by Jan Nussbaum, Assistant Director for Professional DevelopmentA properly tailored resume can make a big difference in landing you an interview. I have personally experienced this first hand and when working with recent graduates.
- Dissect the job description and then tailor the resume: Go over the job description with a fine tooth comb. Identify those skills that the employer finds most important and talk about this in the resume (and cover letter). If you don't have an important skill, determine if you can correlate experience that you do have with the required expertise.
- Tell a story: Provide the reader with a clear picture of your skills and capabilities. For example, if the potential employer's clients are mostly newly arrived immigrants and the motions and briefs you would work on involve halting deportation, don't simply list that you have interviewed clients, drafted motions and briefs, and assisted at trial. Paint a picture for the reader about the types of clients, subject matter and complexity of the litigation you have experience with. Thus, even if you did not work on immigration cases, the reader can easily determine whether there is some synergy between your experience(s) and his/her practice.
- The resume needs to stand on its own: Often candidates discuss why they are qualified for a position in the cover letter, but fail to adequately describe this is detail in the resume. Keep in mind that often the cover letter gets separated from the resume, or the reviewer does not have time to read it. Your resume will need to stand on its own.
- Eliminate or pare down any work experience that is not on point to what the employer is looking for in a candidate. You have only seconds to say to the reader that you are worth talking to, so let them focus on applicable information. Every time period in your school and work career does not have to be accounted for in the resume. During the interview you can explain gaps and additional experience if asked. At this stage of the game, potential employers are primarily interested in your relevant legal skills and other experience pertinent to the job. Personal interests are not essential to list if space is an issue. Especially for students, recent graduates and new attorneys, employers want to see that you can keep your resume to one page.
