Legal Resume Writing Success for the Recent Graduate: Spotlighting Your Education

Friday, January 4, 2008

Legal Resume Writing Success for the Recent Graduate: Spotlighting Your Education by Shauna C. Bryce, JD, CPRW

If you are like most recent graduates, then your education is the single most important qualification on your résumé. With little work experience to examine and judge, prospective employers will look to your education to determine your:

* Work ethic;
* Intelligence;
* Creativity;
* Achievement;
* Community commitment;
* Maturity;
* Academic and professional interests; and
* Potential.

Make sure that the educational section of your résumé helps you rather than hurts you.

Your Schools and Degrees

There are thousands of colleges and hundreds of law schools in the country. Do not assume that prospective employers are familiar with the one you attended. By all means, use the full name of your schools and include their locations (both cities and states) on your résumé. Adding schools' locations can also highlight your ties to the state or region where you wish to work. Prospective employers do use such ties to gauge candidates' seriousness (students have been known to apply to summer positions in interesting locales to get a "paid vacation" while knowing they would never commit to working long-term there), so making clear your geographical ties can help you get your foot in the door. If you are applying to work outside your schools' regions, then consider putting an explanation about the apparent discrepancy in your cover letter.

You do not need to inform prospective employers of your schools' rankings. Good schools speak for themselves, and there is no reason at all to point out that your schools did not do well in the rankings (which are, at any rate, much criticized as inaccurate).

You should also not assume that prospective employers will know what degree you obtained or are expecting. You should clearly state your degree, your major (and minors, if any), and the year achieved (or expected). The same is true for other academic or professional programs: if a credential was earned or is expected, state what that credential is.

Keep in mind that you should be careful not to imply that you obtained a degree or other credential if you did not.

Your Class Work

You may wish consider adding information about your class work to fill out a résumé that would otherwise appear sparse. A thesis, senior paper, or other major project is often a good addition to a résumé. This type of work shows your ability to commit to a major undertaking, to organize, and to write -- all good traits in a legal professional.

If your class work proves a special interest in the employers or practice areas you are applying to work with, then adding your class work can give you a great deal of credibility. For example, stating that you have extensive class work in immigrant and Asian history may improve your chances of landing a position with a group that handles related work.

Your Achievements

Clearly, not everyone can graduate as the valedictorian of the number one law school in the country. Generally speaking, the lower the rank of your alma maters, the more important it is to highlight your achievements. You should consider including on your résumé:

* Class rank (if in the top 10% or higher);
* GPA (if 3.5 or higher);
* Awards;
* Merit-based scholarships;
* Moot court;
* Clinical programs or other "hands on" activities;
* Research work;
* Law review or other journal; and
* Activities (particularly if you held an office or other responsibilities).

Honesty, Honesty, Honesty

Yes, your résumé is the place to show off. But it is never a place to lie.

Be aware that prospective employers can and do ask for school transcripts in order to confirm your enrollment, graduation, grades, and other academic information. Therefore, never "round up" your class rank or GPA, or "improve" other information on your résumé. You can be sure that if your prospective employer finds that your résumé does not your transcript, then you will have cost yourself a job opportunity. Further, you may be reported to your school for discipline.

Whatever the jokes about attorney ethics may be, do not begin your long and prestigious legal career by misrepresenting yourself.

Extenuating Circumstances

There are many reasons why students do not perform academically as well as they are capable of doing. Clearly, people get sick, have family emergencies, have learning disabilities, and work full-time even as students. If you believe that your academic achievement is not reflectiveof your abilities in the workplace, then you should alert prospective employers to this fact.

Extenuating circumstances are usually best discussed in your cover letter rather than on your résumé. However, one exception is full-time work. You may wish to include such work either as an activity in the educational section of your résumé (most common if the work is academic or legally related) or under the work experience section of your résumé.

Final Thoughts

Remember that, as with everything on your résumé, you must be able to defend your educational section.

About the Author
Shauna C. Bryce is a graduate of Harvard Law School and The Johns Hopkins University and is a certified professional resume writer. As a lawyer, she reviewed countless résumés, conducted interviews, and served on a law firm's Hiring Committee. She then established a unique résumé writing service for legal professionals: Résumé Galleria LLC, specializing in The Art and Craft of the Legal Résumé™. www.ResumeGalleria.com

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=539395