Fall Recruitment Application Quick Tips

In reviewing the applications students submitted for our first Fall Recruitment deadline, we noticed a few common blunders. To help you avoid committing these same errors in the materials you submit for the September 4 deadline, we've put together a quick list of application tips:

• Review LCS's resume handout (link) to ensure that your resume conforms to the legal resume format.
  


• When referring to the employer in the body of the cover letter, be sure that you are addressing the correct office/organization (i.e. do not write about wanting to work for the San Francisco Office of the Public Defender in a letter intended for the Contra Costa Office of the Public Defender).
  


• Check to see if your resume spills over onto two pages. A number of resumes were uploaded with only one line on the second page.
  


• When creating an unofficial transcript, include your GPA summaries for every semester and cumulatively.
  


• Double and triple check your use of punctuation and verb conjugations.
  


• When writing about your current position on your resume, use the present tense.
  


• Do not include more materials than requested by the employer (i.e. if the employer only requests a resume and a cover letter, do not also upload an unofficial transcript).
  


• In the salutation, use "Dear Mr./Ms." and then a colon (:), not a comma.
  


• Be consistent with the way you write the name of your former employers, both on the resume and in your cover letter.
  


• Proofread, proofread, proofread. And then have someone else proofread your materials for you.