapes for the Blind, volunteer reader; cook Thai food

9 ACTION WORDS FOR RESUME accelerated accomplished achieved acquired activated adapted adjusted administered advised allocated analyzed annotated anticipated applied appraised approved arranged articulated assembled assessed assigned authored balanced briefed budgeted built carried out catalogued categorized chaired clarified coded collaborated collected compared compiled completed composed computed conceived conducted consolidated constructed consulted contacted continued contracted controlled convened conveyed coordinated corresponded counseled created critiqued decided defined delegated delivered demonstrated derived designed detailed detected determined developed devised directed discovered distributed doubled drafted drew up earned edited educated effected elicited eliminated encouraged engineered established evaluated examined executed exhibited expanded expedited experienced experimented explained explored facilitated figured financed focused forecasted formed formulated fostered founded functioned generated governed grouped guided handled headed helped identified illustrated implemented improved increased influenced informed initiated innovated inspired installed instituted instructed interpreted interviewed introduced invented investigated judged launched lead/led lectured listened maintained managed marketed mastered measured mediated modeled modified molded monitored motivated named negotiated observed obtained operated ordered organized originated outlined oversaw participated perceived performed persuaded pinpointed planned presented presided printed produced programmed proposed protected provided publicized questioned raised recommended recorded reduced reinforced rendered reorganized repaired reported represented reproduced researched resolved responded restored retained retrieved revamped reviewed revised rewrote routed scheduled searched selected served set up shaped shared showed simplified solicited solved specified spoke stimulated strategy streamline structured studied successfully supervised supported synthesized targeted taught trained translated updated utilized wrote

10 LUDMILLA MILLIE COLLINS 123 Broadway Avenue San Antonio, Texas (210) EMPLOYMENT REFERENCES Jane Doe Associate Professor St. Mary s University School of Law One Camino Santa Maria San Antonio, Texas Work: (210) Cell: (210) jdoe@stmarytx.edu John Doe Doe, Renie and Manning, P.C South Roanoke Avenue Springfield, New York Work: (194) golaw@aol.com (Supervising Attorney at the Law Offices of Michael Collins) Vivian Mouton DeMott, Mouton and Van Ausdahl, P.C. The Westin Towers, Suite Beta Street Austin, Texas Work: (319) Home: (319) mouton@hotmail.com Revised 5/22/14