Resume Advice for Lawyers

With the recent rise in layoffs at large law firms, many attorneys are having to update their resumes for the first time in years. While it is important for an attorney to have a well-proofread professional resume, too much emphasis is placed on the resume as a tool for finding a new job.

Most attorneys find a job either by meeting other attorneys or through published job listings. If you are an attorney who is currently looking for a job, you may want to consider subscribing to job listings for attorneys on a site such as The Ladders, LawCareerAdvice.com, or CareerBuilder.com

A good resume for an attorney is one that is succinct and to the point. Unless you have 15 years of experience or more as an attorney, your resume should fit on one page. Most recruiters and partners at law firms are very busy, and they rarely even read all of a one-page resume. If your resume is two or three pages, chances are that someone is only going to read the first page. The organization of your resume is very important.

Make sure that your most impressive accomplishments stand out. Your last job, where you went to law school, and the states in which you are admitted to practice law should all be immediately visible on your resume. I recommend having important things in boldface.

Also, your resume should change over time as you progress in your career. As a law student, you generally want to emphasize your education. Once you pass the bar exam and become admitted, you should emphasize the state or states in which you are admitted to practice law. If you have worked as an Associate at a large firm, make sure this stands out on your resume. Also, any areas of practice in which you have worked and understand especially well deserve emphasis.

Have another attorney look at your resume before you send it to a recruiter. You never want to send out a resume with errors in it - this will almost certainly result in failure when applying for a job in the legal field.

Remember to frequently check job listings and talk to as many attorneys as you can. If you come across well in a cover letter, phone conversations, and interviews, then it will not matter if your resume is weak. However, there is no excuse for having a bad resume, so work on yours immediately!

Once your resume is in good shape and has been reviewed by at least one other attorney, you can speed up your search by subscribing to attorney job listings such as these: http://www.lawcareeradvice.com/joblistings1.html

Best of luck!